Compare Harold's character and his father physically and characteristically in "The Fly in the Ointment."

In V.S. Pritchett's "The Fly in the Ointment," Harold and his father are only slightly similar in appearance. Neither is tall. However, where Harold his going bald, doesn't stand straight and isn't dressed well, his father is a commanding figure, dressed quite nicely.

They were both short. The father was well-dressed in an excellent navy-blue suit. He was a vigorous, broad man with a pleased impish smile. The sun burn shone through the clipped white hair of his head and he had the simple, trim, open-air look of a snow man. The son beside him was round-shouldered and shabby, a keen but anxious fellow in need of a hair-cut and going bald.

It would be safe to say, also, that the men are very different in how they act. Generally, the father is cheerful and outgoing, showing a big face, but then (Harold notices) a small-face emerges: one that is "babyish, shrewd, scared and hard." This seems to be the face he has shown Harold in the past, but Harold only now realizes the two sides of his father. The old man actually detests Harold, but seems to shyly appreciate his son's presence as he is forced to vacate his business in the face of bankruptcy, after thirty years.

The old man speaks of letting things go; he admits that he has made mistakes, putting money before everything else. It would appear that he is finally seeing the world through new eyes, and making the best of the situtation. Harold, who is so sorry for his father's plight and feels so sad, tells his father that had there been any way to raise money for him, he would have done so. Immediately, with the speed of a cobra's strike, his father spins on the word "money" and demands the details of how his son will get the money, and why hadn't he said something before.

The reader finds that the old man has not changed. He is willing to take what he can get from the son he despises, and he has learned nothing in losing his business. Harold, on the other hand, is a decent son, though not well thought of by his father. Knowing how difficult his dad can be, he still resolves to be there to support his father through this difficult time.

The old man may look the part of a successful business man, but Harold acts the part of a decent and loving son. This is echoed in the title of another of Pritchett's works, "Handsome Is as Handsome Does."

Compare and contrast Harold's father's inner and outer personalities in "The Fly in the Ointment."

In V.S. Pritchett's "The Fly in the Ointment," there are two sides of Harold's father.

The inner and outer personalities of Harold's father are contradictory. It is only by drawing inferences and reading the text closely that the reader can get a clear sense of who this man really is.

When Harold arrives, his father greets him kindly:

Hullo, old chap. This is very nice of you, Harold.

This is a positive acknowledgement that seems to promise a pleasant exchange between father and son. The father exudes a pleasant personality as his son enters:

[The father] was a vigorous, broad man with a pleased impish smile.

This description provides the sense that the older man has a sense of humor; perhaps he is even a prankster. However, a contradiction comes very early in the story—we learn of another aspect of the father's personality that is not exhibited in his early behavior with Harold:

"Come in, Professor," said the father. This was an old family joke. He despised his son, who was, in fact, not a professor but a poorly paid lecturer at a provincial university.

However, in the next line, we witness an attitude not generally present between the father and his son:

"Come in," said the father, repeating himself, not with the impatience he used to have, but with the habit of age. "Come inside, into my office..." he apologized.

Again the father is uncharacteristically thoughtful in how he deals with his son—it could be argued that the father never apologizes to Harold. The father offers Harold a cup of tea, but Harold declines, suggesting his father drink it instead. His father says:

Well...I feel badly about this. This is terrible. I feel really awful drinking this tea and you standing there watching me...well, how are things with you? How are you?

Knowing that the father despises his son, we can infer that this cordial behavior may be the result of his failing business. When one is experiencing success and power, it is easy to be selfish. Disaster, however, has a sobering effect, and this may well account for the father's change toward Harold.

Soon, again, however, we get the sense of the man Harold's father really is, lurking like a predator in the jungle, just out of sight. Harold makes a benign comment and quickly his father responds:

"Listen to me a moment. I want you to get this idea," said his father, his warm voice going dead and rancorous and his nostrils fidgeting. His eyes went hard, too. A different man was speaking, and even a different face...the son noticed for the first time that...his father had two faces. There was the outer face like a soft warm and careless daub of innocent sealing wax...and inside it...was a much smaller one, babyish, shrewd, scared and hard.

Now there is a clearer sense of the two men that live in the older man's body: the strong and imposing one, and then the child-like, fearful one. The gentle man Harold sees when he first arrives is the fearful child: his business is going under. What will he do? However, the imposing self is not conquered—and this is the man Harold already knows.

As they continue to speak, Harold comments that he wishes he could raise some money, and like vulture, his father snaps at his "wish:"

"Raise it?" said the old man sharply. "Why didn't you tell me before you could raise money? How can you raise it? Where? By when?"

First seeming like a child, we soon see that the father has not changed. The man inside is very different than the public face he wears.

How is Harold a rounded character, unlike his father, in "The Fly in the Ointment"?

In V.S. Pritchett's short story, "The Fly in the Ointment," Harold is very much a round character, while his father is not.

A round character is defined as:

...one who is capable of change and evolution throughout a story.

Harold is a son who has been treated badly (we can assume on a regular basis) by his father, with an example noted in the following passage:

"Come in, Professor," said the father. This was an old family joke. He despised his son, who was, in fact, not a professor but a poorly paid lecturer at a provincial university.

Harold is disliked by his father not because he is a bad person or because he has been unkind to his parent, but because his job is a humble one and he does not make a great deal of money. However, the older man's criticism of his son goes beyond his career choice and lack of financial success. The father is—in a very non-parent-like way—critical of his son's physical appearance.

Do you know, you're actually more bald at the back than I thought. There's a patch there as big as my hand. I saw it just then. It gave me quite a shock. You really must do something about it. How are your teeth? That may have something to do with it. Hasn't Alice told you how bald you are?

As the story progresses, the reader discovers that despite his father's treatment of him, Harold is overcome by a desire to ease his father's pain as the older man's life changes dramatically. Harold's father's factory was successful for many years, and money means everything to him. As his father's business now begins to disappear—the workers are gone and the furniture sold—Harold's father seems lost. Harold, however, is willing to forget the past and morally support his dad, showing that he is able to change.

Suddenly all the money quarrels of the family, which nagged in the young man's mind, had been dissolved. His dread of being involved in them vanished. He was overcome by the sadness of his father's situation...I must see him. I must help him.

It seems that Harold's father is also capable of change when he announces:

I've done with money. Absolutely done and finished with it. I never want to see another penny as long as I live.

This might be good news if it were true. Harold, once again showing his ability to leave old pain and heartache delivered at his father's hands, behind, says:

I'm not rich. None of us is...we can't do anything. I wish I could, but I can't...But the idea of your being—you know, well short of some immediate necessity, I mean—well, if it is ever a question of—well, to be frank, cash, I'd raise it somehow."

This is born of Harold's wish to alleviate his father pain, much as a loving parent would act with a child. However, we see that Harold's father has not changed at all. As soon as Harold utters what is no more than a hope, his father's old persona—self-centered and overbearing—returns in full force as he demands details:

"Raise it?" said the old man sharply. "Why didn't you tell me before you could raise money? How can you raise it? Where? By when?"

Harold is able to grow up in the story and forgive and forget his sire's "sins" of aggression towards him. However, perhaps his father speaks as if he has changed because it may make him seem less pathetic—something he cannot handle personally, though he is quick to point out aspects of his son that old man sees as pathetic.

Harold is a good son, despite his father's behavior. His father really does not deserve his son's concern.