Risky Moments: An analysis of Tobias Wolffs Powder - Essay Example

Risky Moments: An Analysis of Tobias Wolff’s “Powder” Essay

A father and his son do not have a simple relationship. Both are men, but that does not mean they are free to share and seek to grow together. Tobias Wolff highlights the relationship between father and son in the story, “Powder.” He shows how industrious sons relate to their careless fathers. The mother already knows the father buys the son struggles to understand him partly due to male issues. The father is misunderstood, but the child has to make sense of this character. He tries to be a good boy by organizing his school life properly.

Wolff shows the narrator in the story to be older than he was in the real narrative. He talks about his careless father, who encourages his son to sneak into a local bar. According to Wolff, the boy learns from his dad on how to sneak out of the house. He goes to watch a jazz player in the bar. He exposes the child to mature content at an early age. Additionally, the father asks for approval on his boy’s behalf to go for a ski trip, and the mother approves. He promises to return before Christmas dinner.

The thrill of the skis catches up with him, and they have to travel later than expected.

Along the road, a trooper meets and tells them about a roadblock as a result of a snowstorm. The two are in danger and may not reach home to see the mother. The father withdraws and comes up with a plan to get his child back home before time to avoid the mother’s fury. He sneaks behind the state trooper past the roadblock through the snowstorm in what could be the greatest danger to him and his son. He encourages him to remain strong because he is a skilled driver. He drives on the road safely to reach home.

The risk pays off, and the father succeeds in protecting his son from danger. However, he warns him against such an action. On the contrary, the boy realizes that his father’s mistake led to a great adventure. The ride back is like no other he has ever had in his life. Wolff’s beginning of the story highlights the father’s character to the reader.

He is known as a reckless dad who does not reason about his actions. It makes the son doubtful of his decisions from a young age. The reader must pay attention to his nature and attitude, which paints a clear line between him and the son.

Wolff describes the characters clearly and adequately. The father is not mature despite his age, and the boy realizes it (Wolff, 3). The child is partly ashamed of his father’s actions and character. He does not speak openly about his parents’ marital status, but the first paragraph shows he is carefree and different from the mother. Since the story is a review of a past event, we learn that the marriage falls apart, and that may be due to the father’s attitude.

Even though the father has a weakness, he plays his role well by fighting the privilege of his son’s company (Wolff, 1). He requests his wife to approve the trip with his son and promises to return him in time. The word privilege describes the father’s dramatic character and his deep longing for his son. He truly loves his child` and wants the best for him. His real nature comes out clearly when he does not make it in time due to his childish addiction over skiing. He has to rush to make it before the time promised.

The consequence of what he did fills up the mind even as he assures himself that his son wishes to have him back. He knows he has not been good and aims to make it clear to him so that he loves him. He is torn between being himself and being a responsible dad. He informs his child that he wants them to be together again and asks to confirm if he thinks the same (Wolff, 1). The reader may doubt whether such fathers will ever be responsible. However, he cannot doubt that most fathers love their sons.

The love between the two is seen at the end of the story. The father rushes on the road reaching home safely and in time. The child fails to understand him at the beginning of the story and does not accept him as his mother does. His dad suggests that they take another ride through the storm. It gives him a tone of fear and irritation during narration.

He feared that he might be wrong but later justified himself when they made it through the storm on the dangerous road. The story shows how sons misunderstand fathers and vice versa. The way is critical, but his dad is skillful at driving.

According to Wolff, the narrator complains that his father is different. The reader may expect sons to be like fathers who have learned not to care much about every decision they make. The son takes care and has a fear of failure. The boy is keen and plans (Wolff, 3). He has a habit of keeping clothes in numbered hangers to avoiding repetition.

He admits to annoying his teachers regarding submitting work before time. When his father races through the snow, he thinks the effort is useless because the state trooper on the road home is sure to stop them. The incident highlights the way sons view their fathers in the presence of surprises or danger.

Wolff shows how the behavior of dad and son clashes, and that increases the rift between them. The son looks to the traditional role of a father and thinks his own has not been responsible enough. The father takes risks and shows his son that there is no need to worry about life.

We do not know the narrator’s age from the story, but it is clear that he is at a certain point in time when he thinks some behavior is more acceptable than others. He does not trust him and misunderstands him thinking he takes too many risks. Sons may think fathers are careless about their responsibilities.

You cannot blame the boy for his dislike of the father’s behavior. He knows very well that the response is negatively impacting his family. Wolff fills the story with the voice of a narrator, who makes the reader think a disaster could happen soon. He talks about the blind road, which threatens them as they race through the storm.

The many complaints show son does not trust his father, and this comes from his perception of the family’s situation. However, he proves him wrong by racing safely through the snowstorm. He makes his son realize that life is not about putting boundaries to limit one’s operation and decision making.

His wish is for them to get back together (Wolff, 3). He is concerned with the relationship between father, mother, and him and wants it to grow stronger. Delay of the reunion means he will ruin the opportunity to get back to his dad. Wolff’s plot of the story shows that these events happen in just a day.

The writer puts everything together such that we see the transformation which changes the boy’s view of the father. In the beginning, we see nothing admirable about the father, but these changes as the story progress. In the end, the writer makes us understand that fear is an obstacle to a human relationship, especially at the family level.

The father puts his son to danger when he acts irresponsibly. His son gives up and has to cope with his presence and place in his life. However, the ability to race through the snow safely makes his son believe that his father is capable of protecting him despite the many risks (Wolff, 1). He saw his father move along the ski slopes without sailing off a cliff.

From this point, the boy begins to trust his father and loves him the way he is. Fear would have held fathers back, and both would be late for home. Racing on the dangerous road means some fathers fear to fail their wives and sons by arriving late at home. He takes the risk to carry out his parental duty of safely returning the boy to his mother.

In the end, the boy admits that his father has many weaknesses (Wolff, 3). It does not stop him from being his dad. Sons must realize that they are expecting too much from their fathers. Even though his father is reckless, he teaches him that risks are part of life and worth trying.

This realization enables him to fill the gap between them. Wolff is careful to bring out the real characters, craft a unique and creative plot alongside the theme of a healed relationship between father and son in his work, “Powder.” There is hope that fathers and sons can quickly come to terms despite the differences.

Risky Moments: An Analysis of Tobias Wolff’s “Powder” essay shows that Wolff portrays sons and fathers to conflict. They are torn between being themselves and fulfilling their responsibilities in the family. The boy feels he needs to be responsible to make mum happy while the latter must fulfill all promises he makes to his wife to guarantee happiness. However, moments in life lift the burden from this relationship. They highlight the little things which seem so familiar. These moments come as challenges.