Preview

Powder By Tobias Wolff Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
688 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Powder By Tobias Wolff Analysis
Son's Coming of Age & Father's Role "Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad" (Anne Geddes). There are many "boys" who become fathers these days. These "boys" have children and are unprepared to take care of them and provide them with what they need to grow and mature. As children grow up and reach a coming of age, they start to doubt and grow tired of their fathers. If nothing is done, children will start to drift away from their fathers and disown them. When a son's coming of age approaches, a significant event must occur. This event will teach the son that they should look up to their fathers and trust them. This is seen in the short story "Powder", by Tobias Wolff, and the "Parable of the Prodigal Son". In each story, "Powder" and "The Prodigal Son", the sons did not like their father. In Powder, the father's son is starting to dislike him. You can tell this from the lines "“Buck up,” he said. “I’ll get you there. Right, doctor?” I was supposed to say, “Right, doctor,” but I didn’t say anything." (Wolff 1). This line shows the father is trying to rekindle their relationship by playing their old games. The son either has grown out of this phase of his life or …show more content…
In the "Prodigal Son", the youngest son came home after forsaking his father, losing all his money, and starving and feeding pigs (the lowest job you could get). After his experience, he loved his father and knew he would have' to depend upon him for not just his wealth, but for his knowledge. This is also seen in "Powder". In "Powder", the father drives through a snowstorm and the son was terrified that they could not see the road. The son didn't think his father would be able to navigate through the storm. His father consolidates his son to calm his nerves.. The son talks to his dad and see how wise and calm he is. The son decides to relax and believe that his father can get him home
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Analyzing Sandra Cisneros 'Short-Short Story Mericans'
    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Analyzing Sandra Cisneros 'Short-Short Story Mericans'

    The characters Tobias Wolff creates carry the central concept of the story home. Along with the cold setting and the point of view of the narrator; Powder makes for a great read. Powder is a well written story of a father and a son forcing their way home in a snow storm. Dad is not the main character in the story; but he is the complex character. He is the adult, a father at that too, yet he is reckless and impulsive. For example, insisting on a last run as it began to snow, regardless of his son’s anxiety and the promise he made to have him home in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Reading the story it is clear how the father thinks on the spot and immediately acts on it, without considering the consequences maybe or just thinking…

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analyzing Ellen Goodman's Essay 'The Company Man'
    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analyzing Ellen Goodman's Essay 'The Company Man'

    His own son grew up without a father, and had to research his father in search of something to say at the funereal. His son who now works as a successful worker in the south, symbolizes the mimicking of his father’s life, as though life were nothing but a cycle of repetition that was unbreakable in the blind and bliss ignorance of the crime.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Broken Home and Powedring Snow
    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Broken Home and Powedring Snow

    The development of the father character begins with his son’s flashback of being brought to a nightclub against the will of his mother. He wanted to bring his son to see jazz great Thelonious Monk. Wolf has intended to portray the father as a reckless parent with no regard for the welfare of his child. In the father’s defense we are left with a disclaimer that the father is only trying to institute a foundation of culture upon his son. The boy was not thrust into this environment with the intent of exposing him to the tribulations of a nightclub atmosphere. It becomes easy for the father to not hold back in the presence of his son. The father does not have custody of the boy so he isn’t burdened with the role of disciplinarian. As Wolf has noted “As the lift bore us to the peak yet again, my father looked at his watch and said, “Criminy. This’ll have to be a fast one.” ”(Wolf 211). So, when receiving time to spend with his son he is able to have fun and not worry about the effects of his teachings.…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Persil And Powder Research Paper
    • 66 Words
    • 1 Page

    Persil And Powder Research Paper

    Persil has two types: liquid Persil and powder Persil. It has many different liquid colors and each one has different uses .For example, black liquid for black clothes, purple, blue and green liquid for the stain remover, yellow color for washing up, white color for white clothes. But most powder Persil use in the laundry like purple, green, and blue are using for washing up…

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Biblical Elements In James Baldwin's Biblical Literary Work
    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Biblical Elements In James Baldwin's Biblical Literary Work

    The parable of the Prodigal Son tells the story of a man who has two sons. One of the sons, perhaps the youngest, asked his father for inheritance.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Father Figure In Hugh Garner's Short Story, The Father
    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Father Figure In Hugh Garner's Short Story, The Father

    Hugh Garner’s short story, ‘The Father’, can closely relate to this quote with the protagonist John Purcell who chooses to dismay his fatherly duties of relating to and taking care of his only child, Johnny, and instead pursues in his drinking habit which has destroyed his home and social life. A father figure is an important aspect of every child’s life, and without one people can often be left emotionally unstable and damaged. In the case of the short story, ‘The Father’, Johnny is without a father figure in his life, and when his father tries to be one he ends up embarrassing and disgracing him in front of all of his friends and fellow scouts. John tries…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Obstacles Of Survival In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road
    • 2407 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Obstacles Of Survival In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    During his childhood, the son faces exposure from two very different parents. One of which believes in the preservation of life and moral values, whereas the mother believes in self-destruction and inconsideration towards everyone. Overall, the father has the most profound impact upon the son. Through their southward journey, the father and son share several successful and horrible experiences together. Throughout occasions such as narrowly escaping death from cannibals and plundering an underground bunker, the father and son have grown a strong, loving bond. Unfortunately, this developing relationship does not last forever, due to the father’s terminal illness. After his inevitable death, a stranger graciously offers salvation to the lost son. This salvation comes in the form of a loving, holy community that graciously takes the son in as their own. The 8-year-old boy, manages the unthinkable – survival. The son owes his survival entirely to his father. In a post-apocalyptic world where resources are few and far between, protecting the son from all levels of threats, so that the son can one day become self-sufficient, is nothing short of…

    • 2407 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Cormac Mccarthy The Road Analysis
    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Cormac Mccarthy The Road Analysis

    The father does everything to protect his son. The reason they are traveling to try and a find a better life for him. Throughout their journey he constantly tells him that they are the good guys; he is always making sure his son has food to eat, even if he’ll have a little or none; and watches over him until his last day. The following dialogues show that he has compassion towards his son: “What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die too. So you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you.” (11) and, “My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand?” (77). The father sees himself as a guardian angel for his son, and is willing to do anything, even kill, to make sure his son is safe. He would rather die than continue on without his son; he can’t bare to live without him since his son is what keeps him going, he is what keeps him sane. He has no mercy and empathy for others. For example, he makes a man strip his clothes off and takes them, as an act of punishment. The son has to convince him to return the cloths. All in all, the son is what gives the father a reason to rethink his actions, to have emotions, to be…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Symbolism, Imagery and Theme in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

    • 2041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Symbolism, Imagery and Theme in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

    fathers key and cope with his fathers death. These literary elements make the novel come alive…

    • 2041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Father And Son In Fences And The Parable Of The Prodigal Son
    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Father And Son In Fences And The Parable Of The Prodigal Son

    In any relationship between a parent and a child, communication plays a significant role. To keep the family dynamics stable the verbal interaction amongst parent and child must take place. The ability to understand one another is what holds a relationship together. Sometimes these strong relationships can cause conflicts and grief, as depicted in The Parable of the Prodigal Son by Luke and Fences by August Wilson. In both these stories, the father and their two sons struggle to comply with each other. Both authors utilize the past, present, and future expectation of what a parent hopes their son to become.…

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Wes Moore Compare And Contrast
    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Wes Moore Compare And Contrast

    To be a father is not hard, but rather to act like a father needs time to demonstrate that. The father is the main source of income and dominant provider of the family. He settles on the significant family choices together with mother and with the assistance of different individuals. This is the customary part of the father. Fathers and moms have novel contrasts that make them have distinctive child rearing parts, that when joined, give the most far reaching model to help the child grow effectively. Consequently, kids require both parents to help them build up the skills to help them assemble fruitful social relations, take part in dependable conduct, build up the confidence and abilities to be effective in school and to wind up…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Powder by Tobias Wolff Analysis
    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Powder by Tobias Wolff Analysis

    “Powder” is a story written by Tobias Wolff in 1996 staged in the mid to late 1950’s about a boy and his father skiing at Mount Baker on Christmas Eve and what it takes them to get back home in time for dinner. The father and his wife are on the edge of breaking up, although she is still angry about him taking their son to see Telonious Monk she lets them go. He promises hand over heart to keep him safe during the Mount Baker ski trip and get him home on time. Through the story the father is responsible in what he feels what is best for his son.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Responsible Fatherhood Act
    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page

    Responsible Fatherhood Act

    Over the course of many years’ fathers are becoming more absent in their children's lives, for example “One out of every three children in America lives in a home without their biological father present” (Promoting Responsible Fatherhood,2012, pg2). This very alarming because research has shown that father present in a child life has more positive effects such as helping…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    School shooting research paper
    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages

    School shooting research paper

    Gender roles in raising a family are a controversial topic in many homes today. Many people still believe that it should still be the man as the primary source of income, and that the woman should stay and raise the kids, while taking care of the home. Many dads today are abandoning this stereotype, and they choose to do a little bit of everything.” I think modern fathers take on many more roles.” (Linn) This resulting in being there for more of the child’s life, and playing a more active role in their childhood.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Powder by Tobias Wolff
    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Powder by Tobias Wolff

    There are only two major characters in the story—the teenaged narrator and his father, and everything takes place within the area of Mount Baker, a skiing resort. The fact that the boy’s parents were on the verge of divorce is established early on, and some of the implied reasons lie in the father’s character. Three descriptions were used in the first few paragraphs of the story that alluded to the father—“he had to fight for the privilege”, “he wouldn’t give up”, and “he was indifferent to my fretting”. These three descriptive phrases convey a picture of a man with an aggressive nature, and would always pursue what he wants; this is proven by his keeping the flashy Austin-Healey, by insisting on taking his son to a club, and by being focused on bringing him home—so as not to get his wife’s ire, for he believes they would still be able to patch things up. At the end of the story, it is the son himself who uses several adjectives on his father—“rumpled, kind, bankrupt of honor, flushed with certainty. He was a great driver. All persuasion, nor coercion.” After reading the story in its entirety, one would be able to associate the seemingly carefree and spontaneous characterization of the father to his being a man of gentle manner, yet gregarious tone; what his son lacked in youthfulness and spirit, he completely made up for.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics