In Fu-Je Chen’s article About Parental Voices in Adoption Narratives, Chen analyzes the way society has typically seen adoption and the role of single parents in the literary world. In the literature, society’s standards for men and women still exist, men are supposed to be the strong, testosterone driven providers, but Chen describes how they are often “first denied expressions of their emotional wounds (Chen 2)”. After Silas is shunned from Lantern Yard he had lost his reputation and had to start again, he hides himself away after arriving in Raveloe, trying to protect himself from being hurt once again. He tries to keep up to society’s standards of men having to be strong and stoic whenever they are hurt, like an injured animal that hides …show more content…
away to lick its wounds. Godfrey, Eppie’s biological father, often tried to take control of Eppie even though he had not been there to take care of her during her childhood, Chen discusses how “Birth fathers and adoptive fathers might do more than personalize or domesticate the issue within the adoption circle with respect to conflicts or interests of adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents (Chen 5)”. Chen argues that both adoptive and biological fathers will try to take control of anything they can, and we see examples of this when Godfrey attempts to take Eppie back after sixteen years. I strongly agree with Chen’s perspective on this because Godfrey barely considered Eppie’s current happiness with Silas and solely focused on how it will be once she agrees to come with him. Godfrey also shows how he gave up Eppie in order to pursue his own goals and desire for marrying Nancy, selfish act of control. It is part of human nature for us to desire as sense of wholeness or self actualization, Chen describes how “At the individual level, the masculine fantasy of completeness is a way to overcome one's splitness or division (Chen 3)”. This is evident in the text when Silas uses his money to originally fill the emptiness his excommunication from Lantern Yard caused, but after it is stolen, Eppie fills that void and gives him a sense of purpose and wholeness. We desire this feeling so much, because it gives humans a sense of security and purpose that we are constantly pursuing. Fu-Je Chen also describes how often times the biological and adoptive fathers will need confront each other in order to determine which one is the “true” father.
One of the topics that often comes to mind in the argument is class, and which father is going to be able to provide the child with whatever they may need whether it be food, clothes or a loving home (Chen 4). Godfrey is a wealthy squire who is capable of providing anything that Eppie will ever need, all except for the sense of warmth and security that her loving home with Silas provides. I agree with Chen that this argument is important and should be addressed in adoption narratives because while a father may be able to provide the child with all the material needs they will ever need, the adoptive father may provide the emotional support and comfort that are more important to a child’s development. Ultimately it is the emotional support that will help establish the character of an youth whenever they are an adult, without that they may not develop those necessary empathy skills. The adoptive father will often accept the child as his own and love them unconditionally because they are “Obsessed with a sense of mastery and wholeness, they are haunted by continued guilt for giving up the child, for being absent prior to the adoption, or even for many unknown reasons (Chen 3).” Silas knows what it is like to be alone, and he does not want Eppie to feel that way, it nearly destroyed him and he does not wish her to experience a similar fate, this is evident in his reluctance to give up his daughter when Godfrey returned to take away Eppie. It is a parent’s duty to make sure that their child have a better life than they had and to not repeat the same mistakes that they had made. Parental figures in adoption narratives often challenge the real life norms of adoption, as evident in Silas Marner (Chen 4). Silas is not the most qualified person to take care of Eppie for sixteen years by any means, but he was the
father figure that she needed. He was a poor, old, frail, weaver and yet he was ended up being the most impactful person on her life, making sure that she became a caring, sympathetic member of society.
The relationship between a father and a son can be expressed as perhaps the most critical relationship that a man endures in his lifetime. This is the relationship that influences a man and all other relationships that he constructs throughout his being. Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead explores the difficulty in making this connection across generations. Four men named John Ames are investigated in this story: three generations in one family and a namesake from a closely connected family. Most of these father-son relationships are distraught, filled with tension, misunderstanding, anger, and occasionally hostility. There often seems an impassable gulf between the men and, as seen throughout the pages of Gilead, it can be so intense that it creates
A child’s destiny crucially and heavily relies on the parental figures in their lives. Without such beacons of authority children in these broken homes easily feel partial, mislaid and typically turn out to be errant. The novel “Father Cry” by William Wilson, beautifully covers both the ideas of spiritual parental figures and physical parental figures. Analyzing several different subjects such as heartbreak, love, hope and many more, this book is able to holistically cover the general subject of parenthood. This is an amazing book with many things that one can learn from. Many ideas and topics in this book opened my eyes, pushing me to the verge of tears in some parts. That being said, one subject in particular that most impacted me was the
I am a recent graduate of Cornerstone University, with a Bachelor degree in Psychology. Although, my experience is in administrative (Medical), my passion is helping children find loving and caring families. Catholic Charities of West Michigan’s reputation for putting children first and my personal experience, having placed an infant for adoption nearly 28 years ago, would be beneficial to your organization. In addition, to my strong work ethic, impeccable attention to detail, and
Adoption is a process where by a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the biological parent or parents. Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a permanent change in status and as such requires societal recognition, either through legal or religious sanction. Adoption has changed considerably over the centuries with its focus shifting from adult adoption and inheritance issues toward children and family creation; its structure moving from recognition of continuity between the adopted and kin toward allowing relationships of lessened intensity. In modern times, adoption is a primary vehicle serving the needs of homeless, neglected, abused and runaway children (Wikipedia, “Adoption”).
This is a book that tells the important story about the social significance and long-standing implications of fatherless families from a seldom heard point of view. The male siblings are linked by their struggles achieve peace with father and with the women in their lives as they move from adolescence adulthood. This text is filled with rich characterization and visual imagery.
A wife and church member are two quintessential factors that share “the blame” in Emma Jean’s decision to raise her baby boy as a girl. The time period that the novel is set in is the early 1900’s, when patriarchy and gender roles were more heavily indoctrinated into society. Gus, Emma Jean’s husband, encompasses a traditional father. Despite Gus being hardworking, and instilling a highly commendable work ethic in all six of his sons, Gus neglects ‘motherly duties’ like changing diapers and being intimate and affectionate with his children. Does fatherhood extend only to physical labor and
The dependency on their mothers can negatively impact their relationship with their fathers. In many cases, the father is no longer part of the family unit, putting the young man in the role of the ‘man of the house’. This in itself has a whole new set of problems. Their mothers teach them to be kind and helpful; yet as young as Kindergarten they are taught to avoid their mothers’ ideas and emulate their fathers’. Why? A mother’s ‘negative influence’ can make them compliant and possibly question manhood. Kimmel states, “Boys learn that their connection to their mother will emasculate them, turn them into Mama’s Boys” (547). No male wants to be perceived as soft or emotional, they want to be tough and brave, perhaps even feared. If they hang around their mothers, they possess the idea they will develop into babies and do “woman” stuff. Kimmel shares a story of a mother saying that her husband took their three and a half-year-old son to a barber shop to get his hair cut. The barber used hot and painful chemicals in his hair, when the boy began to cry the barber called him a wimp and informed the father that his son had been hanging around his mama too much and that needed to change. The father went home upset and announced to his wife that the boy would be doing sports and other activities with him. Boys learn at an early age that involvement
According to American academy and adolescent psychiatry, about 120,000 children are adopted in the United States alone. That is a lot of children that need to find a new home to stay in. Not only do adoptions affect the child after they are adopted, no matter the age; but adoption also affects the parents giving their child up for adoption. There are many types of adoptions. Along with that, there are many reasons for giving the child up for adoption. There are three main perspectives that I will be talking about. One function would be the structural functionalism. How society cooperates. The second would be the conflict perspective. The third would be symbolic interactionism approach. There are many different aspects of adoption, making it
The Victorian Era was a time of social evolution as well as technological and economic advance. A distinct, unique middle class was formed alongside the traditional working class and wealthy aristocracy. However, there were certain individuals that fell outside this model of Victorian society. The “abandoned child” was society’s scapegoat- a person without a past, without connections, without status. They could appear in any class, at any time. The upper and middle classes often had a somewhat romantic perception of them, due to their prevalence in Victorian literature. Novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights made heroines/heroes out of orphans, portraying them as respectable yet troubled (Cunningham,“Orphan Texts”). However, orphans were also often treated with disdain and distrust, due to their reputation as “criminally prone” individuals. They were a victim of classic “Victorian contradictions” that characterized most aspects of Victorian society.
As parents we attempt to make decisions that will benefit our child. The most terrifying thing about parenting is not knowing what the outcomes will be, especially outside of the immediate situation. This is true even in the case of deciding not to parent. When a person chooses to give a child up for adoption, the core of the choice is in some way the thought that the child will be better off being parented by another. This choice is profound and can have many outcomes.
The most common fate of orphaned children was to be "adopted" by another family. This allowed for the orphans to remain a part of a fami...
Undoubtedly, losing one of the parents or both of them could be nothing but a devastating chock for a child. Perhaps this is why many writers, during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, deployed orphan characters as a didactic medium to convince the young readers to leave their mothers' lap and to journey in this wide world alone. However, though this goal may sound promising, the messages, the values and the social roles included in this category of literature may burry any possible didactic discourse and foreground just stereotypes.
Throughout the story, the different roles and expectations placed on men and women are given the spotlight, and the coming-of-age of two children is depicted in a way that can be related to by many women looking back on their own childhood. The narrator leaves behind her title of “child” and begins to take on a new role as a young, adolescent woman.
Starting the adoption process Adoption is one of the most controversial questions of a modern world, and it goes hand in hand with such problems as abortion and orphanhood. Every single minute at a delivery room a mother refuses from her newborn due to different reasons. However there are millions of families which are not able to have childen because of the certain obstacles. Many people have preconceptions about orphans among which stereotype about heredity keeps first position.
Abandonment, the action or fact of abandoning or being abandoned, is an issue not only shown in Jennifer Clément’s “Prayer of the Stolen” but that is also prevalent in today’s society. Although abandonment comes in many forms, abandonment of the family, and daughters specifically will be the main focus in this research paper. Child Abandonment in specific is also known today as a form of neglect and is classified as a parent leaving a child for a lengthy period of time, without providing any type of financial support or clear intentions to return to the child’s life. This neglect has a number of negative short term as well as long-term effects on families, and children specifically.