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Charlie’s dad is the head of his family. He can be aloof and stern but he cares deeply for his loved ones. However, he has a difficult time processing and expressing emotions. For example, Charlie remembers that his father once needed to leave and pretend to make a sandwich so that he could cry in the kitchen during the finale of M*A*S*H. Clearly, Charlie’s dad is uncomfortable with sentimentality, so much so that he was unwilling to cry in front of other people—even his own family. His stoic regulation of his emotions contrasts with Charlie, who consistently loses control of his. The father and son represent opposing emotional extremes: one cries quite a lot and one does not cry enough. Their contrasting displays of emotion illustrate the idea that people have different responses to trauma. Like Charlie’s mom, Charlie’s dad experienced child abuse. His father died when he was young and his mother remarried an abusive man who hit him, his sister, and his mom. When Charlie’s dad grew up, he left because he could not stand the trauma anymore—especially after his sister started to date men who were as violent as their stepfather. Charlie reflects that he does not think that his grandma or his Aunt Rebecca ever forgave his father for leaving them. While this may or may not be true, Charlie’s father has clearly not forgiven himself. Charlie notes that his father is always sad and quiet when they visit his family and that he has seen his father give his Aunt Rebecca money. Clearly, Charlie’s dad spends a lot of his time repressing both his guilt and his childhood trauma which could account for his stoicism.
