The social interaction that is more pronounces in the book by Ian is the interaction between Ian, his father, and mother. in the book, Ian paints the picture of a family that is disintegrated and live in fear. Ian’s father being an alcoholic and abusive at the same time makes him be feared by both him and his mother. in the book, Ian writes about instances where they had to play while being careful not to make any noise. At the same time, Ian points out days when he had to tiptoe while in the house to avoid waking up his father who come back home late and drunk and is now resting.
Another social interaction issues that I noted in this book is the fact that Ian feels that his father is not emotionally and physically in his life. His father lacks the interest and needs to show that he valued his son and loved him. This made Ian try many things in his life as a child to get the interest of his father in vain. Ian becomes a bad boy with the bid to try and get his father’s attention in vain. On the other hand, he tried and become the best in academic but his father could not show concern. This made Ian’s self-esteem to reduce and had the feeling that he was not visible and important. Due to his father lack of attention Ian spends most of his time trying to get the attention of other and also to be accepted and loved by others.
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On the other hand, his mother in the book is depicted to be loving and careering. This is most noted when Ian’s father is out of work and she decided to go work so that they can pay bills and put food on their table. In one of the scenes of the book, his mother takes him out on a rollercoaster ride. This is a good turn of events and it takes us from the dark heartbreaking experience of Ian’s childhood and to a bright more positive side. This expressed hope and compassion that was important in shaping the life of the author. However, this did not make the author forget about the mistreatment of his father and the lack of love. Pointing out to the fact that for a child to develop a good social interaction and self-appreciation it’s a collective responsibility of the family and cannot be done by one parent.
The family is one of the most important social force. The family will transmit to the children the values that are considered important, behavior, skills and attitudes. Additionally, other social forces such as the church and friend will play a role in shaping the behavior and believes of an individual as they grow up. In the case of Ian the socialization factor that played an important role in how he saw himself as the family. This is due to his father’s lack of interest and love Ian felt that he was worthless and had to do something for his father and mother to recognize and come close to him. Additionally, the fact that his father was an alcoholic could have contributed to him being an alcoholic as he grew up. This can be because he thought alcohol was cool as that is what he learned from his father as a child. Another thing is that when Ian tries to get the attention of his father he tries to be a bad boy which was mostly influenced by the family, in this case, his father.
The most important scene in the book when the author explains in details the physical and emotional abuse he endured from his drunken father. Additionally, this scene is more important as Ian described his own struggle with alcoholism as he suffered at night and in the morning after drinking. This paints a picture of a son who is under the control of the ghosts that controlled and haunted his father. This scene is important as it points out how the family is important in shaping the future behavior of the children. Additionally, this scene points out the struggles of the author in his spiritual journey and how hard it was considering his background and the way his father treated him as a child.
This scene additionally points to the role of the father in the life of the son. This is because in many cases the son will mirror the actions of the father. The father in a family as depicted in this book is equated to the center of gravity. This is seen in the book when the author tries in all way to try and get the attention of his father and when he fails he equates his life as a person who started his life without a center of gravity. Furthermore, this scene is important as it shows that one should not be enslaved to their past. This is well illustrated in the book by the fact that the author later overcomes his dark past and struggled and abandoned his alcoholic behavior. When he managed to abandon his alcoholic life is showed that no one is bound to their past as one has the ability how they want to live their lives regardless of their past experiences.
The theme of seeing more clearly has been best illustrated by the written of the novel. The novel in illustrating this theme tries to depict the picture where on the surface the action of the family might be simple and with no consequence to the child but in the real sense, it has a big effect to the way the child will grow and the behavior of the child as they grow up. This novel additionally enables us to see clearly the struggle of children living in abusive families where they feel that they are not valued and loved. Furthermore, this novel reminds us that in the life of a person there are struggles that will make you feel the presence of God and will enable you to see more and more clearly his deeds and his favor upon a person life. To top to that this novel makes use see clearly that one should not be enslaved by their past as every situation in life can be changed if a person trusts in God and puts in efforts to change. However, it also points out that in some cases a person can doubt the existence of God due to lack of the ability to see and see clearly what God has done for them or what he is preparing them for. Finally to reflect on the theme of seeing more, more clearly the author’s story points out that it is alright to go through the troubles of life and that this journey cannot be taken alone. To add to this it describes how sometimes people cope with this difficult situation and accept the complexity of their own existence.
Reference
Cron, I. M., & Stabile, S. (2016). The Road Back to You Study Guide . InterVarsity Press.
