Father And Son

• "The gun under his pillow"


  • violence/tension/conflict
  • Shows that the son is always paranoid and the father is worried about it then he finds a gun under his pillow
• "My son is breaking my heart"

  • relationships
  • emphasises the pain and suffering his son is causing him
• "You think the world is waiting around the corner to blow your head off"


  • irony
  • relationship, communication, violence/conflict/tension
  • the fact that the son dies on the threshold of the house reveals there is no real escape from the violence of the city, even in the place where the father thinks he and his son are the safest
• "the weeds have taken over"

  • extended metaphor; their broken relationship
  • relationship, communication
  • no growth now or way forward all that remain is negative between the father and son
  • suggests that the son thinks his father has given up/is not trying to fix their relationship
• "you are not badly hurt"


  • conflict/tension/relationships
  • the quote shows the false calm at his sons death as he tries to convince himself his son is not dead and doesn't want to think about his sons death anytime soon
• "he used to take me fishing"


  • relationships
  • son is reminiscing on happier times of his childhood memories
• "what's it to you"


  • relationship, communication
  • his sons answers are never nice and he is always very snappy towards his father
• "wake up son"


  • relationship, communication
  • characterisation
  • the characters don't call each other by name, highlights the distance between characters
• "i taught him how to tie a blood knot"


  • relationships
  • the father reminisces on a time when him and his son were close and spent time together
  • the blood knot symbolises their relationship as they cannot be separated even though there is no communication there
  • it also symbolises the fathers attachment to the past (his wife, his relationship with his wife etc)
• "then on the radio, i hear he is dead"


  • violence/tension/conflict
  • the foreshadowing shows that father is constantly imagining his son is dead and in the end this is unavoidable
• "wash your mouth out"

  • communication, relationship
  • irony: this shows that the father has no control or authority over his son
  • the son despises his fathers new role which his father has assumed (irony has been caused by the sons actions) and the son responds by swearing which becomes increasingly abusive as his frustration continues
• " i had to collect you like a dog"


  • relationship, communication
  • simile shows the reader just how low the boy had sunk
  • he had become an animal: wild and feral but also needing to be tamed and cared for
  • foreshadowing
• "my son with his friends. talking"

  • relationships, communication
  • irony
  • the father is jealous of his son talking to his friends instead of confiding in him
  • however in the end they are the ones who kill him
• "its none of your fucking business"


  • relationship, communication
  • shows that the son doesn't treat his father with respect
• "talk to me son"


  • relationship, communication
  • emphasises the strong feelings of jealousy the father has towards the sons friend because he wont speak to him that way
• "let me put my arm around you"

  • communication, relationship
  • juxtaposition of narratives
  • in the stark contrast to the sons view, the father only wants to comfort and care for his son
  • however he can only comfort and embrace his son after his death
• "the sound of the ambulances criss-crosses the dark"


  • conflict/tension/violence Setting
  • foreshadows the sons death
  • shows the father cares about his sons health and wellbeing -MacLaverys use of alliteration to create the harsh ’c‘ sound to reflect the harsh environment the father and son are living in
• "let me put my arm around you"


  • relationship
  • shows how strong the fathers desire is to be close to his son
  • increases sympathy from readers
• "by your bed a hatchet"


  • violence/conflict/tension
  • foreshadowing
  • the fathers need to keep a weapon near shows he lives in fear and feels the need to protect himself
  • MacLaverty obviously wants the reader to be aware that the characters constantly live in fear and that their lifes are in danger
• “By your bed a hatchet“ + ‘he pushes a hand gun beneath his pillow“


  • Relationships, conflict/tension/violence
  • both items tell us that the father and son live in fear and feel the need to protect themselves
  • maclaverty wants us to be aware that the characters lives are at danger, and that violence is a very real threat to them
• “ where are you going today“ “what’s it to you”


  • Relationship, communication
  • Clipped pointless conversation shows the distance between them
  • their questions within their conversation symbolise the unknown/void between them (they both want eachother to make an effort but unsure when/how to)
• “He takes up the paper between him and his father“


  • relationship
  • the paper acts as a physical barrier between the pair
  • symbolises the distance between them and the sons effort to keep his father out of his personal life
• “an old woman”


  • Relationship
  • juxtaposition of narratives
  • characterisation
  • The son views his father this way in his internal thoughts
  • MacLaverty clearly shows the sons dislike towards his father as he takes on the role of his mother
  • but leaves some narrative hidden (how the mother died)
  • this use of characterisation shows the father being described as a woman and suggests that the son doesn’t have a male role model in his life
• “I pulled you away from death once“


  • Relationship
  • characterisation
  • This shows his fears are justified as sons association with drugs have been near fatal before
  • helps us have sympathy for his overprotective nature
• “ why don’t you tell me where you go“


  • communication, relationship
  • the father is trying to understand his son and break the barrier that has formed between them but is faced with aggression (abusive answers and accusation of interference) from his son in return
  • feel pity and sympathy for the father as we hear the sons thoughts in his narrative
  • the father is trying everything to talk to his son and we can understand why he is so worried and frustrated he is as his son has been involved with drugs before, and how he is again secretive and withdrawn
• “Look da, i haven’t touched the stuff since i came back”


  • Relationship
  • feel pity and sympathy for the father as we hear the sons thoughts in his narrative
  • the father is trying everything to talk to his son and we can understand why he is so worried and frustrated he is as his son has been involved with drugs before, and how he is again secretive and withdrawn
• “are you hurt“


  • Relationship, conflict/tension/violence
  • The father is in denial and doesn’t want to accept his son is dead
• “the door shudders as he leaves“


  • Intense personification of relationship transferred onto the house
  • relationship, communication
  • setting
  • The sounds of the house are used to punctuate the silence as the father and son do not talk much
• “I sleep with daylight. It is safe”


  • Violence/tension/conflict
  • emphasises how scary and violent the war torn city that they live in is
• “dull like a garden slug“


  • relationship, conflict/tension/violence
  • Just like a slug is dull and disgusting so too is the sons face showing how ill he is
• “The news begins“


  • Conflict/tension/violence
  • hints something bad will happen as we have already seen the father imagining he watched the news and sees his son dead
  • helps create a moving and shocking climax to the story
• “I had to go collect you. Like a dog”


  • Relationship, conflict/violence/tension
  • Simile
  • shows the father no longer trusts his son and worries that he will end up back where he started (on the brink of death)