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On Wednesday we discussed in my group the relationship between Henry and his father as being one of the more significant themes of the novel so far. In my opinion, I feel that Henry’s relationship to his father is the basis for the rest of his relationships throughout his life, especially the relationship he has with his wife, Lelia. For example, the night Henry’s father comes home bloodied and beaten after his store was robbed is a good place to start when looking at how Henry has so much trouble opening up to Lelia. When Henry’s dad comes home he wants nothing to do with Henry and his mom at first and just wants to deal with his pain by himself. “He came in and went straight up to the bedroom and shut and locked the door. My mother ran to it poundng the wood and sobbing for him to let her in so she could help him. He wouldn’t answer (56)”. This scene is similar to the scene involving Henry and Lelia in bed together shortly after Mitt’s death. Henry cannot sleep because he is so upset at himself for having lost his child, and all he can do is allow his mind to wander and sort through his own personal pain. Lelia is able to sense this and she reaches over to him and grabs his hand hoping to get him to open up to her. However, instead of opening up to her he just holds her hand, and forgets about his pain until she falls asleep so he can grieve by himself and on his own terms. Henry and his father are very similar in the way that neither of them wants to let anyone know their true emotions, and that they want to keep all their hurt inside so they do not appear weak in front of others.
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