Student Essay on Clarence Day and A Father's Job

Clarence Day and A Father's Job

Summary:   This essay is about Clarence Day, and particularly his short story "Father is Firm with His Ailments." Discusses Day's early life and career in the Navy. References his early works.

Clarence Day, a dynamic Yale Alumni and victim of severe rheumatoid arthritis, spent most of his days engaging in his interests, which happened to be writing and family business. Clarence Day, famed for his book Life with Father, wrote the short story, "Father Is Firm with His Ailments" for my short report. He developed arthritis after foolishly joining the U.S. Navy. He settled down after his Navy term and turned his attention to writing. His extensive association and work for his alma mater helped him to realize that he wanted to be an author. After being established as an illustrious author, Day made some odd habits such as: sleeping in the morning, receiving guests as night, and wearing only a dressing gown most of the time. His book, Life with Father, was based on his father, and showed how a father who was baffled with a complex variety of problems.

The setting was not clearly stated, however I estimated it to be around the turn of the 20th century, and I didn't know where the story took place. The story did not take any time or space to develop the story and just went straight into the dreary plot.

List of the Main Characters:

Father- his name was Clare, and he was totally against modern medicine

Mother-her name was Vinny, and she tried to get her husband to sympathize and use medicine, not just be stubborn

There was no plot line to this story. Father basically despised sickness and all of its nauseating effects. The monotonous story went on about how father got sick one time, and he didn't like his doctor; and also how he acted towards mother when she was sick. The father just had a "tough-it-out" kind of tone and didn't trust modern medicine, because everybody might have been feigning sick.

I absolutely won't recommend this book. It had the worst plot line ever, and the most lifeless subject. This story was told horribly, and I don't know why people like Clarence Day when he lived. After reading this short story, I felt miserable and grim from the tone and atmosphere of the story.