Add that to his alcoholism, the stress of immigrating to America and working two dead-end jobs, the grief of missing his mother's passing and funeral… You can kind of see how Apa might be the way he is by the end of the book—someone who, after beating wife and child to a pulp and getting thrown in jail for a night, "barely glances in [their] direction" (29.2) the next day, and instead hops straight into his girlfriend's car.