English 102 Assignment: Critical Analysis of 'Discovery of a Father'

This essay provides a critical analysis of Sherwood Anderson's "Discovery of a Father." The paper begins with an introduction that summarizes the story, which revolves around the complex relationship between a father and son. The main body delves into the father's character as a storyteller, examining his exaggerated narratives and the son's evolving perception of him. The analysis explores the use of symbolism, particularly setting, to convey the hardships faced by the family. It also discusses how the son's view of his father changes as he witnesses his father's resilience in the face of adversity and his efforts to provide for the family. The essay concludes by reiterating the story's themes of family relationships, hardship, and the changing perspectives between a father and son. The essay utilizes the provided sources to support its arguments and provide a well-rounded analysis.

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Critical analysis of Sherwood Anderson’s “Discovery of a Father.”
Introduction
Sherwood Anderson was a great American writer and a family man, who’s “Discovery of a
Father” can be considered as the master piece of English literature. Entire story revolves
round the relationship in between father and son, which is the strongest relationship that
exists in earth (Anderson, 21). The aim of this paper is to make critical analysis of Discovery
of a Father by Sherwood Anderson. Full summary of the story will be presented in the paper.
Analysis of the character of boy’s father as a story teller and the changes of perception of boy
towards his father will also be presented in the paper.
Main discussion
"Discovery of a Father" is the story that deals with the relationship in between father
and his son, which is the strongest relationship in earth. Here, the son as the author himself is
ashamed by his father, who is highly inclined towards showing off instead of being dignified
and silent (Shi and Hui). One of the most striking feature of the character of boy’s father is
that he is highly willing towards story telling. He loves to tell stories about himself and civil
war. It is imperative to note here that the stories, which he used to tell are not true at all, still
they loves to tell the stories. In the beginning of the story, the son avoided appreciating his
father. In the story, Anderson was not liking his father as the story teller and the way, through
which he used to say wrong about his nationality and civil war. However, in the story,

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Anderson also presented how his father had worked relentlessly at the time of toil and
hardship, faced by his family. The main subject matter of the story is how the perception of
son towards his father has changed over the passage of time. In the story, the author had used
symbolisms very beautifully in order to present real life situation. For instance, setting is one
of the most popular symbolisms, used in the story (Dugan and Penelope). Apparently, the
meaning of setting is the wet night, through which the author had actually presented the
difficulties, which they met in every aspect of life. By the end of the story, the author has
showed how his father even after facing failure, had managed to earn their regular staffing,
which had changed the boy’s perception towards his father.
In the story, the boy as the author had presented the character of his father as the story
teller, who loves to tell story about himself and the civil war. The stories, told by him was not
true, however, he loved to tell them anyway. The stories, which he used to say about the
nation were not at all true. It is important to note in this context that in the story, Anderson
had presented his father as not a good story teller (Dodson and James). His father was
extremely unconcerned and hadn’t acknowledged the fact that story telling was his real
calling. In order to earn the regular earnings, the son’s father had become a professional liar
instead of being a story teller, where it is difficult to separate truth and lie. It is to be noted in
this context that throughout the story, numerous toil and hardships have been faced by the
son’s father in order to earn their regular staffing.
At the end of the story, the readers can see how the son’s perception changes over the
passage of time. In the story, the father was truly a brave hearted man, who can work
relentlessly even in the hard times. One of the most significant parts of the character of the
son’s father is that he was very much fond to exaggerate the story as the own literary devise.
This characteristic trait had helped him to be the central character of the story (Bunge and
Nancy). His father, through the act of storytelling had actually become the liar for the sake of
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earning the regular earnings. By telling the exaggerated story, the son’s father had become a
comic character, who is not afraid towards making himself fool in order to entertain other.
For the capability of entertainment, the son’s father had earned much love from the
town’s people. But he was mortified. The son was not liking the father from the very
beginning. He was not liking his father for the way, through which he used to tell stories. But
eventually, he starts to like his father. He starts to like the way, through which he earns in
order to manage their regular livelihood even in the most difficult time (Luria and Rachel). At
the hard times, when the family of the boys was in "down and out”, the son’s family had put
his best effort in order to earn the regular livelihoods. This activity of the father had attracted
the son most, which eventually changed his perception towards his father. At that time, his
father used to take very less week offs, contrary to which the son’s mother had put his full
effort for the sake of feeding her family. The factors that had attracted the son towards his
father is that he had sacrificed his family life for the sake of feeding his family. At a rainy
night, when the son’s mother was away from home, his father has put himself and they both
swam together (Gale). This is climax of the story, where the son had explored a feeling of
closeness towards his father. At that time, the son’s perception towards his father was
changed.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that Sherwood Anderson’s Discovery of a Father is a story that
deals with the toil and hardship, which the people face in the way of earning their regular
livelihoods. This is the story about father and her son, which is the strongest relationship
around the world. It is the true that, earlier the boy used to hate his father due to his nature of
exaggerating story. By the end of the story, the readers can see how the son is exploring a
feeling of closeness towards his father.
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Works cites
Anderson, Sherwood. "Discovery of a Father." Reader's Digest 35 (1939): 21.
Bunge, Nancy. "Anderson, Sherwood." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. 2017.
Dodson, James. Final rounds: A father, a son, the golf journey of a lifetime. Bantam, 2017.
Dugan, Penelope. "The Story of My Father: A Memoir, and: Assembling My Father: A
Daughter's Detective Story." Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction 8.1 (2006): 157-159.
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Sherwood Anderson's" Sophistication". Gale,
Cengage Learning, 2016.
Luria, Rachel. "Sherwood Anderson’s Legacy to Contemporary American Writing."
Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio. Brill Rodopi, 2016. 107-120.
Shi, Hui. "Reconciliation in a Hug: On Discovery of a Father from Archetypal Approach."
4th International Symposium on Social Science (ISSS 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018.
Williams, Keith. "Remembering the lost father of American science fiction–and his Scottish
roots." (2017).
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