Effects of Different Types of Fathers in The Sport of Kings

C.E. Morgan opens The Sport of Kings by asking “How far away from your father can you run?” (3). Throughout the novel, the effects of different types of fathers are demonstrated. Henry’s father is cruel, and this causes Henry to do everything in his power not to be like his father. Henrietta has a very different relationship with Henry, in which they form an incestuous relationship. Allmon’s father, Mike Shaughnessy, is mostly absent in his life, which causes Allmon to look for fatherly guidance in other places. I think it is interesting how C.E. Morgan chooses to portray all of these types of fathers, yet they still all have negative impacts on their children.  

Henry’s father, John Henry, was cruel and unforgiving to Henry throughout his entire life. When Henry was a child, John Henry pushed him to be excellent and used physical punishment, such as whipping, when Henry did not please him. This can be seen when John Henry punishes Henry for killing the neighbor’s bull and says, “Today I’m not whipping my son, just an animal. Because that’s how you’ve behaved” (10). I think that the relationship between Henry and John Henry is meant to demonstrate the typical relationship between father and son in the American South during the 19th Century. Boys were expected to obey their fathers’ every wish, and if they didn’t, there would be extreme repercussions. 

Henry was not always kind to Henrietta; however, he did put in effort to get her involved in family affairs, even though she was a girl, and it is obvious that he cares about her. Henry puts her first in his life and cares for her deeply. This can be seen when he says “Listen to me Henrietta, I created this world with my own two hands, and I am going to leave it all to you” (120). Even though Henry was more caring than his father, Henry and Henrietta had an incestuous relationship. Henry’s parenting style also caused Henrietta to have issues with sex. She would go out and have meaningless sex with different guys very frequently, which I think was caused by issues with her father.     

Unlike Henry and John Henry, Allmon’s father, Mike Shaughnessy, was rarely present in his life. Even when Mike did come to visit, it was obvious that he did not care about Allmon or his mom. This is shown when Mike comes to visit and is supposed to take Allmon to the carnival, but he says “Oh fuck, I’m so tired. I got like three hours of sleep last night” (197), and he just sleeps and drinks all day instead. The absence of a father causes Allmon to search for a father figure. He first looks to the Reverend, then he looks to Aesop, lastly, he looks to Henry in certain ways.