The word “family” invokes many different emotions, on many different levels. Most of the time I think of the good times that I have had with my family. The reunions, vacations, holidays and just enjoying the company of my family. However, there are other sides of a family. It is naïve to think that you can spend so much time around family members, and not have disagreements, arguments, disputes, and sometimes even full-fledged physical altercations. On a similar level, sometimes personalities will conflict, making family members dislike each other. Sometimes people are just bad people, even if they are family, which are best left alone and avoided if at all possible. The story Barn Burning (339-49) takes us back in time to early America and the era known as the “Depression”, when many people lived desperate and hard lives. This type of life forged desperate and hard people, although proud. Some of these people were cruel and even dangerous. Abner Snopes was one of these people. He was a profiteer and an opportunist. He was also cold, cruel, and cowardly. Still his family stuck by him. They followed him from place to place after he was chased away, or driven out. His youngest son “Sorty” struggles with his mixed feelings of admiration and contempt for his father. Abner’s wife bends to his will with a broken spirit, and his older children are just as contemptuous as he. The Aunt seems to be the only decent member of the family, other than “Sorty”, who doesn’t agree with Abner’s cowardly actions. In the end Sorty can no longer stand by and quietly allow his father harm innocent people. He takes action against his father, and is ultimately responsible for his father’s demise. This story is rare in the aspect that it shows the darker... ... middle of paper ... ...nd daughter. However, in this story the mother still wants to be a part of her oldest daughter’s life. In the end the mother and daughter as basically still in the same situation that they began. These three stories combined show a plethora of emotions and conflicts that can, and do, arise in families. These complex situations are rarely portrayed in stories. They take us to the heavier side of the human spectrum. The darker side, where there isn’t always a happy ending, the grass isn’t always greener, and the light at the end of the tunnel is a train headed straight for you. Works Cited Roberts, Edgar V., and Zwieg, Robert, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 10th ed. Illinois: Glenview, Pearson Education Inc. 2012. Print. Faulkner, William. “Barn Burning.” Roberts and Zwieg, 339-49 Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Roberts and Zwieg, 6-13
The essay "A New Perspective" by Janice E. Fein and the short story "All the Years of Her Life" by Morley Callaghan have some similarities and differences with mother and child relationships. Both authors show a shift of attitude in the end of the written pieces.
Anna Quindlen’s short story Mothers reflects on the very powerful bond between a mother and a daughter. A bond that she lost at the age of nineteen, when her mother died from ovarian cancer. She focuses her attention on mothers and daughters sharing a stage of life together that she will never know, seeing each other through the eyes of womanhood. Quindlen’s story seems very cathartic, a way of working out the immense hole left in her life, what was, what might have been and what is. As she navigates her way through a labyrinth of observations and questions, I am carried back in time to an event in my life and forced to inspect it all over again.
Updlike, John. "A&P." Literature. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education (US), 2012. 17-21. Print
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.
This story speaks of a married woman who fell in love with a man who was not her husband. She bore this man a child and realized that she could not live without him. In the event, she decides to leave her husband to be with the child’s father. However, there is only one problem and that is that she has two other children by her husband. She has a daughter who is 9 years old and is very mature for her age, and a darling son who is 5 years old. As she leaves to restart her life again with this other man, the 5 year old son is left behind to stay with his dad, and the little girl is tragically killed by a pack of wolves. The little boy is devastated by his mom’s decision to leave him behind. He is constantly haunted by dreams and images that come to his mind surrounding his mother’s...
Two sisters, Rose and Bianca, journey through life to find their need for closure after their mother’s death. Rose a responsible, smart, and career driven girl wanted nothing more than to escape the path of her past but in the end, she found the most peace in going back to where all the memories were made. While her sister Bianca died for a trip down memory lane and the hope to communicate with their death mother, when in the end, Bianca had no desire for her past. The girls each got what they wanted out of finally talking with their
The author uses different points of view to create tension in the story. The mom acts in a way that neglects the daughters interests. This makes them both feel less connected and leaves the daughter feeling hopeless. In paragraph 9, “‘It’s strange actually. I wasn’t expecting it, but then at the last minute the funding came through.’ She folded her arms across her waist. ‘I’m going to Costa Rica to finish my research.” This made the narrator/daughter angry and flustered with her mom’s actions. She has trouble remaining connected with her parent because they both want different things which leaves on character feeling betrayed. “Opportunity? For me? Or for you?” (34). Both of their actions and responses create tension in this story. Their communication lacks and this results in pressure on both
The theme of, mother daughter relationships can be hard but are always worth it in the end, is portrayed by Amy Tan in this novel. This theme is universal, still relevant today, and will be relevant for forever. Relationships are really important, especially with your mom. “ A mother is best. A mother knows what is inside you”
The rifts between mothers and daughters continue to separate them, but as the daughters get older they become more tolerant of their mothers. They learn they do not know everything about their mothers, and the courage their mothers showed during their lives is astounding. As they get older they learn they do not know everything, and that their mothers can still teach them much about life. They grow closer to their mothers and learn to be proud of their heritage and their culture. They acquire the wisdom of understanding, and that is the finest feeling to have in the world.
Abcarian, Richard. Literature: the Human Experience : Reading and Writing. : Bedford/Saint Martin's, 2012. Print.
Roberts, Edgar V., Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th Compact Edition, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008, print
Meyer, M. (2013). Bedford introduction to literature: Reading, thinking, writing. Boston: Bedford Bks St Martin’s.
Kennedy, S. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. 866-868.
When the word “family” is discussed most people think of mothers, fathers, and other siblings. Some people think of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins and more on the pedigree tree. Without family in people 's lives they would not be the same people that they grew up to be today and in the future. When people hear the word family they think about, the ones who will help them in any way they can whether it 's money, support, advice, or anything to help them succeed in life. Family will forever be the backbone of support. They are the ones who support their children during those life decisions. Family is not always blood related. Finally family is forever, family will never go away.
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Compact 8th. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.