This is an analysis of the short story “Braces” by Nick Werber.
The story begins with Nick lying in his grandfather’s surgery office where his grandfather checks his teeth. The words used by Nick to describe the event indicates that the experience is a bit unpleasant and uncomfortable; His grandfather yanks (l.2), prods (l. 2), jabs (l. 5), and scrapes (l.9) at his teeth. However, Nick does not complain to his grandfather or tell his father about how he felt, which suggests that he does not share his feelings with them. After the checkup on his teeth he goes into the living to watch the grand prix with his dad, however he quickly becomes bored, and starts looking around on the decorations. He spots his favorite, a silver statue of a boxer. Nick does not know if his grandfather won the statute himself, so he asks his father, but the father is too occupied watching the grand prix. This suggests that Nick does not know a lot about his Grandfathers youth and their relationship is not close.’
In addition to this point is does the narrator also create a lot of contrast between the father-son relationships to highlight the differences between Nick’s father and grandfather’s understanding of their role as fathers. This also shows how two opposite approaches to raising your son can lead to a lacking father-son relationship. An example could be that Nick’s father and Nick’s grandfather value different things in life, which also affects their behavior as father figures. Nick’s grandfather values science and education, which is why he forces his own son to give up acting and choose a respectable profession. It also seems that he places no value on emotions, talent, and dreams, which hurts the relationship with his son. He does not approve his son’s decision to become an actor later in life. Which ends up having a huge effect on Nick life. Nicks father wants his son to be creative and wants him to follow his dreams, since his own father didn’t allow him to follow his dream of becoming an actor.
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