Analysis Of The Article 'Knight In White Trainers' By Stewart Dakers

The article, Knight in white trainers, is written by Stewart Dakers and was published by the Guardian in 2007. It follows a young girl, who has become the responsible in the household, and how her family acts. It shows a problem that is often not talked about in modern society but still is very relevant for a lot of people, especially those of lower class. It is also entirely different from what you typically would read in a newspaper, as it resembles a short story and not an article.

We are introduced to the protagonist, Chelsie, who is a 16-year-old girl. She takes care of her two siblings, as her mother is out of control and not willing to take responsibility for her children. For that reason, Chelsie has to become the mother of the house

Its apparent both in the how the text portrays the family in a direct description, but also the understanding we get throughout the story and the language that is used. It helps us create an image of what type of family we are reading about. We see some of this on the last page “Here, Chels, can you get us some fags? Oh, and Shane’s going to take me down the pub for Christmas Eve, there’s a do on.”, Where words such as fags, the informal word for cigarettes. Showing that the article is written in informal English to portray the family as being informal. We also see that the mother breaks the deal that they had, and we learn that she might have trouble with alcohol. This situation is what leaves Chelsie to take care of her siblings, putting them in bed and making sure that they have been given dinner. She has taken over her mother role, and while it has its implications on her childhood, she is also very mature for her age “old for her years, because the crap of the domestic care routine translates into responsibility.” Even though it could be described as negative for such a young girl to have that much responsibility, on the other hand, one could argue it help her act more

He wants to bring focus to some of those families that are not often spoken about. Those children who must take care of their family at such a young age, and what effect it has on them. It is almost as if Riocha and Chelsie have switched family role, where Riocha acts like a rebellish teenager and Chelsie is the responsible adult raising the children. Dakers focuses on pathos, which is using emotions. He tries to get the reader to feel sympathy for Chelsie and reflect on how every family isn’t free from problems. He tries to get the reader to understand that in some families they parents do not do their role as parents, and because of that, the children have to step in and take the responsibility, even at a very young