PowderPowder, a short story written by Tobias Wolff, is about a boy and his father on a Christmas Eve outing. As the story unfolds, it seems to be deeper than just a story of a boy and his father on a simple adventure in the snow. It is the story of the relationship between a boy and his father, or perhaps the lack of a relationship. Powder is narrated by an adult version of the boy. In this tale, the roles of the boy and his father appear completely opposite to what they are supposed to be but may turn out to be completely different from the reader's first observation. The father's character begins to develop with the boy's memory of an outing to a village. nightclub to see jazz legend Thelonius Monk. This is the first sign of the father's unreliability and the fact that the boy's first memory of a visit with him was of displeasure for his mother. The second sign of the father's lack of responsibility appears again when he wanted to continue taking his boy to the snowy slopes, even though he pushed back the time constraints imposed for his visits with his son. He knew he was supposed to get the boy back to his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Instead, the father wanted to be adventurous with his son and continue to take him to the slopes for one last run. When this last visit turned into several others, the father realized that he was now extending the time limits of his visit. Even though he thought he could take it home, he found himself blocked by a highway patrol on the now-closed road to the house. The boy seems to play the role of responsible adult more than the father. The boy exhibits the typical signs of a child from today's broken family relationships; he doesn't want to disappoint either parent. The boy fucks in the middle of a paper and wants to win his mother's approval again. Nevertheless, it is truly a compelling love story between the boy and his father. The boy's actions throughout the story indicate that he truly loves his father and seems very torn between his mother's expectations and his father's carelessness. Many adults and children are so familiar with this family situation that one can easily see the identity of the characters without the author even giving a name to the boy and his father. Even without any other surrounding verification of their lives, the plot, characters, and narrative fit together quite well. Works Cited “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).” Brain Psychics. 2009. Web. January 29, 2010. http://www.brainphysics.com/ocd.php This site contains information on different types of mental disorders, their causes and treatments..