Fathers

A father or father figure is one of the most important roles in a person’s life. Individuals that grow up without a father more often than not, might feel a void in their lives. On the other hand, bad parenting or incomplete parenting by a father can leave their children with mental inconsistencies that may affect the way the person acts or thinks. Therefore parenthood and in this case, fatherhood is very important in the continued development of a child throughout the years. A father must be loving, protective, open-minded, forgiving, responsible, humble, and must set good examples for his children. A father must also admit when he is wrong in order to avoid discrepancies in a developing mind or a rebellious teenage mind. One of the most important characteristics that cannot be stresses enough is not to be overbearing. The father from the short stories “Where are you going? Where have you been?” and “The Intruder” and the father of Alex from the HBO series In Treatment can be compared to these criteria to exemplify the importance of the characteristics a father must have.

Connie’s dad in “Where are you going? Where have you been?” was a very quiet and timid man. As a reader of the short story, one does not learn enough about him to judge him against all the criteria. But the reader must assume he is loving, like all fathers generally are. One can make this assumption because Connie never complains about him, which means he is also not overbearing. The downside to his fatherhood is the only other criteria he can be compared to, the protection of Connie. Arnold did not feel threatened enough to not abduct Connie. Arnold probably knew the father was timid, and felt Connie was an easy abduction. One could also make the argument that Arnold believed his age would appeal to Connie because he thought she was missing a father figure. Therefore, the father in “Where are you going? Where have you been” was loving and not overbearing but also not very protective...