Henry's father is hesitant to put across his feelings and actually influences the adolescent to channel his thoughts through his poems with the purpose of trying to connect with the world. The 'old man' is initially angered as a consequence of understanding that his son had the courage to express himself. However, he is concomitantly inclined to express admiration concerning this particular act. "Ideally both parents and adolescents learn to respect each-other's experiences and take responsibility for effectively shaping each-other's responses" (Greco & Hayes 121). When considering Henry's approach, it appears that he took action regarding his relationship with his father. His poem acted as a catalyst and influenced the 'old man' to acknowledge that it was essential for him to change his attitude toward his son.

In addition to experiencing feelings normally associated with a parent's difficulty to connect with his adolescent son, the 'old man' amplifies the problems in their relationship through putting across abusive behavior. This makes Henry feel that it would be pointless for him to try and connect with his father. This is probably one of the reasons why he did not want to present his father with his poems. Even with the fact that he knew that it was likely that they would trigger intense feelings in the 'old man',...

Although it would be difficult to determine what influenced Henry's father to think this way, it is only safe to assume that he identified with particular individuals in his son's story and that he felt that it would be essential for him to express interest in the particular text. Through having a more complex understanding of their relationship, Henry and his father both managed to accept each-other and to actually feel that they needed to bond.
Works cited:

Greco, Laurie a. And Hayes, Steven C., "Acceptance and Mindfulness Treatments for Children and Adolescents," (New Harbinger Publications, 2008)

Kourkoutas, Elias and Erkman Fatos "Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection: Social, Emotional, and Educational Contexts"

Snyder, Wendy, and Ooms, Theodora, "Empowering Families, Helping Adolescents: Family-Centered Treatment of Adolescents with Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Problems," (DIANE Publishing, 1996)