Ferguson 5

Nicholas FergusonMr. McGrathAP English Literature and Composition23 February 2015Into the Wild: Fraternal RelationshipsThe relationship between a father and a son can be expressed as perhaps the most influential relationship that a man endures in his lifetime, both in thriving and unhealthy bonds. This is the relationship that influences a man and all other relationships that a man has throughout his existence. A strong father figure is important for a man to be able to mature into a man of strong character and a respectable citizen. In Jon Krakauers, Into the Wild, the relationship between Chris and Walt is the example of an unhealthy and feeble bond between father and son. Christopher McCandless begins to experience this weak bond with his father when he discovers that his father, Walter McCandless, has been not only unfaithful to his marriage with his mother, but also Christopher himself. He learns that his father has another family that he has kept under wraps since Chris birth. Once Christopher is aware of this devastating revelation, he starts to question his whole upbringing and his morals that were taught by his deceiving father. With this questioning come Chris doubts and insecurities with not only himself, but with his contact with the entire human race, McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as wellrelieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family (Krakauer 55). From this passage, we can also assume that this newly poisonous relationship with his father has given him a somewhat sardonic vibe as well as a sense of depression and gloom. Another example that proves that father figures are important in a mans life can be seen in the professional sports atmosphere. A prominent figure in the world of professional basketball is Lebron James. Recently, James was a free agent for the very first time in his career, meaning he could choose to either stay with his hometown team, the Cavaliers, or go elsewhere. James decided to make his gargantuan decision on live television in a two hour long broadcast cleverly entitled The Decision(Singh). James justification for having this show was that he was donating all the commercial proceeds to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. This false pretense of having a charity event appeared to be a social television event to selfishly raise self awareness of himself as a professional basketball play as well as a philanthropist. The stance and the manner in which James decided to release the hounds of his decision on the world was somewhat insincere and unprofessional. By his absolute choice, he left the team that revered and praised him in order to make headlines and for selfish and vindictive monetary reasons. One could infer that since James was raised solely by his mother alone and that he did not have a prominent father figure his whole life, that he was malnourished from the knowledge of manners and etiquettes in the professional business world. While Lebron James is still regarded as one of the best and most respected in his profession, this was a foolish faux pas and minute blunder in his career. If James had a supportive and prominent father figure in his early childhood, he wouldve had a more well rounded environment growing up with perspectives from two parental figures.Examples of how the relationship between a father and son can affect the outcome of an individuals life can also come from the 1949 Pulitzer Prize winner. In Arthur Millers, Death of a Salesman, the relationship between Willy and Biff is the example of a relationship of pressure and family honor. Not having a strong father figure himself, Willy struggles with his morals, this eventually leads to a breach in his relationship and leads to a sibling rivalry between Biff and Harold. Willys non-existent relationship with his father leads to a snowball affect with his children in the sense that Willy is harsher on them and their success in achieving what was known as the American Dream. This unsurprisingly causes mass amounts of friction between him and his sons. Willy describes the moment of his abandonment as, I never had a chance to talk to him and I still feelkind of temporary about myself (Miller 51). With that, an inference can be made that Willy hungered for a fraternal relationship that he felt empty and unsure without. All that Willy can ever know about his father come from his older brothers, Ben, recollections. In one of Willys hallucinate-like episodes, he imagines a meeting with Ben in which they talk of their father. Ben describes their father as, a very great and a very wild-hearted man. We would start in Boston, and hed toss the whole family into the wagonand all the Western states. And wed stop in towns and sell the flutes that hed made on the way. Great inventor, Father. With one gadget he made more in a week than a man like you could make in a lifetime (49). This imagery Ben paints shows that the boys indeed had a great respect for their father. The idea that Willy and Bens father was such a spending salesman had a strong and definite role in Willy selecting the same profession as well. Willys want and need to inspire his in own children in such a way is evident when he asks Ben to describe their father to his children, No, Ben! Please tell about Dad. I want my boys to hear. I want them to know the kind of stock they spring from. All I remember is a man with a big beard, and I was in Mammas lap, sitting around a fire, and some kind of high music (48).While having a strong fraternal figure in a individuals is not necessary for the success of that person; it does, however, ensure the exposure of more than one set of ideals, morals, and life skill. McCandless feeling the desperation of losing a detrimental father figure in his life caused him an abyss of emptiness in his life which led him to endure his famously fatal expedition. The same can be said for Willy and his sons. Willys absence of a fraternal figure led him to live an over dominating lifestyle over his wife and children which led to demise in all of their respective lives.

Works CitedKrakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Anchor Books, a division of Random House Inc, 1996. Print.

Miller, Arthur.All My Sons. New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1947. Print.

Singh, Joe. "Lebron James the Decision." The Huffington Post, 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. .