Throughout his childhood, Gardner is made to feel the stigma of not having a father. Both his violent stepfather, Freddie, and his elusive natural father, Thomas Turner, are men who Gardner models himself against. He therefore vows to be neither drunk and abusive like Freddie, nor to abandon his children, like his own father.

On the eve of Gardner’s impending fatherhood, Jackie taunts him about how he will be a father when he never had one himself. Gardner’s insecurity lasts until he holds his son in his arms and experiences the sensation that he has known him “from a previous lifetime” (176). The bond Gardner has with his son compensates for what he missed out on.

Ironically, Gardner receives the legitimacy and confidence that a father would ordinarily provide from Bettye Jean, who guides him to seek information, go for his dreams, and claim his own legitimacy. Bettye Jean, with her thwarted life, cannot provide a practical model for how Gardner should do things; however, she performs the fatherly role of encouraging his ambitions.