King Henry IV And Joseph Strorm: Archtypical Fathers Essay, Research Paper

King Henry IV and Joseph Strorm: Archtypical Fathers

An ideal father is one who is both caring and understanding. To fit this

mould, one must express these characteristics. The outlook and actions of King

Henry IV (Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1) and Joseph Strorm (Wyndham, The

Chrysalids), suggest characters who do not match the mould of the archetypical

ideal father. King Henry IV was a father who thought not much of his son. He

sees his son as a riotous, irresponsible young man. King Henry tells

Westmoreland that he is envious of Lord Northumberland’s son, Hotspur, and that

he wishes he could be more honorable. It shows King Henry’s lack of trust and

grasp of his son through conversations with others. The King has a serious

discussion with Prince Hal in act three, where he tells him that he is starting

to behave in the same way as King Richard, and since he is acting this way, the

people will not want him to be the King. The King has his own ideas on how he

thinks that the Prince should live, and for that reason has made the

relationship between them very difficult. If only the King would have been more

accepting, the Prince could have lived more like himself. Joseph Strorm is a

father with very strict rules. He cares more about the physical make up of a

person than he does about the actual personality of the person. In the story a

very cold side of Joseph Strorm is shown; he never gets close to his son at all.

The only conversation shared between Joseph and his children are harsh and is

often punishment. The way Joseph responded when David jokingly wished for a

third arm showed that he cared more about his image and purity than he did for

his own child. Both King Henry and Joseph Strorm lacked the ability to look eye

to eye with their children. King Henry did not like the way his Prince ran his

life, and Joseph Strorm did not care at all about anything other than if

something was pure. These fathers both wished that their children could have

been more like themselves. Both King Henry IV and Joseph Strorm are miserable

fathers and should reevaluate the way they deal with their children.