Sometimes people don’t realize the power that words have. In the book April Morning by Howard Fast there is a great example of this. Adam’s father, Moses, does not believe Adam is yet a man. He would often say things like “Are you willing to start a family and make enough money to live on your own?” and Adam would get upset because he didn’t feel that these were necessary to being a man. Moses doesn’t realize how these words affect Adam but it really makes him second guess himself and almost feel he is not wanted. When you are talking to some you should always make sure they understand what you mean completely in the right way.
Adams dad doesn’t intend to hurt his son’s feelings, but he tends to get carried away with things. He already is a little harsh on Adam because he wants him to become a man but he does not think it should happen so soon. When Moses says these things he believes that it will prepare Adam for manhood and does not realize what is really happening with Adam. In Moses’ mind he believes that by not acknowledging that Adam is growing up, he is doing his job as a parent in helping him prepare.
Since Moses wants this he tries to treat him like an adult and Adam cannot see his intent so he takes his words the wrong way. This makes Adam believe that his father does not want to accept the fact that Adam is growing up from childhood to manhood. Adam does not appreciate this and feels when Moses acts this way he does not love him. This is not true but Moses is naïve to seeing how his son reacts to his words.
Being naïve is almost human nature. This is why when we speak we have to be very careful on how the listener takes your words. You cannot just say something like “I’m not inviting you over to my house today.” You would have to say why; otherwise the person would probably think that you don’t like them anymore. In the book April Morning by Howard Fast, there are many examples of one person not understanding the other which later on turn into fights.
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