The Bricklayer's Boy By Alfred Lubrano

“The Bricklayer’s boy,” is a story written by Alfred Lubrano. In the story, the author is different from his father. The father is a bricklayer and the son is a writer. The two have very different jobs making it difficult for them to connect. They do not really understand the work that goes into each other's jobs. The two both have very different objectives and views on their aspirations and labor.
The father and son are separated by class. To further illustrate, the father has a blue collar job. The father in the story “makes his living on the outside,” (Lubrano 342) meaning that after he does the work, he is not necessarily welcome into the establishments. He has to perform hard labor in order to uphold his position as a bricklayer. Following his blue-collar way of living the father is more gruff when handling situations also. The son possesses a white collar job. He does not have to physically exert himself in order to make his living. Unlike his father, he tends to handle situations more timidly. The son’s job still holds him to a standard of labor even
though it

may not entail hard physical labor.
The father believes you should work to get paid, not to enjoy what you do.

He lives by the “Blue-collar Rules” (Lubrano 342). The rules basically state: “When it all comes down to it, only money makes you happy”(Lubrano 343). The father wanted his son to not have to be a bricklayer like himself, so he sent him to a pricey school hoping it would land him a high paying job. Instead the author chose to be a writer, which his “father had a tough time accepting” (Lubrano 342). He believed only money can make you happy and his son did not think that way. As a result of the fathers views, he does not enjoy what he does for a living. He often reprimands his son and tries to convince him to do something that will bring in higher income, but his son sticks to writing. His father finally admits to his son that he “envies” (Lubrano 345) him, for doing something that he loves to do and making a living out of

it.
Throughout the story, the father and son battle with trying to maintain a relationship despite their different perspectives. The father having a blue collar job and the son having a white collar job puts a strain on their relationship. Although the father believes you shouldn’t have to like your job, he learns to accept his son’s choice. Ultimately, the father is happy his son can support himself while enjoying what he does.