Arm Wrestling With My Father Analysis

The love this father has for his son is uniquely and unequivocally expressed, as one will discover in this compassionate and heartwarming short essay Arm Wrestling with My Father written by Brad Manner. Brad Manner wrote this essay for his freshmen composition course sharing his unique relationship with his father as the two bonded through ritualistic father-son competitive arm wrestling matches. However, as the story progresses into Manner 's college years, the symbolic power and strength of his father the "arm", the mere representation of his father 's strength and love, begins to fade as his father 's unwavering strength weakens with the inevitable and unforgiving progression of ageing. Manner, realizes that he no longer desires to compete against his father, the man who he has idolized and admired his whole life. Although his father is unable to express his

Troy tells Rose, “He’s got to make his own way. I made mine. Ain’t nobody gonna hold his hand when he get out there in that world” (482). Because of his own disappointments, Troy has adopted a bitter, yet realistic outlook on life, which he uses to guide his son. He did not have much help growing up and believes that his son could use a dose of his reality and tough

It can also be argued that Barry’s transition from a boy to a young man is no more than an act of guilt that often surfaces in a person when they realize they are about to lose someone. In the story, the author uses symbolism to prove Barry’s development. However it is never explained as to whether or not he has actually experienced self-growth. The symbol of Barry’s physical features show his physical growth and his change from a small boy to larger jock. As opposed to showing that Barry is now becoming a man, his physical changes could be inferring that he plays a lot of sports to keep his mind off of his father’s sickness.

Brad Bell 01/18/2018 WR121 In the story “Arm Wrestling with My Father” by (Brad Manning) Manning talks about his relationship with his dad and how they communicate and show affection towards one another, he goes on into the story talking about how things change over time and how somethings that you used to fantasies about are now merrily a thing of the past and you no longer wish for those things anymore and begin to realize that what you have in even better. In the story the author uses both sight and touch to really communicate with the audience on how his father and him interacted around each other, both when they were younger and as time went on and things changed. Also In this essay Manning used tone to establish the effectiveness of the story. In the story Manning is very descriptive about all the details, so let’s start off with one that’s not as strong as the others but still plays a big role in the process of making the story effective. Manning uses sight very well to describe how him and his dad look, such as the appearance of both of them.

Go ahead, take what I'm giving you" (Wiesel 75). Character development from Wiesel's father is displayed in his powerful statement because he is willing to give up his survival weapons in order to guarantee the survival of his son. The relationship is mutual as the father and

It hurt him that people were so racially discriminatory against him and that he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Throughout the story, he flashbacks to different points of his life where he shows us how important getting an education is to his family. He really wants to succeed to impress his parents, “What hurt me the most is that I won’t be able to become a telephone operator like Dad wants me to”(185). The school staff doesn’t understand his desire for getting his family out of poverty. The principal just assumes that he doesn’t care about getting an education.

He had regularly acquired and taken hormone pills and injections from someone who had these resources in the neighborhood. Though he had his mind up about who he was, his father continuously tried to push him to be a man. The contrast between Enrique’s (the ex-con father) masculinity and forcefulness and Michael’s youth and blissful ignorance of his father’s expectations create Michael’s story to be more emphasized. Michael’s father attempted to bond with his family. His wife and son were not who he remembered them to be.

The son finds his father in a saloon and after beating him up, his father explains to him that he named him Sue so that he would learn to be tough considering his dad would never be around to prepare him for situations where he needed to be tough. “Son, this world is rough, and if a man’s gonna make it he’s gotta be tough...I know you’d have to get tough or die , and it’s the name the helped t make you strong.” (Johnny Cash) They make peace, yet they still part their separate ways. “I called him Pa, he called me son, and I come away with a different point of view” is one of the last lines of the song. In the Ghetto however, ended in a more negative matter, but with a somewhat stronger message. As a result of the boy’s influences and life on the street, he dies.

As children, people often act in ways that will please their parents. Amir lives a childhood full of wanting to please his father. He believes it is his fault for killing his mother and taking Baba’s precious love. Numerous times Amir tries to be the strong and athletic son Baba has always wanted, though each try turns out to be futile. Amir is a poet.

On the other, familial pressures and body image push him towards his father’s ideals. When he becomes friends with the polack he sees through his fathers eyes, he does not wish to accept the beauty in Leka’s stories because he does not want to appear childish or weak. The other men such as Stephen’s father lack something which Leka has. He has an invitation for closeness, which is absent in the pulp mill. Stephen, who has very deeply seeded, pre-conceived notions of what it is to be a man, at a time in his life when his beliefs are questioned.