The father-son relationship

The father in Manning's essay is not the type of individual who can verbally express his emotions. His son even informs readers that "love was a rare expression between us" (150). Instead, the father uses physical means to reveal his love to his son, such as arm wrestling. Many readers may think that a physical game might not be the best way to show love to someone, however, they are mistaken. My response is that even though his father could have shown him some emotion of love, it's understandable that he acted that way towards Manning. The father-son relationship is very complicated, and when it comes to showing any kind of emotion or even love, many fathers or sons don't even do it. However many times sports such as baseball can be perfect for a father and son. A father taking his son for his first baseball game can be the defining moment for their relationship and will foreshadow how they will connect in the future.  In Manning's case, his father's way of showing love was during their arm wrestling match. Even though Manning wasn't able to understand it at a young age, he was able to learn as he got older. In the end although his father never said "I love you" he had showed it in a unique way that can be only seen in a father-son relationship.