Open Letter to Charles Bukowski

Dear Mr. Charles Bukowski,

I have recently read your poem Dinosauria, We, and found it to be very fascinating. The poem seemed to have shown me a glimpse of the future and it is amazing that you wrote it 40 years ago. I think it is incredible that you could have predicted what might happen in the world we live in. It’s a scary thought that part of what you said has come true. The ones with college degrees are unable to get jobs and the oil spills that have tainted the lives of many. That hospitals and lawyers are too expensive for many and that the government is so far in debt. I fear that the ending may become a reality. The fact that we are in war with one another is tearing our society apart. I fear that what you predict at the end may hold some truth to it. People have talked about the day the world will end, or otherwise known as “the second coming”. Is this just a fear of our own actions? Have we all become selfish and one without a conscience? I feel that maybe your poem has made people more aware of the situation, and perhaps it is not too late. I can only hope that we can all do our part to help save this world.

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                Devin Murphy

Father and Son Relationship

          The relationship between a father and his son or daughter is usually strong. Of course there will be some disagreements, but generally the bond between a father and his son is a good one. A boy looks up to his father and sees him as a role model. Both the child and his/her father are constantly learning from each other.  However in the society we live in, we are beginning to see more and more relationships that are not strong at all.

          In The Road, the relationship between father and son is unlike any other. In the post apocalyptic world that McCarthy creates, the survivors (father and son) will do anything for each other. If one of them were to die, the other would die as well. The father in the book is living only for his son. As it says in the story, “I was appointed by God to take care of you.” The boy would also be useless without his father. Both the father and the son are relying on each other throughout the book.

          The father in The Road also wants to give his son the best life he can give him, in the conditions they are in. Even though the life they are living is not a very good one, they are living each day to the fullest and trying to survive. The care that the father gives the son is great because we do not see this often in everyday society. He puts his son first and tries his best to give him the best experiences he can. He wants to make his son’s life as normal as he can and protect him no matter what happens. The father would sacrifice anything for his son.

“One of the strongest things in the world is the father/son bond.”

                                                                   -John Glover