Putting Daddy On by Tom Wolfe

     When Parker finds out that his son, Ben, has dropped out of college and moved to the dreaded Lower East Side of New York City, he asks Tom Wolfe to accompany him on the rescue to save his son.  Set in the 1960s, Putting Daddy On is an essay about the generational uprising that was spreading through the population of young beatniks.  From Parker's perspective of being a successful "forty-six-year-old agency executive" (Wolfe 281), hope for his "flipnik"(Wolfe 280) son is running out fast.  The relationship between a parent and a child is one of great complications.  A father has certain expectations of his son, and when they are not fulfilled it can result in the feeling of failure.  When Ben fails to finish school and become a businessman like his father, this feeling settles within Parker.   

     Wolfe uses the rhetorical device, repetition, throughout his writing in order to emphasize the disintegrating relationship between a friend and his son, and support his argument that at some point, all parents have to let go.  He describes Parker to be "a casualty of the Information Crisis" (Wolfe 280), which is why "he understands everybody's motives" (Wolfe 281).  For example, "he understands why pot-smoking is sort of a religion.  He understands Oneness, lofts, visions, the Lower East Side" (Wolfe 281).  The repetition of this phrase throughout the piece draws attention to Parker's main internal problem; he understands, but he cannot let go.  He cannot let go of the expectations that he once had for Ben.  After he finds his son living in a "craggy space" (Wolfe 284) with a group of flipniks, he finally forms his own opinion that "'the whole thing was repulsive'" (Wolfe 287), allowing himself to let go. 

     Tom Wolfe tells the story from his point of view by observing the situation but never speaking.  I found this technique very effective in making a point because not including his own dialogue makes a statement.  Immediately, I realized that this omission was intended.  This unique first person point of view is another rhetorical strategy that Wolfe uses to add emphasis to the state of confusion Parker is in.  Tom Wolfe purposely refrains from the inclusion of his own dialogue to focus on the issue between Parker and his son.  He realizes before they even visit Ben that Parker will have to let go on his own, without any outside pressure.  

"I saw it from the outside" (Wolfe 287)
http://www.beatnikshoes.com/en/the-beat-generation-the-beatniks/