The Sagging Weight of Dad's BBQ
In Sag Harbor , Ben's interactions with his father characterize his family dynamics and, in part, explains Elena's self-distancing from Ben's family. His father is frequently described as destructive: for instance, Ben fears the sound of the alcohol cabinet opening, implying that domestic violence is frequent. Throughout the book, the father is shown as a figure in the post-civil rights movement generation: he lives by the teachings of DuBois and feels a strong racial pride as an African-American man. More precisely, most of the Sag adults feel this pride-- DuBois was one of the "certain names ... [with] an emanation or halo" (18). In fact, even Ben reports being blown away by DuBois' teachings of double-consciousness during his college years (18). However, his dad is special in that this pride often comes at the cost of his family and influences Ben's actions. The first example of his father's violence is when Ben is hit for not retaliating against ...