obliger

Leur pere a eu une immense influence sur eux. Cependant, au debut du roman, il claquait ses fils afin d'ils avait oblige a pretendre qu'ils ne sont pas juifs.

(I havent added any of the accents yet)

I am writing about a book, in the imperfect and i am trying to say:

Their father was an immense influence on them. However, at the beginning of the novel, he slaps his sons to force them to pretend that they are not jews.

I do not want to use the verb "forcer" as i have already used it alot. Is there a better way of saying this or does it make sense?

Thankyou 👁 Big Grin :D

Il donnait des claques à ses fils afin de les forcer à prétendre qu'ils n'étaient pas juifs

"obliger" or "contraindre" (same construct: à + infinitive) are very acceptable synonyms for "forcer" in this context.

also "gifler" is less familiar than "claquer" for "slapping".