Powder By Tobias Wolff Analysis

Son's Coming of Age & Father's Role "Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad" (Anne Geddes). There are many "boys" who become fathers these days. These "boys" have children and are unprepared to take care of them and provide them with what they need to grow and mature. As children grow up and reach a coming of age, they start to doubt and grow tired of their fathers. If nothing is done, children will start to drift away from their fathers and disown them. When a son's coming of age approaches, a significant event must occur. This event will teach the son that they should look up to their fathers and trust them. This is seen in the short story "Powder", by Tobias Wolff, and the "Parable of the Prodigal Son". In each story, "Powder" and "The Prodigal Son", the sons did not like their father. In Powder, the father's son is starting to dislike him. You can tell this from the lines "“Buck up,” he said. “I’ll get you there. Right, doctor?” I was supposed to say, “Right, doctor,” but I didn’t say anything." (Wolff 1). This line shows the father is trying to rekindle their relationship by playing their old games. The son either has grown out of this phase of his life or
has gotten tired of this old game. This could show that as sons get older, they start to outgrow their fathers. This is also shown in "Parable of the Prodigal Son". In the Parable, the younger son told his father to give him his inheritance now. This meant that the younger son wanted his father dead now so he could inherit all that he could. This could mean that when sons reach a certain age, they start to not listen to or care less about their fathers.

In the moment when a son is starting to distrust or hate their father, a significant event must occur within the son's life. In the "Parable of the Prodigal Son", the father decided to allow his son take his wealth and go out to the world. Maybe the father knew this would teach the son a lesson that he needed. Another moment is seen in "Powder". In "Powder", the father calls the police to lead him away from a roadblock. He then begins to drive on a snowed out road. The father sees his son starting to fret when his hands start to shake, so the father decides to comfort him. These significant events could be simple to others, but to the sons, it is a turning point within their lives. At the end of each story, each son depends on their father and learns to trust him.
In the "Prodigal Son", the youngest son came home after forsaking his father, losing all his money, and starving and feeding pigs (the lowest job you could get). After his experience, he loved his father and knew he would have' to depend upon him for not just his wealth, but for his knowledge. This is also seen in "Powder". In "Powder", the father drives through a snowstorm and the son was terrified that they could not see the road. The son didn't think his father would be able to navigate through the storm. His father consolidates his son to calm his nerves.. The son talks to his dad and see how wise and calm he is. The son decides to relax and believe that his father can get him home
safely. Each story shows that as sons get older, there will be a time when they hate or even question their father. It is at these coming of ages when a significant event should occur within the son's life. Fathers must take action within these moments to show or prove that their son should respect them. The reason most fathers can accomplish this is because of their past experiences and their fathers that they have learned from. Fathers try to teach their sons based on their failures and accomplishments; it's up to the sons if they listen and learn.