Gabriel has a different relationship with each of his three sons. Gabriel’s relationship with Royal was basically nonexistent. He had one conversation with Royal and that was when he was telling him to be careful of the white folks that were in town one day. He really didn’t know Royal. Gabriel kept tabs on Royal through his wife Deborah, who happened to have a relationship with Royal’s grandmother. However, his relationship with his son Roy is strained. Gabriel wants to make Roy more Godly, but Roy wants to run the streets. Gabriel love Roy so much and he is more lenient with him than he is with John, his third son. Gabriel hates John. When he looks at John he see evilness, he sees the devil in john. He seems to blame john for Roy’s failures. However, John is the good son and he is not Gabriel’s biological son. And since Gabriel knows that Roy will not act right he has to have someone to bring up and preach the gospel after him. Royal and Roy seems to have similar personalities. They both are rebellious and want to run the street, get into fights, and not think about God or the church. They don’t seem to value life. John on the other hand is a quite person being forced into a situation he doesn’t necessarily want. Gabriel’s other two sons were hard headed, and now John is punished for it. All John wants is for his father to love him.
Gabriel's relationship with his first born, Royal was nonexistent because he did not want Esther to have Royal. And because his relationship was nonexistent, he really did not know Royal. Indeed, Both Royal and Roy share similarities because they don't want to listen to their father, who committed sins himself. John is being forced into what Gabriel wants him to understand because he is not his biological son. I also agree with the fact that Gabriel thinks that John is a bad influence on Roy. In the end I believe that they are doing whatever they are doing because it's the punishment that Gabriel receiving for committing sins in the past.
Gabriel's relationship with his three sons are all different. He didn't have a relationship at all with his son Royal because he didn't want the town or his wife to find out that he had sinned and gotten Esther pregnant. His relationship with john is ironic because even though john is the good son that obeys his parents, Gabriel is much harder on him and sees him as being evil.For example, when john was at the alter and gave Elisha a weird look, Gabriel saw evil in him and told him to get down and pray.Gabriel's relationship with Roy is opposite of John because he let's Roy do whatever he pleases and isn't hard on him.Royal and Roy have the same personality, they both live in sin and are on an evil unholy path.They both want to do whatever hey want and not listen to anyone. While John is respectful and obeys and listens to his parents and elders.
Gabriel has very interesting relationships with his three sons. His relationship with Roy is very stressed due to Roy wanting to lead a sinful life. Gabriel wants Roy to be more godly even if it means beating it into his child. Roy does not see Gabriel as a person who is godly enough to force it upon him and would rather lead a more enjoyable life than that of which revolves around the church. This is why, even from an early age, he wanted to escape church. Gabriel has almost seemed to give up on Roy because he is determined to live a sinful life despite all warnings to turn his life around like being stabbed in a brawl. The relationship Gabriel has with Royal is even more horrid than that her has with Roy. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he was conceived out of wedlock. He didn't want to ruin his image as a preacher to be a father to his child because of Ester's image as a sinner and what he views as a "harlot" (pg.147). Gabriel's own guilt of his sins and lack of addressing them, as he explains when he feels all eyes are on him when he preaches, causes him to feel he CANT be a father to Royal even though he himself feels that everyone already knows his secret. Gabriel prays for Royal sometimes to find a new life and tries to warn him to stay out of trouble especially from the whites, but puts in no real effort to be a fatherly figure to Royal or even try to put him on the right track. Gabriel's own consumption in what people will think of him as a reverend with a child out of wedlock keeps him from trying to truly help Royal which could have eventually saved him from his brutal death in Chicago. Gabriel's relationship with John is more strained than he probably believes. John "did not want to love his father;he wanted to hate him"(pg.144) because he believes he is a complete hypocrite for engaging in all the sinful and deceiving behavior he did, but wants to beat John until he wants salvation. John feels that if Gabriel is how a holy person is then he does not want to become such. Gabriel puts a lot of pressure on John, even though he is not his biological father, because he feels John is his only hope for leaving a holy legacy. He feels John could be a leader in the church and is trying to force it upon I'm instead of letting John find his way to salvation. Gabriel does not know the extent to which John is disgusted with him, to the the level he thinks "the grave was not enough for punishment" (pg.145), but it strongly effects the level to which John wants to connect with Gabriel. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are all very different, but what is consistent is Gabriel is not pleased with their level of Godliness and all of the relationships are dysfunctional.
Gabriel’s respective relationships with his three sons are all different. For his first son Royal, Gabriel has a nonexistent bond but he is still able to show compassion and sympathy towards him. Royal was conceived when Gabriel was still young and naïve so Gabriel was not fully ready to take care of him or face his wife with the fact that he had a child outside of his marriage. The distance between he and Esther and Royal did not affect his feeling towards his first born son. He was so concerned with Royal that there would often be “a fear deep within him [that] listened and waited” (Baldwin 140). Royal shares similar qualities as Gabriel. For one, he is a hardheaded rebel who likes to hang out in the streets. It is clearly evident that he receives this trait from his father. When he dies Gabriel takes it hard, realizing that his gift from God would not be a successor to his throne as a preacher. But when Gabriel and Elizabeth give birth to their first child together, Roy, his hope in believing that he will have a son who will become a preacher is revived. His hope soon diminishes because Roy is much like Gabriel’s first child Royal. He likes to run the streets and get into fights, which Gabriel has taken part of in his childhood. This doesn’t stop him from treating Roy as his favorite son, because he is his own flesh and blood. When Roy gets cut, Gabriel finds a way to blame John for it. John, not Gabriel’s biological son, is perhaps the best behaved son Gabriel has or has had, but Gabriel fails to see the good that John possess and insists on seeing “Satan” staring out of John’s eyes (150). John figures to be the heir to Gabriel’s throne but Gabriel constantly shows a lack of respect and love towards John simply because he isn’t his biological son. His hatred towards John causes him to question Elizabeth if she regrets having him. This shows that he is truly upset, and has residual problems with the fact that he will not have a biological son that will succeed him in being a preacher. All in all, Gabriel shows hatred and contempt towards the son that least deserves it and fails to discipline the sons that needs it the most.
Where to start when it comes down to Gabriel's kids. Well, when it comes down to Royal [Esther's son] Gabriel was not there for him at all because he did not want people to know he had sex with Esther and got her pregnant. Gabriel was just a dead beat dad for the most part. His second son John, is a good boy the most favorite one out of all of them but Gabriel treats him like he is the worst one. Gabriel makes John pray for any and everything he does especially for the littlest thing such as, giving someone a evil look. He made Gabriel repent for what he had did and I feel as if he should not be hard on him at least not that hard. Last but not least Roy, the son who lives a very sinful life. He does any and everything to make Gabriel upset but shockingly Gabriel wants him to walk in his shoes. He wants nothing but the best for him and wants him to be nothing but godly. Now when it comes down to comparing all three of the boys together, I feel as if, Roy is the worst but everybody sees only innocents in and out of him, John wants to be a good boy but Gabriel only sees the bad in him and last but not least Royal, he is nonexistent but once to be supported and loved by his father.
Gabriel's relationship with his sons were all different. He didn't really have a relationship with Royal because he was conceived from sin. He wants to uphold his "holy" image and fears that having a relationship would Royal would interfere with that. However, he does have a relationship with John and Roy. He is hard on John and views everything he does as a sin. When in actuality, John is the good son. Roy is rebellious but gets the most love and attention from his father. Royal and Roy have similar personalities.
Gabriel's relationship with his three sons Royal, John, and Roy are all very different. Gabriel's relationship with his first born, Royal seems hopeless. Gabriel tries to be secretive in hiding the fact that he had a child with Esther, knowing that he committed adultry. Gabriel can't quite get through to Royal because he did not want him to be born in the first place. Royal does not want anything to do with Gabriel and his religious advice. Therefore Royal does not listen to Gabriel and lives his life how he chooses to. Gabriel's relationship with his second son Roy is sort of fustrating; he can't make Roy understand that becoming a preacher and leading the church is the right path to take. Gabriel does not give any rules to Roy, he allows Roy to do whatever. Although, Gabriel tries to abuse religion into Roy, but Roy still continues to sin. Gabriel thinks that his third son, John is a bad influence to Roy. Gabriel's relationship with his third son, John is even more different then Royal and Roy. Gabriel isn't John's real father, and for that he knows that he can't advise John. Just like Roy, John lives a life of sin and chooses not to listen to Gabriel. The relationship between Gabriel and all three of his sons' can be compared by their personalities with one another. All three sons believes that their father, Gabriel isn't the man he should be, and with the type of occupation he has, what he suppose to be. How can a father, whose a reverend comitt so much sinful crimes get through to his sons. Gabriel can't because he has a fist born who he doesn't really love, he has second born who he loves but can't convinced into the right path, and he has a third son who isn't his real son and understands that he can't get through to.
Gabriel's relationships with his sons provides information into Gabriel's mind and personality. Gabriel's first son, Royal, was conceived in sin because Gabriel turned Ester away in her time of need. The book implies that not only was Gabriel's and Ester's relationship was strained, but Gabriel's and Royal's was also strained with very little communication. Royal engaged in questionable activities which farther their tenuous father-son relationship and lead to Royal's death. Gabriel's second son, Roy, is also Gabriel's biological son who leads his life similar to Royal which are similar characters implied by their similar names. It is also implied Gabriel might be trying to relieve his guilt towards Royal by focusing his efforts to change Roy's life path. Gabriel wants desperately for his blood to not seem tainted because of his first two sons questionable and sinful activities. Unfortunately, Gabriel's blood seems tainted and unholy based on his relationship with his third son, John. Gabriel's and John's relationship is similar to Gabriel's relationship with Royal because both Royal and John were conceived in sin, but John is not Gabriel's biological son. John is the good son who follows the house's, or rather, his father's rules. John desperately wants to find the right path for his life in which he can satisfy his obligations to God as well as his life's satisfaction. Gabriel dislikes the fact his two biological sons are wasting their lives in sin while John is finding his way to God.
I like the fact that you connected Gabriel guilt for the death of Royal to his efforts to change Roy's life. I also liked how you connected all three sons because they were all brought to Gabriel through sin, which may have been the reason why God had put him in that situation.
Gabriel has different relationships when it comes to is children. For his first son Royal, he did not have much of a connection with him. I believe the relationship was more tense because Royal's mother was Esther. At the time, Esther was not his wife, and could not be because he considered her a "harlot." When it comes to Royal, Gabriel did not fulfill the duty of a being a man like he should. If Gabriel would have stepped up like a father, I don not think Royal would have died the way he did. For his second son, Roy was considered the child who committed too many sins. Concerning Roy, Gabriel was not an absentee father like he was with Royal. The relationship between Gabriel and Roy was still distant. Gabriel let Roy do whatever he pleases and he is very lenient with him. I believe that reason why Gabriel acts the way he does towards Roy is because they are alike. Gabriel used to act used as Roy did when he was the same age. I think that Gabriel believes tat one day Roy would transform is life just like he did when he was younger. His third son John, as a total different relationship out of all of his sons. John, was a good son but Gabriel still treated him otherwise.John however, is not is biological son, that is Elizabeth's son. Although, John is perceived to be a "good boy," he has high level of hatred or his step-father Gabriel. In the book Baldwin describes the way John looks at his father as "... Satan, at that moment, stared out of John's eyes while the Spirit spoke...(150)." When it comes to all of is three sons, Gabriel has different relationships between them. Gabriel as the opposite relationships wen it comes to his sons.John, however is the one that is constantly being disciplined but does not rally need to as much as Roy or Royal. On the other hand wen it comes to Roy ad Royal the two sons that do need the discipline Gabriel does t step in like the father he should.
Gabriel has very different relationships with all three of his sons Royal, Roy, and John. Basically, Gabriel does not have a relationship with his son Royal. They do not speak, he doesn’t know much about Royal, and the little he does know he finds out through his wife. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he was conceived out of wedlock, and did not want to risk tarnishing his image as a preacher. His relationship with his son Roy was very different from that of Royal’s. However, Roy and Royal were very similar in some ways, in the way that they both wanted to do trouble some things. Gabriel only wants Roy to do what he thinks is right and get him closer to God. Despite his sons actions, Gabriel loves Roy very much. John would be the son that Gabriel dislikes the most, but he is not Gabriel’s biological son. However, John is the best son out of the three. While Royal and Roy are making poor decisions and doing things they shouldn’t be doing, John is actually doing right and good. John does so only to earn the love of his father. Therefore, as you can see, Gabriel has a very different relationship with all three of his very different sons.
Gabriel relationship with his sons were all different in a way but one son Royal relationship was really different from the other two because Gabriel wasn’t there for him due to the fact he feared what other people would think of him when they found out Ester and him was having an affair. He was willing to give up his son just so that his sinful life doesn’t come out so he gives Ester money to move but then he doesn’t think about the boy. He has no type of bond with Royal due to the fact he cannot own up to his mistake. However, I believe Roy has a hard life because of his father Gabriel. Gabriel is extremely hard on Roy because of the sinful life he lived and he thinks that Roy would be going down the wrong road if he doesn’t force discipline on him. Gabriel really wants Roy to live a more religious way than it looks like and since the son is not listening to him all the time he would beat him to get Roy to see that he needs to live a Godly way. After a while Gabriel sees that it’s nothing he can do if he want to live a certain way he is going to do what he want. Then there is his good son John. John is the soon that tries to follow the life that his dad has set up for him but Gabriel believes that its all just an act. He feels like John is full of it and that he has spirits in his body that will take over him. All his relationships are different and weird but all of them are like that because of Gabriel or his actions.
Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons" differ greatly. Gabriel. And Royal's one-on-one connection or relationship did not form because Gabriel was born out of wedlock, but Gabriel still took interest in his son. He went out of his way to talk to Royal and warn him to stay out of trouble with the whites. I believe out of all his sons, Gabriel seen the most of himself and the most potential in Royal. John and Gabriel's is the most complex. Deep down, I Gabriel sees that John is the least sinful son, yet because John is not of his blood, Gabriel is not willing to except that someone that did not come from him is better. John reminds Gabriel of all the sinful actions and un-Godly behavior he has done. Baldwin writes, "Gabriel had never seen such a look on John's face before; Satan, at that moment, stared out of John's eyes while the Spirit spoke, and yet John's staring eyes tonight reminded Gabriel of other eyes" (150). Gabriel associates John with all the negative occurrences in his life. Since Roy is his only blood-son left, Gabriel has high hopes for him, although he consistently acts as a sinner. Roy is his favorite son and beats him to force him to be more Godly. Both John and Roy "did not want to love [their] father; [they] wanted to hate him" because of harsh treatment directed towards them (Baldwin 144). In conclusion, the relationship between each son and Gabriel is o f dislike to each son, and is based off of one another's lacking qualities. None of these relationships conform to the needs of the sons; Gabriel is focused on what's best for himself and to form his desired level of Godliness.
Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons" differs depending on the son. Being that John isn't his real son his relationship with him is different than his with Roy and with Royal, his unacknowledged son. John and Gabriel's relationship has this underlying tension in it because John does not really like the person Gabriel is or his fraudulent ways. Roy the youngest son has a different relationship with Gabriel because not only is he his biological son but he is also a lot like Gabriel in many ways. Unlike John he isn't afraid to confront Gabriel or to be honest with his feelings about his father so there really is no underlying drama in there relationship like that of John and Gabriel. Royal is Gabriel's unacknowledged son and their relationship is pretty much non-existent. Gabriel spends so much time trying to keep Royal a secret that he never gets to be a father to him. Gabriel has three sons but is really a parent to one and that's not to say he's an excellent parent to that one.
Gabriel has a fake relationship with all three of his sons. It seems that his life is all in a mess, and he wants so much to be good and holy, that it makes him forget about what is important. All his sons are a resemblance of the different sides of him. Roy, Royal, and John act like rebels, because he himself is a rebel at heart. He commits sins that he often tries to hide, but now he is figuring out that he cannot do so anymore. His relationship with Roy is not real. He does not really communicate with him at all, and lets him do basically anything he wants to do. His relationship with John is sad, because all John wants is for his father to care for him the way normal fathers should. He wants John to be involved in the church and tries to force all these things upon him, but he does not exactly lead by example. John feels that father is a sinner himself, and wants so much out of him that he does not even have in himself. John goes so far as to wish "that his father would die" (145) and wishes eternal suffering on Gabriel. On the other hand, Gabriel's relationship with Royal is distant, because he has to leave to go with his grandmother. Royal was Gabriel's favorite son, and he admits that "he fell on his knees each night to pray that Royal would not have to go" (139), but he has no choice. Gabriel felt that he could not have a legitimate relationship with Royal because he is a harlots child. He did not want people to know about him, since Esther was a sinner. However he fails to realize that the sin has already been committed. He wants Royal to be holy and stop all the nonsense with drinking and gambling, but it is not the life he wanted to live. After Royal dies, Gabriel weeps and admits that Royal was his own flesh and blood (147). He lets out all the anguish that he has about the situation and realizes that he should have done better, but it is too late. Gabriel is always two steps behind reality. He never wants to admit his sins until they come back to haunt him.
Gabriel's relationship with his three sons were very different but the most awkward relationship occurred between him and his son Royal. This relationship was different because Gabriel didn't really play a part in the young boy's life because he feared that people would find out that he had an affair with Esther. So at the expense of a healthy relationship with his son, he watched him grow up from a far in need a of father in his life. He had many different encounters with Royal where he felt that he was making some bad decisions. It was weird to see that he was trying to parent him but at the same time make it seem as if he was just giving advice to an ordinary teenage boy. His encounter with Royal smoking cigarettes is an example. He said "Boy ain't you got good sense? Don't you know you ain't got no business to be out here, walking around like this?"(142). The way that he made that comment caused Gabriel to question his authority because he never had him as a father in his life, he was uncertain whether to laugh or take him seriously. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is very difficult because he wants his son to lead a life where he can be focused on god but he'd rather not live that life. Roy has always gone against his father's wishes for him by even wanting to leave the church, he doesn't see a role model in his father. I believe this is why he doesn't want to follow in his footsteps. He has struggled so much to get Roy focused and on the right path that I believe that he has given up on him. This is why he is so hard on John because Gabriel knows that John isn't' going to go against him. There relationship is forced because he doesn't know how to fully communicate with John in an effective manner. John says that "he doesn't want to love his father; he wanted to hate him, to cherish that hatred, and give his hatred words one day."(144). Gabriel isn't John's biological son but he feels that he is the closest thing to him that could actually lead a holy life. He puts so much pressure on John that it actually causes him to run away from the life that Gabriel wants for him. The relationships that John has with all of his sons are different and he never really builds a solid relationship with any of them.
Gabriel's relationships with each of his sons are different. His three sons are Roy, Royal, and John. Roy feels that Gabriel is a hypocrite in a way. He lived a sinful life but he wants to force religion upon his children. Because of this reason there is a strain on their relationship. Roy wants to enjoy life, life outside of the rules and confinement of the church. Royal was the son born out of wedlock. Because of this, Gabriel basically disowned him. These two don't really have a relationship. To keep a positive image as a Reverend, Gabriel tries to keep Royal a secret. He is around to warn him about the dangers in life but not as a father figure. Not being there led to Royal living a rowdy lifestyle. John, who is not Gabriel's biological son, is a very nice young man. However, to Gabriel he is seen as a bad influence and all around bad person. John is one of the best sons Gabriel has. He wants to live the life that Gabriel has set in place for them and be pious.
Gabriel relationships with his three sons Royal,Roy,andJohn are all different,but it is the same because he wants to focuse them to become more in word of God,which makes them all see him has hypercri. Royal was the one who didn't stay in town because of his sinful life,he had a baby out of wedlock and Gabriel was a shame of Royal sin so he cut him off. His Relationship with Roy is that Roy doesn't see the point for being closer to God.He just want to do whatever he wants and his Gabriel can't tell him much because Roy still don't listen. His relationship with step son John is that he tries to fouse John into salvation instead of letting him do it on his own,which makes John dislike him but John still obeys him.
Gabriel looked at all of his sons differently. Royal was his first son which was the son that he conceived with the harlot Esther. The shame of being this bastard child's father was too heavy of a burden on Gabriel so he fell and never stood up to be the father that he should have been for Royal. The relationship that he had with Royal existed only in the sense of a preacher trying ineffectively to influence a young boy who was going down the wrong path. As far as father-son relationship, it was nonexistent. John was not Gabriel's biological son which gave him no reason to want to like or really love John. The relationship that he had with John was complicated because he seems to hate John and blame him for all of Roy's mistakes (example:the stabbing) but at the same time Gabriel sees everything that he wants his son Roy to be. Roy is Gabriel's biological son that he conceived with his wife Elizabeth. This is Gabriel's only son in his eyes and he wants him to be everything that he want Roy to be but Roy is more interested in fighting, running the streets and getting into trouble rather than religion or school. Roy and Royal are very similar. The both liked to wander the streets and cause chaos rather than be worried about school or the salvation which was actually worried about to some extent.
Compare and contrast Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons"and compare their personalities with one another. Gabriel's relationship with Royal, John, and Roy are are contrasting yet similar. With all three boys, them to think that he is a man who lives his life by the Word of God. Gabriel tries to raise John and Roy in the Word of the Lord and during his few times of talking to Royal he says "God bless you boy"(p.143) creating the illusion that he is no sinner. The differences between the relationships are with Royal there was not any type of relationship bond and he died not even knowing Gabriel was his father. John and Gabriel's relationship is full of spite and hatred towards one another and it is perfectly written out when the narrator says "Gabriel scarely believing that John could have become so brazen, stared in wrath and horror at Elizabeth's presumptuous bastard boy. He nearly raised his hand to strike him, but did not move, for Elisha lay between them." (p.150) I am not sure where this hatred between Gabriel and John came from but from the text, I can tell it is mutal. Lastly, the relationship between Gabriel and Roy is they are one in the same and therefore, they do not get along. Readers can tell that Roy has no respect for Gabriel when he calls him a "black bastard"(p.48)with no fear at all. Florence also mentions that Roy is the apple of Gabriel's eye (p.46), so in despite of the disrespect Roy shows him, he is Gabriel's favorite.
Gabriel didn't have a good relationship with any of his three sons. Gabriel treats John the toughest. Because John isn't Gabriel's biological son, there's a barrier between them. Gabriel pushes John to be involved in the church. I think one of the main reasons why is because his other sons doesn't actually listen to him when he tries to bring them closer to the church. His relationship with Royal didn't exist. He was no more than a stranger to Royal because he didn't take involvement in Royal's life. Roy was the only son that Gabriel actually tried to take a fatherly role with. Roy was his legal son with no strings attached. Although he tried to be a good father towards Roy, he did not listen. All of Gabriel's sons had a very distant relationship with him because Gabriel couldn't really express his fatherly role towards them. They didn't feel his involvement in their lives. Perhaps they feel that he was also a hypocrite for always trying to pull them towards a holy life when he was a sinner himself. How can they follow a role model like Gabriel when he didn't set a good example for them to follow in the first place?
Gabriel has a different relationship between all there of his sons. His relationship with him and John is more distant. Gabriel doesn't see any good in John because it is not his biological son. John is Elizabeth's son. When Gabriel looks at John all he see is sin, although John is one of the better sons. Gabriel blames the rebellion of Roy on John. All John wants is to be accepted by Gabriel. The relationship Gabriel and Roy has is a more worrisome relationship. Gabriel wants Roy to be more like him, a preacher filled with the Holy Ghost, but Roy doesn't want that. Gabriel feels like if he can't talk Jesus in Roy , he is going to beat it into him just like Gabriel's mother did to him. Gabriel's relationship with his first son Royal is very interesting because he stayes in the same town and spoke to Royal but yet never told him or anyone else that Royal was his son. Gabriel was afraiis of being judged because he had a baby for a woman who wasn't his wife, and Gabriel is suppose to be the holiest in the town. He would lose respect from the people in his congragation and the people of his town. So he kept hsi relationship with him and Royal nonexistent. His relationships between all of his son favor because all of them have some type of sin tied behind him. Roy is a rebellious child who doesn't listen to his parents, John was conceived out of wedlock and so was Royal by someone who Gabriel had an affair with. The relationships between Gabriel and his sons are not perfect. They each have their own flaws.
Gabriel has very interesting relationships with his sons but, they’re all very different. His relationship with Roy was quite tough because Roy wanted to live a sinful life. Gabriel wants Roy to be more Godly even that resulted to beating it into him. Gabriel seems to have given up on Roy because of his wanting to live a sinful life even through all of the things happening to him in his life like being stabbed in a brawl. Gabriel’s relationship with Royal seems to be more unpleasant than his relationship with Roy. Gabriel wants nothing to do with Royal because he got Esther pregnant out of wedlock. They basically don’t even have a relationship. But, even his distance from Royal and Esther didn’t stop him from being concerned about his first born son. Because John isn’t Gabriel’s biological son he doesn’t care how he treats him even though he is the best-behaved out of the other two. Roy took on traits of his older brother Royal, running the streets and getting in to fights but, this doesn’t stop Gabriel from treating Roy as his favorite son because Roy is his own flesh and blood. John, on the other hand, gets the worst treatment because he isn’t Gabriel’s blood son. Gabriel fails to see the good that John possesses, instead he insists on seeing “Satan” staring out of John’s eyes (Baldwin 150). His hatred toward John causes him to question Elizabeth on her regrets of having him. Ultimately, Gabriel shows hatred toward the son that least deserves it and fails to discipline the sons the really need it the most.
It’s amazing yet sad how all three of Gabriel’s son’s had a somewhat of a different upbringing, yet all three of them are unbelievably similar. Gabriel’s first relationship with his first son Royal was hopeless. When Esther first declared that she was pregnant and wanted Gabriel to do something about it, Gabriel didn’t even give her the opportunity for her to conceive the baby under his care for he did not want a baby from a “harlot”. As a result, he cursed Gabriel, wishing that her son was just as sinful as Gabriel, yet a better man than he will ever be. His name was Royal because of Gabriel’s desire of having a royal generational line. However, Royal was sinful and did not listen to anyone as a result of already having his mind made up. Thus, getting him killed in a gambling incident. Roy on the other hand is his youngest son and his only real son by Elizabeth. As a result of his other blood related son dying, Gabriel puts all his hopes and dreams into Roy thinking that this is the promised seed that God promised him would. However, Roy is sinful and mirrors the exact sons of his father when he was a young man. Roy acknowledges the fact that he does wrong, yet does not take the responsibility of fixing it himself. John, Gabriel’s stepson and Elizabeth’s real son, shows great potential to be something great in life and carrying on Gabriel’s Legacy. But just like Royal, John is abandoned by Gabriel because he is not his real son, making him the product of lustful sin. Consequently, John grows to hate his father. All three of the sons have different mothers, yet they are all effected by the past sin of Gabriel.
Gabriel has a different relationship with all three of his sons. Starting with Royal, Gabriel’s first son, he sees himself in Royal. He mentions on page 161 how much it must have hurt his mother to watch him deteriorate as much as it hurts him now to watch his own son follow the same path. Gabriel loved Royal and prayed for him every day, but he understood that he was destined for a path of unfortunate events. Royal’s relationship with his father was almost as if they were mere aquantences. When they passed one another on the street they would have casual conversation and continue on. Gabriel’s relationship with his second son is strained. Gabriel believes that Roy is his ticket to salvation. He will be able to make up for the mistakes he made with Ester, by having Roy. Roy does not want to lead the holy life his father wants for him. Roy was not destined to be a holy man like his father. John is despised by his father. Mainly because Gabriel is not his blood son. Although is Gabriel was to fix his relationship with John that would be his best chance of achieving the salvation he ultimately wants.
Gabriel’s relationship with each of his sons was different. He never really had a relationship with his first son, Royal, because he was born out of wedlock due to him having sexual relations with Ester. Gabriel chose not to be involved in this child’s life, like most men from the African American community who have children. When Gabriel does obtain information about Royal, it is through his wife. However, he does have a relationship with his sons, John and Roy, whose mother was Elizabeth. Gabriel treats John the toughest. The reasoning behind this treatment of tough love is due to John not being Gabriel’s biological son. Gabriel is constantly pushing John to be involved with the church, because he wants him to be a pastor just like him when he gets older. Also, he seems to believe that everything John does is a sin. His love for Roy is stronger than his love for John. He is very lenient on Roy, even though Roy is the rebellious son who is always doing mischievous things. Also, Royal and Roy were both similar because they both stayed getting in trouble.
Gabriel’s relationship with his late son, Royal, was indirect. Gabriel watched Royal grow up from afar, not wanting to reveal his act of adultery against his wife at the time, Deborah. As a well-respected and married preacher, it would tarnish his image if word were to get out that Gabriel and Esther conceived a child together. It is for these reasons that Gabriel feels that he cannot be an active father to Royal. Gabriel expresses his sorrow for his denial of Royal during a symbolic day of storming, “[the] waters of anguish riding the world,” and weeps for his dead son in sync with the rain and dripping coffee from his overturned mug. On the other hand, the older stepson of Gabriel is in the ideal position to be loved, yet Gabriel is equally as distant with John in compassion as in physical proximity with Royal. John is an altogether well-behaved child who Gabriel is frustrated that 1) is not his child by blood, and 2) still has not shown progress in gaining a deep relationship with the Lord. Gabriel’s link with Roy is exactly opposite. While Roy is his biological son, Gabriel has given up on his effort to lead him to God.
Gabriel’s relationship with his late son, Royal, was indirect. Gabriel watched Royal grow up from afar, not wanting to reveal his act of adultery against his wife at the time, Deborah. As a well-respected and married preacher, it would tarnish his image if word were to get out that Gabriel and Esther conceived a child together. It is for these reasons that Gabriel feels that he cannot be an active father to Royal. Gabriel expresses his sorrow for his denial of Royal during a symbolic day of storming, “[the] waters of anguish riding the world,” and weeps for his dead son in sync with the rain and dripping coffee from his overturned mug. On the other hand, the older stepson of Gabriel is in the ideal position to be loved, yet Gabriel is equally as distant with John in compassion as in physical proximity with Royal. John is an altogether well-behaved child who Gabriel is frustrated that 1) is not his child by blood, and 2) still has not shown progress in gaining a deep relationship with the Lord. Gabriel’s link with Roy is exactly opposite. While Roy is his biological son, Gabriel has given up on his effort to lead him to God.
Gabriel has three very different but still related relationships with his son. First, is his first son, Royal, whom he had with through an affair with Ester. God had promised Gabriel in his dream that "his Descendant would carry His seal." Gabriel believed that Royal, the son that he had with Ester was the promised child, however, Gabriel could not raise Royal because of embarrassment from his sin. Royal ended up dying, because he had no one to lead him in the right path as Gabriel and Deborah probably could have. Then his second son John, who was actually the bastard son of Elizabeth, whom Gabriel hated because John is everything he in visions in his son but is not John's biological father. Next, there is Roy who resembles Gabriel when he was younger. Gabriel treats Roy as his last hope of the son that God had promised him. This connects all the sons together because it makes Gabriel feel as though God is playing a dirty trick on him. He though he was sent the son that he was promised then he died then when he has hope in another son he does not fulfill his dreams. Then there is the son who he wish he had, John, but he is not biologically his own.
When it comes to Gabriel and his three sons Royal, Roy, and John, the three all share different relationships with their father. This is due to the situations surrounding how they were conceived and brought up. Royal , Gabriel's first son was conceived out of wedlock by Ester, a bold, and fearless women, having no reverence for God and this is the mother of his son. The simple facts that Gabriel now has a child out of Wedlock with a loose women puts a strain on his relationship with Royal and their relationship suffers. Instead of being there for his son he keeps tabs on Royal through Deborah. Gabriel's relationship with Roy differs because he is physically there in Roy's life although Gabriel is in Roy's life he expects Roy to be more holy and more like him since he is blood child but Roy's continues to fail him as Roy runs the streets and rebels against his father. Out of all three sons John is treated the worse and is expected to do a lot more and even be responsible for Roy's crazy behaviors. Gabriel treats John badly because he is not his biological son and does not want to feel that a son that is not his could possibly be better than the sons he has created.
Gabriel has a bad relationship with all his sons. Royal and Gabriel have no relationship really Gabriel just watched him from a far, but Royal never knew Gabriel was his father. Roy is too involved with the streets and Gabriel gave up on him.The only son he really still had around is John. John secretly despises Gabriel though. John wants his father to drop dead. He hates him for trying to make John be like him. I think Roy and Royal are the most alike. They both are in the streets, they are relunctant to give their life to God.
Compare and contrast Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons"and compare their personalities with one another Gabriel's relationship with Roy, Royal and John are totally different. Royal is his first son. Royal was his bastard son by Esther. Even though Royal had no clue that Gabriel was his father, he never wanted to listen to all of Gabriel's words of wisdom. He started spinning out of control and eventually died. John was his next son. John did not have Gabriel's blood running through him. He was Elizabeth's son from a previous relationship. He never fully though of him as HIS son. Roy was HIS son, and he wanted so much for Roy to be holy and go to church. The sons that were Gabriel's biologically seem to be everything that he didn't want him to be, but the son that wasn't his biologically seemed like the only good seed. Roy and John were total opposites. Roy was a bad seed while John was the good seed.
The relationships between Gabriel and his three sons are all different. His first son Royal was born out of wedlock. Gabriel shun Ester, Royal’s mother, therefore he shuns Royal. Gabriel did not have a genuine father son relationship with Royal because Royal was not aware that Gabriel was his father. Royal and Gabriel interacted twice and he often got information about Royal from Deborah. Royal behaved the same way Gabriel did when he was in his teens. Royal was always running the streets and he was disrespectful, stubborn, and wild. Royal did not acknowledge the Lord as his God. I feel that deep down Gabriel cared about his “disinherited son” because when Gabriel found out that Royal was dead he fell on his knees was dead he wept uncontrollably (147). Gabriel also deeply cared about his son, Roy, who is hard-headed and unwilling to turn to the Lord. Gabriel was exactly like Roy when he was around the same age and he wants Roy to turn to the Lord so Gabriel can have a son that will follow in his footsteps and become a pastor. Gabriel wants to pass on the royal line of faithful (138). Gabriel had high hopes that one day Roy will change his ways and he will become the royal child. Ironically, Royal and Roy are both similar because they were always up to trouble when they running in the streets. Additionally, Roy was almost killed the same was Royal was, by being stabbed. Gabriel’s third son is not his blood son yet John is his stepson that his wife Elizabeth had out of wedlock. John is the opposite of both Royal and Roy because he keeps to himself, stays out of trouble and he does not run the streets. For this reason, many believe that John will take after his stepfather and become a preacher. Gabriel treats John like the scum of the earth because John is nothing like him and he is not even blood related to Gabriel. Gabriel shows no love towards John and he is constantly putting John down. Deep down John wants Gabriel to love him unconditionally like a true father would but Gabriel punishes John even though he does not deserve it. Because of Gabriel’s unjust actions towards John his heart has been consumed with so much hatred, bitterness and evil that he wishes Gabriel was dead (145). The relationships between Gabriel and his sons were strained and I do not consider them as true father-son relationships.
Gabriel's relationship with John is not as strong as it should because he doesn't want to acknowledge John as his biological son so he has a weaker connection with John. Roy on the other hand is just like his father and GAbriel thinks that Roy is the son he prayed for, but the problem is that Roy is a more worldly person than John and John is more religious. If Gabriel could he most likely switch personalities with Roy and John. Since his third son died he really didn't have the connection with him as the other sons.
Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons" were all different and not so perfect. Gabriel and his son, Royal had no type of father-son relationship because Gabriel didn't want anyone to know of the affair or the sin committed by having a baby form Esther. After all, Royal didn't even know Gabriel was his father. Gabriel and John didn't really have a close relationship either because Gabriel wasn't his biological father. Gabriel tries to bring John closer and more involved with church and religion to keep him away from the sinful life he experience. By not listening to Gabriel, John had committed sins and was not holy. Gabriel tries his hardest by being a true father when it comes to his relationship with Roy. But, it didn't turn out to be a father-son bond because Roy never listened to his father. The personalities between all three "sons" is that they felt as if their father was never there for them and that he wasn't so perfect and holy as they might of thought he was.
Gabriel had three different kinds of relationships with each of his sons Royal, John, and Roy. His lack of a relationship with his illegitimate son Royal who was also his first son bothered him the most. He thought that since he had paid Esther to leave to go up north with their unborn child, he would be able to forget about the situation. After a letter from Esther, Gabriel started to start feeling guilty in every aspect of life even in the pulpit. He “prayed to be delivered from blood guiltiness. He prayed to God to give him a sign one day to make him know he was forgiven” (137). Even after Royal’s mother passing away, Gabriel was unable to step up and raise his son as his own. He just watched and prayed for him from a distance. The most fatherly Gabriel was to his first son was when he saw him in a dangerous white area, and he told him he had no business being there. When Gabriel finds out that his son was killed, Gabriel felt the most guilt in his heart. He had done nothing to be in his son’s life. Gabriel sees so much of his old self in Roy. He realizes that he will be able to save Roy, because he is out in the streets. He thinks that he can beat the rebellion out of Roy, but is unsuccessful. He does not require the same out of Roy as he does John although they both were beat by their father. John is the religious son that has been forced into the ministry which is the bases of their relationship. John is expected to be preacher like his father. But John actually feels a strong hatred for his father. John thinks that his father is a hypocrite. He did not want his father’s love, he wanted to hate him and tell him one day (144). Royal, John, and Roy have similar personalities. They are very strong willed and do not like being told what to do. All three are rebellious when the time came. John’s was when he looked his father in the eye at church (150). Royal was rebellious when he left town. And Roy was rebellious for most of his life by leaving church or when he stood up to his father after he hit his mother.
Initially when we think about children who have the same father, we develop an idea of them all being raised the same way. However, Gabriel’s three sons all have different upbringings and have different mothers. The eldest son, Royal who was born out of wedlock with Esther, had little to no relationship with Gabriel. Gabriel prayed for him often and the spoke on a non-frequent/cordial basis. Unlike Gabriel, Royal was not religious and had various sinful characteristics. He was even killed in an incident that included gambling. Roy who is his only biological son and the only son by Elizabeth is very sinful. Gabriel has high hopes and dreams for Roy considering all the things that went wrong with Royal. It was almost as if Gabriel wanted to live his life through Royal. John, unlike his other two sons, shows great potential in becoming successful but is still abandoned by Gabriel because he is not Gabriel’s biological son. Unfortunately, all three sons experience the feeling of abandonment by their father which is similar to most children today. Daphanie Bibbs Week:7
Gabriel has three different type of relationships with all three of his sons; Royal, Roy and John. Gabriel barely knows his child royal and so he doesn't really have a relationship with him, mainly because he was conceived through a sin from the lowkey affair with Gabriel and Esther. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is that he wants Roy to be just like him when he gets old and follow his foot steps in the direction of the Lord like he did but in all honesty, I doubt he will follow the footsteps of his father and Gabriel's relationship with John is horrible. John isn't his child biologically, Elizabeth had him out of wedlock. But Gabriel always talks down on him as if he isn't nothing and will never be anything BUT out of all of his three sons, John happens to be the one with his life on the right track and will never get off!
Gabriel has three sons whom all have a different relationship with him. John is he son that is expected to be most like Gabriel. He’s a good kid and he even goes to church without being forced, unlike his brothers. Unfortunately, Gabriel dislikes John and they have a very distant relationship due to the fact that John is not his biological son. Gabriel blames John for everything bad that happens with his other brothers and punishes him. Gabriel’s son Royal is his child out of his relations with Esther. Gabriel and Royal are not close because he did not want anyone to know about his relationship with Esther because it is a sin. Royal is just like Gabriel as a teen. He runs wild and is hard headed but Gabriel has no bond with him. Gabriel’s last son is Roy. This is his son with Elizabeth. He, like Royal, tries to run the streets and doesn’t like to e in the church. However Gabriel tries to get Roy to be godlier with punishments and beatings but doesn’t get through to him. He eventually finds himself giving up on Roy and allowing him to do whatever he pleases. This causes their relationship to be more distant because they have anger towards each other. Gabriel has three different relationships with his sons and they all have different causes but none of them are strong relationships.
I like how you included the beatings and punishments that Roy receives that is not deserved. Your comment about Gabriel losing hope was completely true.
Gabriel has different types of relationships with his three sons. His relationship with his son Royal is very distant. When he first finds out that Esther is pregnant with Royal, he is disgusted by her and the child. He does not want her to conceive Royal. As Royal grows without the love of a father, he strays from the right path. Deborah says he's shamefully spoiled and is the apple of the eye of his mother ( Baldwin 137). Gabriel although rejected Royal before his birth, did later shows that he cares. He wants to smile at Royal and touch him on the head (138). He prays for Royal so that he wouldn't have to join the war (139). Royal grows up into a finely build teenager. Gabriel sees his son quite often; they did not hold conversations with one another as much as he would like (141). They talked once, but Royal was a bit drunk at the moment and they only exchanged short greetings and Gabriel warned Royal about the white men and Royal thanked him for the warning (142). Gabriel is very sad when Royal passed away (148). Roy and Gabriel's relationship is quite typical meaning he, like a lot of fathers out there, just wanted his son to be a good boy. Sadly, Roy wants a sinful life. Gabriel wants to make Roy into Royal or make up for his failure of raising Royal. His other son is John. John is like a punching bag for Gabriel. He pushes all is failures as a father, a man, and a husband onto John's shoulder. Gabriel states that John reminds him of the mockery his sister gave him, and the sad looks when Deborah prayed for him (150). There's a huge gap between Gabriel and John that will never be heal because they do not communicate with one another. Unfortunately for Gabriel, all three relationships are not successful.
Gabriel has very distinct relationship with his three sons. It is like each one stands on its own pole being very different from the other one. Royal, his first son who is also from Esther had a very weak relationship as he was very rebellious in his actions and didn't have much to do with his father Gabriel. He was a sinful person being the opposite of his father who is a religious person. His second son, Roy is his actual son who is from Elizabeth is also very sinful just like Royal, but the difference is that Gabriel had high hopes for him and tried to teach him his ways no matter what.He always ignored his father's words as he was the exact opposite from his father. John, being the third son who is not the actual son of Gabriel is the one who actually held the most potential in becoming just like Gabriel. But Gabriel kept his distance away from John and didn't want him to be his resemblance because he was not biologically his son which is why he tried to make Roy into his perfect son. For all three sons, they all share common treatment from Gabriel which is somewhat being neglected and not take care of properly. They feel that they are being abandoned by their father as he is not as pure as his teachings.
Gabriel had awkward and different relationships with each of his three sons (Roy, Royal, and John). Each son grew up in different environments, so they naturally grew up with different personalities. Royal, was the son that was born out of wedlock when Gabriel had the secret affair with Ester. He didn't want anyone to know of his dark deed, so he tended to stay afar from Ester only to see his son grow into a man. The middle son was John (Elizabeth's son from previous relationship), whom was not Gabriel's son by blood but instead by migration into( a gained son). John is a good kid, but Gabriel mistreats him and thinks that everything he does is sinful. This is most likely because like any son he doesn't feel a connection to John. Gabriel doesn't know this, but John secretly hates Gabriels because of the ways he is mistreated by his step father. Roy is loved by his father even though he is rebellious and gets into many fights. Roy likes to pick fights and almost dies from a fight and Gabriel blames it on John because John was somewhere else.
Gabriel interacted with Royal, Roy and John in a different way, but he never really had a relationship with any of them. Royal was his first son by his former mistress Esther. He had a few conversations with Royal, but he never reached out to him and let him know that he was father. He was too afraid of his reputation being destroyed and everyone finding out that he had an affair with Esther. If only he would allow his sin to be revealed he might have had the chance to form a relationship with his son. Gabriel’s relationship with John was nonexistent, despite the fact that John was the “good son”. John was confused about what he wanted in life and what made him happy, but that never made him bad. He didn’t want to be forced into doing something that he felt wasn’t the right choice for him. Out of all the children, Gabriel treated John the worst. He never truly showed him love or support for anything he did. On the other hand, Gabriel’s relationship with Roy was the total opposite. Gabriel showed Roy love and affection even if he did something wrong or was in the streets. Even though Gabriel didn’t believe in the things he did he still adored Roy. Roy and Royal’s personalities were similar, but different from John’s. They acted the same and got in the same trouble, which was ironic that their names are so close. John wasn’t like them he didn’t find trouble in the streets, but according to Gabriel he was always looking for trouble.
Gabriel's relationships with his sons are not the greatest in my opinion. The only son that Gabriel treats right is Roy and still it is not the greatest relationship. Gabriel has always wanted a son and when he received his wish he did not do as he was supposed to because it wasn't the way that he thought it "should be." When he first received his wish, Roy, he was not a proper father to him because he was conceived out of wedlock and the only positive thing he did in Roy's life was warn him against the danger on the street one night. A year later, Roy died and I believe that could have been prevented if Gabriel had done what he was supposed as a man and father. Later, Gabriel went North and married Elizabeth who had a son, John. Again, this was Gabriel's chance to be a father, but he treats John as an outcast because he is not his own flesh and blood. Gabriel goes through the motions of being a father to John, but without the most important part, love. I feel that Gabriel also holds disdain in his heart towards John because John is the only one out of Gabriel's male children that is expected to do well, and because John really isnt Gabriel's son it shows how he and any of his biological children is cursed with his past ways. Finally, there is the last of Gabriel's male children, Roy. Gabriel treats Roy the best because he was conceived, in Gabriel's eyes, as he should be in God's eyes. Even though he was conceived "properly" Gabriel still does not treat him as a father should. Royal and Roy are exactly alike, from what was conveyed, in personalities and also just like their father. Although Gabriel pretends to be a Holy man, his actions show who he really is and that also is projected through his biological children. John is the only different one among them and I believe that it is due to the fact that he does not belong to Gabriel. John is more humble than that of his brothers and has a better chance in life, in my opinion.
Gabriel has a different relationship with all three of his sons. His first son Royal was born out of wedlock. He is ashamed of his son and his ungodly mother. Even after Royals mother, Esther passes away Gabriel still does not step up to take care of his son. Their relationship is strained and he keeps tabs on him through Deborah. Although later he actually makes and effort to talk to Royal and try to get to know him. He prays for him and shows that he cares. Royal's passing greatly upsets him. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is different. Gabriel prays for Roy as well and wants him to be a good christian, but Roy is very sinful and wants to do whatever he wants to do godly or not. Gabriel just wants the best for him. John of the other two sons is the only son that is not his biological son. He shows great potential and has his life on the right track, but since John is not his biological son, Gabriel does not show much intrest in him and he looks down upon him. Gabriel has the worst relationship with John.
Gabriel has a very intricate and different relationship with all his sons. His first son, Royal, who is Esther’s son was conceived through an affair. Gabriel was given a message in his dream, which causes him to believe that Royal is the promised child. In his dream, he believes God gives him the message “His Descendent would carry his seal.” This isn’t true due as Gabriel shuns Royal due to his status as an illegitimate child. Royal is never given the path of God or a proper upbringing hence his death. Gabriel’s second son John is the son of Elizabeth. Gabriel has a strong distaste for John. This is contradicting, because John is the son Gabriel truly wanted. Gabriel is truly hateful that he was not John’s biological father. Roy is the youngest of all the sons. He is the connection between all three sons. Gabriel looks upon Roy as his last hope with God. Gabriel was given 3 sons where 2 could not achieve what he wanted because of their births being illegitimate and not biological of Gabriel himself. Roy is Gabriel’s last hope to achieve his goal of having a son of the path of God.
Gabriel has a different relationship with each of his three sons. Gabriel didn't really have a relationship with Royal.The only time he had a conversation with him was when he was telling him to “be careful”. Gabriel puts a lot of pressure on John compared to Royal even though he is not his biological father. He feels as though John is his only hope and could be a leader in the church. Instead of letting John find his way to salvation he forces it on him. John is the best son out of the three. While Royal and Roy are making poor decisions and doing things they shouldn’t be doing, John is actually doing right.Gabriel's relationship between his three sons vary. His first son Royal,was conceived when he was young so he shows no compassion or sympathy.Gabriel's relationship with Roy is very difficult because he wants his son to lead a life where he can be focused on god but he'd rather not live that life. Roy has always gone against his father's wishes for him by even wanting to leave the church. He doesn't see a role model in his father.Gabriel hopes that John will turn out to be the opposite of his other two sons.
Gabriel’s relationships with each of his three sons are interesting because they are all very different, yet similar; because all three of his relationships with his sons can be characterized as dysfunctional. When it comes to Gabriel’s relationship with his son Royal, their relationship can be defined as very strained. It is safe to say that Gabriel and Royal don’t really know much about each other. The two of them are not close at all, and the only way Gabriel even kept a relationship with Royal is through his wife, Deborah. Gabriel is ashamed of his son, Royal, because he was born out of wedlock. Gabriel struggles to have a relationship with Royal because he is too worried about his image as a preacher and what the church thinks of him. Gabriel is in no way a true father figure to Royal because he is not there for him. Although he prays for Royal occasionally, the only advice or conversations he even has with him is about staying out of trouble with white people. Now, in terms of Gabriel’s relationship with his son Roy, there relationship is somewhat rocky. Roy has no desires other than to run the streets. He has no intentions of doing anything else in life, but running the streets. He does not seem to care about life. Roy is more a free-spirit who just does as he pleases. He is very rebellious and is not religious in anyway. He does not care about going to church or having a relationship with God. With that being said, Gabriel struggles getting along with Roy. He wants Roy to turn his life around and stop getting into trouble. Gabriel wants Roy to be more holy and Godly. Gabriel repeatedly gives Roy warnings about him living his sinful life, but Roy does not care which puts a strain on their relationship as well. Last, but not least is his son John. Gabriel and John’s relationship is the worst out of all his sons. Gabriel feels a certain way towards John because he sees nothing, but the devil in John. It’s like when Gabriel looks at John he sees nothing, but bad and evil. Gabriel practically despises his son John which is interesting because John is the one who rarely gets into trouble. John is not Gabriel’s biological son. Gabriel seems to depend on John and puts a lot of pressure on him because he believes he is the only one who will spread and share the gospel. He believes that John is the only one who will grow up to be a leader in the church and do great things in his life. John extremely loathes Gabriel which Gabriel is completely unaware of. He does not love his father at all because of the way he treats him. John sees Gabriel as a complete hypocrite and wants nothing to do with his father.
For Gabriel's sons, there was a common lack of a relationship with each of them in the story. Although, each of them had a piece of Gabriel's own self. Gabriel's first son was Royal. His life was brought upon on acts of sin by both his mother and father. Gabriel shunned the existence of his son and tried to go along with life as if it was normal. was conceived in sin because Gabriel turned Ester away in her time of need. Since Royal never knew who his father was there was an obvious lack of communication between them. Gabriel saw himself in Royal as he did the same young boy actions as he did. He could could have had a relationship with him if he didn't hide the fact that he was his father. The only thing that he has the chance to say to him is "God bless you boy." (143). The second son was Roy. Gabriel tells himself that he will not make the same mistake with another child but Roy ends up living a similar life to Royals. It is strange that their names are so similar to each others as well. Roy is almost like the make up child for Royal. Gabriel is left to believe that his mistakes with his past and his first two sons have cursed him. The third son, John, takes pieces of Royal and Roy's relationships with Gabriel plus more. Both John and Royal were sin children which makes the relationship between Gabriel and John and Gabriel and Royal very similar. The difference between the first sons and John is the fact that he is the obedient one. He is leading his life in the words of God and in a way that will leave him with a good future. He is figuring out who he is and what the strange relationship between his father and himself and God is.
Gabriel expresses three different relationships among his sons. With John he shows a more strict and stern relationship even though John is extremely different from the other two sons. Within the novel the reader sees John as obeying and respectful. However, he is the only one forced to endure exaggerated treatments such as arriving to the church early to clean. Gabriel’s harsh treatment towards John can also be observed when Roy is stabbed and Gabrielle unconsciously blames John. On the other hand, Gabriel treats Roy the exact opposite. While he believed in a dream that God had promised that his son would be a somewhat chosen one, Gabriel believed this to be Roy. However, Roy was everything other than what his father expected. Like Gabriel in his youth, Roy stayed into trouble. Although Gabriel continuously punished Roy he failed to instill lasting discipline as he did within John. Roy would get a whooping for something, and return the next day to do the same thing. However, Roy and Royal share many of the same traits. They both act wild as Gabriel did when he was young. Yet, Gabriel doesn't show a true relationship towards Royal. Gabriel believed that his religious image would be destroyed if he had proclaimed that Royal was his son, and this caused him to keep a large distant from his own flesh and blood. Gabriel would attempt to provide some advice to Royal, but in fear of his image he could never show that he was a true father.
Gabriel has a very different relationship with all of his three sons. Out off all the boys John is his only biologically son, even though John is truly his son it doesn’t change the way Gabriel acts towards his other sons. Gabriel is very hard on john and shows a little favoritism to the other boys at times, or that is just how john feels .so you can sum up that this probably makes john a little mad because john just really wants for his farther Gabriel to love him. On the other had Gabriel’s other son Royals relationship is OK because they really didn't have one so there was not much confrontation. However at times Gabriel still continued to play the farther figure and try to look out for royal when he could. Now when it comes to Gabriel’s son Roy he is one of Gabriel prized positions because, Gabriel feels as if there could be hope with Roy if he continues to show the word to his child, even though Roy really doesn't want to live his life in the church and wants to enjoy himself now.
Gabriel has very peculiar relationship with his three sons. His relationship with Roy is very stressful and one can see why. Due to Roy wanting to live a sinful life one can understand Gabriel’s frustration towards him. Gabriel wants Roy to be godlier and he will go to any means for that to happen even if it means beating it into his child. However, Roy does not view Gabriel as a person who is as godly as he portrays to his congregation. Thus explaining Roy’s logic behind leading a more enjoyable life than that of which revolves around the church. This is why, even from an early age, he wanted to escape the church. It seems as if Gabriel has already given up on Roy because he is so determined to live a sinful life despite all warnings to turn his life around although the stabbing in the brawl should have been a clear sign. The relationship Gabriel has with Royal is even more unpleasant than that he has with Roy. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he was conceived out of wedlock. He didn't want to jeopardize his image as a preacher to be a father to his child because of Ester's image as a sinner and what he views as a "harlot" (pg.147). Gabriel's own guilt of his sins and lack of addressing them, as he explains when he feels all eyes are on him when he preaches, causes him to feel that he cant be the father Royal deserves even though he himself feels that everyone already knows his secret. Gabriel prays for Royal sometimes to find a new life and tries to warn him to stay out of trouble especially from the whites, but puts in no real effort to be a fatherly figure to Royal or even try to put him on the right track. Gabriel's might have saved his son from such a brutal death in Chicago if he didn’t care so much about his imagine but did what was morally right and father is own blood. Furthermore, Gabriel's relationship with John is more strained than he probably believes. John "did not want to love his father; he wanted to hate him"(pg.144) because he believes he is a complete hypocrite for engaging in all the sinful and deceiving behavior he did, but wants to beat John until he wants salvation. John feels that if Gabriel is what a holy person should be then he does not want to become such. Gabriel puts a lot of pressure on John, even though he is not his biological father, because he feels John is his only hope for leaving a holy legacy. He feels John could be a leader in the church and is trying to force it upon in instead of letting John find his way to salvation. Gabriel does not know the extent to which John is disgusted with him. So disgusted that John even states, "the grave was not enough for punishment" (pg.145). This strange relationship between these two surely causes a misunderstanding of their relationship and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are all very different, but what is consistent is Gabriel is not pleased with their level of Godliness and all of the relationships are dysfunctional.
Gabriel has three sons and his relationship with each son is different although two out of three of his sons share similar qualities. His first-born son, Royal, was a product of Gabriel committing adultery with the “harlot” Esther against his wife at the time, Deborah. Gabriel sees Royal going down the same wrong path he did and it hurts him to see it happening. Gabriel does not want anyone to know that Royal is his son because then they would find out about him sleeping with Esther while he was married to Deborah; so he watched and loved Royal from afar. Royal was not destined to be a religious man or pastor like Gabriel so Gabriel prayed for his first-born all the time but let him be his own man. Gabriel and Royal seemed more like casual friends than father and son. Gabriel’s second son, Roy, is in Gabriel’s eyes his way of making up for his sinning of having a child with a “harlot”. Their relationship is more forced than anything. Just like Royal, Roy does not want to be a pastor or a religious man like his father nor is it his destiny to be. John is Gabriel’s third son. Although he is not his own flesh and blood, John obeys Gabriel and wants to be just like him. His destiny is to follow in Gabriel’s footsteps, but Gabriel is so infatuated on keeping the family business all in the family that he over looks John’s efforts to be a holy man like him. Gabriel wants Roy to be a pastor but he is out on the street just like Royal. Olivia Sherman: Week 8
Gabriel didn't really have a relationship with Royal. At the same time he really wanted to be there for him but fear, pride and shame kept him from doing so. He did help him out when he told Royal to be careful with the White men in the streets but he later died in Chicago and that was really hard on him because he maybe feels like he should have been there for him or like Deborah says, he should've told the truth because she could have and still today been taking care of him as if he were her own son. Gabriel's relationship with Roy was hard because he saw Roy going down the same path he was on in his younger days. Gabriel wanted him to be in the church life, but Roy did not want that for himself. Gabriel's relationship with John was more of a father son relationship. Although John is not his actual son, Gabriel see's a man of God in John and he's seeing evil in Johns eyes right now, but he see's a man of God in his heart and isn't giving up on John.
Gabriel’s three “sons” are John, Roy (Royal), and Royal. He has two sons with the name Royal because he had once told Esther that the line of the faithful was a royal line and his son would be a royal child so he would be called Royal. Of the three boys, Roy is probably the only one who might have any real relationship with Gabriel. Gabriel seems to care for Roy. He possibly sees himself in Roy before he was saved. He disciplines Roy in an attempt to make him less wild but he takes no responsibility for Roy’s behavior. Instead, he blames Elizabeth because he does not believe she has repented and he sees John as living proof of her sin. He has hopes and dreams for Roy and believes those dreams can be realized because Roy was begotten in the marriage bed, unlike Royal (his oldest “son”) who was begotten in sin. Gabriel wants for Roy what he does not want for John. He wants Roy to be the Lord’s anointed, but Roy seems uninterested in the church, Temple of the Fire Baptized Church. John, however, is often in the church, but Gabriel does not have a relationship with him. He resents and treats John badly even though he told Elizabeth that he would treat John as his own before they were married. But, Gabriel does not think of John as one of his “sons.” His thoughts in church reveal his feelings about John. Although John is there, he thinks “neither of his sons was here tonight, had ever cried on the threshing floor” (110). He even resents the possibility that John may “lay astonished beneath the power of the Lord” because he does not see John as his rightful heir (110). John believes he hates his father, but he wants his love. John would probably benefit from being told Gabriel is not his biological father because he may no longer see himself as unlovable and would at least know why his father seems to care more for Roy than he does for him. Like John, Royal did not have a relationship with Gabriel. There was no relationship because Gabriel never acknowledged Royal as his son. There are three instances where he showed he may have cared about Royal – he prays Royal does not go to war, he shows concern when he bumps into Royal on the street because he is afraid he might be hurt by the white men on the street, and he cries when he learns of Royal’s death. But, even during his talk with Deborah, he is defiant about his behavior towards Royal. Gabriel’s relationship with all of his “sons” is the same. He favors Roy but Roy has little respect for the father who hits his mother. Therefore, his relationship with all his “sons” is distant, strained, and lacking in love regardless of whether or not he sees them as his true “sons” or not.
Gabriel had very different relationships with his three sons. He did not have a relationship with his son Royal. Because Royal was conceived out of sin, Gabriel did not want Esther to give birth to Royal. He did not want anyone to know of Royal because of his holy status. Because Gabriel did not have a relationship with Royal, Royal never really listened to his father. Gabriel never really cared what Royal did and never really disciplined him. Gabriel’s relationship with Roy was similar to Royal. He did not care what Roy did and did not really discipline him. Unlike Royal and Roy, John had a very different relationship with his dad. Gabriel was a lot stricter with John. He wanted John to be a man of God. But because he sees evil in John’s eyes, he is strict on John to guide him down the right path.
All three of Gabriel's relationships with his sons are completely different. His first son Royal, although he was illegitimate seemed to take a special place in his heart. I think this is because Gabriel risked everything, his family and his church position, to sleep with Royal's mother, and yet he was never even able to establish a relationship with the child that was a product of that situation. Gabriel lets Roy get away with so much, and I think it's because it's almost as if Roy is filling a void from Royal. They both weren't headed in good directions, and wanted to do whatever they wanted and didn't want to have to answer to anybody. It's like Roy and Gabriel have not a good relationship, but it's a relationship nonetheless and Gabriel is happy with that because he never had a relationship period with his first son. Gabriel and John have a horrible relationship. Gabriel sees Satan in John's eyes even though he is the good child. I believe this is because John has a calling over his life and great potential but doesn't want to acknowledge it. I think this upsets Gabriel because he was in the same boat, but he messed it up when he was sleeping around and having children out of wedlock. He sees that John's slate is clean and there's still hope for him. I believe that he'll never admit it, but Gabriel is jealous of John. He wishes he could go back to that childlike innocent state when he was called and faultless.
Gabriel's relationship with his sons differ from which son it was. For John, he did not really see him as a son because he and John did not have a very good relationship compared to Gabriel's and Roy's. Roy was more liked than John because Roy was actually Gabriel's real son. John on the other hand was not really Gabriel's son but a bastard child. Now Royal was another of Gabriel's son, but Royal did not know that Gabriel was his father. Royal had received many advice from Gabriel, but did not listen to it and ended up dying. Because of Royal dying, Gabriel wanted Roy to give everything for Roy and to have him go to church.
Gabriel with all three of his sons differs in a lot of ways. Royal who was his first son and was conceived by his Mistress Ester was never a part of his life because he wasn’t able to tell anyone about him because he was conceived out of adultery and him being a pastor could allow others to know about him and about his mother and she lived a promiscuous life and was sinning in the eyes of God. Gabriel was so attracted to her personality and free spirit and secretly longed for her life but could express that because he was a pastor and had an image to maintain. Then when he gets with his second wife, she already has a son and his name is John whom we find out later in the story, John’s younger sisters and his Brother who is Roy which would be Gabriel’s last son who he loves and wishes the best for the most. He wants Roy to follow in his footsteps and become a pastor but everyone sees John as becoming the one who does because he’s more compliant and reserved and seems to already be following Gabriel’s footsteps. Gabriel doesn’t want John to follow in his footsteps because he wants Roy too but Roy is rude, disrespectful, and sinful and completely hates his dad for some reason. Although Roy is far from becoming like Gabriel, Gabriel still hopes he will be and is longing for Roy to be like him.
Gabriel's relationships with his three sons are somewhat disturbing. He never had an actual relationship with his first son Royal by Esther because he wanted to keep his image pure to the public. He also did not want others to know Royal was conceived during his fornication with Esther while married to Deborah. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is complicated. Roy was very rebellious against his parents. He never wanted to go to church, he would stay out all night, and get into fights with white boys. Gabriel gave up on trying to get Roy to continue the pastoring in the family, but Roy was never the one for the job. John the youngest sibling and Gabriel's stepson, was treated the worst. Gabriel had a particular hatred toward John, he saw evil in John and blamed everything that went wrong on him. I believe he hated John because he wasn't his biological father and they were too alike. Gabriel showed particular favoritism towards Roy even though Roy was sprung out.
To say that Gabriel was a man of God he showed qualitiies of somewhat hate. with Royal he showed himself as just another kid. He hap one open conversation with him and as you look at it he shows the qualities that he did not want to be bothered with him. He wants Roy to be just like him and he trys to make him more Godly and he felt that he was the next heir. But john he despised because he felt as if he was the devil himself.
From reading the book, Gabriel was never a saint. Gabriel's relationships with all of his sons are somewhat unstable and depressing. Gabriel's relationship with Royal was an acquaintanceship. The their first conversation, or the most words they exchange between each other, was when Gabriel tried to warn him about the white people in town. Gabriel was never the garden angel or father figure that Royal needed. Instead he just watched and prayed and that obviously did not save Royal. As for his relationship with John, there is no love present. John hates Gabriel and wants nothing to do with him. Gabriel blames John for all the evil that currently happens within the family. Additionally, he does not view John as his son but something worst, Satan. "John's staring eyes tonight reminded Gabriel of other eyes: of his mother's eyes when she beats him, of Florence's eyes when she mocked him, of Deborah's eyes when she prayed for him, of Ester's eyes and Royal's eyes, and Elizabeth's eyes tonight before Roy cursed him, and of Roy's eyes when Roy said: ' You black bastard,'" (150). As for Gabriel's relationship with Roy, he tries to fix him, or in other words to make him the "godly child" because he sees himself more in Roy. Also, Roy is his only biological son that he has raised. All three of Gabriel sons are different, however they have similar qualities. For Royal, who never knew who his father was, seemed more polite compared to his brothers. John is confused and full of hatred towards everything, especially towards Gabriel. Roy is more out going and gets himself into trouble, just like his father when he was younger. However, all three of his sons somewhat have an independent mindset. Royal took care of himself without both of his parents. John is thinking about breaking away from the church to discover life outside it. And Roy knows that he is not the godly child that his father wishes for him to be. Yet, he still leaves church whenever, and gets himself into trouble.
In the book, you are unable to grasp a hold on to what exactly Gabriel feels about his sons, however his actions show it all with John and Roy its a battle between good and bad yet he has it all wrong he believes John is the bad influence and should know better, but Roy is just as mature in mind as John, fully capable of making decisions of his own. Gabriel problem remains with genetics he cant develope a father son relationship with John because he is not his biological son. Leaving the children to walk on eggshells everyday.
Gabriel’s respective relationships with his three sons are all different. For his first son Royal, Gabriel has a bond that seems to be nonexistent but he is still able to show compassion and sympathy towards him. Royal was conceived when Gabriel was still young so Gabriel was not fully ready to take care of him or face his wife with the fact that he had a child outside of his marriage. Royal shares similar qualities as Gabriel. For one, he is a hardheaded rebel who likes to hang out in the streets, just as his father was. When Gabriel and Elizabeth give birth to their first child together, Roy, his hope in believing that he will have a son who will become a preacher is given new life. His hope is soon diminished because Roy is very much like Royal. He likes to run the streets and get into fights, seemingly inescapable from his father's footsteps. This doesn’t stop him from loving Roy with all his heart, so much so that he begins to treat Roy as a favorite. When Roy gets cut, Gabriel finds a way to blame John for it. John, who is not Gabriel’s biological son, is the best behaved son Gabriel has had, but Gabriel fails to see the good that John possess and insists on seeing “Satan” staring out of John’s eyes (150). John figures to be the heir to Gabriel’s throne but Gabriel constantly shows a lack of respect and love towards John simply because he isn’t his biological son. His hatred towards John causes him to question Elizabeth if she regrets having him. This shows that he is truly upset, and has residual problems with the fact that he will not have a biological son that will succeed him in being a preacher.
Gabriel has a different relationship with each of his three sons. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he didn't want to ruin his image as a preacher to be a father to his child because of Ester's image as a sinner. When he preaches he feels as all the eyes are on him which in turn makes him feel that he cannot be a father to Royal even though he thinks that everyone already knows his secret. Gabriel prays for Royal to find the righteous path and warns him to stay out of trouble especially with the whites but doesn’t really put effort to be a fatherly figure to him. Gabriel consumption of what other people might think of him as having a child out of wedlock keeps him from really helping Royal, which could have saved him from his brutal death. Gabriel's relationship with John is more strained than his other relationship because he’s not his actually father. John feels hatred toward Gabriel because of the way he is treated “did not want to love his father; he wanted to hate him"(144). John tries everything to please him but nothing seems to faze him. John starts to think that if Gabriel represents what a holy person is suppose to be then he doesn’t want to become one. Gabriel’s relationship with Roy is very stressed due to Roy wanting to lead a sinful life. Gabriel tries to force Roy into going to church and become more faithful to his religion. Roy does not see Gabriel as holy person, so he doesn’t want to follow what his father is telling him. He would rather lead a more enjoyable life than that of which revolves around the church. Gabriel seems to give up on Roy because he is determined to live a life of sin and ends up getting stabbed in a brawl. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are very dysfunctional.
Gabriel had three different relationships with his sons. Royal was a bastard child that was conceived with Esther. He did not want to develop a relationship with him because it will give him a bad name. He wanted to completely banish his affair with Esther by sending her off; this caused a nonexistent relationship with his son. I believe that he wanted to love and care for his son, but he could not because of the circumstances that surrounded his son. One can feel the strong emotion he had when explaining Royal’s death. He also deeply cared about him because of his interaction with him that one night he was walking home. Roy was a mischievous and reckless child; he was every bit off Gabriel when he was a young boy. He wants Roy to be a very holy and pious young man because that is his own flesh and blood. Gabriel shows extreme disappointment in his son because he knows that he will never follow in his footsteps. This disappointment causes a slight resentment in John. John is a young lad that is trying to find his way, and he wants to be a good Christian young man just like his “father.” Gabriel does not want John to follow in his footsteps he wants Roy to be this way. Gabriel is never proud of John, every situation that correlates to John is negative.
Gabriel has a very poor rapport with all three of his sons. When Gabriel made an attempt to look out for Royal or give him advice, Royal deflected his advice and went about his business. This is similar to his son Roy’s reaction to his father’s instruction. The only son that has an ounce of respect for Gabriel is John; and John started to hate him. John hated that he needed his father’s approval, even though he did whatever he could to get the approval he would never see in Gabriel’s eyes. Royal and Roy have the same rebellious spirit that their biological father had when he was a young man. But John, being of no biological relation to Gabriel has the same kind, and calm composure he had when he was a child and had no ties to Gabriel.
Gabriel has a different relationship between all there of his sons he fathered. His relationship with him and John is more distant. Royal and Roy have the same rebellious spirit that their biological father had when he was a young man. But John, being of no biological relation to Richard has a different kind, and calm composure he had when he was a child and had no ties to Gabriel. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are very dysfunctional because of Gabriel's expectations and his son's wishes.
Gabriel had a very different relationship with each of his sons Royal, Roy, and John. Gabriel didn't really pay much attention to Royal because he was Esther's child and thought it would be the wrong image to portray since he was married to another woman. Roy reminded Gabriel as himself as young child. Gabriel cared a lot about Roy and wanted him to follow in his footsteps in his religious ways. John was not Gabriel's biological son, so Gabriel did not care for John as much as he did with Roy. Anything John did he perceived it as negative.
There is a distinct difference between Gabriel relationships with all three of his sons. Gabriel relationship with his son Royal will probably never be able o become a "healthy" relationship because of Gabriel fear of being looked at as a Harlot. Royal was conceived with Esther,and Gabriel is full aware of his sin. I want to think maybe Royal is a constant minder of Gabriel's love affair with Esther. His relationship with Royal is very strained. throughout the novel, which was all directed around a 24hr period, Gabriel only had one conversation with Royal. He was warning Royal about steering away from the "whites" that where in town. Gabriel remains updated about the events that take place in Royal's life through his wife Deborah, because she has a relationship with Royal's grandmother. Even though Gabriel was afraid of how people would view him as a preacher,a father, and a husband, to have Royal, maybe they would have respected him more if he would have tried to have a relationship with Royal. if Gabriel would have tried to be a positive influence in Royal's life, it may or may have made a difference in the outcome of Royal's life, pertaining to his brutal death in Chicago. Gabriel's relationship with his son Roy, is more of a "stressed" relationship because gabriel tries his best to push for Roy to build a relationship with God, and a crime-free life. However sometimes Gabriel is more lenient towards Roy because I think he sees himself in Roy. he tries his best to push for Roy to build a life that revolves around the Church. Gabriel has always pushed for Roy to come to church from an early age, maybe the reason why he wants to rebel so much. John is not Gabriel's Biological son, but john has the closest relationship with Gabriel, whether he know sit or not. their relationship maybe closer, but it is not the best, because Gabriel often blames John for Roy' behavior. john desperately wants to find the right path for him, and tries his best to not be a sinner, but is constantly pushed by Gabriel and everyone else to live this life closely associated with God. Gabriel sometimes gives John the cold shoulder. I think it bothers Gabriel, to see that his non-biological child; John is actually at least trying to find and build a relationship with God,when his biological children shows no interest in the idea.
Royal, Roy and John all have different interactions with their father. Royal, Gabriel's first son, is his biological son but he is not there to raise him. Gabriel only sees Royal grow up, and hears about him distantly from Deborah. John, Gabriel's second son, is not his biological son. John is Elizabeth and only Elizabeth's child. Gabriel shows no caring emotion for John even though John is a great boy. Everything John does is never good enough for Gabriel. John can never seem to please him, which causes mutual hate between the two. Roy, Gabriel's last son, is the pride and joy of Gabriel's life. Gabriel can see no wrong in Roy even though he does all wrong. It is Roy that Gabriel wants to follow in his footsteps but it is Roy who chooses a different path. This ironic because this is the path that Gabriel first followed before turning to the Lord. Gabriel blames John for every wring that is done. He expects a lot from John, not for John's good but for Roy's. He wants John to protect and take care of Roy so that it is Roy who can follow in Gabriel's footsteps. Roy and Royal seem similar, they seem to like to run the street and reject the Lord, just as their father first did.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a different relationship with each of his three sons. Gabriel’s relationship with Royal was basically nonexistent. He had one conversation with Royal and that was when he was telling him to be careful of the white folks that were in town one day. He really didn’t know Royal. Gabriel kept tabs on Royal through his wife Deborah, who happened to have a relationship with Royal’s grandmother. However, his relationship with his son Roy is strained. Gabriel wants to make Roy more Godly, but Roy wants to run the streets. Gabriel love Roy so much and he is more lenient with him than he is with John, his third son. Gabriel hates John. When he looks at John he see evilness, he sees the devil in john. He seems to blame john for Roy’s failures. However, John is the good son and he is not Gabriel’s biological son. And since Gabriel knows that Roy will not act right he has to have someone to bring up and preach the gospel after him.
Royal and Roy seems to have similar personalities. They both are rebellious and want to run the street, get into fights, and not think about God or the church. They don’t seem to value life. John on the other hand is a quite person being forced into a situation he doesn’t necessarily want. Gabriel’s other two sons were hard headed, and now John is punished for it. All John wants is for his father to love him.
Gabriel's relationship with his first born, Royal was nonexistent because he did not want Esther to have Royal. And because his relationship was nonexistent, he really did not know Royal. Indeed, Both Royal and Roy share similarities because they don't want to listen to their father, who committed sins himself. John is being forced into what Gabriel wants him to understand because he is not his biological son. I also agree with the fact that Gabriel thinks that John is a bad influence on Roy. In the end I believe that they are doing whatever they are doing because it's the punishment that Gabriel receiving for committing sins in the past.
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ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his three sons are all different. He didn't have a relationship at all with his son Royal because he didn't want the town or his wife to find out that he had sinned and gotten Esther pregnant. His relationship with john is ironic because even though john is the good son that obeys his parents, Gabriel is much harder on him and sees him as being evil.For example, when john was at the alter and gave Elisha a weird look, Gabriel saw evil in him and told him to get down and pray.Gabriel's relationship with Roy is opposite of John because he let's Roy do whatever he pleases and isn't hard on him.Royal and Roy have the same personality, they both live in sin and are on an evil unholy path.They both want to do whatever hey want and not listen to anyone. While John is respectful and obeys and listens to his parents and elders.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has very interesting relationships with his three sons. His relationship with Roy is very stressed due to Roy wanting to lead a sinful life. Gabriel wants Roy to be more godly even if it means beating it into his child. Roy does not see Gabriel as a person who is godly enough to force it upon him and would rather lead a more enjoyable life than that of which revolves around the church. This is why, even from an early age, he wanted to escape church. Gabriel has almost seemed to give up on Roy because he is determined to live a sinful life despite all warnings to turn his life around like being stabbed in a brawl. The relationship Gabriel has with Royal is even more horrid than that her has with Roy. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he was conceived out of wedlock. He didn't want to ruin his image as a preacher to be a father to his child because of Ester's image as a sinner and what he views as a "harlot" (pg.147). Gabriel's own guilt of his sins and lack of addressing them, as he explains when he feels all eyes are on him when he preaches, causes him to feel he CANT be a father to Royal even though he himself feels that everyone already knows his secret. Gabriel prays for Royal sometimes to find a new life and tries to warn him to stay out of trouble especially from the whites, but puts in no real effort to be a fatherly figure to Royal or even try to put him on the right track. Gabriel's own consumption in what people will think of him as a reverend with a child out of wedlock keeps him from trying to truly help Royal which could have eventually saved him from his brutal death in Chicago. Gabriel's relationship with John is more strained than he probably believes. John "did not want to love his father;he wanted to hate him"(pg.144) because he believes he is a complete hypocrite for engaging in all the sinful and deceiving behavior he did, but wants to beat John until he wants salvation. John feels that if Gabriel is how a holy person is then he does not want to become such. Gabriel puts a lot of pressure on John, even though he is not his biological father, because he feels John is his only hope for leaving a holy legacy. He feels John could be a leader in the church and is trying to force it upon I'm instead of letting John find his way to salvation. Gabriel does not know the extent to which John is disgusted with him, to the the level he thinks "the grave was not enough for punishment" (pg.145), but it strongly effects the level to which John wants to connect with Gabriel. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are all very different, but what is consistent is Gabriel is not pleased with their level of Godliness and all of the relationships are dysfunctional.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you 100%.You have very clear points and explain each relationship really well.
DeleteGabriel’s respective relationships with his three sons are all different. For his first son Royal, Gabriel has a nonexistent bond but he is still able to show compassion and sympathy towards him. Royal was conceived when Gabriel was still young and naïve so Gabriel was not fully ready to take care of him or face his wife with the fact that he had a child outside of his marriage. The distance between he and Esther and Royal did not affect his feeling towards his first born son. He was so concerned with Royal that there would often be “a fear deep within him [that] listened and waited” (Baldwin 140). Royal shares similar qualities as Gabriel. For one, he is a hardheaded rebel who likes to hang out in the streets. It is clearly evident that he receives this trait from his father. When he dies Gabriel takes it hard, realizing that his gift from God would not be a successor to his throne as a preacher. But when Gabriel and Elizabeth give birth to their first child together, Roy, his hope in believing that he will have a son who will become a preacher is revived. His hope soon diminishes because Roy is much like Gabriel’s first child Royal. He likes to run the streets and get into fights, which Gabriel has taken part of in his childhood. This doesn’t stop him from treating Roy as his favorite son, because he is his own flesh and blood. When Roy gets cut, Gabriel finds a way to blame John for it. John, not Gabriel’s biological son, is perhaps the best behaved son Gabriel has or has had, but Gabriel fails to see the good that John possess and insists on seeing “Satan” staring out of John’s eyes (150). John figures to be the heir to Gabriel’s throne but Gabriel constantly shows a lack of respect and love towards John simply because he isn’t his biological son. His hatred towards John causes him to question Elizabeth if she regrets having him. This shows that he is truly upset, and has residual problems with the fact that he will not have a biological son that will succeed him in being a preacher. All in all, Gabriel shows hatred and contempt towards the son that least deserves it and fails to discipline the sons that needs it the most.
ReplyDeleteWhere to start when it comes down to Gabriel's kids. Well, when it comes down to Royal [Esther's son] Gabriel was not there for him at all because he did not want people to know he had sex with Esther and got her pregnant. Gabriel was just a dead beat dad for the most part. His second son John, is a good boy the most favorite one out of all of them but Gabriel treats him like he is the worst one. Gabriel makes John pray for any and everything he does especially for the littlest thing such as, giving someone a evil look. He made Gabriel repent for what he had did and I feel as if he should not be hard on him at least not that hard. Last but not least Roy, the son who lives a very sinful life. He does any and everything to make Gabriel upset but shockingly Gabriel wants him to walk in his shoes. He wants nothing but the best for him and wants him to be nothing but godly. Now when it comes down to comparing all three of the boys together, I feel as if, Roy is the worst but everybody sees only innocents in and out of him, John wants to be a good boy but Gabriel only sees the bad in him and last but not least Royal, he is nonexistent but once to be supported and loved by his father.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his sons were all different. He didn't really have a relationship with Royal because he was conceived from sin. He wants to uphold his "holy" image and fears that having a relationship would Royal would interfere with that. However, he does have a relationship with John and Roy. He is hard on John and views everything he does as a sin. When in actuality, John is the good son. Roy is rebellious but gets the most love and attention from his father. Royal and Roy have similar personalities.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his three sons Royal, John, and Roy are all very different. Gabriel's relationship with his first born, Royal seems hopeless. Gabriel tries to be secretive in hiding the fact that he had a child with Esther, knowing that he committed adultry. Gabriel can't quite get through to Royal because he did not want him to be born in the first place. Royal does not want anything to do with Gabriel and his religious advice. Therefore Royal does not listen to Gabriel and lives his life how he chooses to. Gabriel's relationship with his second son Roy is sort of fustrating; he can't make Roy understand that becoming a preacher and leading the church is the right path to take. Gabriel does not give any rules to Roy, he allows Roy to do whatever. Although, Gabriel tries to abuse religion into Roy, but Roy still continues to sin. Gabriel thinks that his third son, John is a bad influence to Roy. Gabriel's relationship with his third son, John is even more different then Royal and Roy. Gabriel isn't John's real father, and for that he knows that he can't advise John. Just like Roy, John lives a life of sin and chooses not to listen to Gabriel. The relationship between Gabriel and all three of his sons' can be compared by their personalities with one another. All three sons believes that their father, Gabriel isn't the man he should be, and with the type of occupation he has, what he suppose to be. How can a father, whose a reverend comitt so much sinful crimes get through to his sons. Gabriel can't because he has a fist born who he doesn't really love, he has second born who he loves but can't convinced into the right path, and he has a third son who isn't his real son and understands that he can't get through to.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationships with his sons provides information into Gabriel's mind and personality. Gabriel's first son, Royal, was conceived in sin because Gabriel turned Ester away in her time of need. The book implies that not only was Gabriel's and Ester's relationship was strained, but Gabriel's and Royal's was also strained with very little communication. Royal engaged in questionable activities which farther their tenuous father-son relationship and lead to Royal's death. Gabriel's second son, Roy, is also Gabriel's biological son who leads his life similar to Royal which are similar characters implied by their similar names. It is also implied Gabriel might be trying to relieve his guilt towards Royal by focusing his efforts to change Roy's life path. Gabriel wants desperately for his blood to not seem tainted because of his first two sons questionable and sinful activities. Unfortunately, Gabriel's blood seems tainted and unholy based on his relationship with his third son, John. Gabriel's and John's relationship is similar to Gabriel's relationship with Royal because both Royal and John were conceived in sin, but John is not Gabriel's biological son. John is the good son who follows the house's, or rather, his father's rules. John desperately wants to find the right path for his life in which he can satisfy his obligations to God as well as his life's satisfaction. Gabriel dislikes the fact his two biological sons are wasting their lives in sin while John is finding his way to God.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you connected Gabriel guilt for the death of Royal to his efforts to change Roy's life. I also liked how you connected all three sons because they were all brought to Gabriel through sin, which may have been the reason why God had put him in that situation.
DeleteGabriel has different relationships when it comes to is children. For his first son Royal, he did not have much of a connection with him. I believe the relationship was more tense because Royal's mother was Esther. At the time, Esther was not his wife, and could not be because he considered her a "harlot." When it comes to Royal, Gabriel did not fulfill the duty of a being a man like he should. If Gabriel would have stepped up like a father, I don not think Royal would have died the way he did. For his second son, Roy was considered the child who committed too many sins. Concerning Roy, Gabriel was not an absentee father like he was with Royal. The relationship between Gabriel and Roy was still distant. Gabriel let Roy do whatever he pleases and he is very lenient with him. I believe that reason why Gabriel acts the way he does towards Roy is because they are alike. Gabriel used to act used as Roy did when he was the same age. I think that Gabriel believes tat one day Roy would transform is life just like he did when he was younger. His third son John, as a total different relationship out of all of his sons. John, was a good son but Gabriel still treated him otherwise.John however, is not is biological son, that is Elizabeth's son. Although, John is perceived to be a "good boy," he has high level of hatred or his step-father Gabriel. In the book Baldwin describes the way John looks at his father as "... Satan, at that moment, stared out of John's eyes while the Spirit spoke...(150)." When it comes to all of is three sons, Gabriel has different relationships between them. Gabriel as the opposite relationships wen it comes to his sons.John, however is the one that is constantly being disciplined but does not rally need to as much as Roy or Royal. On the other hand wen it comes to Roy ad Royal the two sons that do need the discipline Gabriel does t step in like the father he should.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has very different relationships with all three of his sons Royal, Roy, and John. Basically, Gabriel does not have a relationship with his son Royal. They do not speak, he doesn’t know much about Royal, and the little he does know he finds out through his wife. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he was conceived out of wedlock, and did not want to risk tarnishing his image as a preacher. His relationship with his son Roy was very different from that of Royal’s. However, Roy and Royal were very similar in some ways, in the way that they both wanted to do trouble some things. Gabriel only wants Roy to do what he thinks is right and get him closer to God. Despite his sons actions, Gabriel loves Roy very much. John would be the son that Gabriel dislikes the most, but he is not Gabriel’s biological son. However, John is the best son out of the three. While Royal and Roy are making poor decisions and doing things they shouldn’t be doing, John is actually doing right and good. John does so only to earn the love of his father. Therefore, as you can see, Gabriel has a very different relationship with all three of his very different sons.
ReplyDeleteGabriel relationship with his sons were all different in a way but one son Royal relationship was really different from the other two because Gabriel wasn’t there for him due to the fact he feared what other people would think of him when they found out Ester and him was having an affair. He was willing to give up his son just so that his sinful life doesn’t come out so he gives Ester money to move but then he doesn’t think about the boy. He has no type of bond with Royal due to the fact he cannot own up to his mistake. However, I believe Roy has a hard life because of his father Gabriel. Gabriel is extremely hard on Roy because of the sinful life he lived and he thinks that Roy would be going down the wrong road if he doesn’t force discipline on him. Gabriel really wants Roy to live a more religious way than it looks like and since the son is not listening to him all the time he would beat him to get Roy to see that he needs to live a Godly way. After a while Gabriel sees that it’s nothing he can do if he want to live a certain way he is going to do what he want. Then there is his good son John. John is the soon that tries to follow the life that his dad has set up for him but Gabriel believes that its all just an act. He feels like John is full of it and that he has spirits in his body that will take over him. All his relationships are different and weird but all of them are like that because of Gabriel or his actions.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his three "sons" differ greatly. Gabriel. And Royal's one-on-one connection or relationship did not form because Gabriel was born out of wedlock, but Gabriel still took interest in his son. He went out of his way to talk to Royal and warn him to stay out of trouble with the whites. I believe out of all his sons, Gabriel seen the most of himself and the most potential in Royal. John and Gabriel's is the most complex. Deep down, I Gabriel sees that John is the least sinful son, yet because John is not of his blood, Gabriel is not willing to except that someone that did not come from him is better. John reminds Gabriel of all the sinful actions and un-Godly behavior he has done. Baldwin writes, "Gabriel had never seen such a look on John's face before; Satan, at that moment, stared out of John's eyes while the Spirit spoke, and yet John's staring eyes tonight reminded Gabriel of other eyes" (150). Gabriel associates John with all the negative occurrences in his life. Since Roy is his only blood-son left, Gabriel has high hopes for him, although he consistently acts as a sinner. Roy is his favorite son and beats him to force him to be more Godly. Both John and Roy "did not want to love [their] father; [they] wanted to hate him" because of harsh treatment directed towards them (Baldwin 144). In conclusion, the relationship between each son and Gabriel is o f dislike to each son, and is based off of one another's lacking qualities. None of these relationships conform to the needs of the sons; Gabriel is focused on what's best for himself and to form his desired level of Godliness.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his three "sons" differs depending on the son. Being that John isn't his real son his relationship with him is different than his with Roy and with Royal, his unacknowledged son. John and Gabriel's relationship has this underlying tension in it because John does not really like the person Gabriel is or his fraudulent ways. Roy the youngest son has a different relationship with Gabriel because not only is he his biological son but he is also a lot like Gabriel in many ways. Unlike John he isn't afraid to confront Gabriel or to be honest with his feelings about his father so there really is no underlying drama in there relationship like that of John and Gabriel. Royal is Gabriel's unacknowledged son and their relationship is pretty much non-existent. Gabriel spends so much time trying to keep Royal a secret that he never gets to be a father to him. Gabriel has three sons but is really a parent to one and that's not to say he's an excellent parent to that one.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a fake relationship with all three of his sons. It seems that his life is all in a mess, and he wants so much to be good and holy, that it makes him forget about what is important. All his sons are a resemblance of the different sides of him. Roy, Royal, and John act like rebels, because he himself is a rebel at heart. He commits sins that he often tries to hide, but now he is figuring out that he cannot do so anymore. His relationship with Roy is not real. He does not really communicate with him at all, and lets him do basically anything he wants to do. His relationship with John is sad, because all John wants is for his father to care for him the way normal fathers should. He wants John to be involved in the church and tries to force all these things upon him, but he does not exactly lead by example. John feels that father is a sinner himself, and wants so much out of him that he does not even have in himself. John goes so far as to wish "that his father would die" (145) and wishes eternal suffering on Gabriel. On the other hand, Gabriel's relationship with Royal is distant, because he has to leave to go with his grandmother. Royal was Gabriel's favorite son, and he admits that "he fell on his knees each night to pray that Royal would not have to go" (139), but he has no choice. Gabriel felt that he could not have a legitimate relationship with Royal because he is a harlots child. He did not want people to know about him, since Esther was a sinner. However he fails to realize that the sin has already been committed. He wants Royal to be holy and stop all the nonsense with drinking and gambling, but it is not the life he wanted to live. After Royal dies, Gabriel weeps and admits that Royal was his own flesh and blood (147). He lets out all the anguish that he has about the situation and realizes that he should have done better, but it is too late. Gabriel is always two steps behind reality. He never wants to admit his sins until they come back to haunt him.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his three sons were very different but the most awkward relationship occurred between him and his son Royal. This relationship was different because Gabriel didn't really play a part in the young boy's life because he feared that people would find out that he had an affair with Esther. So at the expense of a healthy relationship with his son, he watched him grow up from a far in need a of father in his life. He had many different encounters with Royal where he felt that he was making some bad decisions. It was weird to see that he was trying to parent him but at the same time make it seem as if he was just giving advice to an ordinary teenage boy. His encounter with Royal smoking cigarettes is an example. He said "Boy ain't you got good sense? Don't you know you ain't got no business to be out here, walking around like this?"(142). The way that he made that comment caused Gabriel to question his authority because he never had him as a father in his life, he was uncertain whether to laugh or take him seriously. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is very difficult because he wants his son to lead a life where he can be focused on god but he'd rather not live that life. Roy has always gone against his father's wishes for him by even wanting to leave the church, he doesn't see a role model in his father. I believe this is why he doesn't want to follow in his footsteps. He has struggled so much to get Roy focused and on the right path that I believe that he has given up on him. This is why he is so hard on John because Gabriel knows that John isn't' going to go against him. There relationship is forced because he doesn't know how to fully communicate with John in an effective manner. John says that "he doesn't want to love his father; he wanted to hate him, to cherish that hatred, and give his hatred words one day."(144). Gabriel isn't John's biological son but he feels that he is the closest thing to him that could actually lead a holy life. He puts so much pressure on John that it actually causes him to run away from the life that Gabriel wants for him. The relationships that John has with all of his sons are different and he never really builds a solid relationship with any of them.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationships with each of his sons are different. His three sons are Roy, Royal, and John. Roy feels that Gabriel is a hypocrite in a way. He lived a sinful life but he wants to force religion upon his children. Because of this reason there is a strain on their relationship. Roy wants to enjoy life, life outside of the rules and confinement of the church.
ReplyDeleteRoyal was the son born out of wedlock. Because of this, Gabriel basically disowned him. These two don't really have a relationship. To keep a positive image as a Reverend, Gabriel tries to keep Royal a secret. He is around to warn him about the dangers in life but not as a father figure. Not being there led to Royal living a rowdy lifestyle.
John, who is not Gabriel's biological son, is a very nice young man. However, to Gabriel he is seen as a bad influence and all around bad person. John is one of the best sons Gabriel has. He wants to live the life that Gabriel has set in place for them and be pious.
Gabriel relationships with his three sons Royal,Roy,andJohn are all different,but it is the same because he wants to focuse them to become more in word of God,which makes them all see him has hypercri. Royal was the one who didn't stay in town because of his sinful life,he had a baby out of wedlock and Gabriel was a shame of Royal sin so he cut him off. His Relationship with Roy is that Roy doesn't see the point for being closer to God.He just want to do whatever he wants and his Gabriel can't tell him much because Roy still don't listen. His relationship with step son John is that he tries to fouse John into salvation instead of letting him do it on his own,which makes John dislike him but John still obeys him.
ReplyDeleteGabriel looked at all of his sons differently. Royal was his first son which was the son that he conceived with the harlot Esther. The shame of being this bastard child's father was too heavy of a burden on Gabriel so he fell and never stood up to be the father that he should have been for Royal. The relationship that he had with Royal existed only in the sense of a preacher trying ineffectively to influence a young boy who was going down the wrong path. As far as father-son relationship, it was nonexistent. John was not Gabriel's biological son which gave him no reason to want to like or really love John. The relationship that he had with John was complicated because he seems to hate John and blame him for all of Roy's mistakes (example:the stabbing) but at the same time Gabriel sees everything that he wants his son Roy to be. Roy is Gabriel's biological son that he conceived with his wife Elizabeth. This is Gabriel's only son in his eyes and he wants him to be everything that he want Roy to be but Roy is more interested in fighting, running the streets and getting into trouble rather than religion or school. Roy and Royal are very similar. The both liked to wander the streets and cause chaos rather than be worried about school or the salvation which was actually worried about to some extent.
ReplyDeleteCompare and contrast Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons"and compare their personalities with one another.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with Royal, John, and Roy are are contrasting yet similar. With all three boys, them to think that he is a man who lives his life by the Word of God. Gabriel tries to raise John and Roy in the Word of the Lord and during his few times of talking to Royal he says "God bless you boy"(p.143) creating the illusion that he is no sinner. The differences between the relationships are with Royal there was not any type of relationship bond and he died not even knowing Gabriel was his father. John and Gabriel's relationship is full of spite and hatred towards one another and it is perfectly written out when the narrator says "Gabriel scarely believing that John could have become so brazen, stared in wrath and horror at Elizabeth's presumptuous bastard boy. He nearly raised his hand to strike him, but did not move, for Elisha lay between them." (p.150) I am not sure where this hatred between Gabriel and John came from but from the text, I can tell it is mutal. Lastly, the relationship between Gabriel and Roy is they are one in the same and therefore, they do not get along. Readers can tell that Roy has no respect for Gabriel when he calls him a "black bastard"(p.48)with no fear at all. Florence also mentions that Roy is the apple of Gabriel's eye (p.46), so in despite of the disrespect Roy shows him, he is Gabriel's favorite.
Gabriel didn't have a good relationship with any of his three sons. Gabriel treats John the toughest. Because John isn't Gabriel's biological son, there's a barrier between them. Gabriel pushes John to be involved in the church. I think one of the main reasons why is because his other sons doesn't actually listen to him when he tries to bring them closer to the church. His relationship with Royal didn't exist. He was no more than a stranger to Royal because he didn't take involvement in Royal's life. Roy was the only son that Gabriel actually tried to take a fatherly role with. Roy was his legal son with no strings attached. Although he tried to be a good father towards Roy, he did not listen. All of Gabriel's sons had a very distant relationship with him because Gabriel couldn't really express his fatherly role towards them. They didn't feel his involvement in their lives. Perhaps they feel that he was also a hypocrite for always trying to pull them towards a holy life when he was a sinner himself. How can they follow a role model like Gabriel when he didn't set a good example for them to follow in the first place?
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a different relationship between all there of his sons. His relationship with him and John is more distant. Gabriel doesn't see any good in John because it is not his biological son. John is Elizabeth's son. When Gabriel looks at John all he see is sin, although John is one of the better sons. Gabriel blames the rebellion of Roy on John. All John wants is to be accepted by Gabriel. The relationship Gabriel and Roy has is a more worrisome relationship. Gabriel wants Roy to be more like him, a preacher filled with the Holy Ghost, but Roy doesn't want that. Gabriel feels like if he can't talk Jesus in Roy , he is going to beat it into him just like Gabriel's mother did to him. Gabriel's relationship with his first son Royal is very interesting because he stayes in the same town and spoke to Royal but yet never told him or anyone else that Royal was his son. Gabriel was afraiis of being judged because he had a baby for a woman who wasn't his wife, and Gabriel is suppose to be the holiest in the town. He would lose respect from the people in his congragation and the people of his town. So he kept hsi relationship with him and Royal nonexistent. His relationships between all of his son favor because all of them have some type of sin tied behind him. Roy is a rebellious child who doesn't listen to his parents, John was conceived out of wedlock and so was Royal by someone who Gabriel had an affair with. The relationships between Gabriel and his sons are not perfect. They each have their own flaws.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has very interesting relationships with his sons but, they’re all very different. His relationship with Roy was quite tough because Roy wanted to live a sinful life. Gabriel wants Roy to be more Godly even that resulted to beating it into him. Gabriel seems to have given up on Roy because of his wanting to live a sinful life even through all of the things happening to him in his life like being stabbed in a brawl. Gabriel’s relationship with Royal seems to be more unpleasant than his relationship with Roy. Gabriel wants nothing to do with Royal because he got Esther pregnant out of wedlock. They basically don’t even have a relationship. But, even his distance from Royal and Esther didn’t stop him from being concerned about his first born son. Because John isn’t Gabriel’s biological son he doesn’t care how he treats him even though he is the best-behaved out of the other two. Roy took on traits of his older brother Royal, running the streets and getting in to fights but, this doesn’t stop Gabriel from treating Roy as his favorite son because Roy is his own flesh and blood. John, on the other hand, gets the worst treatment because he isn’t Gabriel’s blood son. Gabriel fails to see the good that John possesses, instead he insists on seeing “Satan” staring out of John’s eyes (Baldwin 150). His hatred toward John causes him to question Elizabeth on her regrets of having him. Ultimately, Gabriel shows hatred toward the son that least deserves it and fails to discipline the sons the really need it the most.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing yet sad how all three of Gabriel’s son’s had a somewhat of a different upbringing, yet all three of them are unbelievably similar. Gabriel’s first relationship with his first son Royal was hopeless. When Esther first declared that she was pregnant and wanted Gabriel to do something about it, Gabriel didn’t even give her the opportunity for her to conceive the baby under his care for he did not want a baby from a “harlot”. As a result, he cursed Gabriel, wishing that her son was just as sinful as Gabriel, yet a better man than he will ever be. His name was Royal because of Gabriel’s desire of having a royal generational line. However, Royal was sinful and did not listen to anyone as a result of already having his mind made up. Thus, getting him killed in a gambling incident. Roy on the other hand is his youngest son and his only real son by Elizabeth. As a result of his other blood related son dying, Gabriel puts all his hopes and dreams into Roy thinking that this is the promised seed that God promised him would. However, Roy is sinful and mirrors the exact sons of his father when he was a young man. Roy acknowledges the fact that he does wrong, yet does not take the responsibility of fixing it himself. John, Gabriel’s stepson and Elizabeth’s real son, shows great potential to be something great in life and carrying on Gabriel’s Legacy. But just like Royal, John is abandoned by Gabriel because he is not his real son, making him the product of lustful sin. Consequently, John grows to hate his father. All three of the sons have different mothers, yet they are all effected by the past sin of Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a different relationship with all three of his sons. Starting with Royal, Gabriel’s first son, he sees himself in Royal. He mentions on page 161 how much it must have hurt his mother to watch him deteriorate as much as it hurts him now to watch his own son follow the same path. Gabriel loved Royal and prayed for him every day, but he understood that he was destined for a path of unfortunate events. Royal’s relationship with his father was almost as if they were mere aquantences. When they passed one another on the street they would have casual conversation and continue on. Gabriel’s relationship with his second son is strained. Gabriel believes that Roy is his ticket to salvation. He will be able to make up for the mistakes he made with Ester, by having Roy. Roy does not want to lead the holy life his father wants for him. Roy was not destined to be a holy man like his father. John is despised by his father. Mainly because Gabriel is not his blood son. Although is Gabriel was to fix his relationship with John that would be his best chance of achieving the salvation he ultimately wants.
ReplyDeleteI liked your point on Gabriel's relationship with Roy.
DeleteGabriel’s relationship with each of his sons was different. He never really had a relationship with his first son, Royal, because he was born out of wedlock due to him having sexual relations with Ester. Gabriel chose not to be involved in this child’s life, like most men from the African American community who have children. When Gabriel does obtain information about Royal, it is through his wife. However, he does have a relationship with his sons, John and Roy, whose mother was Elizabeth. Gabriel treats John the toughest. The reasoning behind this treatment of tough love is due to John not being Gabriel’s biological son. Gabriel is constantly pushing John to be involved with the church, because he wants him to be a pastor just like him when he gets older. Also, he seems to believe that everything John does is a sin. His love for Roy is stronger than his love for John. He is very lenient on Roy, even though Roy is the rebellious son who is always doing mischievous things. Also, Royal and Roy were both similar because they both stayed getting in trouble.
ReplyDeleteGabriel’s relationship with his late son, Royal, was indirect. Gabriel watched Royal grow up from afar, not wanting to reveal his act of adultery against his wife at the time, Deborah. As a well-respected and married preacher, it would tarnish his image if word were to get out that Gabriel and Esther conceived a child together. It is for these reasons that Gabriel feels that he cannot be an active father to Royal. Gabriel expresses his sorrow for his denial of Royal during a symbolic day of storming, “[the] waters of anguish riding the world,” and weeps for his dead son in sync with the rain and dripping coffee from his overturned mug. On the other hand, the older stepson of Gabriel is in the ideal position to be loved, yet Gabriel is equally as distant with John in compassion as in physical proximity with Royal. John is an altogether well-behaved child who Gabriel is frustrated that 1) is not his child by blood, and 2) still has not shown progress in gaining a deep relationship with the Lord. Gabriel’s link with Roy is exactly opposite. While Roy is his biological son, Gabriel has given up on his effort to lead him to God.
ReplyDeleteGabriel’s relationship with his late son, Royal, was indirect. Gabriel watched Royal grow up from afar, not wanting to reveal his act of adultery against his wife at the time, Deborah. As a well-respected and married preacher, it would tarnish his image if word were to get out that Gabriel and Esther conceived a child together. It is for these reasons that Gabriel feels that he cannot be an active father to Royal. Gabriel expresses his sorrow for his denial of Royal during a symbolic day of storming, “[the] waters of anguish riding the world,” and weeps for his dead son in sync with the rain and dripping coffee from his overturned mug. On the other hand, the older stepson of Gabriel is in the ideal position to be loved, yet Gabriel is equally as distant with John in compassion as in physical proximity with Royal. John is an altogether well-behaved child who Gabriel is frustrated that 1) is not his child by blood, and 2) still has not shown progress in gaining a deep relationship with the Lord. Gabriel’s link with Roy is exactly opposite. While Roy is his biological son, Gabriel has given up on his effort to lead him to God.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has three very different but still related relationships with his son. First, is his first son, Royal, whom he had with through an affair with Ester. God had promised Gabriel in his dream that "his Descendant would carry His seal." Gabriel believed that Royal, the son that he had with Ester was the promised child, however, Gabriel could not raise Royal because of embarrassment from his sin. Royal ended up dying, because he had no one to lead him in the right path as Gabriel and Deborah probably could have. Then his second son John, who was actually the bastard son of Elizabeth, whom Gabriel hated because John is everything he in visions in his son but is not John's biological father. Next, there is Roy who resembles Gabriel when he was younger. Gabriel treats Roy as his last hope of the son that God had promised him. This connects all the sons together because it makes Gabriel feel as though God is playing a dirty trick on him. He though he was sent the son that he was promised then he died then when he has hope in another son he does not fulfill his dreams. Then there is the son who he wish he had, John, but he is not biologically his own.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Gabriel and his three sons Royal, Roy, and John, the three all share different relationships with their father. This is due to the situations surrounding how they were conceived and brought up. Royal , Gabriel's first son was conceived out of wedlock by Ester, a bold, and fearless women, having no reverence for God and this is the mother of his son. The simple facts that Gabriel now has a child out of Wedlock with a loose women puts a strain on his relationship with Royal and their relationship suffers. Instead of being there for his son he keeps tabs on Royal through Deborah. Gabriel's relationship with Roy differs because he is physically there in Roy's life although Gabriel is in Roy's life he expects Roy to be more holy and more like him since he is blood child but Roy's continues to fail him as Roy runs the streets and rebels against his father. Out of all three sons John is treated the worse and is expected to do a lot more and even be responsible for Roy's crazy behaviors. Gabriel treats John badly because he is not his biological son and does not want to feel that a son that is not his could possibly be better than the sons he has created.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a bad relationship with all his sons. Royal and Gabriel have no relationship really Gabriel just watched him from a far, but Royal never knew Gabriel was his father. Roy is too involved with the streets and Gabriel gave up on him.The only son he really still had around is John. John secretly despises Gabriel though. John wants his father to drop dead. He hates him for trying to make John be like him. I think Roy and Royal are the most alike. They both are in the streets, they are relunctant to give their life to God.
ReplyDeleteCompare and contrast Gabriel's relationship with his three "sons"and compare their personalities with one another
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with Roy, Royal and John are totally different. Royal is his first son. Royal was his bastard son by Esther. Even though Royal had no clue that Gabriel was his father, he never wanted to listen to all of Gabriel's words of wisdom. He started spinning out of control and eventually died. John was his next son. John did not have Gabriel's blood running through him. He was Elizabeth's son from a previous relationship. He never fully though of him as HIS son. Roy was HIS son, and he wanted so much for Roy to be holy and go to church. The sons that were Gabriel's biologically seem to be everything that he didn't want him to be, but the son that wasn't his biologically seemed like the only good seed. Roy and John were total opposites. Roy was a bad seed while John was the good seed.
The relationships between Gabriel and his three sons are all different. His first son Royal was born out of wedlock. Gabriel shun Ester, Royal’s mother, therefore he shuns Royal. Gabriel did not have a genuine father son relationship with Royal because Royal was not aware that Gabriel was his father. Royal and Gabriel interacted twice and he often got information about Royal from Deborah. Royal behaved the same way Gabriel did when he was in his teens. Royal was always running the streets and he was disrespectful, stubborn, and wild. Royal did not acknowledge the Lord as his God. I feel that deep down Gabriel cared about his “disinherited son” because when Gabriel found out that Royal was dead he fell on his knees was dead he wept uncontrollably (147). Gabriel also deeply cared about his son, Roy, who is hard-headed and unwilling to turn to the Lord. Gabriel was exactly like Roy when he was around the same age and he wants Roy to turn to the Lord so Gabriel can have a son that will follow in his footsteps and become a pastor. Gabriel wants to pass on the royal line of faithful (138). Gabriel had high hopes that one day Roy will change his ways and he will become the royal child. Ironically, Royal and Roy are both similar because they were always up to trouble when they running in the streets. Additionally, Roy was almost killed the same was Royal was, by being stabbed. Gabriel’s third son is not his blood son yet John is his stepson that his wife Elizabeth had out of wedlock. John is the opposite of both Royal and Roy because he keeps to himself, stays out of trouble and he does not run the streets. For this reason, many believe that John will take after his stepfather and become a preacher. Gabriel treats John like the scum of the earth because John is nothing like him and he is not even blood related to Gabriel. Gabriel shows no love towards John and he is constantly putting John down. Deep down John wants Gabriel to love him unconditionally like a true father would but Gabriel punishes John even though he does not deserve it. Because of Gabriel’s unjust actions towards John his heart has been consumed with so much hatred, bitterness and evil that he wishes Gabriel was dead (145). The relationships between Gabriel and his sons were strained and I do not consider them as true father-son relationships.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with John is not as strong as it should because he doesn't want to acknowledge John as his biological son so he has a weaker connection with John. Roy on the other hand is just like his father and GAbriel thinks that Roy is the son he prayed for, but the problem is that Roy is a more worldly person than John and John is more religious. If Gabriel could he most likely switch personalities with Roy and John. Since his third son died he really didn't have the connection with him as the other sons.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his three "sons" were all different and not so perfect. Gabriel and his son, Royal had no type of father-son relationship because Gabriel didn't want anyone to know of the affair or the sin committed by having a baby form Esther. After all, Royal didn't even know Gabriel was his father. Gabriel and John didn't really have a close relationship either because Gabriel wasn't his biological father. Gabriel tries to bring John closer and more involved with church and religion to keep him away from the sinful life he experience. By not listening to Gabriel, John had committed sins and was not holy. Gabriel tries his hardest by being a true father when it comes to his relationship with Roy. But, it didn't turn out to be a father-son bond because Roy never listened to his father. The personalities between all three "sons" is that they felt as if their father was never there for them and that he wasn't so perfect and holy as they might of thought he was.
ReplyDeleteGabriel had three different kinds of relationships with each of his sons Royal, John, and Roy. His lack of a relationship with his illegitimate son Royal who was also his first son bothered him the most. He thought that since he had paid Esther to leave to go up north with their unborn child, he would be able to forget about the situation. After a letter from Esther, Gabriel started to start feeling guilty in every aspect of life even in the pulpit. He “prayed to be delivered from blood guiltiness. He prayed to God to give him a sign one day to make him know he was forgiven” (137). Even after Royal’s mother passing away, Gabriel was unable to step up and raise his son as his own. He just watched and prayed for him from a distance. The most fatherly Gabriel was to his first son was when he saw him in a dangerous white area, and he told him he had no business being there. When Gabriel finds out that his son was killed, Gabriel felt the most guilt in his heart. He had done nothing to be in his son’s life. Gabriel sees so much of his old self in Roy. He realizes that he will be able to save Roy, because he is out in the streets. He thinks that he can beat the rebellion out of Roy, but is unsuccessful. He does not require the same out of Roy as he does John although they both were beat by their father. John is the religious son that has been forced into the ministry which is the bases of their relationship. John is expected to be preacher like his father. But John actually feels a strong hatred for his father. John thinks that his father is a hypocrite. He did not want his father’s love, he wanted to hate him and tell him one day (144). Royal, John, and Roy have similar personalities. They are very strong willed and do not like being told what to do. All three are rebellious when the time came. John’s was when he looked his father in the eye at church (150). Royal was rebellious when he left town. And Roy was rebellious for most of his life by leaving church or when he stood up to his father after he hit his mother.
ReplyDeleteInitially when we think about children who have the same father, we develop an idea of them all being raised the same way. However, Gabriel’s three sons all have different upbringings and have different mothers. The eldest son, Royal who was born out of wedlock with Esther, had little to no relationship with Gabriel. Gabriel prayed for him often and the spoke on a non-frequent/cordial basis. Unlike Gabriel, Royal was not religious and had various sinful characteristics. He was even killed in an incident that included gambling. Roy who is his only biological son and the only son by Elizabeth is very sinful. Gabriel has high hopes and dreams for Roy considering all the things that went wrong with Royal. It was almost as if Gabriel wanted to live his life through Royal. John, unlike his other two sons, shows great potential in becoming successful but is still abandoned by Gabriel because he is not Gabriel’s biological son. Unfortunately, all three sons experience the feeling of abandonment by their father which is similar to most children today. Daphanie Bibbs Week:7
ReplyDeleteGabriel has three different type of relationships with all three of his sons; Royal, Roy and John. Gabriel barely knows his child royal and so he doesn't really have a relationship with him, mainly because he was conceived through a sin from the lowkey affair with Gabriel and Esther. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is that he wants Roy to be just like him when he gets old and follow his foot steps in the direction of the Lord like he did but in all honesty, I doubt he will follow the footsteps of his father and Gabriel's relationship with John is horrible. John isn't his child biologically, Elizabeth had him out of wedlock. But Gabriel always talks down on him as if he isn't nothing and will never be anything BUT out of all of his three sons, John happens to be the one with his life on the right track and will never get off!
ReplyDeleteGabriel has three sons whom all have a different relationship with him. John is he son that is expected to be most like Gabriel. He’s a good kid and he even goes to church without being forced, unlike his brothers. Unfortunately, Gabriel dislikes John and they have a very distant relationship due to the fact that John is not his biological son. Gabriel blames John for everything bad that happens with his other brothers and punishes him. Gabriel’s son Royal is his child out of his relations with Esther. Gabriel and Royal are not close because he did not want anyone to know about his relationship with Esther because it is a sin. Royal is just like Gabriel as a teen. He runs wild and is hard headed but Gabriel has no bond with him. Gabriel’s last son is Roy. This is his son with Elizabeth. He, like Royal, tries to run the streets and doesn’t like to e in the church. However Gabriel tries to get Roy to be godlier with punishments and beatings but doesn’t get through to him. He eventually finds himself giving up on Roy and allowing him to do whatever he pleases. This causes their relationship to be more distant because they have anger towards each other. Gabriel has three different relationships with his sons and they all have different causes but none of them are strong relationships.
ReplyDeleteI like how you included the beatings and punishments that Roy receives that is not deserved. Your comment about Gabriel losing hope was completely true.
DeleteGabriel has different types of relationships with his three sons. His relationship with his son Royal is very distant. When he first finds out that Esther is pregnant with Royal, he is disgusted by her and the child. He does not want her to conceive Royal. As Royal grows without the love of a father, he strays from the right path. Deborah says he's shamefully spoiled and is the apple of the eye of his mother ( Baldwin 137). Gabriel although rejected Royal before his birth, did later shows that he cares. He wants to smile at Royal and touch him on the head (138). He prays for Royal so that he wouldn't have to join the war (139). Royal grows up into a finely build teenager. Gabriel sees his son quite often; they did not hold conversations with one another as much as he would like (141). They talked once, but Royal was a bit drunk at the moment and they only exchanged short greetings and Gabriel warned Royal about the white men and Royal thanked him for the warning (142). Gabriel is very sad when Royal passed away (148). Roy and Gabriel's relationship is quite typical meaning he, like a lot of fathers out there, just wanted his son to be a good boy. Sadly, Roy wants a sinful life. Gabriel wants to make Roy into Royal or make up for his failure of raising Royal. His other son is John. John is like a punching bag for Gabriel. He pushes all is failures as a father, a man, and a husband onto John's shoulder. Gabriel states that John reminds him of the mockery his sister gave him, and the sad looks when Deborah prayed for him (150). There's a huge gap between Gabriel and John that will never be heal because they do not communicate with one another. Unfortunately for Gabriel, all three relationships are not successful.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has very distinct relationship with his three sons. It is like each one stands on its own pole being very different from the other one. Royal, his first son who is also from Esther had a very weak relationship as he was very rebellious in his actions and didn't have much to do with his father Gabriel. He was a sinful person being the opposite of his father who is a religious person. His second son, Roy is his actual son who is from Elizabeth is also very sinful just like Royal, but the difference is that Gabriel had high hopes for him and tried to teach him his ways no matter what.He always ignored his father's words as he was the exact opposite from his father. John, being the third son who is not the actual son of Gabriel is the one who actually held the most potential in becoming just like Gabriel. But Gabriel kept his distance away from John and didn't want him to be his resemblance because he was not biologically his son which is why he tried to make Roy into his perfect son. For all three sons, they all share common treatment from Gabriel which is somewhat being neglected and not take care of properly. They feel that they are being abandoned by their father as he is not as pure as his teachings.
ReplyDeleteGabriel had awkward and different relationships with each of his three sons (Roy, Royal, and John). Each son grew up in different environments, so they naturally grew up with different personalities. Royal, was the son that was born out of wedlock when Gabriel had the secret affair with Ester. He didn't want anyone to know of his dark deed, so he tended to stay afar from Ester only to see his son grow into a man. The middle son was John (Elizabeth's son from previous relationship), whom was not Gabriel's son by blood but instead by migration into( a gained son). John is a good kid, but Gabriel mistreats him and thinks that everything he does is sinful. This is most likely because like any son he doesn't feel a connection to John. Gabriel doesn't know this, but John secretly hates Gabriels because of the ways he is mistreated by his step father. Roy is loved by his father even though he is rebellious and gets into many fights. Roy likes to pick fights and almost dies from a fight and Gabriel blames it on John because John was somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteGabriel interacted with Royal, Roy and John in a different way, but he never really had a relationship with any of them. Royal was his first son by his former mistress Esther. He had a few conversations with Royal, but he never reached out to him and let him know that he was father. He was too afraid of his reputation being destroyed and everyone finding out that he had an affair with Esther. If only he would allow his sin to be revealed he might have had the chance to form a relationship with his son. Gabriel’s relationship with John was nonexistent, despite the fact that John was the “good son”. John was confused about what he wanted in life and what made him happy, but that never made him bad. He didn’t want to be forced into doing something that he felt wasn’t the right choice for him. Out of all the children, Gabriel treated John the worst. He never truly showed him love or support for anything he did. On the other hand, Gabriel’s relationship with Roy was the total opposite. Gabriel showed Roy love and affection even if he did something wrong or was in the streets. Even though Gabriel didn’t believe in the things he did he still adored Roy. Roy and Royal’s personalities were similar, but different from John’s. They acted the same and got in the same trouble, which was ironic that their names are so close. John wasn’t like them he didn’t find trouble in the streets, but according to Gabriel he was always looking for trouble.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationships with his sons are not the greatest in my opinion. The only son that Gabriel treats right is Roy and still it is not the greatest relationship. Gabriel has always wanted a son and when he received his wish he did not do as he was supposed to because it wasn't the way that he thought it "should be." When he first received his wish, Roy, he was not a proper father to him because he was conceived out of wedlock and the only positive thing he did in Roy's life was warn him against the danger on the street one night. A year later, Roy died and I believe that could have been prevented if Gabriel had done what he was supposed as a man and father. Later, Gabriel went North and married Elizabeth who had a son, John. Again, this was Gabriel's chance to be a father, but he treats John as an outcast because he is not his own flesh and blood. Gabriel goes through the motions of being a father to John, but without the most important part, love. I feel that Gabriel also holds disdain in his heart towards John because John is the only one out of Gabriel's male children that is expected to do well, and because John really isnt Gabriel's son it shows how he and any of his biological children is cursed with his past ways.
ReplyDeleteFinally, there is the last of Gabriel's male children, Roy. Gabriel treats Roy the best because he was conceived, in Gabriel's eyes, as he should be in God's eyes. Even though he was conceived "properly" Gabriel still does not treat him as a father should.
Royal and Roy are exactly alike, from what was conveyed, in personalities and also just like their father. Although Gabriel pretends to be a Holy man, his actions show who he really is and that also is projected through his biological children. John is the only different one among them and I believe that it is due to the fact that he does not belong to Gabriel. John is more humble than that of his brothers and has a better chance in life, in my opinion.
Gabriel has a different relationship with all three of his sons. His first son Royal was born out of wedlock. He is ashamed of his son and his ungodly mother. Even after Royals mother, Esther passes away Gabriel still does not step up to take care of his son. Their relationship is strained and he keeps tabs on him through Deborah. Although later he actually makes and effort to talk to Royal and try to get to know him. He prays for him and shows that he cares. Royal's passing greatly upsets him. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is different. Gabriel prays for Roy as well and wants him to be a good christian, but Roy is very sinful and wants to do whatever he wants to do godly or not. Gabriel just wants the best for him. John of the other two sons is the only son that is not his biological son. He shows great potential and has his life on the right track, but since John is not his biological son, Gabriel does not show much intrest in him and he looks down upon him. Gabriel has the worst relationship with John.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a very intricate and different relationship with all his sons. His first son, Royal, who is Esther’s son was conceived through an affair. Gabriel was given a message in his dream, which causes him to believe that Royal is the promised child. In his dream, he believes God gives him the message “His Descendent would carry his seal.” This isn’t true due as Gabriel shuns Royal due to his status as an illegitimate child. Royal is never given the path of God or a proper upbringing hence his death. Gabriel’s second son John is the son of Elizabeth. Gabriel has a strong distaste for John. This is contradicting, because John is the son Gabriel truly wanted. Gabriel is truly hateful that he was not John’s biological father. Roy is the youngest of all the sons. He is the connection between all three sons. Gabriel looks upon Roy as his last hope with God. Gabriel was given 3 sons where 2 could not achieve what he wanted because of their births being illegitimate and not biological of Gabriel himself. Roy is Gabriel’s last hope to achieve his goal of having a son of the path of God.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a different relationship with each of his three sons. Gabriel didn't really have a relationship with Royal.The only time he had a conversation with him was when he was telling him to “be careful”. Gabriel puts a lot of pressure on John compared to Royal even though he is not his biological father. He feels as though John is his only hope and could be a leader in the church. Instead of letting John find his way to salvation he forces it on him. John is the best son out of the three. While Royal and Roy are making poor decisions and doing things they shouldn’t be doing, John is actually doing right.Gabriel's relationship between his three sons vary. His first son Royal,was conceived when he was young so he shows no compassion or sympathy.Gabriel's relationship with Roy is very difficult because he wants his son to lead a life where he can be focused on god but he'd rather not live that life. Roy has always gone against his father's wishes for him by even wanting to leave the church. He doesn't see a role model in his father.Gabriel hopes that John will turn out to be the opposite of his other two sons.
ReplyDeleteGabriel’s relationships with each of his three sons are interesting because they are all very different, yet similar; because all three of his relationships with his sons can be characterized as dysfunctional. When it comes to Gabriel’s relationship with his son Royal, their relationship can be defined as very strained. It is safe to say that Gabriel and Royal don’t really know much about each other. The two of them are not close at all, and the only way Gabriel even kept a relationship with Royal is through his wife, Deborah. Gabriel is ashamed of his son, Royal, because he was born out of wedlock. Gabriel struggles to have a relationship with Royal because he is too worried about his image as a preacher and what the church thinks of him. Gabriel is in no way a true father figure to Royal because he is not there for him. Although he prays for Royal occasionally, the only advice or conversations he even has with him is about staying out of trouble with white people. Now, in terms of Gabriel’s relationship with his son Roy, there relationship is somewhat rocky. Roy has no desires other than to run the streets. He has no intentions of doing anything else in life, but running the streets. He does not seem to care about life. Roy is more a free-spirit who just does as he pleases. He is very rebellious and is not religious in anyway. He does not care about going to church or having a relationship with God. With that being said, Gabriel struggles getting along with Roy. He wants Roy to turn his life around and stop getting into trouble. Gabriel wants Roy to be more holy and Godly. Gabriel repeatedly gives Roy warnings about him living his sinful life, but Roy does not care which puts a strain on their relationship as well. Last, but not least is his son John. Gabriel and John’s relationship is the worst out of all his sons. Gabriel feels a certain way towards John because he sees nothing, but the devil in John. It’s like when Gabriel looks at John he sees nothing, but bad and evil. Gabriel practically despises his son John which is interesting because John is the one who rarely gets into trouble. John is not Gabriel’s biological son. Gabriel seems to depend on John and puts a lot of pressure on him because he believes he is the only one who will spread and share the gospel. He believes that John is the only one who will grow up to be a leader in the church and do great things in his life. John extremely loathes Gabriel which Gabriel is completely unaware of. He does not love his father at all because of the way he treats him. John sees Gabriel as a complete hypocrite and wants nothing to do with his father.
ReplyDeleteFor Gabriel's sons, there was a common lack of a relationship with each of them in the story. Although, each of them had a piece of Gabriel's own self. Gabriel's first son was Royal. His life was brought upon on acts of sin by both his mother and father. Gabriel shunned the existence of his son and tried to go along with life as if it was normal. was conceived in sin because Gabriel turned Ester away in her time of need. Since Royal never knew who his father was there was an obvious lack of communication between them. Gabriel saw himself in Royal as he did the same young boy actions as he did. He could could have had a relationship with him if he didn't hide the fact that he was his father. The only thing that he has the chance to say to him is "God bless you boy." (143). The second son was Roy. Gabriel tells himself that he will not make the same mistake with another child but Roy ends up living a similar life to Royals. It is strange that their names are so similar to each others as well. Roy is almost like the make up child for Royal. Gabriel is left to believe that his mistakes with his past and his first two sons have cursed him. The third son, John, takes pieces of Royal and Roy's relationships with Gabriel plus more. Both John and Royal were sin children which makes the relationship between Gabriel and John and Gabriel and Royal very similar. The difference between the first sons and John is the fact that he is the obedient one. He is leading his life in the words of God and in a way that will leave him with a good future. He is figuring out who he is and what the strange relationship between his father and himself and God is.
ReplyDeleteGabriel expresses three different relationships among his sons. With John he shows a more strict and stern relationship even though John is extremely different from the other two sons. Within the novel the reader sees John as obeying and respectful. However, he is the only one forced to endure exaggerated treatments such as arriving to the church early to clean. Gabriel’s harsh treatment towards John can also be observed when Roy is stabbed and Gabrielle unconsciously blames John. On the other hand, Gabriel treats Roy the exact opposite. While he believed in a dream that God had promised that his son would be a somewhat chosen one, Gabriel believed this to be Roy. However, Roy was everything other than what his father expected. Like Gabriel in his youth, Roy stayed into trouble. Although Gabriel continuously punished Roy he failed to instill lasting discipline as he did within John. Roy would get a whooping for something, and return the next day to do the same thing. However, Roy and Royal share many of the same traits. They both act wild as Gabriel did when he was young. Yet, Gabriel doesn't show a true relationship towards Royal. Gabriel believed that his religious image would be destroyed if he had proclaimed that Royal was his son, and this caused him to keep a large distant from his own flesh and blood. Gabriel would attempt to provide some advice to Royal, but in fear of his image he could never show that he was a true father.
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ReplyDeleteGabriel has a very different relationship with all of his three sons. Out off all the boys John is his only biologically son, even though John is truly his son it doesn’t change the way Gabriel acts towards his other sons. Gabriel is very hard on john and shows a little favoritism to the other boys at times, or that is just how john feels .so you can sum up that this probably makes john a little mad because john just really wants for his farther Gabriel to love him. On the other had Gabriel’s other son Royals relationship is OK because they really didn't have one so there was not much confrontation. However at times Gabriel still continued to play the farther figure and try to look out for royal when he could. Now when it comes to Gabriel’s son Roy he is one of Gabriel prized positions because, Gabriel feels as if there could be hope with Roy if he continues to show the word to his child, even though Roy really doesn't want to live his life in the church and wants to enjoy himself now.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has very peculiar relationship with his three sons. His relationship with Roy is very stressful and one can see why. Due to Roy wanting to live a sinful life one can understand Gabriel’s frustration towards him. Gabriel wants Roy to be godlier and he will go to any means for that to happen even if it means beating it into his child. However, Roy does not view Gabriel as a person who is as godly as he portrays to his congregation. Thus explaining Roy’s logic behind leading a more enjoyable life than that of which revolves around the church. This is why, even from an early age, he wanted to escape the church. It seems as if Gabriel has already given up on Roy because he is so determined to live a sinful life despite all warnings to turn his life around although the stabbing in the brawl should have been a clear sign. The relationship Gabriel has with Royal is even more unpleasant than that he has with Roy. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he was conceived out of wedlock. He didn't want to jeopardize his image as a preacher to be a father to his child because of Ester's image as a sinner and what he views as a "harlot" (pg.147). Gabriel's own guilt of his sins and lack of addressing them, as he explains when he feels all eyes are on him when he preaches, causes him to feel that he cant be the father Royal deserves even though he himself feels that everyone already knows his secret. Gabriel prays for Royal sometimes to find a new life and tries to warn him to stay out of trouble especially from the whites, but puts in no real effort to be a fatherly figure to Royal or even try to put him on the right track. Gabriel's might have saved his son from such a brutal death in Chicago if he didn’t care so much about his imagine but did what was morally right and father is own blood. Furthermore, Gabriel's relationship with John is more strained than he probably believes. John "did not want to love his father; he wanted to hate him"(pg.144) because he believes he is a complete hypocrite for engaging in all the sinful and deceiving behavior he did, but wants to beat John until he wants salvation. John feels that if Gabriel is what a holy person should be then he does not want to become such. Gabriel puts a lot of pressure on John, even though he is not his biological father, because he feels John is his only hope for leaving a holy legacy. He feels John could be a leader in the church and is trying to force it upon in instead of letting John find his way to salvation. Gabriel does not know the extent to which John is disgusted with him. So disgusted that John even states, "the grave was not enough for punishment" (pg.145). This strange relationship between these two surely causes a misunderstanding of their relationship and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are all very different, but what is consistent is Gabriel is not pleased with their level of Godliness and all of the relationships are dysfunctional.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has three sons and his relationship with each son is different although two out of three of his sons share similar qualities. His first-born son, Royal, was a product of Gabriel committing adultery with the “harlot” Esther against his wife at the time, Deborah. Gabriel sees Royal going down the same wrong path he did and it hurts him to see it happening. Gabriel does not want anyone to know that Royal is his son because then they would find out about him sleeping with Esther while he was married to Deborah; so he watched and loved Royal from afar. Royal was not destined to be a religious man or pastor like Gabriel so Gabriel prayed for his first-born all the time but let him be his own man. Gabriel and Royal seemed more like casual friends than father and son. Gabriel’s second son, Roy, is in Gabriel’s eyes his way of making up for his sinning of having a child with a “harlot”. Their relationship is more forced than anything. Just like Royal, Roy does not want to be a pastor or a religious man like his father nor is it his destiny to be. John is Gabriel’s third son. Although he is not his own flesh and blood, John obeys Gabriel and wants to be just like him. His destiny is to follow in Gabriel’s footsteps, but Gabriel is so infatuated on keeping the family business all in the family that he over looks John’s efforts to be a holy man like him. Gabriel wants Roy to be a pastor but he is out on the street just like Royal. Olivia Sherman: Week 8
ReplyDeleteGabriel didn't really have a relationship with Royal. At the same time he really wanted to be there for him but fear, pride and shame kept him from doing so. He did help him out when he told Royal to be careful with the White men in the streets but he later died in Chicago and that was really hard on him because he maybe feels like he should have been there for him or like Deborah says, he should've told the truth because she could have and still today been taking care of him as if he were her own son. Gabriel's relationship with Roy was hard because he saw Roy going down the same path he was on in his younger days. Gabriel wanted him to be in the church life, but Roy did not want that for himself. Gabriel's relationship with John was more of a father son relationship. Although John is not his actual son, Gabriel see's a man of God in John and he's seeing evil in Johns eyes right now, but he see's a man of God in his heart and isn't giving up on John.
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ReplyDeleteGabriel’s three “sons” are John, Roy (Royal), and Royal. He has two sons with the name Royal because he had once told Esther that the line of the faithful was a royal line and his son would be a royal child so he would be called Royal. Of the three boys, Roy is probably the only one who might have any real relationship with Gabriel. Gabriel seems to care for Roy. He possibly sees himself in Roy before he was saved. He disciplines Roy in an attempt to make him less wild but he takes no responsibility for Roy’s behavior. Instead, he blames Elizabeth because he does not believe she has repented and he sees John as living proof of her sin. He has hopes and dreams for Roy and believes those dreams can be realized because Roy was begotten in the marriage bed, unlike Royal (his oldest “son”) who was begotten in sin. Gabriel wants for Roy what he does not want for John. He wants Roy to be the Lord’s anointed, but Roy seems uninterested in the church, Temple of the Fire Baptized Church. John, however, is often in the church, but Gabriel does not have a relationship with him. He resents and treats John badly even though he told Elizabeth that he would treat John as his own before they were married. But, Gabriel does not think of John as one of his “sons.” His thoughts in church reveal his feelings about John. Although John is there, he thinks “neither of his sons was here tonight, had ever cried on the threshing floor” (110). He even resents the possibility that John may “lay astonished beneath the power of the Lord” because he does not see John as his rightful heir (110). John believes he hates his father, but he wants his love. John would probably benefit from being told Gabriel is not his biological father because he may no longer see himself as unlovable and would at least know why his father seems to care more for Roy than he does for him. Like John, Royal did not have a relationship with Gabriel. There was no relationship because Gabriel never acknowledged Royal as his son. There are three instances where he showed he may have cared about Royal – he prays Royal does not go to war, he shows concern when he bumps into Royal on the street because he is afraid he might be hurt by the white men on the street, and he cries when he learns of Royal’s death. But, even during his talk with Deborah, he is defiant about his behavior towards Royal. Gabriel’s relationship with all of his “sons” is the same. He favors Roy but Roy has little respect for the father who hits his mother. Therefore, his relationship with all his “sons” is distant, strained, and lacking in love regardless of whether or not he sees them as his true “sons” or not.
ReplyDeleteGabriel had very different relationships with his three sons. He did not have a relationship with his son Royal. Because Royal was conceived out of sin, Gabriel did not want Esther to give birth to Royal. He did not want anyone to know of Royal because of his holy status. Because Gabriel did not have a relationship with Royal, Royal never really listened to his father. Gabriel never really cared what Royal did and never really disciplined him. Gabriel’s relationship with Roy was similar to Royal. He did not care what Roy did and did not really discipline him. Unlike Royal and Roy, John had a very different relationship with his dad. Gabriel was a lot stricter with John. He wanted John to be a man of God. But because he sees evil in John’s eyes, he is strict on John to guide him down the right path.
ReplyDeleteAll three of Gabriel's relationships with his sons are completely different. His first son Royal, although he was illegitimate seemed to take a special place in his heart. I think this is because Gabriel risked everything, his family and his church position, to sleep with Royal's mother, and yet he was never even able to establish a relationship with the child that was a product of that situation. Gabriel lets Roy get away with so much, and I think it's because it's almost as if Roy is filling a void from Royal. They both weren't headed in good directions, and wanted to do whatever they wanted and didn't want to have to answer to anybody. It's like Roy and Gabriel have not a good relationship, but it's a relationship nonetheless and Gabriel is happy with that because he never had a relationship period with his first son. Gabriel and John have a horrible relationship. Gabriel sees Satan in John's eyes even though he is the good child. I believe this is because John has a calling over his life and great potential but doesn't want to acknowledge it. I think this upsets Gabriel because he was in the same boat, but he messed it up when he was sleeping around and having children out of wedlock. He sees that John's slate is clean and there's still hope for him. I believe that he'll never admit it, but Gabriel is jealous of John. He wishes he could go back to that childlike innocent state when he was called and faultless.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationship with his sons differ from which son it was. For John, he did not really see him as a son because he and John did not have a very good relationship compared to Gabriel's and Roy's. Roy was more liked than John because Roy was actually Gabriel's real son. John on the other hand was not really Gabriel's son but a bastard child. Now Royal was another of Gabriel's son, but Royal did not know that Gabriel was his father. Royal had received many advice from Gabriel, but did not listen to it and ended up dying. Because of Royal dying, Gabriel wanted Roy to give everything for Roy and to have him go to church.
ReplyDeleteBecause of Royal dying, Gabriel wanted to give Roy everything he could not to Royal. That is also why he wanted Roy to go to church.*
DeleteGabriel with all three of his sons differs in a lot of ways. Royal who was his first son and was conceived by his Mistress Ester was never a part of his life because he wasn’t able to tell anyone about him because he was conceived out of adultery and him being a pastor could allow others to know about him and about his mother and she lived a promiscuous life and was sinning in the eyes of God. Gabriel was so attracted to her personality and free spirit and secretly longed for her life but could express that because he was a pastor and had an image to maintain. Then when he gets with his second wife, she already has a son and his name is John whom we find out later in the story, John’s younger sisters and his Brother who is Roy which would be Gabriel’s last son who he loves and wishes the best for the most. He wants Roy to follow in his footsteps and become a pastor but everyone sees John as becoming the one who does because he’s more compliant and reserved and seems to already be following Gabriel’s footsteps. Gabriel doesn’t want John to follow in his footsteps because he wants Roy too but Roy is rude, disrespectful, and sinful and completely hates his dad for some reason. Although Roy is far from becoming like Gabriel, Gabriel still hopes he will be and is longing for Roy to be like him.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's relationships with his three sons are somewhat disturbing. He never had an actual relationship with his first son Royal by Esther because he wanted to keep his image pure to the public. He also did not want others to know Royal was conceived during his fornication with Esther while married to Deborah. Gabriel's relationship with Roy is complicated. Roy was very rebellious against his parents. He never wanted to go to church, he would stay out all night, and get into fights with white boys. Gabriel gave up on trying to get Roy to continue the pastoring in the family, but Roy was never the one for the job. John the youngest sibling and Gabriel's stepson, was treated the worst. Gabriel had a particular hatred toward John, he saw evil in John and blamed everything that went wrong on him. I believe he hated John because he wasn't his biological father and they were too alike. Gabriel showed particular favoritism towards Roy even though Roy was sprung out.
ReplyDeleteTo say that Gabriel was a man of God he showed qualitiies of somewhat hate. with Royal he showed himself as just another kid. He hap one open conversation with him and as you look at it he shows the qualities that he did not want to be bothered with him. He wants Roy to be just like him and he trys to make him more Godly and he felt that he was the next heir. But john he despised because he felt as if he was the devil himself.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading the book, Gabriel was never a saint. Gabriel's relationships with all of his sons are somewhat unstable and depressing. Gabriel's relationship with Royal was an acquaintanceship. The their first conversation, or the most words they exchange between each other, was when Gabriel tried to warn him about the white people in town. Gabriel was never the garden angel or father figure that Royal needed. Instead he just watched and prayed and that obviously did not save Royal. As for his relationship with John, there is no love present. John hates Gabriel and wants nothing to do with him. Gabriel blames John for all the evil that currently happens within the family. Additionally, he does not view John as his son but something worst, Satan. "John's staring eyes tonight reminded Gabriel of other eyes: of his mother's eyes when she beats him, of Florence's eyes when she mocked him, of Deborah's eyes when she prayed for him, of Ester's eyes and Royal's eyes, and Elizabeth's eyes tonight before Roy cursed him, and of Roy's eyes when Roy said: ' You black bastard,'" (150). As for Gabriel's relationship with Roy, he tries to fix him, or in other words to make him the "godly child" because he sees himself more in Roy. Also, Roy is his only biological son that he has raised.
ReplyDeleteAll three of Gabriel sons are different, however they have similar qualities. For Royal, who never knew who his father was, seemed more polite compared to his brothers. John is confused and full of hatred towards everything, especially towards Gabriel. Roy is more out going and gets himself into trouble, just like his father when he was younger. However, all three of his sons somewhat have an independent mindset. Royal took care of himself without both of his parents. John is thinking about breaking away from the church to discover life outside it. And Roy knows that he is not the godly child that his father wishes for him to be. Yet, he still leaves church whenever, and gets himself into trouble.
I agree with your comment and I think if Gabriel loved each of his sons like he wassupposed to, readers would see him as a more respectable man.
DeleteIn the book, you are unable to grasp a hold on to what exactly Gabriel feels about his sons, however his actions show it all with John and Roy its a battle between good and bad yet he has it all wrong he believes John is the bad influence and should know better, but Roy is just as mature in mind as John, fully capable of making decisions of his own. Gabriel problem remains with genetics he cant develope a father son relationship with John because he is not his biological son. Leaving the children to walk on eggshells everyday.
ReplyDeleteGabriel’s respective relationships with his three sons are all different. For his first son Royal, Gabriel has a bond that seems to be nonexistent but he is still able to show compassion and sympathy towards him. Royal was conceived when Gabriel was still young so Gabriel was not fully ready to take care of him or face his wife with the fact that he had a child outside of his marriage. Royal shares similar qualities as Gabriel. For one, he is a hardheaded rebel who likes to hang out in the streets, just as his father was. When Gabriel and Elizabeth give birth to their first child together, Roy, his hope in believing that he will have a son who will become a preacher is given new life. His hope is soon diminished because Roy is very much like Royal. He likes to run the streets and get into fights, seemingly inescapable from his father's footsteps. This doesn’t stop him from loving Roy with all his heart, so much so that he begins to treat Roy as a favorite. When Roy gets cut, Gabriel finds a way to blame John for it. John, who is not Gabriel’s biological son, is the best behaved son Gabriel has had, but Gabriel fails to see the good that John possess and insists on seeing “Satan” staring out of John’s eyes (150). John figures to be the heir to Gabriel’s throne but Gabriel constantly shows a lack of respect and love towards John simply because he isn’t his biological son. His hatred towards John causes him to question Elizabeth if she regrets having him. This shows that he is truly upset, and has residual problems with the fact that he will not have a biological son that will succeed him in being a preacher.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a different relationship with each of his three sons. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with Royal because he didn't want to ruin his image as a preacher to be a father to his child because of Ester's image as a sinner. When he preaches he feels as all the eyes are on him which in turn makes him feel that he cannot be a father to Royal even though he thinks that everyone already knows his secret. Gabriel prays for Royal to find the righteous path and warns him to stay out of trouble especially with the whites but doesn’t really put effort to be a fatherly figure to him. Gabriel consumption of what other people might think of him as having a child out of wedlock keeps him from really helping Royal, which could have saved him from his brutal death. Gabriel's relationship with John is more strained than his other relationship because he’s not his actually father. John feels hatred toward Gabriel because of the way he is treated “did not want to love his father; he wanted to hate him"(144). John tries everything to please him but nothing seems to faze him. John starts to think that if Gabriel represents what a holy person is suppose to be then he doesn’t want to become one. Gabriel’s relationship with Roy is very stressed due to Roy wanting to lead a sinful life. Gabriel tries to force Roy into going to church and become more faithful to his religion. Roy does not see Gabriel as holy person, so he doesn’t want to follow what his father is telling him. He would rather lead a more enjoyable life than that of which revolves around the church. Gabriel seems to give up on Roy because he is determined to live a life of sin and ends up getting stabbed in a brawl. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are very dysfunctional.
ReplyDeleteGabriel had three different relationships with his sons. Royal was a bastard child that was conceived with Esther. He did not want to develop a relationship with him because it will give him a bad name. He wanted to completely banish his affair with Esther by sending her off; this caused a nonexistent relationship with his son. I believe that he wanted to love and care for his son, but he could not because of the circumstances that surrounded his son. One can feel the strong emotion he had when explaining Royal’s death. He also deeply cared about him because of his interaction with him that one night he was walking home. Roy was a mischievous and reckless child; he was every bit off Gabriel when he was a young boy. He wants Roy to be a very holy and pious young man because that is his own flesh and blood. Gabriel shows extreme disappointment in his son because he knows that he will never follow in his footsteps. This disappointment causes a slight resentment in John. John is a young lad that is trying to find his way, and he wants to be a good Christian young man just like his “father.” Gabriel does not want John to follow in his footsteps he wants Roy to be this way. Gabriel is never proud of John, every situation that correlates to John is negative.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a very poor rapport with all three of his sons. When Gabriel made an attempt to look out for Royal or give him advice, Royal deflected his advice and went about his business. This is similar to his son Roy’s reaction to his father’s instruction. The only son that has an ounce of respect for Gabriel is John; and John started to hate him. John hated that he needed his father’s approval, even though he did whatever he could to get the approval he would never see in Gabriel’s eyes. Royal and Roy have the same rebellious spirit that their biological father had when he was a young man. But John, being of no biological relation to Gabriel has the same kind, and calm composure he had when he was a child and had no ties to Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteGabriel has a different relationship between all there of his sons he fathered. His relationship with him and John is more distant. Royal and Roy have the same rebellious spirit that their biological father had when he was a young man. But John, being of no biological relation to Richard has a different kind, and calm composure he had when he was a child and had no ties to Gabriel. The relationships Gabriel has with his sons are very dysfunctional because of Gabriel's expectations and his son's wishes.
ReplyDeleteGabriel had a very different relationship with each of his sons Royal, Roy, and John. Gabriel didn't really pay much attention to Royal because he was Esther's child and thought it would be the wrong image to portray since he was married to another woman. Roy reminded Gabriel as himself as young child. Gabriel cared a lot about Roy and wanted him to follow in his footsteps in his religious ways. John was not Gabriel's biological son, so Gabriel did not care for John as much as he did with Roy. Anything John did he perceived it as negative.
ReplyDeleteThere is a distinct difference between Gabriel relationships with all three of his sons. Gabriel relationship with his son Royal will probably never be able o become a "healthy" relationship because of Gabriel fear of being looked at as a Harlot. Royal was conceived with Esther,and Gabriel is full aware of his sin. I want to think maybe Royal is a constant minder of Gabriel's love affair with Esther. His relationship with Royal is very strained. throughout the novel, which was all directed around a 24hr period, Gabriel only had one conversation with Royal. He was warning Royal about steering away from the "whites" that where in town. Gabriel remains updated about the events that take place in Royal's life through his wife Deborah, because she has a relationship with Royal's grandmother. Even though Gabriel was afraid of how people would view him as a preacher,a father, and a husband, to have Royal, maybe they would have respected him more if he would have tried to have a relationship with Royal. if Gabriel would have tried to be a positive influence in Royal's life, it may or may have made a difference in the outcome of Royal's life, pertaining to his brutal death in Chicago. Gabriel's relationship with his son Roy, is more of a "stressed" relationship because gabriel tries his best to push for Roy to build a relationship with God, and a crime-free life. However sometimes Gabriel is more lenient towards Roy because I think he sees himself in Roy. he tries his best to push for Roy to build a life that revolves around the Church. Gabriel has always pushed for Roy to come to church from an early age, maybe the reason why he wants to rebel so much. John is not Gabriel's Biological son, but john has the closest relationship with Gabriel, whether he know sit or not. their relationship maybe closer, but it is not the best, because Gabriel often blames John for Roy' behavior. john desperately wants to find the right path for him, and tries his best to not be a sinner, but is constantly pushed by Gabriel and everyone else to live this life closely associated with God. Gabriel sometimes gives John the cold shoulder. I think it bothers Gabriel, to see that his non-biological child; John is actually at least trying to find and build a relationship with God,when his biological children shows no interest in the idea.
ReplyDeleteRoyal, Roy and John all have different interactions with their father. Royal, Gabriel's first son, is his biological son but he is not there to raise him. Gabriel only sees Royal grow up, and hears about him distantly from Deborah. John, Gabriel's second son, is not his biological son. John is Elizabeth and only Elizabeth's child. Gabriel shows no caring emotion for John even though John is a great boy. Everything John does is never good enough for Gabriel. John can never seem to please him, which causes mutual hate between the two. Roy, Gabriel's last son, is the pride and joy of Gabriel's life. Gabriel can see no wrong in Roy even though he does all wrong. It is Roy that Gabriel wants to follow in his footsteps but it is Roy who chooses a different path. This ironic because this is the path that Gabriel first followed before turning to the Lord. Gabriel blames John for every wring that is done. He expects a lot from John, not for John's good but for Roy's. He wants John to protect and take care of Roy so that it is Roy who can follow in Gabriel's footsteps. Roy and Royal seem similar, they seem to like to run the street and reject the Lord, just as their father first did.
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