Although the father in “Wordsmith” by Susan Young is a quiet man, his love for his daughter is represented by filling in the cracks in the walls of his daughter’s fifty eight year old house. As stated in the poem, “he fills and smooths and sands as filling in all of the empty crevices with the words he didn’t know how to say.” Without a doubt the father works actively to make repairs to the house. The daughter describes what she witnesses: “From the sidelines I watch as he trudges up and down the stairs, carrying with nonchalance an industrial-sized bucket…” The daughter realizes her father does not know how to express his love vocally. The father has little to say, but the daughter recognizes that her father displays his love through his actions: “whose love keeps him moving from room to room…”
In "The Gold Mountain Coat' by Judy Fong-bates, the Chinese father who owns a Chinese restaurant does not express his love for his sons. He does not show his emotions. As stated: “Sam rarely smiled” (4) and “He rarely spoke.”(4)He seems to be selfish and uncaring about the well-being of his sons. The two sons […] “[share] one coat” (9) because the father will not buy another coat.