Francisco does not have a very good relationship with his father, because his father is rough with him and does not listen.

Francisco’s father is very proud of himself when he finds a pair of old clippers at the dump.  He decides to give Francisco a haircut, and the boy can’t argue.  So his father begins clipping away, and it isn’t pretty.  Papa does not stop.  Instead, he roughly continues.

“I said stay still!” Papa yelled again, slapping my hand.  Using his left hand like a vice, he held my head still and clipped away with his right.  As he cut, he put more and more weight on his left hand, making my neck twist to the right. (Ch. 7, p. 68)

His father does not seem interested in how his son is doing.  He does not care if he is hurting him, and he does not care if he gives him a bad haircut.  When he is done, the boy’s head is a mess.  His hair is choppy and his neck has been nicked.  His father was stubborn enough to keep going, even when he knew it was not going well.