Parent/son
Opie's relationship with his "Pa", Andy, provided plot material for many episodes. In one episode ("Opie the Birdman", September 30, 1963), Andy teaches Opie the value of responsibility and parenthood after Opie accidentally kills a mother bird with his slingshot and leaves her three nestlings orphaned. Andy, underscoring the loss, open's Opies bedroom window so he will hear the chicks calling-after the mother who will never come home. Naming the birds "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod", Opie nurtures them until they are ready to be released into the wild.
Andy would sometimes misjudge Opie, suspecting him of being selfish and oblivious to the needs of the less fortunate. Andy would then discover to his chagrin that Opie had been self-sacrificing and generous. For example, in one episode, Opie forfeits a grocery store delivery job to allow a boy with an ill father to replace him. In another episode, Opie uses his savings to buy a friend a winter coat after Andy lambastes him for contributing only three cents to a charity.
When not visiting his father at the courthouse, Opie would sometimes get into jams. Some of his juvenile misdeeds include: trespassing in a neighbor's barn, selling Miracle Salve to the citizens of Mayberry; accidentally destroying Aunt Bee's prize rose; concealing an abandoned baby in his clubhouse; tricking Goober Pyle into thinking a shaggy dog can speak, and starting his own tell-all community newspaper.
For all his boyish misgivings, Opie is always honest and truthful with his father, sometimes to his own detriment. In one episode, Opie describes a utility worker named Mr. McBeevey he met in the woods. Andy thinks it is an imaginary friend and tries to convince Opie of it; but, Mr. McBeevey is real and Opie maintains his story despite facing certain discipline from Andy. In another episode, a runaway boy tells Opie not to disclose his whereabouts. Having previously learned the value of confidentiality from Andy, Opie refuses to tell his father where the boy is rather than lie, or break a confidence, much to Andy's chagrin.
Read more about this topic: Opie Taylor
Famous quotes containing the words parent and/or son:
“The pressures of being a parent are equal to any pressure on earth. To be a conscious parent, and really look to that little being’s mental and physical health, is a responsibility which most of us, including me, avoid most of the time because it’s too hard.”
—John Lennon (1940–1980)
“It’s so easy during those first few months to think that the problems will never end. You feel as if your son will never sleep through the night, will always spit up food after eating, and will never learn to smile—even though you don’t know any adults or even older children who still act this way.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)