The Theme of Filial Love in Tobias’ Wolff’s “Powder”

The Theme of Filial Love in Tobias’ Wolff’s “Powder”

            Tobias Wolff’s short story “Powder” depicts a rough connection between a father and their child. As observed through the child’s viewpoint, the father is attempting to make a superior association with him by taking him on a skiing trip before Christmas. Wolff uses the idea of filial love to delineate the father and child’s relationship.  Despite the fact that these two characters are direct inverses, the affection between the father and the child abrogates majority of their family issues. Throughout the “Powder” story, Wolff uses the theme of filial love to show how a child needs their father’s love for self-identity and the way a father’s love influences their child.

The story by Wolff starts with a conflict where the boy’s mother does not want the child to be taken for the trip. Wolff presents the mother’s anxiety by saying, “He promised, hand on heart, to take good care of me and have me home for dinner on Christmas Eve, and she relented,” (Wolff, 1). This shows that the mother is giving the child’s father one final opportunity to make the best decision and to not allow them to down. Generally, the child’s mother is a character who aches to have confidence in affection. All through the story, it is conspicuous that the partition of the father’s folks significantly influences the child. The child is significantly different from his father and appears to not completely confide in him. Wolff states concerning the child, “I should state, “Right, specialist,” however I did not utter a word” (Wolff, 1). This shows the child is unsure about their relationship and is attempting to gradually disconnect himself from his father due to how the child’s mother feels about the child’s father. The child is endeavoring to satisfy the two guardians however his reliability stays with his mom.

The blizzard that the father and his child experience is used to symbolize their relationship. The tempest reflects the relationship of the father and child; for instance, as the relationship declines, so does the tempest. At the start of the story, the father and his child are sharing clumsy minutes and their strain is incredibly high. While this is occurring, the blizzard is heightening, and a cop tells the father that the street back home is shut. The father continues to go not far off to spare their relationship and at whatever point this occurs, the snow “lessens and becomes lighter” (Wolff, 1). Generally, the child’s father is determined to make the trip successful for the child despite the challenges faced.

The snow additionally depicts how the father and child cannot see where their relationship is going. This boundary is not just obvious; but also, it is in their psyches. The father and the child are physically experiencing issues seeing where the vehicle is going. Since the father is illicitly driving in the appalling climate, they are likewise rationally experiencing issues seeing where their relationship is advancing. The father and child ca not anticipate what is coming down the road; they should take on what is directly before them. The reaction of both characters shows that a wide range of connections will be troublesome on occasions and what is to come is not constantly unmistakable. However, love will always unite individuals and help them get past their issues.

The roadblock symbolizes the relationship between the father and his son. For instance, at whatever point the father was told the shocking news, he started to consider what the outcomes would be in the event that he did not recover his child in time. Subsequent to thinking about his outcomes, he told the child “I want us all to be together again” and went down the road even though it was closed (Wolff, 1). At the point when this occurred, the father and his child at long last began to interface and the child started to regard his father. The child, who is OCD, thinks ahead, and is an organizer, thus starts to respect the attributes of his father. Also, the child starts to comprehend that it is alright to be unconstrained and make the right decision at the time and not think about the results. The father has instructed his child that not all things are arranged and to appreciate life regardless of what occurs. This delineates love in light of the fact that only a few relationships are flawless and issues will emerge, yet that does not imply that the individuals disregard the terrible or the distinctions; in some cases, it is ideal to confront the issues head on.

Wolff ends the short story by stating that, “if you have not driven fresh powder, you have not driven”, which metaphorically shows how the boy has changed throughout the story (Wolff, 3). The child was an organizer and adhered to the principles, however before the end of the story, he was impacted by his defiant father. The father helped his child get through his shell and start to carry on with his life without limit. Before the finish of the story, it is obvious the child has changed his mentality towards his father by this difference in tone. The child’s tone from the start was punctilious and brimming with scorn when he discussed with his father concerning sneaking him into the club. However, after the skiing trip, the child expresses that he “trusted” his father’s driving and that “the best was yet to come” (Wolff, 3).  Moreover, love appears as a universal theme that is best revealed through differences and challenges.

Love is a universal theme that can best be revealed through differences and challenges. In this short story, Wolff embodies the topic of obedient love using imagery, for example, the blizzard, day off, and a barricade. Every one of these conditions filled in as preliminaries for the characters; in any case, it did not destroy them. The obvious association before the finish of the short story shows how genuine romance can abrogate family issues.

In sum, Wolff uses the theme of filial love to show how a child needs their father’s love for self-identity and the way a father’s love influences their child. Moreover, love appears as a universal theme that is best revealed through differences and challenges. Generally filial love is used to express the role of family relationships in the development of children.

Work Cited:

Wolff, Tobias. “Powder.” N.p., n.d. Web.