Father-son Relationship in Ham on Rye - Essay Example

In the novel, Big Chinaski’s presence in his son’s life is shown to be often detrimental for the growth of the boy. Since he was a social outcast, Big Henry ensured that his son had minimal interaction with the people in the environment, a fact that led to the development of Chinaski’s alienation from the society. Big Henry has had to endure hardship and failure in his life, which makes him develop a superiority complex. He seems to believe that the other members of the society are of a lower social order than him; therefore, he should keep his son away from them.

Big Henry’s self-deception about his employment and social status leads him to push Chinaski both physically and mentally. Poverty struck Big Henry’s self-hatred and hatred for the poor is evident in his advice to his son, “What you must do, with money and the poor is never let them get too close to one another” (Bukowski 251). This shows that Big Henry hates to be poor and still cherishes the belief that he belongs to a higher social class than his neighbors. In conclusion, whereas parental love and care could save Henry from the disparaging effect of poverty and the lower status of his family, Big Henry’s physical and mental brutality instills a negative effect on Chinaski.

The negative effects of his upbringing are identified from his character and speech, where he states that he is tough for surviving all the tests that life has thrown at him. One of the examples of the tests that he gives is his parents, a depiction of the negative effect of the upbringing that he had.