My Father, Dancing Study Guide

Literary Qualities

The title story, "My Father, Dancing," seems to encapsulate the symbolism Broyard herself recognizes in the nature of relationships. The fathers in her collection are indeed dancing; they are the ones who move and who seem most alive, particularly in their daughters' minds. Dancing can be seen as a metaphor for movement, and also as a metaphor for human emotion. The act of dancing involves an intimate exchange, a give and take that marks the continuing bond between fathers and daughters. Looking back on her experiences dancing with her father—in the kitchen, then in the bars— the young woman realizes that during those moments her father not only taught her to dance but he taught her about life. The father in this story moved his daughter, slowly and intimately, into adulthood. When he danced with her,.....

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