Topic > ""Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski: The influence of the surrounding environment on a person nothing to anyone and you are the one who has to do everything to be known as someone This quote comes from a superhero who is a person out of the ordinary and has put himself in a position to stand up for what is right A superhero is mostly known for being someone who saves the day or even the world from impending doom and even goes as far as risking their own life for the sake of protection Innocent or helpless superheroes are mostly known for saving the day but what some people fail to notice the fact that these beings also have an influence on many people despite being fictional characters or people who make movies disguised as them. Many of these influences are seen as positive, this is why many people look up to these beings because in their mind some of them may be like them with this. Another group of people who also influence many people are celebrities. Celebrities are real people who are well known by many people across the country or even the world. Celebrities, unlike superheroes, are normal human beings who are better known and tend to make mistakes, which is why there are some out there that people may see as negative influences. People can also be influenced by those around them, as in the case of the book Ham on Rye. The protagonist of the book Henry Jr is surrounded by many different people who influence him in different ways. In the story so far Henry is negatively influenced by his father, mother, friends and even his classmates because they fail to show him how to do the right thing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first and main negative influence in the book is his father who influences him negatively by acting hurtful when he makes mistakes whether he is right or not. by wrong, he also shows Henry that it's okay to be disrespectful to other people. This can be confirmed on page 58 where an old man is afraid of death, which leads Henry's father to make the situation worse by saying "you've lived long enough, you old idiot". This attitude can lead Henry to disrespect others without any repercussions or consequences. Another moment of his father's negative influence is shown in chapter 16 when Henry is playing soccer with a couple of kids until his father yells at him to mow the lawn. Henry tries to tell his father to continue letting him play football with the other children by saying "but I play football with the boys". Saturday is the only real chance I have'' (Bukowski 67). His father then questions his answer, which shows that he doesn't care if he is interacting with other children and can have a negative influence on his development. There is also another moment which is in the same chapter that follows where Henry is told to mow the lawn without leaving a single blade of grass, Henry then finishes mowing the lawn, his father checks for small hairs of grass and after finding two small hairs of grass, he then proceeds to beat Henry with a razor strop. This moment proves that the lack of healthy communication between these two has a negative influence. These negative influences can lead to feelings such as anger, confusion, and depression. Samantha Olson, journalist for Medical Daily, states that "They don't have the tools to express exactly what they feel" (Olson Par 2). This is also one of the things that can lead Henry down a destructive path later onin the book. A modern figure that Henry's father can be compared to is Lebron James who is the complete opposite because he supports people and encourages them to achieve their goals when it comes to sports and many other personal goals. The next negative influence Henry faces comes from his mother since she is never truly there for him and has no real connection to Henry other than being his offspring. One of the moments in the book is in chapter 16 when Henry mows the lawn, then claims that he has finished mowing the lawn, which leads his father to look for grass hairs. When his father finds two hairs of grass, he asks his mother who is confused at first but eventually takes his side and lets Henry get beaten with the razor strop. This moment shows that Henry cannot rely on his mother when he is sobbing or depressed. His mother also seems not to care about Henry except in providing his basic needs such as food and clothing. This can affect Henry in a very negative way because he will think that it is normal that you don't need anyone to help you and that you can solve any problems you might run into. One person she can be compared to is the famous character known as Justin Bieber, a singer and a person who has a strong influence on many young people, especially pre-teen girls. He has a negative influence due to the fact that despite having many fans, he is often shown not to really care or interact with them. He neglected many of the pets he had by abandoning or neglecting them. The main thing these two people have in common is that they are very careless as people and simply do not show any care. His friends are a negative influence as they encourage violence among many defenseless things such as cats or other animals. One time this happens is when there is a cat being teased by a dog that belongs to one of Henry's friends named Chuck. Henry's friend Gene tells him to watch the dog tear the cat apart, which leads him to want to help the cat. Henry even goes so far as to say “Chuck, let the cat go. Please call your dog back” (Bukowski 89). Right here Henry wants to help the cat but is afraid of being mauled by the dog itself. There is another scene where a spider is about to kill a fly, his friend Gene is anticipating the murder that is about to happen in front of Henry. Henry then takes it upon himself to kick the spider off the fly, thus saving the fly's life. One real life figure that Henry's friends can be compared to is Simon Cowell who is the exact opposite of his friends. Simon is mostly known for being verbally cruel as he has been shown to have a soft side for animals as a judge on many talent shows. This can positively influence people to think that animals deserve love and have rights like us. The negative influence his friends have on Henry is the fact that it is okay to abuse an animal. This also led Henry to not trust any human being as a whole as he may think everyone is like that. The last negative influence so far is a girl known as Lilly Fischman who is a girl who influences Henry to expect every girl to sexualize themselves. themselves to get what they want. Lilly is a girl in Henry's class and he states that she is really developed for a girl that age. On page 97 of the book Henry states that she managed to convince the teacher not to move forward with the class, then begins to dance provocatively demonstrating that you can get what you want if you objectify yourself. Lilly is the type of character who influences Henry into believing that women are objects used for personal gain. A very famous figure that can be.