Shooting Dad Analysis

The short story written by Sarah Vowell called Shooting Dad is a story of a father and a daughter and their polar opposite personalities. They have little to nothing in common. Her and her father do not usually get along, as they agree on very little. She is a democrat, while her father is a republican. Her dad has an obsession with guns, and she detests them. There is a very obvious split in the family that the girl lives in and it seems as if she has nothing in common with anyone she lives with, not even her own twin sister. The girl is very artistic minded. She finds joy in nature and is very unique. She describes her father, however, to be “simple minded and stubborn.” His passion lies with guns. That is what he does to feel the void of happiness.

At the end of the story, the daughter realizes that her and her father, even though they seemingly are nothing alike, they have a lot in common. She decided one day to oblige him and go watch him do what he loved and shoot cannons. While she was there, although totally not interested in the gunman work present, she learned to accept her dad’s love for guns. Once she was able to accept this idea, her eyes were open. She realized that in all actuality, her and her father were just alike. They were both artistic. Her, in the arts of nature and the world and her father was artistic in his craftsmanship. This realization helped the girl to accept her father and realize that their seemingly differences were truly similar even if she might not have originally realized this.