Thomas Winkert

Professor Licamele
English 101A
11/01/16
Family Bonding
Developing relationships is critical while interacting with others, especially with family
members. Whether short term or long term, relationships with family can affect people in life
either the good or bad. Fathers set examples for everyone in the family. Fathers share bonds with
all family members, but tend to share a special type of bond with the sons. This is because the
son usually takes after the father. Powder by Tobias Wolff and Reunion by John Cheever
both display different father/son relationships through character development, dialogue and
symbols. While Powder illustrates a vigorous father/son relationship, Reunion presents a
father/son relationship that is very broken because the father demonstrates himself to be a poor
role model for the son. The fathers actions in both stories reflect the relationships the fathers and
sons have as well as the sons perceptions of how they view their fathers by the end of the
stories.
Both Powder and Reunion show the father/son relationship changes through
character development. In, Powder the father is shown to act oblivious, but shown to be caring
and passionate as the story unveils. Towards the beginning of the story, the son says, He
wouldnt give up. He promised hand on heart, to take good care of me and have me home for
dinner on Christmas eve (Wolff 33). This tells us that the father is a very passionate and caring
person, but then he acts very oblivious because he ends up being late by skiing longer when the
son wanted to leave. The son says, He was indifferent to my fretting (Wolff 33) as a response

to the father skiing longer on the mountain when theyre on a time frame to get back to see his
mother on christmas eve. This explains to the reader that the father cares by wanting to get home
but displays his oblivious behavior to his sons feelings. The son wanted to leave as a result of
the father not acknowledging him. The son is not happy with his father because of his oblivious
actions, however they start to bond when the father asks, You want some soup? Ill get you right
there (Wolff 34). This shows the father cares and wants to be there for his son. Eventually at the
end of the story he shows his love for his father. The son mentions, He was a great driver.. I
actually trusted him (Wolff 37). The son says this because in the middle of the story he thought
his father was a bad driver for driving through heavy dangerous snow. The son changes his mind
by the end of the story as he realizes that his father is trying his hardest and they start to share a
bond. Although the father sometimes does not completely acknowledge his son; the son
appreciates his father through character development as the story progresses which results in a
vigorous father/son relationship.
On the other hand, Reunion displays the father to be a bad role model for the son
through character development. At first the son really wants to see his father, but as the story
unwraps, the son sees that the father is a very rude person and doesnt want to be with him. The
son mentions, It was a rich compound of whiskey, after-shave lotion, shoe polish, woolens, and
the rankness of a mature male (Cheever 518) as he describes the father's image. The father is
shown to have a untrustworthy image from the beginning in his whiskey description. Although
the son may not be able to recognize alcohol has a untrustworthy connotation, the author paints
the fathers untrustworthy image through alcohol for the reader to recognize a connection. Fathers
with drinking problems tend to be associated with negative characteristics that are violent,
insecure, and problematic. As the story unfolds, the father backs this image by his extremely

disrespectful drunken acts, and comments. Later on at a restaurant, the father asks for alcoholic
beverages. The father says, That is none of your God-damned business (Cheever 519) as a
response to the waiter asking how old his son is. This sends the son the wrong message of its
okay to break the law and drink underage as well as talking in a disrespectful way.
Through dialogue, both Powder and Reunion contrasts their father/son relationships
different by either bringing each other together or pushing each other away from another.
Powder displays the fathers passion to bring his family together which strengthens the
relationship. The idea of the father acting oblivious is reinforced by the son mentioning, We
should have left before (Wolff 34), however in response, the father says, She wont forgive
me..I cant let that happen...Ill tell you what I want. I want us all to be together again(Wolff
34). This is an indication that the father is passionate in doing whatever it takes to get his family
together despite his messing up. This is a form of affection towards his son because hes trying
his hardest to bring his family together even though hes made a mistake. The son later asks,
Where do you think that policeman went to?(Wolff 36). The father responds, Are you warm
enough?(Wolff 36). This exemplifies the father acting oblivious towards the son by not directly
answering the son; instead the father asks a question. After the son does not feel acknowledged,
the father later makes the son feel acknowledged as the story unfolds. Near the end of the story,
the son says, What are my strong points? (Wolff 36). The father responds, Don't get me
started.. Itd take all day (Wolff 36). At this point the son starts to feel acknowledged and begins
to appreciate everything his father does for him.
Meanwhile Reunion displays the father as extremely sarcastic and rude throughout the
storys dialogue which portrays the untrustworthy image. While attending a restaurant, the father
claps his hands at the waiter. In response the waiter tries to explain he doesn't like to be clapped

at. The father responds, I should have brought my whistle.. I have a whistle that is only audible
to the ears of old waiters (Cheever 520). He shows his rudeness by mentioning the whistle and
insulting the waiters old age. The father later says at another restaurant, You dont desire our
patronage. Is that it? Well, the hell with you (Cheever 520) as a response to the tables being
reserved. This was the last straw for the son. The son then says, I have to get my train
(Cheever 520). At this point, the son wants to leave because hes uncomfortable with his father.
The fathers disrespectful comments throughout the story drives the son away from his father
which results in the broken relationship. Another example of the relationship being broken is
their communication. The relationship also displays to be one way. The father talks throughout
the whole story while the son only mentions a few sentences. The son does not have a chance to
say much until the end of the story when he has to leave. The son sees enough of his father's rude
behavior and mentions, I have to get my train (Cheever 520).
In addition, both stories Powder and Reunion show symbolic meanings in their
stories which have detrimental positive and negative affects to the father/son relationships. The
barricade is symbolic in Powder. Although the barricade serves as a physical barrier, it is an
emotional barrier for the father. The father tells the son to move the barricade and says, Now
youre an accomplice.. We go down together (Wolff 35). This is the turning point that brings the
father and son together. This serves as an emotional connection for the father because hes
starting to fully acknowledging his son rather than acting oblivious towards him.
However the waiters are symbolic in Reunion. The waiters are how the father shows
his son his insecurities. The father is insecure because he lacks a vigorous relationship with his
son. The father seeks attention through his insecurities by acting drunk and rude to every waiter

he encounters. This is the turning point of the story because the father pushes the son away from
him although the son had high expectations of his father.
Both stories reveal the unique father/son relationships differently. Powder displays the
bond between the father and son to strengthen, while Reunion turns out to be broken by the
end. The father in Powder doesnt fully acknowledge his son in the beginning, but towards the
end, the father does acknowledge the son. This is what strengthens the relationship that brings
them together. The father in Reunion wants to be there for the son by spending time together,
however the father's disrespectful actions lead to the sons disappointment in the father which
pushes the son away. Both stories express the fathers actions in different ways to determine the
sons perception and the result of each father/son relationship towards the end of the stories.

Works Cited
Cheever, John. Reunion. Literature: A Pocket Anthology. 2nd ed., edited by R.S. Gwynn,
Penguin Academics, 2009. pp. 518-520
Wolff, Tobias. Powder. A World of Fiction: Twenty Timeless Short Stories. 2nd ed., edited by
Sybil Marcus, Pearson Longman, 2009. pp. 33-37