ABSTRACT
The father-son relationship is depicted from a number of perspectives. First, it is presented as one between state bureaucracy and individuals. The second type of father-son relationship is depicted in that between Shantung-the head of the Soldiers’ Village gang-and his subordinates. The third type of father-son relationship is seen in the one between Hsiao Ssu and his father. Based on blood ties, this, as Liu Ta-jen points out, is an ideal relationship without the usual generation gap. The fourth type of father-son relationship is the one between the Park gang leader Honey and members of the gang. Fighting over women as one of the dimensions of the struggle for power among men is a pervasive theme of A Brighter Summer Day. This is made perfectly clear when the gang members engage in fierce fights over Light.
