Comparing The Metaphor And The Father

Consider your childhood. Who were your role models? How did they influence you throughout your adolescent years? Now contemplate the following: What might have occurred if they were absent throughout the entire duration of one or more essential moments wherein you placed your undivided trust onto them, the person in your life you had always believed would be there for you. What would your reaction be? For the children described within the stories “The Metaphor” and “The Father”, the response is skepticism, which leads to the idea that within these texts, a central theme is displayed which addresses the idea that children may inherently turn to cynicism in response to the neglectful actions perpetrated by their parents during childhood.

Throughout “The Metaphor,” Charlotte struggles with her mother due to her cold, uncaring nature, this leads the young student to adopt a new

Firstly, the mother. When reading this short story, she is almost always portrayed as authoritative and distant, not only by her actions, but the opinion of her daughter retains in regards to her. Inside the first poem authored by Charlotte the initial lines display the perfect exterior other’s view at first glance of her mother, but the later lines “Downstairs at ground floor people walk in and out tracking mud and dirt over the steel gray tiles, marring the cool perfection of the building.” show Charlotte’s vivid understanding of her mother’s flawed attitude, especially her critical and untrusting nature. Following this, the line “There are no comfortable chairs in the lobby” is the literary clinching point in relation to the mother. This can be interpreted as the mother’s unwillingness to connect with Charlotte as the chair signify their interactions and their uncomfortably as the mother’s negligence. Disregard can also be seen in the interaction when