The word father in the story has two meanings. First, it implies the love and protection of his biological father. Kevin’s father is a cheerful man who is always willing to help his son and provides a warm and loving home. Kevin’s teacher, on the other hand, is a cold man who ridicules Kevin. The author uses these two “fathers” to develop the theme of fatherly love in the story. Father Waldo represents discipline, restrictions, and strict social hierarchy. At school Kevin is encouraged to be ashamed of his father because of his lack of education and job as a barman. Ironically it’s his father and family who encourage him to value his education:
“We never got the chance,” his mother would say to him. “It wouldn’t have done me much good but your father could have bettered himself. He’d be teaching or something now instead of serving behind a bar. He could stand up with the best of them.”
Thus the author is setting up a choice for Kevin to make. He can choose to reject his roots and embrace the social order of the school or cling to his place as a member of the family. Kevin makes his choice in the end, when he lies to his father to protect him from the shame of not having the correct answers.
BRAINLIEST PLEASE!!!!????
"John, are you certain you understand?" Emily asked.
I inferred this to be the paragraph where the expression was taken from;
"No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river. All the value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. Since those days, I have pitied doctors from my heart. <em>What does the lovely flush in a beauty's cheek mean to a doctor but a "break" that ripples above some deadly disease? Are not all her visible charms sown thick with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay? Does he ever see her beauty at all, or doesn't he simply view her professionally, and comment upon her unwholesome condition all to himself? And doesn't he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade?."</em>
<u><em>Explanation</em></u>:
There is a reasonable possibility that the expression "<em>break</em>" is referring to a break or shift in perception a doctor may have for a patient who has a lovely smile but is suffering from a deadly disease.
In other words, what he sees may trigger a mental shift in his perception, which is highlighted on the statement made further in the paragraph which says; "Are not all her visible charms sown thick with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay?." Meaning the Doctor has gotten a "break" and thus no longer sees the beauty in the patient.
Answer:
I do. My grades are fairly decent.
