At the end of Bharati Mukherjee's short story "A Father," if you didn’t think Mr. Bhowmick would do such a thing to Babli, you should explain why. Perhaps you thought Mr. Bhowmick would be too indifferent to care about her pregnancy. Remember, Babli is not the “the child of his dreams.” It might have surprised you that Mr. Bhowmick doesn’t just wash his hands of his purportedly wayward daughter and let her have the baby on her own.

If you weren’t surprised, you could discuss how Mr. Bhowmick’s violent use of a rolling pin corresponds to how you thought he would behave. You could tell how the ending is a continuation of his controlling, cruel disposition. You could analyze how it fits with his motivations to not “bring shame to the Bhowmick family.”

As for Babli and Rosie in Hisaye Yamamoto’s “Seventeen Syllables,” I think you could make a connection between the two. You could talk about how Babli and Rosie both take ownership of their bodies and desires. Babli does this by making the choice to have a baby. Rosie does this by her involvement with Jesús.

Of course, Rosie’s mom also showcases independence. Her mom’s independence comes via less physical pursuits. As you already know, Rosie’s mom writes haiku. Rosie’s dad doesn’t like that Rosie’s mom writes haiku, which leads Rosie to not like her dad.

In both stories, I think it’d be better to think of the parents separately. You could argue both characters have more connection with their moms than with their dads. Remember, Rosie’s mom is vehement that Rosie doesn’t marry. Meanwhile, Babli’s mom calls the police on her husband.