Growing Up by Russell Baker, a story about a boy becoming a man in the United states starting in the 1920’s during the World Wars. This book takes us through what life is like growing up in that time period and what it takes for Baker to be successful starting at a young age. The book was interesting and actually made me put myself in Baker’s position throughout the book as he grows us and molds into a man. He faces adversity and gets pushed by his Mother to make something of himself because she doesn’t want him to end up like his Father. Multiple times in the book it talks about the qualities of a “good man”. People that Baker encounter in his life meet the expectations of a good man and others are far from it. A good man according to Growing …show more content…
Baker gets to know her life story and what is was like growing up in her family. She talks about her father and how he treated them wrong. Mimi’s father was a man who was abusive to her and her mother. He spent all of his money on booze and little on his family. Mimi’s mother would lock the door when her husband would get drunk and her first memories (page 297) of her father was him “smashing the big glass window out of the locked front door to reach the lock inside”. On holidays he would often be drunk and abusive. For example, her mother was building a toy garden under the Christmas tree and Mimi’s drunk father came in and “kicked it to ruins”. Mimi’s father is an example of a bad man because he was mean, abusive, and an alcoholic. He would leave Mimi to fend for herself and she would move around from house to house and then weeks or months later he would show back up wanting to get the family together only to disappear again. Growing Up by Russell Baker shows us what is was like growing up between the World Wars. He meets people who influence his life and work ethic. Growing up explains the definition of a good man and a bad man. Good men in the book are hard-working and caring. Good men support their families and stay away from alcohol. Baker also encounters bad men who don’t fit the description at all. These men like Mr. Simmons and Mimi’s father are rude, mean, and self-centered.
Mimi looked abaft her, and she noticed women looking towards her. With a look of confusion, she asked her if she was adopted, and Mimi told her that the women sitting next to her was her biological mother with a slight a bit of anger in her tone. Still, with a look of mystification, the woman looked away from Mimi. Mimi, her mother, and the woman all left the bus. Once Mimi got off the bus she ran to her father as they both opened their arms for a hug. Then, Mimi stuck her tongue out, showing the woman that these were her parents The lady then said "I see." instead of a smile, a baffled look went across her face as she walked away from the family. From the very beginning of the book, it shows that these sheltered towns disrelished differences; Mimi. Another example of the sheltered town repudiating differences is when Stacey was restricted to invite Mimi to her birthday party. Mimi's first week in her new town consisted of a lot of confusion towards her race. Stacey's mother was an example of this. When Mimi and Stacey attended the drugstore Mimi was asking her several questions about her birthday, and wondering if she was having a party. Stacey was endeavoring to eschew the topic. Mimi kept on
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
In Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau discussed the extensive amount of research she conducted employing observational and interview techniques. She collected data on the middle class, working class, and poor families. She was trying to understand the impact of a child’s early parental guidance on the child’s life. She was able to conduct this research with 12 families, all of whom had fourth graders. She gathered enough information to conclude the major differences in the parenting styles of each type of family, which was directly correlated to socioeconomic status. Annette Lareau opens her book with two chapters to give the reader an idea on what the examples she gives will detail.
Bloom, H. (1999). Plot Summary of “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Bloom’s Major Short Story
The book Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life published in 2003, takes a close look into the lives of different families in the United States and how they are affected by race and social class and how their family lives differ. The Author, Annette Lareau, discusses how social class affects the parenting styles and how these parenting styles are affecting the children. Although Lareau’s book could use a few changes, it is well written and it is a good read to help better understand how social class and parenting styles can affect the lives of different children on a personal level. In
O’Conner, Flannery. “A Good Man Is Hard To Find.” The Backpack Literature: An Introduction To Fiction. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Danna Gloria. New York: Longman, 2010. 355-368. Print.
O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. By Robert DiYanni. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.
O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find”. Eds. John Schilb, and John Clifford. "Chapter 13 Doing Justice" Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. p1283-1296. Print.
Each of the characters in, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor, have their own set of morals, and they each have a series of anomalous complications. John Wesley, June Star, Bailey, grandmother, and the Misfit all have contrasting psychological issues that repel the reader from esteeming them.
The impact of an author’s life on their writing is vast. Many people do not see the large influence of an author’s childhood on their writings, but it plays a major role. The life of Flannery O’Connor is no exception to this. The great Catholic lifestyle of her parents helped persuade her writing of, “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
Her parents meet at a social gathering in town and where married shortly thereafter. Marie’s name was chosen by her grandmother and mother, “because they loved to read the list was quite long with much debate over each name.” If she was a boy her name would have been Francis, so she is very happy to have born a girl. Marie’s great uncle was a physician and delivered her in the local hospital. Her mother, was a housewife, as was the norm in those days and her father ran his own business. Her mother was very close with her parents, two brothers, and two sisters. When her grandmother was diagnosed with asthma the family had to move. In those days a warm and dry climate was recommended, Arizona was the chosen state. Because her grandma could never quite leave home, KY, the family made many trips between the states. These trips back and forth dominated Marie’s childhood with her uncles and aunts being her childhood playmates.
Theories abound around how people develop emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. This essay will examine the theories of five leaders on the subject of development.
O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gloria. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 352-365. Print.
In this essay I intend to discuss two psychological theories of development; The psychodynamic approach and the behavioural approach. In order to do this, I will outline each theory and explain how it accounts for psychological development, health and behaviour of the individual. In addition to this, I will explain how an understanding of these theories relates to care and would help a care professional to support an individual in a care setting.
About a boy is a novel which follows the lives of two people: Marcus and Will. Marcus is a strange kid who struggles with growing up, he is in need for acceptance outside of his own family, he is searching for his own identity, he is a victim of constant bullying and is suffering with his lack of parental care. Will is the complete opposite to Marcus. He is a 36 year old who is in his own extended childhood, he is searching for his identity not wanting to lose his youth, he ‘prides himself on his cool’ and simply can’t find a way to grow up. It is when these two opposing characters meet that they soon act as catalysts for each other. From their dependence on others they find independence for themselves within one another.