Arm Wrestling with My Father

Summary
Brad Manning
Arm Wrestling with My Father
In reading the essay one can summarize that the overall plot is the relationship between the main character and his father through an unprecedented method. Manning starts out the story when he was younger, where he and father would constantly engage in arm wrestling where no matter how much he tried he couldn’t win “Dad would always win”. It also states that his dad was boaster where he took pride in the fact that his son could not beat him. As the story gets more involved one notices that the relationship that Manning had with his father was a physical one. Manning’s father had trouble conveying any type of emotional connection if it was not a competitive one. It seems that his father was the kind of man that if it wasn’t sport related he would not be found. But Manning notices that even if the time where brief his dad would always show him love in the best way that he could. It still does not mean that he didn’t question whether or not his father loved him or not. Not once while he was away did receive a letter or a card. Through his entire struggle in trying to beat his father he found himself trying to cheat, where he would go as far as using two hands and in some cases the help of his brother. As the time went on the physical relationship between the father and the son had changed. There was not any pressure in trying to beat his father anymore. He starts talking about how his father is getting older where he starts to compare his father body to what it used to be back in high school. Which astonishingly he had admired his father for those things. Looking at the characters past Manning tells that he has been challenging his father ever since he can remember. In essences it was an approach that crafted sportsmanship between Manning and his father. As the years winded down and his father grew weaker, Manning started to detest the strong figure in his life started to become weaker. When Manning challenged his