Op-ed Article #4

This week’s article is about a boy who grew up without a dad. On a trip to India, he happened to see his father on TV and set up a meeting. After 27 years of life, he finally got to meet his father when they met in a hotel lobby. This was very interesting to read because a son usually benefits from having a father figure in his life. I am pleased to hear that the writer grew up successfully and has a great life but I know it must have been hard for him to do this. I know this when Jason, the columnist, states, “My mother struggled to raise my younger brother and me on her own; in one way or another we always got by without our father” (Burnett 1). It would be very interesting to witness a reunion of a father and son after 27 years of separation. There would be so many questions to be asked between them. It is a wonderful thing that Jason found his father but it would have been better if his father was in his life more often. He should have kept in touch and helped raise Jason instead of leaving it all up to Jason’s mother to handle it. On the other hand, since he had the inclination to run away, he might have been a terrible father and Jason may have actually turned out worse.

Jason uses a descriptive language to show his feelings. His feelings end up being completely different from what he expected. I found it interesting how he thought all the questions he had for his father from his childhood were no longer important because they had been answered for him. Jason realized that he was not searching for a father and did not have many expectations which were also interesting and unexpected. Rather, he wanted to know who this man really was rather than some mythical figure he had made up. He also realized that the closure he thought his father would provide already existed from his mother and brother. This was totally unexpected on my part.

He describes his feelings and thoughts clearly and descriptively for the reader. His writing provides an understanding of the emotions involved in his long quest to find his father and how this meeting relieves him from this burden allowing him to move on in his life. Over all, Jason wrote a very informative column about his dramatic and emotional experience meeting his father after growing up without him in his life.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/opinion/21jburnett.html