Writing Task

You have read “Father’s Eyes,” a short story about the relationship between a father and his son.  Write an essay describing a characteristic of the main character and how it helps propel the story.  Be sure to use specific evidence to support your response.

Student Response

“But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there.”  This line is from a short story called “Father’s Eyes” about a blind father that helps his son reach his goals in football.  Because of his love for the game, the son decided instead of quitting he would just work hard and try to earn a spot on the team.  Unfortunately, the father passes away, but the son finally has a chance to show his father what he has worked hard to achieve.  In “Father’s Eyes,” the son displays determination throughout the story which propels him to score the game-winning touchdown for his college football team.

In the beginning, the author portrays the son as determined through his work ethic.  Being small did not affect the son’s diligence and in paragraph three the text states, “He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior.”  Even though his coach said he might not get to play until he was a senior, he still worked hard to achieve his goal of one day getting to play.  His determination in high school paid off down the road when he got to college.

By the end of the story, the son’s determination paid off when he went into a playoff game and helped lead his team to a win.  After he begged the coach to get into the game, the text states, “This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right.  The opposing team could not stop him.  He ran, he passed, blocked, and tackled like a star.  His team began to triumph.”  Not only had the son been determined to work hard but he also showed determination by begging the coach until he got in the game.  When he got in the game, his feeling of wanting his dad to see that he could do it, overcame him, and he played like a star.  The son’s determination propelled the story by showing that all his hard work paid off in the end.

Because of the son’s obsession with football and making his dad proud, he worked hard his whole life so that one day he would get the chance to play for his dad and show him that he could do it.  By the end of the story, all his work had paid off.  On top of that, the father was finally able to look down upon his son and see him play for the very first time.  That day, the father could beam with pride as he saw his son do amazing things on the football field that his son loved so much and lead his team to victory.

Writing Details

This is an 8th Grade response from a PorterHasClass 2017 student. Follow me on Twitter for updates on future student examples, articles of the week, and blog posts.

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