The Need for Parental Affectionbased on: April Morning by Howard Fast

In the novel, April Morning by Howard Fast, Moses Cooper is a stubborn, outspoken father of two sons. His oldest son, Adam of fifteen, often felt as if his father did not love him because of his harsh words. All he wanted was some sweet affection from his father to encourage him. Adam was continually criticized by his father and felt very unloved, but later when he hears his father speaking respectfully about him, and also when his father shows his love, Adam finds the good- hearted father he had always wanted.
Moses Cooper always seemed to find one way or another to insult his son or make him feel inferior, which of course hurt Adam. Adam couldn’t understand why his father would not show any form of affection or love, and eventually lead him to believe that his father hated him. “Why does he hate me so?” (23). Adam often expressed his feelings to his Granny and his mother, but both of them continued to remind Adam that his father had always been in love with his own ...