The Last Game Vs. Reunion Contrast Essay

"The Last Game"

And

"Reunion"

Stories of Contrast

What is a father? A father is someone who is more than just a person who created you. A father is a person who should be a mentor to you and helps guide you through life. What isn't a father is one who simply puts their children aside to live their own lives and have no part in their children's life and growth. The stories I will be contrasting are "The Last Game," by Jan Weiner and "Reunion," by John Cheever. My first reason of contrast is that in "Last Game," the relationship between characters Jan Weiner and his father is that of mutual admiration in which the son had great respect for his, his pride and braveness of choice which is contrasted in "Reunion," as the son Charlie has feelings of disdain for his a father in that his father's actions were disappointing, disgraceful and selfish. My second reason of contrast is in "Last Game," Jan Weiner's father is dealing with political problems in that he lived in the time of the holocaust and was Jewish, consistently chased by Nazi's who forced him to make a tough decision on suicide as opposed to dying the Nazi way which is contrasted in "Reunion," where the father is dealing with psychological problems in that he is a drunk who's very obnoxious with an abusive mentality. My last reason of contrast of contrast is in "Last Game," there is a strong bond between Jan and his father where their sense of family was strong and they had a deep understanding for each other is contrasted in "Reunion," as there was a lack of a bond due to the father's arrogance and bad personality. I chose these three reasons because I believe they represent and answer the questions what is and isn't a father.

In my life there was this man who tried to be my father but never succeeded and this man is my actual father but I do admire him for not giving up hope in being my father to this day even though I've all but given up on him. The first reason of contrast between the stories "Last game" an "Reunion," involves the two son's views of their father in that in the first story it's a feeling of mutual admiration which the son Jan respects his father's pride and braveness of choice while in story two the son Charlie has feelings of disdain for his father in that his father's actions were disappointing, disgraceful, and selfish. I think this reason is important because it shows how a father should and should not present a view of himself to his child. What this reason means to me is that the picture you paint of yourself makes a drastic impact on what your child thinks of you. It might have a huge effect on what decisions the child will make in the future whether positive or negative. Mostly this reason might be what helps the child build a good morale and self-esteem. To further prove my reason I these quotes, from "Last Game," Jan Weiner says, "I would have liked to have begged my father no to leave me. But something in my father's face made me not plead. I knew he was right..." (p.4) and from "Reunion," when character Charlie says, "I felt he was my father, my flesh, my future, and my doom." (p.232)

When a person is aggressive and abusive they might be the one person who's holding their loved ones back while there are also people that go out of their way to be the type of presence their loved ones need in their lives to become better people. The second contrasting reason is in "Last Game," the son's father is dealing with political problems in that he's a Jew constantly being chased by Nazi's and had make an inevitable decision on how he wanted to die is contrasted in "Reunion," where the father is dealing with psychological problems in that he's a drunk who's very obnoxious with a mentality that enjoys abusing people verbally. I think this reason is important because it shows how a person can change by growing stronger or weaker given the situation that they find for themselves. What this reason means to me is that different circumstances might cause a person to completely change in the eyes of others. People see them as a better or worse person mainly due to the fact that different situations attribute them a different personality in a way. To prove further my reason, I offer these quotes, in "Last Game," the father says "To die our own way or theirs. We are trapped and I cannot run anymore..." (p.4) and in "Reunion," the father says obnoxiously,