Bull Meechum as "The Great Santini"

Bull Meechum as "The Great Santini"

    Pat Conroy's The Great Santini creates a dramatic statement about how men cling to ideas and apply them to their everyday lives. The main character, Bull Meecham, was a fighter pilot who loved the Marines as much as he loved his wife and children. As a result, he ran his family like a military unit. His family misunderstood his devotion to the military, enigmatic demeanor, and forthright personality. When Bull   returned from a year's service in Europe, he moved his family from their hometown roots in Atlanta, Georgia to a small town in South Carolina. The family had just a short time to adjust and return to the level of discipline that he demanded of them. Behind Bull's unapproachable personality was a deep love that he felt for every member of his family, a love that was not always obvious. The only way he could feel close to his family was by treating them like Marines. Especially remarkable was the relationship between Bull and his eldest son, Ben. ". . . At the heart of the book is the search of the 18-year-old son to find himself while learning to understand and love his rigidly authoritarian Marine father, the 'great Santini.'"(Rev: 77). Bull shows how a man with good intentions   can   seem to be mistreating his family. Through Bull Meecham, Conroy proves that the way a person expresses love can be misunderstood.
    Bull Meecham was misunderstood by his family because he lived by dying Marine traditions. "The title of the novel emphasizes the important role myths play, since 'The Great Santini' is the identity Colonel Bull Meecham assumes when he wishes to assert his unquestionable authority as head of the household."(Burkholder: 78). Bull never talked with his wife, Lillian, about any topics that involved his personal reactions or feelings. "Most of their conversation was of the Corps or of their own family."(Conroy: 41). His family could not understand that the Marine myth had such an overpowering grasp on their "untouchable" father.
    Although...