Level 1 English Wide Reading Log

Text title- My Father’s Hands

Author- Calvin R. Worthington

Text type- Short story

Date Read-

     The story is about the narrator’s father‘s life. His father had a pair of good hands. They were rough and exceedingly strong. They were warm as well. They could draw and saw a square with quick accuracy. However, his hands failed him in one thing. They never learned to write.

     The character I found interesting was the narrator’s father. He had an interesting life. Even though his hands failed him in one the simplest things, he could do a lot of things that an ordinary office man can’t do. He was a pipefitter in a shipyard and installed the complicated guts of mighty fighting ships. His enthusiasm and efficiency brought an offer to become line boss-until he was handed the qualification test. His fingers could trace a path across the blueprints while his mind imagined the pipes lacing through the heart of the ship, He could recall every twist and turn of the pipes. But he couldn’t read or write. He was a very capable person, but he just failed in one simple job, writing.

     This story has taught me the importance of knowing how to read. In the story, the narrator’s father died because of a heart attack. He had a bottle of nitroglycerin pills when the heart attack took place, however, the bottle cap was imprinted “Child Proof Cap – Push Down and Twist to Unlock”, which he could not understand.  Therefore he couldn’t take the pills in time which lead to his death.

     The narrator’s whole life was a challenge. He could not read or write. With a modern society, it would be even harder. There are information and warning signs everywhere. With illiteracy, it would be very difficult to fit in this society. I can relate to him. I have fractured a knuckle on my right hand and got a cast put on it. However, I am right handed. Therefore, I have to write and do other things with my left hand which I am not used to.

     The text title doesn’t fully describe the whole story. It didn’t mention anything about the narrator’s father being illiterate or any details of the story. Therefore, it kept the story mysterious.

     I would recommend this book for people who think everything should be perfect in their life and grudges when something doesn’t go their way. This book will let them learn that sometimes, people are not perfect just as they are born.