Father-son relationship

In Fiona Maazel’s short story “Let’s Go to the Videotape”, the father-son relationship is particularly relevant to analyse. Nick is the father of Gus, a 5-year-old.

Three years before, Nick’s wife died tragically in a car accident which has affected the relationship between Nick and Gus. Gus has been visibly traumatised by the event, as he develops a speech impediment. We later learn that he also suffers from guilt. His mother was sitting in the back because Gus was sick, and Gus seems to think that this makes it his fault that she died.

Ironically, Nick seems to share his son’s guilt. Nick was the one driving the car and his head collided with his wife’s, leading to her dying from a head injury. Sadly, Nick never shares his feelings with his son or talks to him about the f...