Referred to in the name of the story, "The Father", John Purcell is an interesting, dynamic character who, in one day, ended up making what he was trying to make better, his relationship with his son Johnny, even worse. In the beginning of the story, John was presented with the opportunity from his wife to go to his son's boy scout banquet, whom he had a stale relationship with due to him unfairly treating Johnny in the past. John tricked himself to believing that “He’s only a twelve-year-old boy who wants to be left alone”, and chose not to fix the relationship himself because of this. John, on his own, decided to go to the banquet, knowing he owed it to his son, however before arriving he thought condescendingly of the scout leaders, and …show more content…
In the beginning of “The Father”, John Purcell is a man with a ruined relationship with his son, that he destroyed and continuously chose not to fix. However, when he’s finally presented with an opportunity that could lead to him creating a father-son bond between his son and Johnny, he considers it, and ends up deciding to go to the banquet, feeling as if he owed it to the boy. While at the banquet, John drinks & smokes, causing him to behave differently. He warms up, he felt like he fit in, he became happy, he became enthusiastic about Johnny winning an award . . . . However, in the perception of everyone else, he was an embarrassing drunk, and by the end of the banquet, embarrassed himself greatly. After the banquet, it’s clear that John changed a lot; the alcohol wore off, and he gives a true apology to Johnny for how he acted, to which he responds “Leave me alone”. Most likely, the John Purcell pre-banquet would’ve stopped talking and continued walking with Johnny, however the John Purcell post-banquet tried to apologize again, as he truly cared what the boy felt. By the end, he comes to terms with the fact that the relationship between him & Johnny has always been his fault, and only