It is crucial for a child to receive proper support and attention from parents or guardians as it directly influences their development. When not shown adequate affection by a caring and nurturing caregiver children may manifest low levels of cognitive, physical and emotional development. Without proper affection children can consequently form random bonds with any adults, have difficulty connecting with others and be afraid of initiating relationships (Quick). The novels Ellen Foster by Kay Gibbons and Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock both follow the stories of girls who are impacted by parents and guardians who do not show them proper love and affection. The former is about Ellen, a girl who experiences abuse from her father and is forced to …show more content…
move between unsuitable and unsafe homes until she takes the initiative to find a new and supportive mother. The latter follows Carrie who struggles to cope with her father’s death along with her stepfather’s abuse and deals with the trauma by creating an imaginary sister, Emma. Although Ellen Foster is considered a domestic fiction novel, Me & Emma is not, but it will be considered under this genre as it meets most of the characteristics of the domestic fiction genre since it is about a heroine who suffers at the hands of abusers of power and needs to be separated from her parents who are unable to support her (Campbell). Domestic fiction novels such as, Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons and Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock emphasize the importance for a child to have support, love and acceptance from a parental figure as without it the child struggles to develop and must face the world independently. In both Ellen Foster and Me & Emma the neglect and abuse of children causes children to be untrusting, makes them struggle to cope with loss and increases their need to find acceptance and protection from others. However, the two stories differ in that in Ellen Foster, Ellen is able to find happiness away from her family, whereas in Me & Emma, Carrie blames herself for her hardships and believes she must solve the issues which eventually leads to her downfall. Both Ellen Foster and Me & Emma present situations in which readers can see how neglect and abuse from parents causes children to be untrusting of all the adults. Due to constant abuse and neglect from her father and other family members Ellen believes that everyone around her will lie to her and hurt her. After all that Ellen faces she finally comes to realize that, “What you had better worry about though is the people you know and trusted they would be like you because you were all made in the same batch. You need to look over your shoulder at the one who is in charge of holding you up and see if that us a knife he has in his hand” (Gibbons, 85). Ellen learns that she cannot trust her family to care for her and protect her. This then makes her suspicious of all those who may try and help her which results in her having to fend for herself. There are very few people that Ellen trusts and even fewer that she trusts to protect and support her which forces her to learn to independently care for herself instead of depending on others. Similarly in Me & Emma, when Mr. Wilson is nice to Carrie and treats her with respect she still acts with caution as to prevent him from getting angry. Carrie accidentally drops Mr. Wilson’s gun when learning to shoot it she describes, “Im sorry, I say stepping away from him. I get ready to run just in case” (Flock, 192). After making her stepfather Richard angry so many times by doing something wrong, Carrie now believes that Mr. Wilson will react in the same way and do the same things to her in return. She is unable to be sure that she is safe with anyone even though Mr. Wilson wants to help her and protect her from Richard’s abuse. Along with the clear similarities there are also some key differences in the way that Ellen and Carrie view others. Ellen believes that anybody and especially family is capable of lying hurting her, whereas Carrie seems to be most afraid of those who are not of blood relation to her such as Richard and Mr. Wilson. Even so, for both Ellen and Carrie, due to the neglect and abuse they face from their guardians they are unable to trust others who may be able to help them and this then leaves them to have to independently care for themselves. Even with a lack of love, attention and acceptance from their parents, Ellen ad Carrie continue to search for what they don’t have, as children still need to feel accepted and protected.
Firstly, in Ellen Foster, Ellen is determined to find a suitable guardian that will love and protect her and after years of suffering she finds her ‘new mama’. Ellen sees her ‘new mama’ at church one day and immediately knows that she will accept and love her. Shortly after Ellen leaves her aunts house and shows up at her ‘new mama’s’ door. Later Ellen describes this first meeting with her ‘new mama’ and she recalls, "And then she hugged me. She leaned over me and pulled me up next to her and it was just like I wanted it to be” (Gibbons 119). Throughout the novel Ellen dreams of this moment, of finally being accepted and loved for who she is and it is with her ‘new mama’ that she is finally able to receive the love and acceptance that she needs. With each new home Ellen goes to throughout the novel she searches for protection and acceptance and this need is fulfilled with her ‘new mama’ which then allows her to heal from the trauma and abuse she faced to arrive at this point. Likewise, in Me & Emma, Carrie continues to search for love and acceptance but instead of trying to find someone new to provide her with this, she believes that she can change her mother and make her mother love and protect her again. Although her mother allows Richard to abuse her and does nothing to stop him, Carrie …show more content…
still continues to try and reach out for her help and protection. After being caught trying to run away from home Richard drags Carrie inside and proceeds to chain her up like a dog as her mother watches and Carrie calls out to her and describes, “I reach out to her as I pass through the screen door, but she flinches and backs up like I’ve got cooties” (Flock 133). Carrie is desperate for her mother to protect her from Richard and continues to try to go to her for help. She does not yet understand that her mother will not stop Richard’s abuse and will not show her the love and acceptance that she is searching for. Carrie has false hope that some how her mother will come through and act like a true mother which is preventing her from searching for a suitable person to take care of her. One main difference that can be seen between Ellen and Carrie is that Ellen knows that she will not be able to find protection from her own family and takes it upon herself to find a new mother, whereas Carrie still believes that she can somehow make her mother love and protect her again. In conclusion although there are differences in where Ellen and Carrie believe that they can find the love and protection they both realize that they need some form of affection and are determined to find it as it will allow them to be happy and feel safe. Furthermore, in Ellen Foster and Me & Emma without proper support and acceptance from parents or guardians Ellen and Carrie struggle to cope with loss and trauma.
This is seen in Ellen Foster as Ellen continues to struggle to cope with her mother’s suicide. Ellen’s mother knowingly over doses and dies with Ellen lying next to her and it is from then on Ellen struggles with her death as she has nobody to go to for support. In order to cope with the loss Ellen instead thinks of her mother’s death as a magic trick and at her mother’s funeral she thinks to herself, “It is all done with lights said the magician. Where is she? Not in the box. You cannot rest in a box” (Gibbons 22). Rather than face the fact that her mother is dead, Ellen comforts herself by believing that her mother will return. She makes herself believe this mainly due to the fact that she has never faced trauma like this before and she has nobody she can turn to for help with her grief. Moreover, in Me & Emma, Carrie also struggles to deal with seeing her father get murdered along with Richard’s abuse and in order to cope with the trauma she creates an imaginary sister Emma. It is Emma that saw her father die and it is also Emma who experiences the majority of the abuse from Richard. When Carrie’s mother finally tells her that Emma is not real, Carrie thinks to herself, “Emma was there. She was real. Emma was the one who pushed me out of the way when Richard called up from the bedroom. It was Emma he did things
to” (Flock 299). Due to the lack of support from her mother and others, Carrie creates Emma to help comfort and support herself through these difficult times. With Emma, Carrie is able to make herself believe that everything Richard did and everything she saw happen to her father was not her but it was Emma. Even after finding out that Emma is not real Carrie continues to depend on her for love, support and attention as she talks to her through letters that she writes. Whereas Ellen uses her imagination to try and explain things that she has difficulty understanding, Carrie creates an imaginary person so that she doesn’t have to admit all the she sees and everything that Richard does to her. Overall without proper support and love from parents, Ellen and Carrie are forced to deal with loss and trauma alone leading them to use their imagination to explain events they cannot fully understand which then leads to further confusion when they find out the truth. Ellen Foster and Me & Emma are different as they present different ways in which children view the problems and neglect they face. In Ellen Foster, Ellen is able to realize that she deserves a better life away from her real family, whereas in Me & Emma, Carrie often blames herself for the situation that she is in. Firstly, in Ellen Foster, Ellen has a chance to be with a functioning family which allows her to realize that the way she is treated is wrong and that she deserves better. After leaving her father, Ellen goes to live with her art teacher Julia and her husband Roy where she experiences what a functioning and loving family is like. With them Ellen goes to a movie, has a birthday party and even receives a birthday present. Ellen, “had no idea people could live like that,” (Gibbons 47). Eventually they go to court and they decide that Ellen should stay with her grandmother. It is at this point that Ellen realizes that she cannot depend on the courts to help her and she believes the judge, “had [them] all mixed up with a different group of folks” (56). This is when Ellen decides that if she wants a loving and caring family she must find one for herself as she cannot depend on the courts or her family to help her. Instead of blaming herself for the situation she is in, Ellen knows that she deserves better and sets out to find a family for herself. In contrast in Me & Emma, Carrie blames herself for the situation that she is in and believes that she is the reason Richard and her mother are always unhappy. The only time Carrie experiences a functioning family is in her memories of when her father was alive and that is what she tries to recreate with Richard and her mother. Carrie believes she can create a happy family again and she thinks to herself, "I wish I could make it up to him like I’m going to do with Momma, but with Richard there’s no telling what’ll make him happy” (Flock 157). She truly believes that it is due to her misbehaving that both her mother and Richard are angry all the time. Carrie thinks that it is her job to make it up to her mother and Richard and she believes doing this will solve all their problems. By thinking this Carrie shows how she doesn’t truly understand that she doesn’t deserve the abuse and neglect. Overall Ellen and Carrie are similar in that they both realize that they themselves must create change that will improve their situations. However, Ellen knows that it isn’t her fault but instead it is the court’s fault that she continues to end up with guardians who abuse and neglect her, whereas Carrie believes that she is at fault for causing the problems in her family and she thinks that she must be the one to set it right. Both Kaye Gibbons’ Ellen Foster and Elizabeth Flock’s Me & Emma emphasize the importance of loving parents as without them it is seen that children struggle to develop as they must face the world independently. In Ellen Foster, Ellen learns that she cannot depend on the courts and her family to find her a safe and loving family, whereas in Me & Emma, Carrie continues blames herself for the problems in her family and thinks that she can solve them by changing her actions. In both novels the main characters experience a lack of love and affection and in turn are unable to trust others who may be able to help them which then leaves them to have to independently care for themselves. They are also unable to effectively cope with loss and trauma due to the lack of support from their parents. Moreover, Ellen and Carrie are determined to find love and affection, although Ellen understands that she cannot find it within her own family, Carrie believes that she can still make her mother love her again. Not only does Ellen realize she cannot find acceptance within her own family she also discovers that she deserves better and she must find it herself as the courts are unable to find her a suitable family. In contrast Carrie continues to be blinded by the fact that she is at fault for the issues in her family and she must be the one who makes it up to her mother and Richard in order to gain their love and affection. Where Ellen succeeds in finding a new family for herself, Carrie is blinded by the idea that she can make a happy family. Even after killing Richard Carrie continues to stay by her mother’s side and believe she can protect and care for her. The message that both literary works send to readers is that it is important for children to receive the proper love and protection from parents or guardians as it plays a vital role in a child’s development and can greatly affect a child’s thoughts and actions. People must continually be aware that children need support and attention in order to learn in the world and become independent. Unfortunately not all abuse and neglect of children can be stopped but further abuse and neglect can be prevented if the situation is fully addressed and understood by both the authorities, the family and the child.
Racism through the years has provided places around the world with a shameful past that even today, racial reconciliation is still only in its beginning phase. Legends such as Rosa Park, Martin Luther king, and Malcolm X sacrificed their own life daily to pave a brighter future for America. However there is only so much people can do to change the ways of the world, the rest is up to the moral ethics of everyday citizens. The novel, Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock, makes me question society in the past and present. If today; years after racism was said to be over, two people can not move on from their horrid past, how is the rest of the world supposed to? Recent events have proven that racism still exists and will always exist
I will try the same with a 3-letter name to see if there is some sort
An example of this is offered when Emily Grierson’s father passes away due to old age. Emily is so attached to her father that she keeps his body in the house for several days after his death, pretending, most likely for her own sake, that he is still alive. In fact, the t...
America, in the early twentieth century, was centered on the Progressive Era. This was a period of unrest and reform. Monopolies continued in spite of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Social problems flourished in the U.S. During the 1910s labor unions continued to grow as the middle classes became more and more unhappy. Unsafe working conditions were underscored by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in which hundreds of female workers were killed. The plight of the Negro worsened, all while women finally received the right to vote through the ratification of the nineteenth amendment. Although this was a turbulent time in America, it was also a time to remember. During this time period, Emma Goldman devoted all of her attention to the cause of upholding the first amendment clause of freedom of speech. The right to free speech is one of the most fundamental American guarantees. However, defining the limits of free speech has never been an easy task.
Despite contextual differences, Jane Austen's novel Emma (1815) and Amy Heckerling's film Clueless (1995) reflect similar attitudes and values regarding gender and class. Emma is set in a period where social hierarchy was largely based on birthright; whereas Clueless is set in the American city, Beverly Hills, dominated by a capitalist consumer culture. Both texts explore the nature of the class system, the association between relationships and social order, and the role of men and women.
Szalavitz, Maia. “Measure of a Mother’s Love: How Early Neglect Derails Child Development.” Time. Time, 24 May 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .
Without being healed, Emma Jean was never able to let go of the pain that her mother inflicted upon her. Emma Jean proved that she had never been healed and was still letting the pain that Mae Helen caused control her life the day Gracie first appeared at their house hoping to get her sister to visit their mother. Their mother was sick and supposedly had admitted that Emma Jean had everything that she (Mae Helen) ever wanted. Gracie claimed that their mother had changed and was sorry for how she had treated Emma Jean, but Emma Jean showed no sympathy still and swore to never visit her. This continued to affect her and her relationships. This also affected her psychologically which led to her trying to overcome the pain by creating this relationship with Perfect to give and also get what she didn’t from Mae Helen. This seemed to be right at the time of her doing but it still never healed the pain that Emma Jean truly held. This proved to be true when Mae Helen died and Emma Jean accompanied her grave still questioning her actions of how she treated her growing
The attachment process plays a crucial role in a child’s development and their future impact on society According to Dr Suzanne Zeedyk. Children can’t feel relaxed and safe with the adults & children in the nursery until they get to know them. If there’s a lack of affection towards a child they may be reluctant to take advantage of all the learning opportunities because of their anxiety. We now know that relationships literally shape the neural connections in young children’s brains. This means everything that happens or doesn’t happen for the child will leaves a physiological trace in their growing brain. According to Dr Suzanne
Queen Emma was a crucial figure in improving the overall wellbeing of the Hawaiian people. The Hawaiian people did not have many options for good healthcare and schooling. Queen Emma cared about her people, so she made the effort to get better resources for them. Queen Emma contributed to the overall wellbeing of the Hawaiian people by founding Iolani School and St. Andrew's Priory, by founding Queen's Hospital, and by working to represent her people in politics.
In order to fully understand the different outcome of Eleanor and Norma, the internal issues of the characters should also be considered; specifically, how their pasts affect their psychological and mental states in the present. Prior to Eleanor's invitation to the Hill House, she is forced to spend eleven years of her life looking after her invalid mother, this frustrates her because it prevents her from having a normal societal life like the others with the same age. In some degree, the confinement of her mother interrupts her natural psychological development at that time when she is twenty-one years old. While living in the Hill House, Eleanor is constantly haunted by the dream of the former distressing experience with her mother. Regardless whether there are ghosts in the story, these negative psychological implications of Eleanor suggest that she blames herself for the death of her mother even though there is no direct evidence pointing to her. With this in mind, Eleanor's illusion is the only tool that brings her peace and hopes to sustain in this world of despair. The moment when she is banished from the Hill House, she loses hope because she has nowhere to go, no place to feel home. In the story, she tells the readers that “what I want in all this world is peace, a quiet spot to lie and think, a quiet spot
Justin, a boy who was raised in a dog cage until the age of five, suffered similar neglect as those mentioned earlier. Justin was kept in a dog cage and rarely interacted with his caregiver, who lacked the attachment bond needed for later development; his only attachment came from dogs (). In regards to the four factors that help strengthen the attachment between a child and caregiver, contemporary factors played a role in this situation. Contemporary factors are influenced by the abilities of an adult needed to provide a strong and stable attachment (). Justin was left in the care of his grandmother, but when his grandmother passed away, he was left in the care of Arthur, the grandmother’s boyfriend Arthur. Arthur was an elderly man who never had children and was limited on how to raise a child. Other contemporary factors such as the confidence and self-control needing to raise a child carry over into the child’s attachment development (). Within Connor’s case, he suffered neglect from birth to 18 months (). Connor had been neglected throughout all stages of development, which in result limited his ability to form a secure attachment and be able to rely on others for support and comfort. Connor was left alone throughout the day, creating an inconsistent and unstable perspective on how
...e call as being the son’s death, but in this case are the parents the victims of misshapenness throughout the day? There is no true evidence that the last phone call was indeed from the hospital a mistaken phone call once again. What makes the story particularly interesting is through this misguidance and places of signs and symbols throughout the story, the reader is challenged to decode the ending to the mysterious phone call and look for answers. The struggle the mother and father had to face to bring up their mentally unstable son makes the story particularly unique. The characters of the story make them relatable people because they have such strong emotion towards their son and the reader can feel comfortable and at ease with the couple as if the mother and father of the story are the reader’s parents.
Emotional technique is included and used to alter the readers perspective of Mother through the introduction of her own voice, allowing us to have a separate look at her character without Christopher’s unreliable aspect. This is evident when Chris discovers the letters his mother has been leaving him, the first one coming from eighteen months after she ‘died’. For example, while Christopher is reading, one of the segments from her third letter says, “I was not a very good mother, Christopher. Maybe if things had been differant, maybe if you’d been differant, I might have been better at it.” (133) From this sentence alone the audience is able to establish that Mothers portrayal throughout the beginning of the novel was potentially misleading.
Emotional abuse can be understood as the “failure to provide children with an emotional environment conducive to adequate psychological, developmental and physical progress to ac...
Emma's Dilemma In my investigation I am going to investigate the number of different arrangements of letters for names and words and try to find a formula that can be used to predict this. For example: TOM is one arrangement. and OTM is another arrangement. First, I am going to investigate the number of different arrangements.