What effect might Carl's favoritism of Cameron have had on him and his brothers?

Nathan tells us that Cameron was Carl's favored son. What effect might this favoritism have had on Cameron, and his two brothers?

Carl's favoritism was one of the biggest reasons for Cameron to mirror everything that was wrong about his father. He was not only the "chosen one" to succeed his father in managing the ranch but to also carry on the cycle of abuse - really because that's all he ever knew.

Remember the story of Joseph - how he was the favored son of Jacob. Sure made his brothers jealous!

Though Nathan felt that he and Cameron were supportive of one another as young people, clearly Cameron was the favored and this caused both Nathan and Bub to feel they were "less than." Cameron grew to believe that he could do no wrong, and his father bought his way out of the rape situation. He lied to his own brothers and became such a good manipulator that Nathan believed him without any doubt. Cameron grew to believe that his actions could not/would not be questioned - he became untouchable - or so he thought. His two other brothers, on the other hand, became self-doubting, lacking in confidence, and isolated themselves.

The father’s favoritism of Cameron negatively affected the whole family. Cameron ended up being an abuser like his father, although less obvious in a way than his father. He deceived his family into thinking he was innocent, although the author gave us hints along the way that he wasn’t. Bub was quite a bit younger and ended up feeling ignored by his father which led him to be less than confident in his abilities. And Nathan distanced himself from his family, although he believed in his brother for quite a while.

I agree with all the other readers. Cameron grew up mirroring his father's behavior because his father favored him. He showed him that it was okay for him to rape and bully because that is what his own father did.

Favoritism of Cameron was not restricted to Carl. Liz was complicit in overlooking his many faults and especially his abuse of his wife and perhaps the rapes of the young women who worked seasonally.

The effect was that Cameron turned out a lot like his father; he was abusive and felt entitled, as though he was above any kind of consequences for his actions. Carl's favoritism also had the effect of causing a rift between the other two brothers and Cameron.

I agree with juliep’s response. I think Carl’s favoritism negatively affected each of the brothers as well as the dynamics between the siblings.

I don’t necessarily agree that Carl’s favoritism caused Cameron to turn out the way he did. It’s very possible that Carl favored Cameron because he related well to him and felt he was “a chip off the old block.” The favoritism made the two brothers feel like they weren’t as good as Cameron in many ways. That was obvious.

It would have built Cameron up to believe he was greater than he actually was - and greater than others, and led to his arrogance. It would have had (did have) the opposite effect on the brothers. "If Dad treats Cameron this way, and he doesn't treat me that way - what's wrong with me?" It would have massive impact on each son's sense of identity, acceptance and being loved. In both directions - for the "positive" & negative - it would shape the life and story of each brother, to unfortunate consequences.