Many fear that if they do not remain loyal, that their circumstances may worsen, whether it is emotionally, physically or financially. Overcoming this fear is a major obstacle in breaking loyalty in abusive relationships. Evidence of this fear can be found after Josh 's mother buys him pencil crayons and herself some shampoo. When Mrs. Walker tries to calm down her husband after he makes a subtle comment about her wasteful spending, Josh thinks, "Easy, Mom... you better watch it." This quote shows the fear Josh has for his father. He knows that if his mother continues to protest and not be obedient, that their relationship could worsen; he may become even angrier and possibly take out his anger on them. As a result, Josh stays silent and remains loyal to his father. He does not advocate for his mother and instead obeys his father 's unspoken order to remain uninvolved, in an attempt to avoid possible punishment. A second example is also found in Josh when Douglas forced him to break his pencil crayons. His father ordered him to break the blue crayon, “but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t snap the pencil.” Josh did not have the courage to break such a generous and sentimental gift from his mother. Frustrated, his father proceeded to show his son step by step how to break the pencil. It was purely out of fear that he eventually broke every pencil crayon. Josh was afraid that if he did not obey his father 's wishes, that he might have become very infuriated with his son 's insubordination and abuse him. The fear and sorrow of this experience was felt immediately when he was holding a part of the pencil in each hand and knew, that "he was going to cry." Another factor that persuades Josh and his mother to remain loyal to Douglas is the fear that they may not be able to live without him. Through his supercilious and condescending comments, they have
Many fear that if they do not remain loyal, that their circumstances may worsen, whether it is emotionally, physically or financially. Overcoming this fear is a major obstacle in breaking loyalty in abusive relationships. Evidence of this fear can be found after Josh 's mother buys him pencil crayons and herself some shampoo. When Mrs. Walker tries to calm down her husband after he makes a subtle comment about her wasteful spending, Josh thinks, "Easy, Mom... you better watch it." This quote shows the fear Josh has for his father. He knows that if his mother continues to protest and not be obedient, that their relationship could worsen; he may become even angrier and possibly take out his anger on them. As a result, Josh stays silent and remains loyal to his father. He does not advocate for his mother and instead obeys his father 's unspoken order to remain uninvolved, in an attempt to avoid possible punishment. A second example is also found in Josh when Douglas forced him to break his pencil crayons. His father ordered him to break the blue crayon, “but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t snap the pencil.” Josh did not have the courage to break such a generous and sentimental gift from his mother. Frustrated, his father proceeded to show his son step by step how to break the pencil. It was purely out of fear that he eventually broke every pencil crayon. Josh was afraid that if he did not obey his father 's wishes, that he might have become very infuriated with his son 's insubordination and abuse him. The fear and sorrow of this experience was felt immediately when he was holding a part of the pencil in each hand and knew, that "he was going to cry." Another factor that persuades Josh and his mother to remain loyal to Douglas is the fear that they may not be able to live without him. Through his supercilious and condescending comments, they have