Mercedes
English 1101 – 07
Professor
March 4, 2011
Shelton vs. Travis Travis and his father have never seen eye to eye. Shelton once told Travis’s high school principal that he was “nothing but a bother from the day he was born” (Rash 7). This statement among other things has Travis convinced that his father wants nothing to do with him. Parents are supposed to support their kids and prepare them for the harshness of the world, but this is most certainly not the case with Shelton and Travis. Shelton makes his son feel worthless and unnecessary everyday of his life. Is this cruelty a form of affection or a direct admission of hatred? As far as Travis is concerned, his father would be perfectly content if he didn’t exist. Shelton …show more content…

Some also feel that they have to show others that they are doing a good job as parents. Refusing to acknowledge that they may be having a tough time as parents, they take out their frustrations on the children”(Scott). This could explain his coldness towards Travis. He could see it as a form of “tough love,” a way to harden a son who favored his mother. The problem with this is Shelton does not know how to show tough love without ostracizing his son. Shelton may feel that he is instilling the right morals and values in his son, but in reality all he does is make Travis feel less than what he is, especially when he hears Shelton make remarks like this: “Puny and sickly as a baby and nothing but trouble since” (Rash 7). Shelton was probably raised with a firm hand as well and was never emotionally attached to his father. He could actually care deeply for Travis but his callousness prevents him from showing that love. Either way, Travis has never felt any closeness with his father and probably never will. Travis and his father have a very unhealthy relationship. “Being raised by an abusive father is perhaps the most traumatic experience that any child can go through. Unhealthy parent-child relationships can result equally from parents being too hard or too soft, too far or too close, too biased or too objective”(William). Shelton never shows his son any type of affection and it has had a definite impact on