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Parent child relationships in literature poetry
Parent child relationships in literature poetry
Parent child relationships in literature poetry
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Many can identify with what it means to be a sibling. Whether you are the oldest, youngest, or somewhere in between, you can most likely relate to the individual struggle within one. Being the oldest may carry the burden of responsibility and a sense of duty, and the youngest may feel a sense of entitlement. Whichever place one holds may depend on the person. Mai Lee Chai’s “Saving Sourdi” tells the story of two sisters who came to America with the hope of finding freedom. The two girls found anything but that. The younger sister Nea, takes the unusual role of the guardian, while the older sister Sourdi is atypically being cared for by Nea. An example of how Nea defies the role of a typical younger sister is evident in Nea’s level of maturity. When the sisters move to Texas with their mother, the sisters are placed in a position where they must work to support the family. Nea feels “proud” to be working in what she calls “our own restaurant” (137). Not many children of that age would be aware of the pride and integrity one would feel about working in a place that is family owned. She does not view this hard work negatively, but instead finds the value in, further Nea does not have the luxury of being a typical younger sister because she must care for her older sister. Sourdi’s inability to care for herself, sparks Nea’s need to care for them both. One example of her urgency and dedication to her sister is shown in the story when Nea takes it upon herself to go rescue Sourdi from her new home. Nea stands strong in her conviction to help her sister saying “You have to drive me to Des Moines. We have to get her.” (Chai 145). This atypical swap shows the importance of varying tendencies among family units, and displays the strength of a younger sister when she faces the need to protect and save her older sister
Throughout the short story, “Saving Sourdi,” Sourdi and her younger sister, Nea experience many trying events together. Through these events, they both grow stronger, however, there is a sharp divide in their maturity levels, which ends
Sourdi is growing up and Nea is finding more ways to interfere to protect her. When Duke and Sourdi started to form a friendship she starts to find any way to dislike Duke. “Chopstick boy I called him, just to be mean” (Chai 184). Nea does not want to comes to terms that her older sister is replacing her with someone else. “I use to think of him as something like a bookmark just holding a certain space in her life until it was time for her to move on”.(Chai par. 4). When Sourdi fell from running from Duke, Nea blamed Duke for making her fall. “He tried to put his arm over her shoulder, too. I was going to push him away”. Sourdi put her arms around his and leaned against him. The action by Sourdi is displaying how she does not want to be saved by her sister who consistently tries to save her from everyone who comes in her
It all began in and around the year 1919. Sula Peace, the daughter of Rekus who died when she was 3years old and Hannah, was a young and lonely girl of wild dreams. Sula was born in the same year as Nel, 1910. Sula was a heavy brown color and had large eyes with a birthmark that resembled a stemmed rose to some and many varied things to others. Nel Wright, the daughter of Helene and Wiley, was and unimaginative girl living in a very strict and manipulated life. Nel was lighter in color than Sula and could have passed for white if she had been a few shades lighter she. A trip to visit her dying great-grandmother in the south had a profound effect on Nel’s life. In many ways the trip made her realize her selfness and look at things around her in a different light, eventually sowing the seeds that initiated the friendship between herself and Sula. The two girls met each other at Garfield Primary School after knowing each other at a distance for over five years. Nel’s mother had told her that she could not interact with Sula because of Sula’s mother sooty ways. The intense and sudden friendship between them which was to last many years was originally cultivated my Nel. The period in history and the mentality of the people in their immediate surroundings played an impressive part in the formulation of the friendship between Sula and Nel. When they first met at school, it was as if they were always destined to be friends.
...en-year-old girl”. She has now changed mentally into “someone much older”. The loss of her beloved brother means “nothing [will] ever be the same again, for her, for her family, for her brother”. She is losing her “happy” character, and now has a “viole[nt]” personality, that “[is] new to her”. A child losing its family causes a loss of innocence.
“Saving Sourdi” was about two sisters slowly becoming less alike as the story progressed. They are best friends at the start and become complete strangers at the end. Nea is the youngest of the two sisters, she’s somewhat controlling and a quite demanding. She likes to keep
Beginning early in her life, Nel’s hopes and aspirations for her future are controlled by other people. As a child, Nel’s actions were dictated by her controlling mother: “Under Helene’s hand [Nel] became obedient and polite” (Morrison 18). Throughout her childhood, Nel never gets the opportunity to truly experience being a kid; she was raised in an obsessively clean, quiet, and orderly home. Morrison explains this in saying, “Any enthusiasms that little Nel showed were calmed by the mother until she drove her daughter’s imagination underground” (18). To gain some control in her life, a young Nel tells herself, “I’m me. I’m not their daughter. I’m not Nel. I’m me. Me” (28). This declaration empowers Nel as she attempts to take control of her
Helene was raised by her grandmother because she mother was a prostitute in the New Orleans. When Helene has a family of her own, she refuses to make her background be known. Helene raises Nel with fear because she doesn’t want her to have the lifestyle she grew up in. Helene controls Nel’s life and makes her see the world how it is. Nel and her mother go on a train to New Orleans to attend the funeral for her great grandmother. On the train, Nel witnessed racial situation between her mother and the white conductor. “Pulling Nel by the arm, she pressed herself and her daughter into the foot space in front of a wooden seat… at least no reason that anyone could understand, certainly no reason that Nel understood,” (21). Nel was very uncomfortable throughout the trip and wasn’t able to communicate with her mother because she never learned how to since her mother was not supportive of her. Nel views her mother very negatively for the way she raised her. Nel starts to determine her life and great her identity when she became friends with Sula. The effect of negative maternal interactions on an individual is explained by Diane Gillespie and Missy Dehn Kubitschek as they discuss
An example of the term “sisters” relating to more than just kinship would be Robert Harling’s film, Steel Magnolias. In this film, there is a group of women who all have to endure bleak circumstances. One of the main characters, Shelby, has many complications regarding her condition and strains to keep going. She breaks down multiple times mentally as well as physically. However, she has a support group who picks her up and gives her the assistance she needs to stay strong. This movie “suggests the capacity of women, given the right environment, to connect across differences in ways that empower them all” (Scanlon n.p.). All of these women come from different backgrounds and different social classes; however, they rise above what society typically
The teacher’s interview also agreed that older siblings do a lot to help their parents and younger siblings. They will attend conferences for the younger siblings and translate for their parents. In other cases, they will do drop off and pick of the siblings and ask questions for their parents. Homework can be difficult without help, so the older brother’s and sister’s will lend some
It seems that every sibling doesn’t always have a great relationship with their older or younger siblings. In the movie “Real Women Have Curves”, we have two sisters, Anna and Estella,who seem not to get along in the beginning because of their differences, but at the end they become the best of friends because they have similar dreams and learn to support each other. The advantage of Anna and Estella’s relationship is that they benefit from each other. The whole story is that you don’t always realize how much you have in common with your siblings until you realize that you have similar dreams and can be there for each other.
The Bicycle, by Jillian Horton, and Wadjda, by Haifaa Al-Mansour are considered similar as they share a common theme. In The Bicycle and Wadjda, both main characters, Hannah and Wadjda, break the expectations of those around them to assert their own identity. Hannah and Wadjda have rules set around them that conflict with their own wants. In The Bicycle, Hannah is forbidden from riding a bike like the other kids: “I only have two rules in this house … You will not ride a bicycle” (38), said by Hannah’s aunt, Tante Rose. Similarly, Wadjda is not allowed to ride a bike, however this is decided by society. These rules hold them down, and prevent them from letting their individuality show. In addition, Hannah and Wadjda let their true self show
Valerie has successfully portrayed the picture of change in gender role within the ethnic community. She has cited an example of Sansei. In the book, it is said that the older generation was purely patri...
Most children experience agony and hope as they face the struggles of sibling rivalry throughout their childhood. This situation has been experienced by children, of whom may or may not have siblings, for hundreds of years. Several stories represent this crisis, including the Biblical story of Abel and Cain which was written over 3000 years ago. Abel of whom was forced to be Cain’s ash-brother. Cain had developed an intense feeling of jealousy of Abel when his offering to the Lord was rejected while Abel’s was accepted. This caused him great agony, but he wasn’t the only one. The fairytale “Cinderella” encompasses the ideas of sibling rivalry as well as the agonies and hopes that correspond with it.
Sula and Nel’s friendship in their childhood was beneficial for both of them. Sula’s meeting of Nel was fortunate, because they find a soul mate within each other. They are both the daughters of “distant mothers and incomprehensible fathers” (Morrison, 50). Both girls lack affection in their relationships with their mothers. They can’t find this affection in their relationships with their fathers either, because Sula’s father is dead while Nel’s father is away at sea. They find the affection they need with each other. Their friendship was a way to mother each other. Since they can’ find the support they need from their families with their families they began to support each other and figure out what each other need in their life. The significance
Nujood shares her background by introducing the village of Khardji, the place where she was born. Nujood states, “women are not taught how to make choices [where she’s from]” (Ali & Minoui, 2010, p. 23). To exemplify the power men hold within her country, Nujood shares her mother’s story. At the age of 16, Nujood’s mother was married off to Ali. Four years later, Ali decided to enlarge the family by choosing a second wife. Nujood’s mother had no say. Nujood makes it clear her family is less fortunate. She describes her village as “little stone houses without