Destiny (or Genetics)

Vera's father is desperate to instill the meaning of money into Vera. He wants her to realize how precious it is and how it can make things happen for her, such as college. As he tries to force this knowledge onto Vera, he also works hard to keep her away from her 'destiny' of being a drunk, as he was, or falling into the less than desirable job of stripping that her mother had. He, and Vera, believe that these unfortunate situations run in their family, and could very likely be passed onto Vera.

While I agree that the decisions that parents make affect the children, it is ultimately up to the child where their own life will end up. A history of bad decisions is not at all something you can blame on genetics. It is very much Nature vs. Nuture. Nature comes into play with certain traits, in this case possibly being impulsive. But nuture has an even larger effect. What you see every day and what you are raised with heavily influences who you are.

This is similar to Charlie's situation. His father is abusive, and Charlie believes he too will become abusive. By accepting this, he is almost guaranteeing that the cycle will repeat itself.

Just because you're in a bad situation, or you have been in the past doesn't mean you can't prevent it from happening again.