Man is the measure of all things. Things exist and are as they are according to their determination or measurement by the individual. It is the internal knowledge or judgment of right and wrong which helps an individual decides and takes action further. Many times an individual face such circumstances where he/she finds him/herself in a fix what to choose. Nature has gifted the mankind with virtue of Conscience.

Morality is the doctrine of moral ethics and duties and a quality of an action regarding right and wrong is what makes a human.

‘A father story’ is a conflict between human emotion and conscience .It shows how a particular incident can alter the protagonist of each story and how life seems for a particular person who has faced  these particular changes in life. .

Andre Dubus, better known for his full length novel ‘House of Sand and Fog’ is a talented writer with the ability to capture the human condition.  `A Father’s Story’ is a one of the seven short stories, compiled together in a book called ‘In the bedroom’. All of these short stories are based on experiences that a person passes through when in particular circumstances. “A Father’s Story” deals with the struggles a father especially goes through after the deterioration of a marriage, after the wife has left with the children and he has to fight for his relationship with his offspring. `A Father’s Story’ is by far the more moving, for it really exposes a father’s love for his daughter and the fact that he would do anything for her, just to make her safe .. ‘A Father’s Story’ is an episode of single parental sacrifice .This revolves around a loving father’s desire to keep his relationship with his children alive after his marriage falls to pieces. `A Father’s Story’ delves into the struggle of a father to make an impact on his daughter’s life, and that willingness to do any thing to protect her. It is a story of a man who has to make a decision, right or wrong, which ultimately will alter his daughter’s life once and for all. It is a tougher task for a father to decide for his children especially when they have committed any mistake and are found guilty .It’s not the easiest decision to make since it is a fight and struggle between two great virtues of humanity. One being love for beloved children who are the part of life and secondly the virtue of justice which comes into act when one has to decide and is a part of human nature.

 
Luke Ripley is the major character focused in the story .He is an individual finding himself in an extreme state of fear loosing his family. He lives alone in a large house accompanied by some horses and a radio The preceding events of the story depict that he had a family .He and his better half are divorced and one of his son got killed in a clash  as an outcome of jealousy and revenge. Only his daughter, Jennifer who is the youngest child, visit him very often. Being the youngest child; Luke is very much attached to her and care for him.

Luke relishes the time that he spend with his daughter and does not want to loose his daughter .One significant point to be noted is that Luke and his wife are divorced .Their children have undergone distress too .This had created a void in their personality. Now, Luke feels it’s up to him to guide his daughter who is alone and needs his attention.

He knew that this damage can not be repair but at least he can do some remedy to her problems. He finds it hard to order straight away any thing to his children however finds a lenient and moderate way to guide his children. This is perhaps he has been away from his family for a long time since he and his wife divorced. The fatherhood in Luke, never allows him to leave his daughter in lurch although she had killed a man. He seems to be biased and unjust in case of his beloved daughter .Realizing the guilt, that she had killed unintentionally he ignores the crime of his daughter. To him, she is her daughter and that’s all. What if she has committed a murder? His love, patience and temper was challenged and tested when her daughter Jennifer woke him up in the middle of the night to tell him that she has just hit a man, and might have killed him. But Luke does not loose his temper nor did he falter at any moment .He at once decide to rise to the occasion and perform his responsibility as a father. He learned the details of the whole incident .He found the man who was still alive but being powerless to save him at that point, utterly claimed that the man was dead.

The conversation he had with his beloved daughter at this moment is the crux of the whole story. He told her “If one of my sons had come to me that night, I would have phoned the police and told them to meet us with an ambulance at the top of the hill I could bear the pain of watching and knowing my sons’ pain but never my daughter’s.” This illustrates with perfect clarity Luke’s biasness and special care for his daughter which desired to protect her. He did not want to loose her .Here Luke as a caring father dominates over Luke’s conscience.
Another aspect of Luke’s personality is his friendship with Father Paul.

Luke’s friendship with Father Paul shows how religious he was? He does not appear to be very devout and strict; and claim it to be difficult task. However he visits each Sunday Mass Luke wakes up early each morning and rides his horse to the church to visit his best companion. Luke never wants to marry again .Since he describes it as having been in the distant past and not a reoccurring habit. Luke considers his religion and Father Paul as motivational inspiration to keep himself strong when he was left by his family.

Luke Ripley seems to be a caring more for his daughter rather than sons’ .The main focus of this story is not about Luke’s love and care, or his religion; it is about just his fatherly instinct, and emotional attachment to his daughter that desired him to protect her in distress. Hence, in a nut shell, the fatherhood in the individual overwhelmed his conscience.