# data[].attributes.body
Albert feels inadequate because he can’t take care of Ben as well as Ma did. This can be seen when he said that when Ma was still alive Ben was tall for his age, healthy, strong and had a talent for basketball. However, after Ma’s death ,when Albert started taking care of Ben alone, Ben was the shortest and skinniest in his class, all his healthy milk teeth fell out and were replaced with monstrous teeth, and he would fall sick frequently.

This shows that Albert feels that all of the problems with Ben only

# data[].attributes.body
Ben often tries to talk to Albert about Ma’s death but Albert always avoids the subject or gets annoyed.furthermore Albert states that hes unable to find a job that allows them to spend more than 10 minutes with each other at a time.he can also be seen blaming himself for Ben’s multitude of problems like his growth.However Ben tries to tell pa that it was not his fault and can often be seen comforting or countering pa’s self-accusations.for example, Albert blames himself that after ma left, Ben’s growth came to a rapid halt and might even have deteriorated and he was falling sick every month, once having to Bring him to the hospital three times in one night.to which Ben counters that it was his asthma and could have happened anytime but this does nothing to help pa and he continues to blame himself.this shows that their relationship is in shambles and that they are unable to come to a conclusion and have many arguments or disagreements mostly caused by ma’s death.

# data[].attributes.headline
Camie, Ezann, Ferlin, Siew Yan, Matthew 

# data[].attributes.subject
Camie, Ezann, Ferlin, Siew Yan, Matthew 

# data[].attributes.body
He feels inadequate because he sees himself as a failure. The excerpt states, “I’m not qualified to be a father. I was forced to sell the house and I can’t even get a job that allows me to spend more than 10 minutes with each other at a time.” This suggests that Albert and Ben did not spend much quality time together and are distant. Thus, Albert feels inadequate.

He feels guilty because he is not able to look after Ben properly/ he is accountable for Ben’s poor growth. From the excerpt, “Her bread loaves rose and browned perfectly. Mine just collapse and shrivel like an old man’s buns.” This suggests that Albert feels like he can’t even make bread perfectly, so how could he properly take care of Ben. In a way, the ‘bread’ represents Ben. Thus, he feels guilty for not taking care of Ben properly.

# data[].attributes.body
From the excerpt, we can see that Ben and Albert have a hard time trying to communicate with each other, as they do not really understand each other's feelings. The excerpt states, "You started having a host of problems once she left us." This suggests that Albert thinks that the reason why Ben kept falling sick and becoming weaker in terms of physical health was because he did not take care of his son properly. Albert often blames himself for his son's misfortunes and thinks that he is the cause of it. Despite Ben telling Albert that it was due to asthma and not because of Ma's absence, Albert insists that Ben's health problems only happened when he took care of Ben.

From the excerpt, we can also see that Ben and Albert get into misunderstandings and arguments easily. The excerpt states, "Don't you get it? Your ma was a real mother. I'm not qualified to be a father." The phrase, "Don't you get it?" shows that Albert is frustrated with Ben insists that it was not his fault. He wants Ben to have the perception that Albert did not fulfil his duty as a father well, and that he was the cause of Ben's troubles. Albert keeps comparing himself to Ma, saying how she was a good mother and always taking such good care of Ben. He then blames himself and says that he is a failure, although he was not. Ben always tries to convince him and say that the situation could not be avoided, but Albert does not listen and insists that he was the root of Ben's problems.

# data[].attributes.body
Albert feels inadequate because he feels that he has failed as a father. The excerpt states,"I'm not qualified to be a father." This suggests that he feels that he is not good enough for Ben, and thinks that he did not fulfil the responsibility of a father. He feels that he did not take good care of Ben after his wife died. He compares himself to Ma, and thinks that Ben's health only started to deteriorate after Ma passed.

Albert feels unworthy to be Ben's father. The excerpt states, "But when she died, you stopped growing.","Only when I started taking care of you." This suggests that Albert is comparing himself to Ma and feels that his love is worth less than her. He feels that Ben was better when Ma was around and blames anything bad that happens to Ben on himself. After Ma left, Pa had to work for long hours and was unable to spend time with Ben. Pa feels that he lacked quality time with Ben and neglected him, which adds on to his reasons on why he feels that he was not a good father.

# data[].attributes.body
Albert feels guilty because he is unable to take care of Ben properly. When Ben states, "It was asthma, Pa. It could have happened even when Ma was around", Albert responds with, "But it didn't. Only when I started taking care of you." This suggests that Albert is holding himself accountable for Ben's poor health, and thinks he is incapable of caring for Ben. Along with the fact that Albert is constantly working long hours thus making it hard for him and Ben to spend time together, he feels guilty for being the reason Ben's life is so miserable.

Albert feels inadequate because he sees himself as an incompetent father. The excerpt states, "I cemented it over because all her plants died after she did" and "But still they died. So I cemented the garden, put up a hoop and bought you a ball to hide my failure. But that wasn't the end. You started having a host of problems once she left us." "bought you a ball to hide my failure" suggests that Albert doesn't want Ben to think of him as a incapable person. However, "You started having a host of problems once she left us. suggests that Albert was unable to cover up his inadequacy to parent Ben like he was able to with the plants, and therefore views himself as an incompetent father.

# data[].attributes.body
It is emotionally complex because Ben and Albert rarely have time to bond with each other, so their conversations are laden with misunderstandings for one another. In the passage, Pa said “I can’t even get a job that allows us to spend more than 10 minutes with each other at a time.”, “Me? What did I do?”, “When she was alive, you never noticed.” This shows how little time Ben and Albert have with each other. This gives them little time to talk, let alone bond with one another. This does not help with the already strained relationship they have before Ma’s death.

It is also emotionally complex because Ben and Albert do not understand each other’s feelings. “Don’t you get it? Your ma was a real mother. I’m not qualified to be a father. But while she was alive, you never noticed. She made me look good.” This shows how Ben thinks Albert is just stubborn to talk about Ma and is accepting the fact that Albert is a good father while in reality, Albert thinks he’s inferior to Ma and always causes problems or makes mistakes for Ben when parenting him, being not good enough of a father for Ben.

# data[].attributes.body
Their relationship is emotionally complex because their conversations are laden with misunderstandings. From the excerpt, Albert states, "You started having a host of problems once she left us." This suggests that Albert believes he is the reason for Ben's health issues. Although Ben tells him that it was asthma and that it could have happened even when Ma was alive, Albert insists that it only happened after he started taking care of Ben. He continues to list some of Ben's health issues and says that they were all a result of his failure to take care of Ben, despite the fact that all these problems could have occurred at any time, whether or not Ma has passed on.

Their relationship is emotionally complex because they do not understand each other's feelings. From the excerpt, Albert states, "Don't you get it? Your ma was a real mother. I'm not qualified to be a father." This suggests that Albert is feeling frustrated towards Ben, and the fact that Ben can't see him as the failure he thinks he is. He is upset over the fact Ben can't understand his feelings, but he doesn't listen to Ben's feelings either, stubbornly choosing to believe he is a bad parent.

# data[].attributes.body
Albert feels guilty as he is unable to replicate the type of effect that a mother gives to a child during the period of which a child grows up. The source states, “When she died, you stopped growing. Within two years, you were the shortest and skinniest in the class. Suddenly, you were falling sick every other month.” This suggests that when Albert started taking care of Ben, everything started falling apart and that Ben’s overall health started to deteriorate. Signifying to Albert that he was not doing a better job of a father as he has now a new set of added responsibilities that was once tasked for a mother to do. Therefore, he views himself as a unfilial and unsuccessful father due to his incapability of not providing for his son.

Albert feels inadequate for his incompetent nature. The source states, "But still they died. So I cemented the garden, put up a hoop and bought you a ball to hide my failure. But that wasn't the end." This suggests that no matter how much he had tried to conserve Ma's living memory through the garden, he still failed. Hence, he wanted to benefit Ben through the usage of the garden to benefit his hobby. In such, a way to hide his feeling through the benefit of another. However, Albert was still not able to take care of Ben properly as he states that, "You started having a host of problems once she left us." This suggests that Albert had not been able to replicate the type of care a mother gave as before Ma had passed, Ben was in good health. However, after Ma had passed, Ben started falling ill as a result of Albert's improper level of care provided to Ben. In conclusion, Albert felt unsuited, guilty, and inadequate as a father due to his supposedly lack of care to Ben.

# data[].attributes.body
Albert feels inadequate about his role as a father as he views himself as an incompetent father. In “Her bread loaves rose and browned perfectly. Mine just collapse and shrivel in the oven like an old man’s buns”, Albert paints the bread he bakes as unappealing by comparing them to ‘an old man’s buns’, while referring to Ma’s bread as ‘perfect’. This shows that Albert compares himself to Ma, even in the small details such as their baking prowess. He also compares himself to Ma in “Your Ma was a real mother. I’m not qualified to be a father.” This indicates that because he compares himself to Ma, he feels insecure in his parenting skills and thus does not feel like he lives up to his role as a father.

Albert also feels guilty about his role as a father because of Ben’s health problems. This can be seen in “But when she died, you stopped growing” and “Only when I started taking care of you. And then your milk teeth started falling out… and those monster teeth started sprouting from your mouth”. This shows that Albert believes that there is a correlation between Ma’s death and Ben’s decline in health. Despite evidence to disprove this belief in “It was asthma, Pa. It could have happened even when Ma was around”, because Ben was still healthy while Ma was alive, Albert blames himself and believes that he is unable to properly take care of Ben.

# data[].attributes.body
This excerpt shows that Ben and Albert have an emotionally complex relationship as they have very little time to bond together as seen from the excerpt which states, "I was forced to sell the house and I can't even get a job that allows us to spend more than 10 minutes with each other at a time." This suggests that they are unable to fine sufficient time to bond with each other and converse with each other. This then allows them to establish a father and son relationship that is concrete enough for them to understand each other's needs and wants. This is as compared to the past when Ma was still around and would allow for more time for them to be together.

It was also an emotionally complex relationship as both Ben and Albert do not understand each others feelings. The excerpt states, "Don't you get it? Your Ma was a real mother. I'm not qualified to be a father. But while she was alive, you never noticed. She made me look good." This suggests that Albert was frustrated with how the impression of him has changed from before Ma's passing to after. This further made Albert blame for not being able to take care of himself as the past and present familial ties in between both of them is on a thin thread as they are trying to convince each other that whether or not whatever happened to Ma does not change the fact that she is gone and that not they are alone. In which Albert is the person to blame for all the bad things that have had happened to Ben during the time period of which after Ma was gone.

# data[].attributes.body
Albert feels deeply inadequate and unworthy of his role as a father, especially after the death of Ma.This is clearly shown when Albert says, “Your Ma was a real mother. I’m not qualified to be a father.” This quote reveals Albert’s internal struggle with self-worth and responsibility. He compares himself negatively to Ma, implying that she reflected true parenthood while he is simply falling short. His use of the word "qualified" highlights how he sees parenting not as a natural role, but as something he has failed to live up to . In addition, Albert said that he was "forced to sell his house" and can’t even "get a job that allows him to spend ten minutes" with his son. These statements emphasize his feelings of helplessness and failure, showing how the family's financial struggles have added to his guilt. His inability to provide or even bond with Ben suggests he sees himself as a shadow of the kind and nurturing figure Ma once was. Therefore, Albert's words and actions reflect how as a father he was crushed by grief and guilt, believing that he has failed both as a provider and as a father. His emotional distress also shows the overwhelming impact of Ma’s death on the family’s stability and his personal identity.

# data[].attributes.body
He feels inadequate becase he sees himself as an incompetent father. This can be seen in the passage where he states “I cemented it over because all her plants died after she did”, “So I cemented the garden, put a hoop and bought you a ball to hide my failure”. He cemented the garden because everything in it died after his wife passed away, showing that he felt unable to maintain the things she cared about. This shows a sense of helplessness, how he couldn't keep the garden alive, just like he feels he can’t fully take on her role. This highlights his feelings of inadequacy, as he believes he lacks the emotional strength and ability to do what his wife was able to.

He also feels guilty that he is unable to take care of him as well as Ma was able to. This can be seen in the except “When she was around, you were tall for your age”, “But when she died, you stopped frowing. Within two years, you were the shortest and skinniest in the class. Suddenly you were falling sick every other month”, “Only when I started taking care of you. And then your milk teeth started falling out…and those monster teeth started sprouting from your mouth…”, “Your ma was a real mother. I’m not qualified to be a father.”, “She made me look good”. He believes that he is ‘worse’ than ma and is a bad father to Ben. This highlights how he feels guilty and unable to take care of Ben properly like ma was able to.

# data[].attributes.headline
Aeson,Nathan,Andrew,Yin Xuan, Shaw Chen 

# data[].attributes.subject
Aeson,Nathan,Andrew,Yin Xuan, Shaw Chen 

# data[].attributes.body
This excerpt shows that Ben and Albert have an emotionally complex relationship because of the unspoken love and the constant blaming of each other in their conversations. This can be seen from the excerpt which states, “Don’t you get it? Your Ma was a real mother. I’m not qualified to be a father.” This tells us that Albert thinks he is a failure as a parent and blames himself entirely, although he actually cares greatly for Ben. However, Ben keeps reassuring Albert, saying that it was not his fault, but Albert doesn’t accept it. This combination of blame, love and misunderstandings shows that their relationship is emotionally complex.

Ben and Albert’s relationship is also emotionally complex because of the barrier between Ben’s desire for connection and Albert trying to distance himself from Ben. Based on the excerpt, Ben says “Come on Pa. You used to make so many pratas with Ma. I used to watch!” Then Albert replies with “Your Ma made all the dough! I just pretended to play along!” This shows that Ben wants to build a connection with Albert by trying to remember a happy memory. However, Albert shuts him down completely, suggesting that he wants to push Ben away. This makes it hard for them to bond with each other, creating an emotionally complex relationship.

# data[].attributes.body
It is emotionally complex because Albert and Ben are unable to have a honest conversation with each other, with both always trying to hide their feelings about Ma’s passing. Albert feels unworthy of being a father to Ben. He feels that he did not meet up to Ma’s standard of a parent, as stated in the excerpt when Pa feels that the problems that Ben faced when Ma died like when her flowers died after she did and Ben not growing anymore and becoming terribly ugly. Ben was also stated to have been brought to the hospital three times in the night. Through all this, Albert felt that he was incompetent as the problems only happened after Ma’s death. He takes the invisible blame that all these problems were because of his bad parenting which resulted in Ben’s host of problems. This is why he feels like a bad parent as he feels that the problems were because of him.

Another reason why it is an emotionally complex relationship is that Ben does not blame his father for himself getting sick. This is shown in the excerpt as he tries to change the topic in line 32 and 33 ‘Gee… thanks, Pa. You couldn’t have described me more freakishly!’ And in line 27 and 28 ‘It was asthma, Pa. It could have happened even when Ma was around’. This shows that Ben is trying to divert the blame from Albert so that he will not feel like it was his own fault that Ben fell sick. It is a complex relationship as they are unable to have a honest conversation with each other, with Albert trying to blame himself, and Ben even knowing that Albert may be correct. This shows that even in their conversation, they are unable to be truthful to each other, proving that it is an emotionally complex relationship.

# data[].attributes.body
Firstly, the excerpt shows that Albert and Ben shared an emotionally complex relationship Albert says, “You started having a host of problems once she left us” and “Don’t you get it? Your ma was a real mother… I’m not qualified to be a father.” Albert blames himself for not being able to be a good father after his wife’s passing. He feels overwhelmed, which causes tension in their relationship. Rather than comforting each other, they seem to unintentionally hurt each other. This shows that their relationship is one that suffers the same.

Secondly, their conversations are laden with misunderstanding. When Ben says, “Gee…thanks, Pa. You couldn’t have described me more freakishly!”, it shows sarcasm and discomfort in response to Albert’s blunt criticism. This shows that they struggle to connect and stay positive. Their conversations fail to empathise with each other.

# data[].attributes.body
Ben and Albert have an emotionally complex relationship because Albert always acts like he doesn’t want to talk to Ben and keeps rejecting Ben’s love for him although Ben knows that deep down, Albert loves him a lot. This is because Albert feels that he doesn’t deserve Ben’s love for him as he thinks that he is the cause of all of Ben’s problems. This can be seen when he says “Don’t you get it? Your Ma was a real mother. I’m not qualified to be a father. But when she was alive, you never noticed. She made me look good.” Albert keeps trying to paint himself as useless so that Ben will be able to see that he is a failure as a father and isn’t deserving of love. However, Ben thinks that it wasn’t his fault that their lives when downhill after Ma died. Albert is frustrated that Ben isn’t mad at him even everything that he thinks he caused. But what he doesn’t know is that Ben has unconditional love for him and that he loves him no matter what he caused him to go through. That is whenever Ben brings up happy memories with him and Ma, he gets very irritated because he feels that Ben does not understand how inadequate he is as a father. But the truth is that Ben knows, but he chooses to still love Albert for being a father to him. This is the misunderstanding between them that makes their relationship emotionally complex.