Furthermore, Father has to care for Christopher with no help. This itself is a tiresome task as Christopher is a delicate and different boy. Despite his needs, Christopher does seem to notice Father’s care for him. This is shown when Christopher says to himself “Father looks after me when I get into trouble, like coming to the police station, and he looks after me by cooking meals for me, and he always tells me the truth.” It shows that Christopher understands how much Father cares and does for him. The fact that Christopher thinks this, stresses the fact how much Father does for him. Father also tries to entertain Christopher by taking him to places on the weekends. It says “then, because it was Saturday he said he was going to take me on an expedition.” This shows that Father doesn’t want Christopher to be bored on the weekends and that Father wants to have fun with Christopher. It also says that Father wants to do things with Christopher and again displays their fondness for each other, and how tight their father to son bond is. Overall it shows how much Father’s cares for him and how he wants time to enjoy with him.
Father always tries to make up for things he might have done in the past. We see this when he says “I’ve got you a present. To show that I really mean what I say. And to say sorry.” Here we see how sorry Father is towards Christopher. He shows this by buying him a dog (the present). We also see a bit of desperation because he hopes the present will encourage Christopher to gain trust in him and to believe he meant no harm. By keeping Christopher’s dog at Father’s house, Father can try to rebuild his bond with Christopher. Also, Father doesn’t want to be separated from Christopher and he always wants to make up with him. We see this when he says “You have to learn to trust me… And I don’t care how long it takes.” Firstly, we see that Father wants to gain Christopher’s trust so that he and Christopher can make amends so that they can become father and son like they used to be. Next, Father says he doesn’t care how long it takes, which suggests he is willing to wait and work with Christopher, so they can build up their friendship. Also, while saying this, Father pauses and then carries on speaking. This pause shows that Father is picking his words carefully so that Christopher understands what he is saying. However many mistakes Father has made, it all shows that Father doesn’t want to lose Christopher and that he loves him a lot.
On the other hand, Father can lose his temper and sometimes his anger can spill out and affect Christopher. In this quotation Father got really angry with Christopher. He hits him because he finds out Christopher has been investigating the murder of Wellington, the dog. We see this when he says “But Father didn’t let go, and he was shouting. And I hit him again. And then I didn’t know what I was doing any more.” Although, it doesn’t say it, we can gather from this quotation that Father knocked Christopher out. Father’s actions show that he was furious with Christopher and even though Father is a level headed person, it seems even he can lose his temper with Christopher. Father could have caused Christopher a serious injury. The writer put Father’s loss of temper in the book to show that Christopher is a very heavy burden for Father to carry and causes Father a lot of stress. Although, it doesn’t say it but I think Father has a lot of thoughts in his mind. First of all, the caring for Christopher his huge task for Father to do. Next, he is filled with bitter and resentful thoughts of Mrs and Mr Shears and Mother. All these thoughts in his head might have caused Father’s loss of temper. It shows that he is struggling to cope with Christopher and that he is turning to violence.
Father also sometimes swears in front of Christopher, he says in Chapter 127 “Holy f*****g Jesus, Christopher. How stupid are you?” Father does continuously swear throughout the novel. In this quotation he swears at Christopher, and it is obviously a very bad influence on Christopher. However, this quotation again shows Father’s loss of temper with Christopher and that he can get violent and start swearing at him. Another, example of Father swearing is “Don’t give me that bollocks, you little s**t.” this remark from Father was directed at Christopher. Father swearing is a sign of bad attitude towards Christopher and that Father is setting a bad example for Christopher. Not many parents would swear at their child unless they are so cross, they can’t control themselves. This seems to be the case with Father as he continuously swears and lashes out at Christopher. Father swearing may not have a significant effect on Christopher because he doesn’t really understand Father’s emotions. However, Father’s swearing is very bad and it is a sign that Father is damaging their relationship.
Furthermore, Father has continuously lied to Christopher about many things throughout the novel. Father says in Chapter 157 “I did it for your good, Christopher. Honestly I did. I never meant to lie.” This quotation obviously shows that father is truly sorry for lying to Christopher and about his mother dying. Lying, about such a big thing has a big effect on their relationship, because a key to friendship is trust. So if Father tells lies, Christopher doesn’t know if he can trust Father and is unsure about their relationship. Another lie Father told Christopher was about the murder of Wellington the dog. He finally admits to the murder and says” I killed Wellington, Christopher.” First of all, Father does admit to Christopher about killing Wellington, which shows he has some conscious. This is not only a big shock for Christopher but it again shows how violent Father can be and how his anger can get out of control. He can be a danger to Christopher, but not only that but he has completely lost Christopher’s trust. Christopher thinks that if Father can kill Wellington he can kill him, so he runs away. Father has shown how reckless he can be and how he is affecting Christopher. Father proves how bad lying is and what it can do to Christopher and their relationship.
In conclusion, I think that Ed Boone, to a certain extent is a great father to Christopher. Father’s violence, swearing and bad behaviour is mainly due to Mother leaving him and Christopher. Mother was Father’s support and back bone. So, when she left, Father lost everything and had to care for Christopher himself. This is when, I think, Father started to drink, use bad language and violence. It is a shame that Christopher hates Father for lying about his Mother because if she hadn’t left, none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t have had to lie so many times and they all might still be one happy family. Father relates to Christopher in a way that Mother can’t and their bond is really strong. Father understands Christopher’s physical needs and respects them. We can tell he loved Christopher because of the way he likes to enjoy time with him. Therefore, Father has proven himself to be a great Father to Christopher.
