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This is for English A30, guys. Almost done!!! :D You may read if you like; I'm really proud of it.
A Relationship At Its Worst
An English A30 Analysis Report
By
Alyssa Niekamp
English A30
Cyber School Department
Located at Holy Cross High School
For
Mr. K. Nordick
Monday, June 27th, 2005
Mr. Solchuk and his son Nick have a irreparable relationship. Only by death will they come together and Nick will realize all too late his love for his father is true and by neglecting their relationship will only make his grieving time more traumatic.
This story is about a man who gets taught at a young age that the earth is flat. He chooses to believe it for the rest of his life. It is the cause of future unrest with his son. When Nick’s father learned of his son studying that the earth is round in school, he was so threatened that he took it upon himself to beat his son to the point where his wife had to stop the violence. The father was clearly overreacting, but on the other hand, his lifelong beliefs were about to be shattered. The truth of the matter is the father and the son’s relationship was the thing that became shattered.
This story has two storylines to it. On the one hand, the son is reaching out to his father through his friend, showing that he is concerned and still loves him. On the other hand, the father speaks of his son, still today with questions and uncertainty, about his feelings for him. These two storylines are tied together through a father/son relationship that is unspoiled by time and distance. They both truly love each other, but do not make a strong effort to physically connect. The question remains why do these estranged relationships, remain so, even though there’s still a strong connection between the two. From reading about the way the father and son speak about one another, a reunion is probably unlikely. The father will die first and the son will be left with regrets and deep sorrow.
Mr. Solchuk held on to his beliefs about a flat earth because he learned in his youth to respect and believe everything taught to him by people of authority. In his case, a priest had taught him his own beliefs as he had learned as a young boy. In this story, there is the quote “God had made this earth especially for man and man’s function was to perpetuate himself and to worship God.” 1 To question the fact that the earth is flat would be undoing many trusts and beliefs in his youth. The father’s relationship with God was personal and undeniable.
Upon coming to Canada, he carried with him the heart and soul of his home country. To question what he had learned as a small child would be questioning his own identity. This is such a fearful place to go that he simply demands that the earth is flat, so that he does not have to go through other painful questions that he does not want to even think about trying to answer. It is easier to live an easy peaceful life without wondering the why’s or the how’s of the world. His occupation as a farmer enabled him to keep his beliefs without having several other interferences in his thoughts. However, he has lost one of the most important relationships of his life due to his stubbornness. The lost love of a child is something no one can ever can ever replace.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kreisel, Henry . The Broken Globe. Pg. 2, Par. 1.