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"Now I work as a security guard in the day. " parallel with his dad as they seem to end up leading similar lives. as abusive security guards. "He now worked as a security guard although he was so small that I wondered how anyone could be afraid of him."

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"When my daughter was born, I had thought that my violent days were over. As I stood in the park holding a cluster of pastel coloured balloons while she took a few steps among the green grass, I did truly think that my past could be put behind. "When I remember those moments and what I wanted to do and what I did, I close my hands over my wrists and draw back my arms to my chest or
I dig my hands deep into my pockets and clench them into fists. The rage in me ignites like a spark in oil. It is so painful and yet so clear; I crush my teeth together and try to stop the thoughts, but it all sweeps me too quickly to stop."

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He always asked if I had fought anyone, and I said that I had not for a long time. I told him not to disturb me. His questioning left me uneasy with him and myself.

the word "uneasy" shows that the narrator is not proud of his violent past but was rather uncomfortable with it.

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"The rage in me ignites like a spark in oil. It is so painful and yet so clear; I crush my teeth together and try to stop the thoughts, but it all sweeps me too quickly to stop.

My wife endured one too many beatings and left to stay with her family. She had tried hard to make me give up drinking, but she failed."

However, the narrator eventually resorted to his father's ways to let out his anger over the loss of his job, and by becoming somewhat of a mirror to his father, it shows that upbringing affected the narrator and his decisions/actions.

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Evidence: I had never expected to destroy a kite, especially such a handsome one. Its destruction seemed to be both sweet and sad. I cursed him and said that he deserved it for his stupidity and that he looked rich enough to go buy another one anyway.

Shows a sort of melancholy sadness when the kite was being cut, as the "destruction seemed to be both sweet and sad", although he was the one who cut the kite. This shows a deep contrast/irony? between his inner thoughts and his actions.

it kinda suggests how deep down the narrator still has a soft heart, he seems to still have some empathy, but his father's upbringing shapes him to hide this soft spot, to use violence to put up a tougher front so that he wouldn't get hurt

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I cursed him and said that he deserved it for his stupidity and that he looked rich enough to go buy another one anyway.

narrator starts to show that he isnt that innocent anymore, doesn't behave like a innocent child?

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When he told his stories, we knew that we could be safe as long as we did not fall asleep or appear bored. It kept him away from his anger, which was always simmering inside him.

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"I teach you how to fight. Kah nee na. I teach you how to beat them up.” --> teaches child to use violence to settle things that they are not happy about

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EVIDENCE: As I stood in the park holding a cluster of pastel coloured balloons while she took a few steps among the green grass, I did truly think that my past could be put behind. That it only had the figment of a dream, that I could change what I was and make something of myself.

STATEMENT: the writer is surprised that he could change because he believed that he was what his father made him to be (angry, violent) and would be influenced by his father (treat his daughter the same way he treated his sis)

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But, as his mind became plagued even more by drink and work, I was beaten for no reason at all. Once, my skin tore from his caning, and I dared not look at him because I was afraid that he would continue hitting me more after he saw my hateful eyes. I covered myself, dull with pain." , "He had not been able to get a job as the sites weren't hiring and he had developed a reputation. He could spend an hour cursing the government even when his friends told him to keep quiet. He would go on and on until they had fed him enough alcohol to make him sleepy and drunk." --> father is dejected that he cannot find his job --> a cause to his anger issues --> bad projection on children --> uses his children as a source of stress relieve

" I tell him to stop. My fingers dig into his right wrist, but he is too strong. I can neither move his wrist nor cause him pain. He holds me to the wall with his rough and calloused hand and continues to hit me with the cane." --> shows how since young, the narrator was forced into an environment that lacked love he cannot learn how to love others so he doesnt know how to manage a balance between his work and his relationship with his family later on

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How does parenthood influence the main characters’ choices throughout the story?

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How does parenthood influence the main characters’ choices throughout the story?