Everything Big Boy Rhetorical Analysis

The pressure of having to act like an independent authority figure makes Hake compromise his devotion to his family. The reason Hake refused to give Big Boy to Oman in the first place was because Hake wanted to exercise his dominance over the matter, “About when would he go then?”, “if I was to say yes I Mean”. Hake wanted to show that his authority was the final law. Beforehand, Hake called Oman out for not understanding the ills of poverty--“Everything mighty nigh has to be disallowed. Take a rich man, he would not understand it”. Hake questions Oman’s ability to endure hardships like a real man, especially when Oman goes off about his childhood spent in the farm, “Hake was near about to believing. Even though he knew the truth”. However, Oman uses Hake’s desire to prove his masculinity to his advantage. …show more content…
Therefore, Hake was convinced that by not supporting his son to play, he was denouncing his own manliness for his disregard for the patriotic and masculine pursuit of football, “I can’t hardly stand in his way, on that”. However, Hake still wants to appear as if his desperate situation was not a large factor in his decision making, and that he was still in control. He tries to demonstrate his authority through his wife. When Hake is in the company of Oman, he is much more curt and forceful on his wife--giving her commands and treating her as a servent. “Go on now and get him ready. Lawyer Hedgepath can’t wait all night on him. This is busy times”. However, after Big Boy leaves, Hake acts much more kindly towards her, allowing her to sit and