The intricate dynamics of familial bonds are often a tapestry woven with threads of unspoken emotions and shared experiences. In W.D. Valgardson’s evocative short story “Saturday Climbing,” these threads stretch to their limits as a father and daughter navigate the perilous ascent of both a rock face and their evolving relationship. The narrative skillfully examines how an individual’s values, particularly trust and independence, profoundly influence their actions and relationships. This essay will dissect the intricate ways in which the protagonist’s deeply held values shape his interactions with his daughter, leading to a transformative journey for both characters. Trust is the cornerstone of the narrative, as it dictates the protagonist Barry’s approach to his daughter Moira’s growing need for autonomy. Initially, Barry’s grip on the rope is a metaphor for his grip on Moira’s life; it is tight, controlling, and fueled by a fear of the unknown. The story paints a vivid picture of this tension, where “each new height gained made the ground below seem more perilous” (Valgardson 2). This metaphorical ascent reflects the nuanced conflict within Barry—a testament to the story’s perceptive exploration of trust as a dynamic and …show more content…
Her confident maneuvers on the rock face are not just physical actions, but are symbolic of her psychological journey towards self-reliance. This is exemplified when “she found a foothold where there seemed to be none” (Valgardson 4), a line that not only describes a moment in the climb but also encapsulates Moira’s approach to life’s challenges. The story uses this moment to highlight the significance of individual values in steering the course of one’s actions and the nature of their relationships. Moira’s independence is a beacon that guides her through the treacherous terrain of adolescence, illuminating the path to her own
Just as nobody wants to be criticized and underestimated, so does Quoyle. While his family considers him as a root of failures and doesn’t give enough love to him, Quoyle also thinks about himself that he is not part of his family and wants to leave for somewhere. He is always despondent and not confident about his family, his appearance, and his life. However, through the picture, he finds out that he has something in common with his father. The author uses various dictions, imagery, and figurative language in order to vividly illustrate how Quoyle feels about himself and his family.
Many typical adventures in classic novels follow a pattern of events using the archetype, the Hero, which defines the nature of the protagonist’s journey. However, some stories don’t fit the layout of a Hero’s journey. The nature of this story structure often limits itself to the interpretation of a male’s heroic quest involving accomplishments in order to prove one’s masculinity. The alternate story pattern, a heroine’s journey, was created to satisfy the type of journey a female would experience. The heroine's journey defies the general perspective of heroism, instead highlighting the bravery in defying expectations of one’s character and refusing to be held back by the expectations of others. Walk Two Moons is a book written by Sharon Creech which tells the story of Salamanca Hiddle, a teenage girl who retraces the journey of her mother who left her. On her journey, Sal is able to relive her own story through her friend, Phoebe, whose mother also left. The book Walk Two Moons is representative of a heroine’s journey rather than a hero’s journey because Sal must leave her home to escape
When Marie tries to ask the protagonist to take a walk, this action shows that she is trying to achieve Pauline’s dream by getting her outside of the house. Therefore, she could finally feel the true meaning of freedom. Nevertheless, Pauline’s mother’s response demonstrates that she wants her daughter’s safety more than anything. The mother tries to keep Pauline away from the danger, so the protagonist can at last have a healthier life. However, Agathe’s reply shows that her mother is willing to sacrifice Pauline’s dream to keep her secure. Therefore, the author uses contrasting characters to mention that safety is more valuable. Furthermore, the protagonist starts to describe Tante Marie and reveals that she always has her hair “around her shoulder” (85). When Pauline describes Marie, Pauline shows how her Tante is open-minded. In fact, Marie helps Pauline to let go of her limitations and to get a taste of her dream. Therefore, Marie always wants Pauline to go outside and play hockey or even to take a walk. These actions that Pauline’s Tante takes show how she is determinate to make Pauline’s dream come true. Thus, the author
In the memoir Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin, the author Mark Pfetzer is faced with an extremely amazing yet scary challenge of climbing Mount Everest. Each event is the story has something to do with the nature that is around them at that moment but Pfetzer shows the readers that nature can be a way of life.
The author Wes Moore dad was a hard worker and he had dreams & goals set for the future. The other Wes’s parents didn’t have as much drive and ambition. The other Wes’s dad walked out on him and his mother was left to work jobs just to provide for the family. Author Wes’s parents ambitions rubbed off onto him and his mother’s love for education drove her to push Wes academically. The two mothers had different expectations and ambitions for their sons. The other Wes states “‘We will do what others expect of us, Wes said. If they expect us to graduate we will graduate. If they expect us to get a job, we will get a job. If they expect us to go to jail, we will go to jail.” (Moore 126). The expectation the families had on both Wes’s shaped who they were and that influenced the decisions they made, that caused their lives to end up so
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
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 word family evokes an image of trust and a bond of loyalty. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”, the main characters in both these stories demonstrate the idea of family loyalty in several ways. While they continue to express the values of family loyalty, the main characters have to overcome several obstacles. Searching for ways to communicate effectively with their families and maintaining their changing identities trap the characters. In “Barn Burning”, Sarty is conflicted with being loyal to his family and being loyal to himself and in “Sonny’s Blues”, the brother has to deal with being loyal to Sonny’s values. During this process, it changes their character and forces them to change and learn about themselves.
Intergenerational conflicts are an undeniable facet of life. With every generation of society comes new experiences, new ideas, and many times new morals. It is the parent’s job go work around these differences to reach their children and ensure they receive the necessary lessons for life. Flannery O’Connor makes generous use of this idea in several of her works. Within each of the three short stories, we see a very strained relationship between a mother figure and their child. We quickly find that O’Conner sets up the first to be receive the brunt of our attention and to some extent loathing, but as we grow nearer to the work’s characteristic sudden and violent ending, we grow to see the finer details and what really makes these relations
Parents want what is best for their children, but sometimes they expect too much and children can feel trapped. The only way kids feel they can escape from the pressure is to gain independence through rebelling. The short story “Brother Dear”, by Bernice Friesen suggests the idea that when individuals pursue independence by rebelling against expectations set out for them, they can become estranged from loved ones and feel like they have let them down; however, despite the pressure an individual may feel they can often remain optimistic about their situation. Greg grows up with a lot of pressure from his family to do well in life, the only way he feels he can escape this pressure is rebelling against what they want.
The film, “The Way, Way Back”, is a coming of age film that exhibits a summer where adult responsibilities are diminished and children are left to take care of themselves. The film is very relatable to many families today who have had to deal with divorce, parents dating, step-parents and siblings. The film focuses on a boy named Duncan and his difficultly as he overcomes his parents’ divorce and his mothers her boyfriend, Trent. Duncan is an introverted adolescent who discontentedly joins his mother to temporarily live with her long-time boyfriend and daughter for the summer; ultimately to determine if blending their families long term would be a wise choice. In this essay, I will analyze the film through a sociological lens by specifically
This book is told from the diary of the main character, Sam Gribley. Sam is a boy full of determination. He didn’t give up and go home like everyone thought he would. He is strong of mind. After the first night in the freezing rain, with no fire and no food, he still went on. He is a born survivor. He lasted the winter, through storms, hunger, and loneliness, and came out on top even when everyone expected him to fail. “The land is no place for a Gribley” p. 9
Gaitskill’s “Tiny, Smiling Daddy” focuses on the father and his downward spiral of feeling further disconnected with his family, especially his lesbian daughter, whose article on father-daughter relationships stands as the catalyst for the father’s realization that he’d wronged his daughter and destroyed their relationship. Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” focuses on Mel and his attempt to define, compare, and contrast romantic love, while leaving him drunk and confused as he was before. While both of my stories explore how afflicted love traumatizes the psyche and seem to agree that love poses the greatest dilemma in life, and at the same time that it’s the most valued prospect of life, the two stories differ in that frustrated familial love causes Gaitskill's protagonist to become understandable and consequently evokes sympathy from the reader, but on the other hand frustrated romantic love does nothing for Carver's Protagonist, except keep him disconnected from his wife and leaving him unchanged, remaining static as a character and overall unlikable. In comparing “Tiny, Smiling Daddy” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”, together they suggest that familial love is more important than romantic love, which we relentlessly strive to achieve often forgetting that we’ll forever feel alone without familial love, arguably the origin of love itself.
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
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.