петак, 29. април 2011.

Father-son relationship in “Powder“ By Tobias Wolff

In the short story Powder by Tobias Wolff there is an irrefutable relationship that is quite dissimilar.  In these two characters of father and son we see a reflection of many modern day “broken home” situations.  The standard role of father and son has been reversed in this story. Reversed in a way that real life and many modern day family situations have been replicated.
The development of the father character begins with his son’s flashback of being brought to a nightclub against the will of his mother.  He wanted to bring his son to see jazz great Thelonious Monk.  With this passage it was possibly Wolff’s intent to portray the father as a reckless parent with no regard for the welfare of his child.  In the father’s defense we are left with a disclaimer that the father is only trying to institute a foundation of culture upon his son.  The boy was not thrust into this environment with the intent of exposing him to the tribulations of a nightclub atmosphere.  It becomes easy for the father to not hold back in the presence of his son.  He does not have custody of the boy so he isn’t burdened with the role of disciplinarian.  So when receiving time to spend with his son he is able to have fun and not worry about the effects of his teachings. 
The boy who is our narrator throughout the story becomes Wolff’s opposition to the father character.  Right through the story the boy demonstrates qualities of restraint and level headedness.  Almost everything that the father lacks in values the son has made up for with nervous anticipation.  The development of the boy’s cautious personality is initiated early in the story when him and his father are making their last run.  He is depicted as “sticking to his father like white on rice.”  This was an establishment of his tense but well aware personality.  He seems to always be thinking ahead and calculating the dangers of his actions and the unpredictable measures of his father.  It is obvious the boy has love for his father and possibly tries to be unpredictable like his father, though he is nothing like him in reality.  He makes attempts to be as daring or free spirited as his father, while at the same time he continues to hold back. 
The tension between the boy and his father creates a bond and a relationship that hold mutual exception.  Each character is quite different in personality but not once does the dissimilarity become a problem for either one of them.  
This story becomes a timeless transcript modern day family life.  The characters in this story show us the intense relationship forged by father and son.

Dimitrije Vulic 091054 D

уторак, 26. април 2011.

Tobias Wolff: "Powder" - Review

***DRAFT***

"Powder" is a straightforward story about an adolescent boy (the pov character) and his father on a ski trip. The parents are separated or divorced; the father has promised to have the boy back to his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. But the father tarries, deciding to get in a few more runs, and by the time they set off, the mountain road they must take is closed and guarded by a state trooper. Eventually the trooper leaves his post and the father decides to risk the snow-covered road.

In this story, everything seems to point to disaster. The narrator (an older version of the boy) consistently conveys a sense of worry, at first only that he will be late for Christmas Eve dinner (which has added importance because the father wants to win back the favor of his wife and is screwing this up), but later we fret about their physical well-being. The father sternly warns the boy against such foolhardy behavior. Disaster looms. Yet the boy, who is so tightly wired that he numbers his clothes hangers, is finally able to relax, to trust his father, to accept his fate and enjoy the journey. "If you haven't driven fresh powder," he says at the end, "you haven't driven."

As with many Wolff stories, signposts of "craft" are not so readily extracted from this piece. There are no tricks. Wolff follows a traditional path: he creates an empathetic protagonist (two, really); he gives the characters a clear goal; a problem arises from a character trait; the protagonists suffer a setback; they overcome the setback and the primary protagonist grows, or at least learns something. And all in four pages! What Wolff doesn't do is burden the story with flashbacks or a single word of backstory beyond what is required. He gets to the point quickly without ever making the reader feel rushed. There's even time left at the end for a little protagonistic reflection.

This story is really about the father, and that's the key. The story begins:
Just before Christmas my father took me skiing at Mount Baker. He'd had to fight for the privilege of my company, because my mother was still angry with him for sneaking me into a nightclub during his last visit, to see Thelonius Monk.

What a dad! Not only does he take his son skiing, he fights for the privilege, and this after sneaking the kid into a jazz club. Who wouldn't want this guy for a father? But we also recognize that he is a risk-taker, and we are concerned. The rest of the story echoes this first paragraph.

Dimitrije Vulic 091054 D