LEVEL 1 ENGLISH WIDE READING LOG #3

Text Title: My Father’s Hands

Author: Calvin Worthington

Text  Type: Short story

Data read: Term 1

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Brief plot overview 

Narrated by the son of the father, “My Father’s Hands” by Calvin Worthington, is a short story that regards a father who never learnt how to read or write. This challenge of illiteracy had a huge impact on the father as it caused a barrier on his life. The story follows the father from the son’s perspective, describing the struggle of this disadvantage of being illiterate affects the father’s life. 

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Characters you found interesting and why

The character that I found interesting in  ‘My Father’s Hands’ was the father. This is because even though he struggled with being illiterate, he was still a hard-working person who tried his best despite this handicap blocking him from having an easier and better life. For example, “From the farm to road building and later factory work, his hands served him well. His mind was keen, his will to work unsurpassed.” This showed that the father excelled in other things that didn’t require being literate. Also that he was strong minded, that nothing stopped him from achieving and suppling for his family. This made him more interesting to me, as I appreciate his willingness to not give up when things get hard and carry on to find another way around a problem. It is really great that society allows people who can’t do certain things that most people can do and find many different jobs that suit them  and their differences. Such as how the father found work that doesn’t require  literacy like “he was a pipe fitter in a shipyard and installed the complicated guts of mighty fighting ships.” I can personally relate to the fathers struggle with literacy as my brother has dyslexia and dyspraxia, it is not as severe as the father stuffers with but he still has a hard time with his literacy/schoolwork. This makes me feel for the father, also my brother, because it would be hard  especially through school and society when the majority of people don’t have their struggles. 

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Messages you took from the text(s) and why 

The message I took away from this short story is that you can get through life even if you’re not academically smart. In society, various people excel in many different things and have diverse strengths and weaknesses, in different aspects of their lives. For instance being a tradesman who builds and creates for others, without having to be academically smart like a doctor or a teacher would. This relates to the father, as being illiterate is his weakness but being creative and hardworking was a strength of his, as it shows in the line  “He could draw and saw a square with quick accuracy.” This is showing that you don’t have to be smart to be able to be literate to succeed in life. I believe that the father is a perfect role model for people who might struggle with this handicap and need an influencer who shows that you can succeed in life even if you can’t do what most people can. 

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Challenges that characters had to deal with and your response to these 

During the text, the father had to face the major challenges of being illiterate.  This formed a barrier in his life, and with what he can and can’t do. This challenge ended up being life threatening, as he passed away because of not being able to open his medication bottle as he couldn’t read the imprinted words “Child Proof Cap – Push Down and Twist to Unlock.” I found this really hard because I thought it was unfair for the Father to die because of a new technical feature with his medication as he has worked so hard in life to not let being illiterate affect him and his family. Another challenge that the father had to deal with was finding jobs that don’t require being literate. “When the mill shut down, he went out each morning looking for work-only to return night after night and say to Mother as she fixed dinner, “They just don’t want anybody who can’t take their tests.”” I feel for the father as I realize all he wants to do is supply for his family and be a good husband/father. Nowadays in society finding jobs are difficult because of how COVID-19 affected employees as financial issues have increased. This is a completely different situation to the fathers but he still couldn’t get employed just because of his handicap. I believe that the Father had many other qualities that made him equal or even better than others being employed like how he never gives up, it is stated that he “stole from his sleeping hours the time required to run the farm” which shows that he is very dedicated and a hardworking man. 

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Discussion about the title of the text(s) and why it was appropriate 

I believe ‘My father’s hands’ is an appropriate title for this short story. This is because it refers to the main character, which is the father, and informs the reader how the story is told from the child’s perspective of the father. This is because of the ‘my’ in the title. It is also appropriate because it connects well with the father’s hands and how throughout the text it is expanded that he is illiterate so “his hands never learned to write.” Also that the author has described the fathers hands during the entirety of the story making the title even more appropriate. For example, “his hands were rough and exceedingly strong.”  So, I think that the title connects well with the story and I wouldn’t change it if I had a chance.

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Who would you recommend this/these stories to and why

I would recommend this story to people who  relate to the father and struggle with a handicap, like illiteracy. And for those people to realise, after reading this text, that they can achieve through life even if they can’t do what most others can. Also for those people to push through the hard times, like the Father did when he got rejected from most jobs as “They just don’t want anybody who can’t take their tests.” In society, some people don’t feel accepted into the world because they can’t do or lack something. People commonly are bullied for their weaknesses, which I believe is unacceptable and completely wrong. But after reading this short story they might look to the Father as a role model and realise that they aren’t as different and can still, with hard work and persistence, strive for success throughout their lives.