DiscoveryofaFatherBySherwoodAndersonLessonTwoNEXT.ppt

Background Information Introduction to the Story Word Study Vocabulary Study Song about father Background Information The WriterSherwood Anderson was a great American writer. He is the author of 27 works including Winesburg, Ohio, and seven novels that include Poor White, Many Marriages and Dark Laughter .Anderson was also a poet and a playwright, a newspaper editor and a political journalist. Introduction to the Story This is a story about a father told by his son who later became a well-known writer. The author gives a vivid character sketch of his father whom he used to despise but gradually learns to understand and appreciate when he grows up. It is interesting because contrary to the common belief that children always worship their fathers, they sometimes feel the opposite when they are young. The story began when the author described how he used to feel ashamed of his father. When he was a child, he had hoped that his father would be proud, silent and dignified. He had also hoped that his father would be rich and successful. But to his great disappointment, his father was none of these, in fact he was just opposite. He was poor because his business failed; his business failed because he was foolish in giving too much credit; he was often idle and spent most of his time showing off and acting like a clown to amuse people. And above all, he was never quiet and serious, talking nonsense all the time, making up stories that everybody knew were untrue. What’s more, he did not seem to have any sense of responsibility and often would disappear for weeks when there was nothing to eat in the family. So as a little boy, the author thought that his father was a failure, a clown, a loafer, and a windbag. He despised his father so much that he even secretly wished he had a different father. The boy did not understand why his father was so popular and had so many friends including some of the most respectable local celebrities,