I read that book about six months ago, and I think it's a wonderful suggestion, even if the boy does, mostly, transcend the mistreatment. If I recall, Potek is so careful not to take the position that the father (acting on religious conviction) is a beast, that he rather excuses the behavior by having the son, in the end, accept it as having been "necessary," given the religious or philosophical worldview of the father-- a worldview that, in fact, he shares with his father, if my memory is correct that, at the very end, the son says he will raise a son of his in silence if it's "necessary."
You could say that it is the father with the pathology. He passes it on, to some degree, to the son. The author, who, like the good father and the son who got hit with the baseball, is viscerally appalled by the behavior, is careful not to condemn it, in the end.
I'm passing that suggestion on, too, with your comment. I actually think it's the most interesting suggestion -- the one that would be the most interesting to write a paper about. |
