The LAme Shall Enter First

I enjoyed the lesson that was taught in this story, The LAme Shall Enter First. In the Story, we see sheppard, dealing with his grieef by becoming selfish. Leke Father, like Sone, so does his son Norton, Who, sheppard notices, "He had not noticed then (When his mother was alive) that the child was selfish.
For me, this is a picture of disfuctionial families in American society. With morality replaced by jsutification for our wrongdoings, and intellectualism and humanism replacing and goiung to war with Religion, there is an emptiness, that Sheppard tells us he tried to fill with good works alone. This story is a representation of that. So many Father like Sheppard, try to fill the emptiniess-no matter whatever loss caused it-with selfish pursiuts of our own goos works, as if to carry our cross of self-sacrifice and pay for our own mistakes, thinking this will heal us. In the end, however, it ends up destroying themselves(Sheppard), their sons(Norton) and those young men who could gain a fatherly friend from them(Rufus).