Character Analysis

Ken Dietz is Vera's only remaining parent now that her mother has run off to Las Vegas, and he's both her main support system and a huge annoyance to her. But he's not just a background character like some Charlie Brown parent who speaks in muffled gibberish; Ken Dietz plays a big role in Vera's story. He even gets to tell his own side of the story. For instance:

My mother did the best she could by herself. Didn't stop me from becoming an alcoholic. Didn't stop me from dropping out of high school and knocking up the seventeen-year-old girl next door. (1.6.1)

Straight out of the horse's, er, dad's mouth.

A Protective Father

Ken may seem like he's hard on Vera, but he just wants to protect her. She is disgusted with him when he tells her to ignore the abuse going on at the Kahn house, and that she can't date Charlie, but Ken does these things because he doesn't want Vera to get involved with a violent family. He also insists that she get a job and make her own money, which she sees as a symptom of his cheapskate personality.

Ken's actual motives, though, are that he wants Vera to stay out of trouble and learn responsibility. And this, of course, is because he wants her to have a better life:

That's why I'm telling Vera everything about me and Sindy now. I'm giving her a chance to evade her destiny. The trick is remembering that change is as easy as you make it. (1.6.15)

In short, he doesn't want his daughter to repeat the mistakes he and her mom made as teens. So while Vera thinks he's cheap, really he's operating from a place of deep love.

To this end, Ken also steps in when Vera starts slipping after Charlie's death. He recognizes her drinking as a cry for help and gets her into therapy with him instead of ignoring the problem. It may not be easy all the time, and Vera may even hate him for it, but Ken Dietz truly acts with his daughter's best interests in mind.

A Man with a Past

Even though Ken may seem like a bland dad figure now, he has a troubled past just as juicy as Charlie's, if not more so. Ken came from a broken home and was a huge disappointment to his mother because he was an alcoholic who dropped out of school, worked at a gas station, and knocked up his high school girlfriend. He wasn't exactly a picture of success, and his wife was making all the money through stripping and waiting tables:

I went in one day before work and I saw the lunch guys flirting with her. I saw them leering and laughing, and something clicked inside me. I realized that I was the only one in control of my being a loser. (5.3.28)

And take control is exactly what Ken does, pulling himself out of his dire situation in order to provide for his family. He stops drinking, goes back to school, and gets a job as an accountant. He's been through a lot in his life, and he doesn't want Vera to have to go through the same tough lessons. He just wants her to succeed without having to reach rock bottom first, and he's ready to help her in any way he can.