Maturing from Family Problems: Personal Growth in 'Dark Sons' Anonymous 10th Grade

How would a son feel if his father abandoned him, only to love another woman aside from his mom? This is the story of Dark Sons as two young men, Ishmael and Sam, living in two different settings in the story, deal with this conflict. Although Sam is the character who grows significantly in terms of maturity in contrast to Ishmael, both of them experience remarkably similar situations that includes the same anger, struggle, and feeling of loss that they endure. Throughout Sam’s journey of learning how to cope with his new relationship with his father, he gradually transitions from a teen to a young adult, fighting the feelings of betrayal his father caused by backing out of his role as a father. As a result of his father’s abandonment, he becomes a more independent figure as shown by his improved relationship with his father, his acceptance of his father’s absence, and his realization that he must make his own decisions at the end of the story.

One of the characteristics that enables Sam to grow more reliable is that Sam is a character who is willing to push out of his comfort zone. After his dad left him, Sam questions his relationship with this father as shown in the following quote: “He calls himself my father. So why is he...