Most people’s values are often based off their parent’s. This can affect people positively or negatively. In David’s case in, Giovanni’s Room, his father’s values affect David negatively. His values are shaped by his father without him realizing it. David and his father share similar views about how to show masculinity, emotions, and use communication in their lives.
David’s views towards his masculinity are shown often in the novel. He cares a great deal about his image of a masculine man. David tried to keep this image to block out his homosexual feelings and prevent others from seeing them as well. Jacques saw through his image and recognized his true feelings. He tells David, “I was not suggesting that you jeopardize, even for a moment… …show more content…
Like his view on masculinity, David’s fear of emotions is almost identical to his father’s. David’s father has always been afraid to show his emotions. He ignores the emotions emerging within him, caused by his dead wife, by drinking and indulging in sexual pleasures. David recalls from his childhood that his father usually came home drunk after being out with a woman for most of the night. He overheard a conversation between his aunt, Ellen, and his father one night. Ellen said, “Do you really think it’s a good idea for David to see you staggering home drunk all the time?” (15). David seeing his father drown his problems with alcohol and women leads him to do the same thing later in his life. He uses it to hide his emotions in the same way that his father does. His father also does not allow David to love him. David says, “We were not like father and son, my father sometimes proudly said, we were like buddies” (16). David rejects love in the same way that his father disregarded emotions between them. David refuses to allow anyone to get too close and love hm. When Giovanni gets too close, David leaves him out of fear of the unknown. David recognizes his fear when he says, “I tried my hardest to give myself to him as he gave himself to me, I was holding something back”
David’s views towards his masculinity are shown often in the novel. He cares a great deal about his image of a masculine man. David tried to keep this image to block out his homosexual feelings and prevent others from seeing them as well. Jacques saw through his image and recognized his true feelings. He tells David, “I was not suggesting that you jeopardize, even for a moment… …show more content…
Like his view on masculinity, David’s fear of emotions is almost identical to his father’s. David’s father has always been afraid to show his emotions. He ignores the emotions emerging within him, caused by his dead wife, by drinking and indulging in sexual pleasures. David recalls from his childhood that his father usually came home drunk after being out with a woman for most of the night. He overheard a conversation between his aunt, Ellen, and his father one night. Ellen said, “Do you really think it’s a good idea for David to see you staggering home drunk all the time?” (15). David seeing his father drown his problems with alcohol and women leads him to do the same thing later in his life. He uses it to hide his emotions in the same way that his father does. His father also does not allow David to love him. David says, “We were not like father and son, my father sometimes proudly said, we were like buddies” (16). David rejects love in the same way that his father disregarded emotions between them. David refuses to allow anyone to get too close and love hm. When Giovanni gets too close, David leaves him out of fear of the unknown. David recognizes his fear when he says, “I tried my hardest to give myself to him as he gave himself to me, I was holding something back”