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Writing the role of father
Illustrative essay complicated relationship of parent and child
Writing the role of father
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The short stories “Alchemy” and “House”, from Madeleine Thien’s “Simple Recipes”, portray fathers that are drastically different from each other. In each of these stories a father is present, but the way each is shown interacting with their families differs extraordinarily. This interaction with their family leads to very different outcomes for the families and how the children view their father in their lives. Although both fathers are shown to be hard working and described by the narrators as caring they are very different from each other in their motives, lives at home, and the way they are perceived by their children. One is seen as a loving father who is missed by his daughters and the other is scrutinized and hated by his.
The first difference that is found between the two fathers is their presence in their homes. While the father in “Alchemy” lives at home with his wife and his daughter Paula the father in “House” lives and calls his wife and daughters, Kathleen and Lorraine, from “Port Hardy where he was logging the Island” (Thien 106). This difference in living at and away from home changes the way their children look at them. Paula looks at her father negatively making her feel uneasy and embarrassed around him and this is discovered after he makes a harsh remark towards Paula’s best friend Miriam to which she “stared at her plate, motionless” (Thien 59). This also makes her wish Miriam would stay over with her and this is opposite to Kathleen and Lorraine who miss their father and want to live a life where their whole family is together which is shown when Lorraine asks her father over the phone “If we have enough money, why do you have to live there?” (Thien 106). While Lorraine and Kathleen love their father and wan...
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...eleine Thien’s short stories “Alchemy” and “House” we see two fathers who play important roles in their daughter’s lives. Although both fathers show some similar qualities it is seen that they are not alike besides the fact that they are both fathers to daughters. Furthermore it was shown that both are hard working and described by other characters as caring, but in the end only the father in “House” proves these claims to be true, while the other shows us what kind of dad he is. The descriptions of the fathers provided by the narrator of each story seem similar for the fathers, but as the stories progressed only the outward appearances of the fathers were the same and that on the inside they are completely different. This proves that both men are not alike, and while one father is doing whatever he can for his children the other is selfish and uncaring towards his.
The chapter “A Fathers Influence” is constructed with several techniques including selection of detail, choice of language, characterization, structure and writers point of view to reveal Blackburn’s values of social acceptance, parenting, family love, and a father’s influence. Consequently revealing her attitude that a child’s upbringing and there parents influence alter the characterization of a child significantly.
The nature of familial relationships are ever-changing and can be strongly affected by the societal values and expectations of the time. This is underpinned in Alan Seymour’s One Day of the Year (One Day) and Gwen Harwood’s “Father and Child” as well as “Suburban Sonnet”. These texts explore how differences in ideas due to external influences can cause tension which can either further estrange individuals or bring them closer together. They also delve into how gender roles can greatly impact familial relationships.
The mother and daughter have a very distant relationship because her mother is ill and not capable to be there, the mother wishes she could be but is physically unable. “I only remember my mother walking one time. She walked me to kindergarten." (Fein). The daughter’s point of view of her mother changes by having a child herself. In the short story the son has a mother that is willing to be helpful and there for him, but he does not take the time to care and listen to his mother, and the mother begins to get fed up with how Alfred behaves. "Be quiet don't speak to me, you've disgraced me again and again."(Callaghan). Another difference is the maturity level the son is a teenager that left school and is a trouble maker. The daughter is an adult who is reflecting back on her childhood by the feeling of being cheated in life, but sees in the end her mother was the one who was truly being cheated. “I may never understand why some of us are cheated in life. I only know, from this perspective, that I am not the one who was.” (Fein). The differences in the essay and short story show how the children do not realize how much their mothers care and love
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.
Martineau clearly had a strong political agenda in writing this story, however in doing so, she addresses the fundamental difference she sees in the roles of responsibility in marriage. In her mind, the husband and the wife have clearly defined roles, not so much along lines of production, but rather in terms of the household. That which is in the household, whether it is the domestic duties or financial responsibility, falls to the wife while it is the husband who is responsible for the income stream.
... overall themes, and the use of flashbacks. Both of the boys in these two poems reminisce on a past experience that they remember with their fathers. With both poems possessing strong sentimental tones, readers are shown how much of an impact a father can have on a child’s life. Clearly the two main characters experience very different past relationships with their fathers, but in the end they both come to realize the importance of having a father figure in their lives and how their experiences have impacted their futures.
In the movie, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Callie Khouri directs something of a powerful story between a mother and her daughter. The movie Life as a House (Wrinkler, 2002) tells something of the same; of a father and the fight for the love of his son. The two movies both portray the fight between parents and their children. The commonality between father and son and mother and daughter is portrayed through the troublesome children and the problems that they face together. The “abuse “ that these children have received has formed them into the people they are today. What these characters had become is something that they do not want to be. As we age, we begin to discover the importance of family as depicted through Life as a House and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.
Bechdel’s father was perverted, and her family felt the effects of his habits (567-574). Allison’s mother was only fifteen years old when she gave birth to her daughter. Dorothy’s step-father was abusive and affected her life very much (588). These are things that change a person whether or not they choose to acknowledge that fact. Abuse causes lifelong emotional and cognitive changes in children. Allison’s mistreatment as a child may be part of why she’s so conscious of what others think of her (Goldman). Close father-daughter relationships more likely lead to intimate and fulfilling relationships with other men. Allison did not have a good connection with her father or step-father, and she does not have comfortable and satisfying relationships with other men either (Nielsen). Allison’s difficulties connecting in society and emotionally with people may also be connected with being born to an unmarried mother (“Births to Unmarried
Each family is affected by society's decisions and expectations. In some households, love is portrayed through materialistic items. This is best shown through Pichert and Anderson’s “The House”. Mark is skipping school with his friend because his “Mom is never home on Thursday” (Pichert and Anderson). Already showing that Mark's relationship with his parents isn't as strong as it should be. Giving Mark the need to brag “...that he could get spending money whenever he needed it since he’d discovered that his Dad kept a lot in the desk drawer.” (Pichert
In both works, the root of the father’s sins comes from prejudice that infects the family. To
The relationship between a father and his son can be articulated as without a doubt the most significant relationship that a man can have throughout the duration of his life. To a further extent the relationship between a father and a son can be more than just a simple companionship. Just like a clown fish and a sea anemone, both father and son will rely on each other in order to survive the struggles of their everyday lives. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Gabriele Muccino’s The Pursuit of Happyness both depict a story between a father and son using each other as a means of survival when faced with adversity. When placed in a tough situation father and son must create a symbiotic relationship in order to survive. Upon the duo of father and son can creating a symbiotic relationship, it will result in a mutual dependency on each other. This theme of paternal love is omnipresent given the bond between the two characters.
Parental love is one of the most dominant and consistent expressions of love throughout Away, conveyed through contrasting manners between the three families. Gwen’s parenting approach towards Meg is rigid. Consequently, her expression of love is bitter. Alternatively, Tom’s parents shower him in adoration and compassion, despite their unfortunate circumstances. Similar circumstances previously faced by Coral left her brokenhearted and grief stricken. Her captivating struggle through the loss of her son draws a lot of attention in the story, thus overshadowing her husband Roy’s hurt and sorrow.
Over the course of the semester I have learned a lot about the different disciplines of love and sexuality in America. I have recognized a lot of themes throughout the semester. However, the themes that I find most important from class are to be informed about things before you make decisions and that communication is key to a healthy relationship.
The father complains and criticizes the work of his wife: her parenting, cooking, and cleaning. The wife takes it. The wife also bears the “pushing, hitting, telling her to shut up,”, and all the while, the children hear everything. They take the father's words and “store them in a jar to sort them out later.” The parents argue, but the children see a different side of the mother. “They cannot believe that this pleading, crying woman, this woman who does not fight back, is the same person they know. The person they know is strong, gets things done, is a woman of way and means, a woman of action.” The children have never seen her pleading, afraid, and even when the father turns to the child, threatening them to leave, “in her role as mother, she tells her daughter to go upstairs and go to sleep, that everything will be alright.” When the father tells her to leave, she does. The daughter “cannot bear the silent agreement that the man is right, that he has done what men are able to do.” Yet as time moves on, the mother is the one left broken as the man is allowed to move on. Despite all, they do for others and all they endure, the narrator learns that the woman must always sacrifice for the man and his needs, even if that brings her pain. This is a reality that does not satisfy the narrator, instead, it repulses her. Yet, it has impacted the way in which she will forever see the world around her, the same way art gave her a way in which to cope and keep going and the way in which ritual in the kitchen showed that everything is not what it seems. And although parental figures are flawed, the lessons they teach will never be