Hugh Garner The Father

It has been said that a father is a son’s best friend. However, in the short story, "The Father" written by Hugh Garner, the plot gives an example of a rather unorthodox father-son relationship. When individuals in a relationship fail to communicate and express their emotions to one another, the family dynamic is almost certain to be poor. Without having the necessary interactions to create a bond, one may feel little to no motivation to hold onto a relationship that they feel was barely there in the beginning. Unfortunately, this was the case for John and his son, Johnny. Countless reasons are to blame for the creation of their failed relationship. The three most notable being John’s disregard in dedicating time with Johnny, Johnny’s inability …show more content…
In John’s mind, he knew he did not want to be a parent who is “unable or unwilling to let their kids lead their own lives”. For this reason John had always stayed clear of Johnny’s path, in hopes he would grow up to be an independent man who would not have to rely on anyone. Although John may have had good intentions, staying out of Johnny’s life all together only contributed to his son’s inability to open up to him. When one is in their early stages of life, having a father to guide them through rough times and difficult decisions is essential. However, John never took the next step to be this individual in Johnny’s life. Consequently, Johnny had grown used to not having a significant figure in his life to talk and relate to, therefore he had never developed necessary communication skills. As a result, he was too nervous to ask John to attend his Scout banquet, because he even became “too shy to ask his own father to go somewhere”. Furthermore, he was also unable to ask his father for a neckerchief to complete his Scout uniform because after last Christmas, “he was afraid to ask [him] for anything else”. This greatly showcases the tension between them, which has continued to damage their relationship beyond …show more content…
John and Johnny rarely communicate, therefore in order for John to feel comfortable to do so, he must have a few drinks. This would be extremely irritating for Johnny, because he feels his father must depend on alcohol to to help him face day-to-day situations. He was annoyed by the fact that the only time his father would try to “talk to [him] man to man” was when he had too much to drink. Although heavily consuming alcohol is not the appropriate way to deal with one’s problems, John believes it is the only way. He had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after fighting in the war, and began to use alcohol to escape the horrific images replaying in his mind ever since the war came to an end. A symptom he portrays is being extremely anxious, for he was always concerned about “what the neighbours must think of [him]”. Additionally, the fact that Johnny did not have his full Scout uniform made him “[wonder] angrily if the Scoutmaster thought he was too cheap to buy the boy a uniform”. He even could not help but imagine the Scoutmaster and his assistants talking about the issue as if to think he could not afford it. Also, it is strongly hinted that John suffers from post traumatic stress disorder as both he and another father, Charley Murdoch, could agree that it was “kind of stuffy in there”. Crowded spaces frighten John,

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Hugh Garner The Father

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