Men In the Sun

While reading "Men In the Sun," I was intrigued by the story "If you were a horse..." The story is about a young boy who's father constantly says to him, "if you were a horse I would put a bullet through your brain." As a result the boy grew up thinking that his father had hated him, until one day he began to question where his father got this saying and why he always said it to him. As the story unfolds, we see the irony and the parallels in the story with the horse and the son. They are essentially the same character, in that both carried the mark of their victims blood, a birth mark like feature, meaning that they were destined to kill their victim. For the horse it was Abu Muhammad's mom, and for Abu Muhammad it was his father. Which explains why his father was always so afraid of him. This story caught my attention because it represents the idiocy that many individuals live in, afraid to make another move because they do not know where their lives may lead. Also, this reoccurring theme of violence and destiny, as the entire story ends in death.