Lonely The Description of Pauline Breedlove, Pecola’s mother .1 Crippled
4.1.2 The Description of Cholly Breedlove, Pecola’s father 4.1.2.1 Irresponsible
Cholly Breedlove is Pecola’s father. He has bad background of his past life. He is abandoned by her mother on a trash heap when he is four days old, and he is
raised by his Great Aunt Jimmy. “When Cholly was four days old, his mother wrapped him in two blankets and one newspaper and placed him on a junk heap by
the railroad” 132. When he grows up and gets married he does not have any idea of how to take
care of his family because he does have a figure of a family, especially a figure of a father. Because of his past life, he does not know how to take care of his children
well. He is described as a man with a bad image. Cholly always gets drunk and when he comes home, he always argues with his wife in front of his children, Pecola and
Sammy. Cholly had come home drunk. Unfortunately he had been too drunk to quarrel,
so the whole business would have to erupt this morning. Because it had not taken place immediately, the oncoming fight would lack spontaneity, it would
be calculated, uninspired, and deadly 40. Cholly fails to provide his family’s needs, both financial and physiological
needs such as love, caring, and affection. Cholly’s gloomy past life influences his attitude and behavior on his family, especially the way he treats his children. Cholly
also represents a figure of a bad father. He never knows how parents should behave lovingly and tenderly because he is not raised by his own parents with affection.
Cholly looses the image of an ideal parent. Cholly past life is terrible, and that influences that much to his present life.
But the aspect of married life that dumbfounded him and rendered him totally dysfunctional was the appearance of children. Having no idea of how to raise
children, and having never watched any parent raise himself, he could not even comprehend what such a relationship should be. 160
Cholly is not able to give his love and affection to his children. He never cares
about them; even he acts as if he hates them, especially towards Pecola. Ironically, Cholly makes his self image as an irresponsible father much more worse by raping her
own daughter, Pecola. The confused mixture of his memories of Pauline and the doing of a wild and
forbidden thing excited him, and a bolt of desire ran down his genitals,…He wanted to fuck her tenderly. … again the hatred mixed with tenderness. So
when the child regained consciousness, she was lying on the kitchen floor under a heavy quilt, trying to connect the pain between her legs with the face
of her mother looming over her 163.
Cholly’s action to Pecola shows that Cholly is not a good father. He abandons his family and never takes care of them. Cholly’s action to his children is affected by
his past life which makes him an irresponsible man. He does not know how to make his family feel comfortable and secure. All he does is making his family suffer. He
drinks. He always fights and beats Pauline in front of his children. He even rapes his own daughter. That is why from all of his reactions and thoughts, we can see that
Cholly is an irresponsible husband and father.