"Altar of the Family" is about a young boy, David and his simple wish to gain acceptance and honour from his distant and critical father. Since David attends a boarding school, he only comes home to his family for the holidays. Even though glad to be at home, he would still feel lonely at times suggesting the very little time he does get to spend with his parents, they do not make the effort to pay extra attention to their son. This suggests that David's parents are quite uncaring and they do not seem interested in bonding with their son. When at home, David's mother restricts him from going outside to play with the boys, leaving him no choice but to play with dolls with his sister. However, when his father becomes aware of this, he puts David down for engaging in feminine activities instead of interacting with boys his own age "Damn grown boy playing with dolls." These negative remarks just make David feel ashamed that he is letting his father down, so when a possum breaks into the kitchen one night and his father is outraged by it, David sees its trespass as "an insult to the family's honour." He had to shoot it as his father said. He had to do it alone to prove his manliness. It was the only way to gain his father's honour and acceptance as his son, so when his parents leave the house, David awaits the possum with a rifle in the kitchen, and shoots it when it comes back. He is emotionally paralysed by his actions so he goes to sleep. When he wakes up, he goes back downstairs and notices the possum is not there anymore. His father shouts at him asking what he has lost, but he does not respond and instead plays cricket as his father commands. The moment of realisation lies at the point where he goes to the kitchen and realises he has lost when there is no trophy. He wanted to prove his manliness and it resulted in him feeling nothing but the guilt that he has taken a life.
In various guises, a search for redemption is a common feature of many of the protagonists in Scorsese's films. J.R. (Who's That Knocking at My Door, 1969), Charlie (Mean Streets, 1973), Travis (Taxi Driver, 1975), Christ (The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988), Henry (GoodFellas, 1990), Sam Bowden (C...
