Character Profile- Dad

Name: John
Surname: Smith
Age: 49
Occupation: Warehouse Worker
Widowed

Background

Father of Shaun, John, prior to his wife's death lived a healthy and happy life with a decent job as a manager at a local textile firm, earning a healthy living to provide for his wife and young child. He was a family man at heart, always pushing to provide with the best opportunities and this was reflected in his decision to move away to the suburbs of Manchester away from the inner city estates where he had grown up, so that his son could enjoy a life that he was unable to have when he was younger, a life free of the gangs, drugs and crime that he had to endure.

For a time this decision proved to be worthwhile. He managed to keep his well paying job, the wife was happy and Shaun was turning into a hard working and respectable teenager. Pride swelled within him as he would see Shaun go from strength to strength with each year leading up to his GCSE's, coming home with reports of praise for his A grades he would continuously earn across all subjects.

However, he was beginning to notice subtle changes in Shaun's behaviour; coming home late and smelling of smoke. When he confronted Shaun he received an angered response to which he was shocked by and hurt. This was the beginning of the divide between him and his son  which was completely fulfilled with the death of his wife a month after there initial confrontation.

Destroyed by grief he turned to alcohol, becoming drunken and violent which completely destroyed any relationship he had left with his son. It lost him his job so he took up part time work doing manual labour at a Warrington warehouse in which he spends most of his money on drink and bills leaving Shaun to fend for himself. Has he turned Shaun on the path that he worked so hard for him to avoid?