Henry IV Part 1

Before I had thought about love in terms of a man and a woman, but in this case it is the father/son love that saves. I believe that because Henry IV cared about his son so much and pushed him to do the right things, Hal stepped up to the plate at the end of the play. Hal was so involved in Falstaff and the pub crawlers at the beginning of the play, but as it went on he began to see possibly through his father's love, how much responsibility he needed to have and how much he was going to have to change in order to be that person that his father could be proud of. His father encouraged him to do this and at the "talk" that they had about his behavior I believe Hal actually saw the caring and pulled away from his bad choices. An example of this urge of change is during their talk: "Not an eye/ But is aweary of thy common sight,/ Save mine, which hath desired to see thee more,/ Which now doth that I would not have it do,/ Make blind itself with foolish tendencies" (Act 3 Scene 2, ln. 90-94). After the king gives him this speech, he decides that he will fight Hotspur to the death to prove his honor and dedication to his country. This is one of the first times we see him doing something honorable and I think it was if not directly due to his father's love, it was definitely influenced by it.