Putting Daddy On by Tom Wolfe

This essay, Putting Daddy On, by Tom Wolfe, describes a father whose son, Ben, has dropped out of a prestigious university to live in the slums and, in the father's eyes, waste his life and his potential. The author was described by Kurt Vonnegut as "a genius who will do anything to get attention." Wolfe also influenced a movement in journalism in which literary devices are used to present objective stories, and this essay falls under that technique. The characters in this essay demonstrate a father's desire to stay relevant and fit in with his own social crowd, while still wanting to be relevant to his own son; however, his son is beginning to find his own life and doesn't want to be tied down by his father. The time period reflects these changes and revolutions in their relationships. It was written in 1964, the beginning of the "cultural decade" of The Sixties, which was the start of civil rights and gay rights movements, as well as a revolution in music.

The author introduces a character who uses rhetorical devices in his own speech, who uses a lot of "ironic metonymy and metaphor" (280). The essay ends on a metaphor, when Parker says, "I couldn't say anything to him...I couldn't make anything skip across the pond" (287). It instills the sense of a large distance between father and son, one which cannot be crossed easily or reliably. The audience of this essay is the people who are of the same demographic as the main character, Parker. They are getting older and having difficulty coping with the rapid changes in society and those around them. Parker understands everything, but doesn't want to accept the motives behind why his son is breaking off from him.

I think that Tom Wolfe did a good job of creating relatable characters to express the desire to connect during a time when your own and your loved ones' interests are changing. The father's exasperation and the son's embarrassment are elements that exist in nearly all familial relationships. Anyone can learn from and appreciate the message of this essay.

Skipping stones across a pond requires more precision and intuitive understanding than Ben and his father have in their relationship.
source: http://www.alanbray.com/images/SkippingStones.jpg