Analyzing Ralph Fletcher's 'The Last Kiss'

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In life everyone needs to grow up at some point. Growing up is a part of life that happens whether you like it or not. In this story “Last Kiss” by Ralph Fletcher, the little boy is very protected. His parents tuck him in and give him a kiss every night. His dad pushes him to act like a man in this story. The boy doesn’t understand this. “Last Kiss” teaches me that at some point you need to grow up. This is true in the beginning, middle and end of the story.
The first reason “The Last Kiss” shows me growing up in the beginning of the story. This is when the dad shakes his sons hand goodnight. Shaking hands is what business people do and not family. The boy doesn’t understand he thinks that him and his dad are growing apart. The text states. “To my surprise, he reached out and shook my hand. “ This provides evidence that the dad is pushing his son to grow up because his dad is showing him how real men …show more content…

My reason is when the boy has a talk with his dad, but the young boy thinks of it as drifting away. “If they're lucky, the tide will help drift to where they want to go.” This statement proves that the boy could of misunderstood his father. The father talks about spreading his wings, but the boy interprets it as drifting apart. The dad wants him to spread his wings and become an have an adult personality.
My last reason The Last Kiss” shows me growing up, is in the end of the story. The little boy went in for a kiss. The dad won’t even give a kiss goodnight. “Two more times I went to Dad for a good-night kiss. No luck.” Since the dad wants his son to become more like a man, so he stays stubborn. This conflicts with their relationship because the son takes his actions in the wrong way. This statement shows that the dad isn’t wanting to give a kiss. Instead he is staying stubborn and stable to show that real men don’t kiss good-night. This shows the dad trying to push his son to grow

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