This story mostly depicted the changes happened in one family, between father and sons. After reading the story, if you think it was the sons' behavior that influenced their father and made him change, perhaps I'll say something different.

From the first sentence--"There is no set rule for the turning of the worm; most worms, however, turn unexpectedly."-- we can almost catch hold of what the story is about. But when I first read the story, I carelessly misunderstood its meaning and took the whole story wrong. Now I know that the worm not only turned unexpectedly, but all by itself as well.

What promoted Shadrach Cohen's change were his two sons behaviour. In the very beginning, they decided to ask their father to live with them due to a lack of money for further investment. However, when they first met Shadrach at the shipyard, they were disappointed by his appearance which contrasted with the so-called Americanized people. As the story develops, they became more uncomfortable with their father who still stuck to his old habits. The clash between them finally reached the climax where Shadrach felt it necessary to teach his sons to show some reverence. And he succeeded, without any doubt.

In my opinion, the most attractive part of the story is that Shadrach was undergoing a process from tolerating to reacting. He tried to be tolerant and patient most of the time, but when he gradually found out that tolerance will not lead to a solution and his dignity was almost neglected, he chose to teach his sons a lesson. He changed in appearance, but not in heart. His religious belief still accompanied him.

That's why I like this character so much. What I learned from the story is: No matter what, never forget who you are.