Son By John Updike Analysis
The story “Son” by John Updike is basically an autobiographically story that has more imaginative fiction impact but still has truth about his past and current life as a father and son. In the writing he speaks about his own childhood, home state and relationship between his parents as well. His structure shows a lot of flashbacks from his past childhood. Here’s an example of author speaking of his past. “He is upstairs, writing a musical comedy. It is a Sunday in 1949. He has volunteered to prepare a high-school assembly program; people will sing. Songs of the time go through his head, as he scribbles new words. Up in De mornin', down at de school, work like a debil for my grades. Below him, irksome voices grind on, like machines working
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But from his cringing attitude he would seem to an outsider the one being flailed. With burning-red face, the woman accepts the role of aggressor as penance for the fact, the incessant shameful fact that he has to wrestle with the world while she hides here, in solitude, at home. This is normal, but does not seem to them to be so.” He stated in his writing that ‘his father’ caused him to be depressed which made him hate life. He moves back and forth from the dark past and bring the readers back into present which makes it hard for the reader to understand at times. The writing shows that it’s hard for the father to see his son go through hard times, but also happy to see him be successful. He is wonderful to watch, playing soccer. Smaller than the others, my son leaps, heads, dribbles, feints, passes. When a big boy knocks him down, he tumbles on the mud, in his green-and-black school uniform, in an ecstasy of falling. I am envious. Never for me the jaunty pride of the school uniform, the solemn ritual of the coach's pep talk, the camaraderie of shook hands and slapped backsides, the shadow-striped hush of late afternoon and last quarter, the solemn vaulted universe of official combat, with its cheering mothers and referees striped like zebras and the bespectacled timekeeper alert with his
But from his cringing attitude he would seem to an outsider the one being flailed. With burning-red face, the woman accepts the role of aggressor as penance for the fact, the incessant shameful fact that he has to wrestle with the world while she hides here, in solitude, at home. This is normal, but does not seem to them to be so.” He stated in his writing that ‘his father’ caused him to be depressed which made him hate life. He moves back and forth from the dark past and bring the readers back into present which makes it hard for the reader to understand at times. The writing shows that it’s hard for the father to see his son go through hard times, but also happy to see him be successful. He is wonderful to watch, playing soccer. Smaller than the others, my son leaps, heads, dribbles, feints, passes. When a big boy knocks him down, he tumbles on the mud, in his green-and-black school uniform, in an ecstasy of falling. I am envious. Never for me the jaunty pride of the school uniform, the solemn ritual of the coach's pep talk, the camaraderie of shook hands and slapped backsides, the shadow-striped hush of late afternoon and last quarter, the solemn vaulted universe of official combat, with its cheering mothers and referees striped like zebras and the bespectacled timekeeper alert with his