Growing up we say to ourselves, “I do not want to be like my parents when I am older.” We say this because of the way our parents talk or dress, the actions they do in public, or the views they have about different things. We grow up around it and typically it is not what we want to hold with ourselves because we have for so many years. In the story Shooting Dad Sarah Vowell expresses her views on her father from when she was a teen to now and how they shifted but still molded her into the person she is today, the writer she is today.
When Sarah Vowell was an early teen she decided a few things; Sarah was a Democrat, she did not like guns, and she was nothing like her father. As Sarah Vowell’s dad, Pat Vowell, was cleaning his guns or making new ones from scratch Sarah would play one of her many instruments, read, or write. At age 6 Sarah and her twin sister Amy were taken out by their father to shoot a gun for the first time. That day Sarah started her dislike for guns, she did not like the feeling of holding it, the kick back, or the blast from the gun. Later Amy would say that she was the “the loneliest twin in history” because Sarah didn’t share the same passion for shooting that Amy or her Dad did. This could just push her further from that life style that her father wants her to become and more towards what she is and was destined to be.
In the Vowell house the parents of Sarah were open minded and it seemed like they were quite easy going. They didn’t mind if Sarah wanted a clean room or a dirty room, they let her choose her chores. They also let Sarah and Amy be vocal about their beliefs. They let them speak their mind about anything they wanted but if they could speak their mind so could Pat. So while Sarah learned what she wanted out of like she had to listen to what Pat Vowell learned so far from his life. With such open minded parents Sarah got to learn from her mistakes and she got to teach herself lessons instead of being told what was going to happen if she didn’t do something or said something to someone. Sarah was also never forced into going hunting or shooting with her dad after her experience at 6 years old. Both the mother and father of Sarah saw that she didn’t enjoy it and they let her be. With these types of parents it makes it easy for a child to grow and learn who they want to be at an early age.
As Sarah grew up a little her father had made a canon. At this point Sarah and her dad had a great understanding on where they both sat with eachother. They both knew that they were total opposites. Sarah also understood the importance of the canon that her father Pat had built and she wanted to join to go see it be shot. Her dad said she could but was confused as anyone would be with Sarah. For all her life she had hated guns and things of that nature and all of the sudden she wants to see it be shot off. They go to have it be shot off and Sarah learns more about the family past. They history behind the Vowell name is revealed. She fully understands the importance of the canon project that her dad had been working on for two years. She enjoyed the symbolism behind it. That same day she learned that although her father and her had nothing in common they were exactly alike. While her dad obsessed over weapons and other less than normal things, Sarah did the same but with microphones and musical instruments. She learned that she was just as odd as her dad and she then realized she was okay with it.
No matter how much you try and not become what your parents are you are still with them for the majority of your growing years. Their habits and actions are right there for you to either copy or try and do opposite. You look at them and wonder why they do certain things, you ask them certain questions.
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