Manhood and expectations: an analysis of Rob and Mr. Willison

Rob is insecure and faint when he has to say what’s on his mind because he doesn’t tell his father, Mr Willison, that he doesn’t want to do sports teams and gain his ambitions for him to be an athlete. But he wants to make his father proud of his son. Rob just goes with the flow, so he doesn’t have to make a big deal out of telling Mr Willison how he feels. “I forgot to tell you, though,” said Rob. “I was selected for the boxing team.” “You were? I didn’t know the school had one.” It’s new. Just formed. They had some trials for it at the end of last term. I found my punching was better than most people’s because I’d been getting plenty practice with the ball.” (p. 4 l. 89-92) He has to be more mature instead of being quite. Rob can’t stand up for himself and he can’t tell his father the truth about how he really feels, then he ends up lying about he got selected for the boxing team at school, instead of being honest about how he feels about athletics. He can’t gain Mr Willison’s expectations about his son, which is set up really high. Because Mr Willison never got the opportunity to be active, because he always had to study when he was in Rob’s age. Then now he is living his dream through his son, so he can experience what he never had the chance to experience and what it’s like to be active in Rob’s age. “You never did anything of that kind when you were a boy. How do you know exactly what can be reasonably-” “Now look,” said Mr Willison again. “When I was a boy, it was study, study, study all the time, with the fear of unemployment and insecurity in everyone’s mind. I was never able to do anything to develop my physique. It was just work, work, work, pass this exam, get that certificate.” (p. 2 l. 53-57). Mr Willison is pushing his son as much as he can, then Rob ends up getting too exhausted and sore in every bone of his body. Mr Willison has too high expectations about Robs physically and he doesn’t know when it’s too much for a boy like Rob because Mr Willison doesn’t have knowledge about being physical at a young age. Which makes him as bad to Rob just like when Rob is lying to him about the boxing team. So the relationship between Rob and his father isn’t the most real and bonding relationship. Then they both are misunderstanding each other. Rob thinks his father expects him to like being active and his father thinks that Rob expects him to like being active. All this happens because they can’t be truly honest with each other. So Rob does athletics and biking because his father has high ambitions with him and Rob won’t make his father disappointed, which lead their relationship to a kind of fake relationship. “Have you got the right person?” “You teach my son, Rob - we’ve just agreed on that. Well, it’s about the boxing tournament he’s supposed to be taking part in tonight.” “Where?” “Where? At the school, of course. He’s representing the under-fifteens.” There was a pause. “I’m not quite sure what mistake you’re making, Mr Willison, but I think you’ve got hold of the wrong end of at least one stick.” (p. 7 l. 178-182) They both are not being honest and realistic to each other but in two different ways. It seems like they both set a facade up to make each other think that they like being active.