| abstract
| - He refers to his ex-wife, Julia, as having left him for Joey Jeremiah. It is not clear, however, that Julia had ever even met Joey before the Mannings' marriage ended, much less that she cuckolded Albert. Given Albert's emotional disorders and martyrism, it is entirely possible that his characterization was either an exaggeration or a distorted view of past events. Because he sometimes abuses Craig, which might have triggered his bipolar disorder to develop, he is often thought of as evil or positioned in an antagonistic role, but there are multiple factors which have had an impact on and influenced Albert's behavior and actions. Anger is one of the major factors controlling Albert's complexion, and there are many triggers and provocations in his lifestyle. In his highly stressful job, he faces the burden of having to support his son while being encumbered with the responsibility as one of the senior staff members at his hospital. Another trigger would be Craig's association with Angela and Joey Jeremiah, for whom Albert believes Julia left him and with whom Albert believes Julia cuckolded him before leaving. As the reasons for her departure are either unknown to Albert or repressed by him, he still remains bitter and puzzled over their separation and even flinches at the mention of her name. When Craig reminisces about his favorite meal that Julia made, Albert reacts as though her name had not been brought up. Given the high correlation between abuse of children and abuse of spouses, it is quite conceivable that Julia left Albert after having suffered violence and/or emotional abuse from him. Countering this theory are three factors:
* Child abuse is more common among single-parent families, therefore suggesting that Albert might have been non-violent until after Julia's departure.
* Albert retained custody of Craig, indicating either that Julia did not fear for Craig's safety or that she lacked evidence to convince the court to grant custody to her.
* Julia did not relate to Joey any stories of Albert's abuse. Had she done so, Joey would surely have much more readily accepted Craig's friends' allegations that Albert was beating Craig. In light of Julia's immediate and sudden abandonment, Albert was left as a single father to raise Craig, who appeared to be ungrateful and ignorant. Though it was Craig's optimistic, light-hearted, and care-free personality that made it seem so, he essentially became the lightning rod drawing Albert's anger, who redirected all of the turmoil and drama in his life to his son. Each abusive occurrence, however, has an inciting incident, conveniently relating to Craig's actions. When Albert is first seen to be controlled by his anger is when Craig comes home late from a day of photography. Sitting silently with his prepared family meal, Albert is waiting for Craig (who was not punctual despite his father's orders). It is Craig's care-free spirit, and how he seemingly minimized the issue, which set off Albert's rage causing him to destroy a plate of food. In the second incident, Albert found Craig's photo collection of Angela and Joey, one he named "The Perfect Family". That, the edited photographs of Craig with Joey and Angela (excluding Albert), plus Craig lying to his father about meeting Angela and Joey (as he may have felt intimidated by Albert), causes Albert Manning to brutally and violently assault his son. A third burst of rage was when he discovered that his son had indeed been seeing Angela behind his back, despite his explicit orders not to do so. About to enjoy a relaxing day with his son, enjoying eating take-out and watching a couple of videos, Albert gets a phone call from Joey and then, realizes his son's deceit. Already holding a golf-club in his hand, it became Albert's weapon of opportunity used in breaking down Craig's door just before Craig escapes. The last and final notable occurrence of violence between the two was when Albert was meeting Craig after Craig had moved in with Joey. Trying hard to rehabilitate himself and seek help for his anger problems in hopes to repair the relationship with his son, Craig repeatedly ends up rejecting his father's offers (one of which was for them to spend the summer vacation in Europe together). After a heated argument which resulted with Craig shoving his father, Albert instinctively responded by hitting his son back. In every act of cruelty Albert inflicts upon his son, it is equaled and paralleled with acts aimed at forgiveness, redemption, and healing. First, when he destroyed a plate during an encounter about Craig's punctuality, he later felt sorry and attempted to make it up to him by cooking Craig's favorite meal. After the second incident where Albert discovered Craig's photo album, he drives Craig to school the next day and gives him a substantial amount of money to buy a new camera. Despite his inability to discuss the issue of his abuse due to Albert's attempts to remain a strong parental figure, he mentions to Craig that if his son needed anything, he would just need to ask. Third, Albert spends the entire year trying to alter his behavior and violent tendencies. He also tries to make a new, fresh start with Craig, respecting his current living arrangement, but also by being more caring and involved with his son. Last, Albert's reaction to his last act of aggression was unique. He showed instantaneous and immediate regret, sorrow, and remorse; emotions he had not manifested until he took some substantial time to calm down. Albert has uncontrolled episodes of rage. Albert Manning has a strong, genuine, and ultimate love for his son. When Craig returned back home to retake all his belongings and live with Joey, Albert pleas for him to stay; saying that he loved Craig too much for him to leave. Citing that work had been stressful, he realizes his impatience with Craig and claims that things would change and even related Craig's departure in conjunction and relation to Julia's. In his workplace, his coworkers mention Albert's powerful enthusiasm about his son. Craig is told that his father mentions and praises him often, but became quite grief-stricken after Craig departed to live with Joey. For his eulogy, his dedication as a father was quite frequently noted. To quote, "he, Craig, was the greatest gift he ever received. A gift he cherished. A gift he never wanted to relinquish".
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