Dannie Abse's End of Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve
Dannie Abse ended this brilliant story in a simple and sombre manner.
Within this ending there are many areas of contrast to reflect upon,
each portrayed to be seemingly meaningless yet each embodied with a
deep and symbolic message.
The first area that is to be assessed is the tone that Dannie Abse
decides to use in this ending. Rather than adopting the same tone
throughout this final chapter, it changes gradually yet quite
significantly from the start to finish. To begin with, we can see that
his tone is casual and typical of an adolescent character. Dannie has
reached a crucial stage in his life where he has no choice but to
acknowledge the change that awaits him. He is no longer the child who
he used to be - no longer '10 years high' (p11) but the 'emperor of
his 18 years… king of the tall trees… and big boss of the grass'. By
the final lines of the ending, the tone has become far more solemn and
intense.
At the opening of his ending, Abse possesses a casual and almost
suppressed tone; and he acts as if the events that have passed by are
no big deal. He's reached the point where he is now independent and
can no longer be as reliant on his parents as he once was. Even in
random streams of semi-consciousness he resents what they say and
wishes to continue his life on his own. Yet somehow, despite his
resentfulness on the surface, deep down he still longs for the loving
nagging of his parents:
"I didn't go home… my parents would be saying the same things all over
again."
"I sat on a wooden bench… thought for a moment what my mother would
have said."
Th...
... middle of paper ...
... hands, cold red hands sinking
in the air… waving goodbye, to the branches that, already in our war
weather ached with their absence."
The ending has not only strongly reiterated Dannie's significant
events of the past but also emphasised just how much he has changed
since the beginning of the book. Dannie's more subtle form of speech
and enrichment of his poetic style is an epitome of his development.
This episode of his 18th birthday paints the final picture of his
childhood and concludes the book in a very successful manner.
This is a terrific ending to a very unique book that has managed to
attain the ideal portrayal of adolescence and infancy rounded off in a
very intense but open-ended manner. I really don't think even the
writer himself could have ended the story in a better manner than the
way he did.
see that he has bit of selfish characteristic. He blames on his parents that not
he sees his father as strict, but not overly demanding. He seems to begin to
Canny, Nicholas: The Oxford History of the British Empire,vol I, TheOrigins of the Empire (New York 1998)
Yunior’s fathers only concern was obtaining the “American Dream” job security, financial stability, and owning his own home. Yunior’s childhood memory of his father are vague; they have no bond or connection, to Yunior he’s just a stranger. “ He’d come to our home house in Santo Domingo in a busted up taxi and the gifts he had brought us were small things-toys guns and tops-that we were too old for, that we broke right away.” (Diaz, 129). For a young man growing up without a father figure has a profound effect on them that lasts way into manhood. “Boys need a father figure to learn how to be a man, without having this influence in their lives, boys are at risk of growing into men who have problems with behaviors, emotional stability, and relationships with both significant others and their own children.”
...ed on him. He however goes back to previous ways for a while until he gets a job and finally realizes that he is grown up. This relates directly to society because we must all grow up and we are unable to do so until we realize it for ourselves.
A Roman emperor and his family lived in luxurious life. They enjoyed an excellent wealth, authority, and rights. The Roman imperial family ate the best foods, and dressed in the ...
The father’s upbringing was such that financial stability was the priority. The child learned that dads are busy and do not have time to spend with their children. What a devastating realization for a child to conclude. Yet like most little boys, this one wanted to grow up to be like his role model, no matter the example. During the time from childhood to adolescent, parental influence can be either beneficial or detrimental. If the parents have a stable home, clear boundaries and open communications with their teens, the transition could flow easier. The perfect father does not guarantee the child will not rebel.
Cognitive development is where children start to become aware of their surroundings and become familiar with different things. Cognitive development plays enormous roles in a child’s growth into adulthood. In the story, Crews mentions that his first memory was around ten years before he was born, and the memory takes place where he has never been and involves his daddy who he never knew. One of the most important stages of cognitive development is sensorimotor stage. During the sensorimotor stage, children are only aware of the things they see, do, and the physical interactions with their immediate surroundings. Also, according the “The Role of the Father in Child Development”, it suggests the father-child separation period starts at the early age of nine months. Although the narrator was only 18 months old when his father died; he was still unable to make that immediate connection that a child needs from his father. Crews started a quest to find his father’s love; however, he never got a chance to complete. According to “The Role of the Father in Child Development”, the presence of a male model other than a father (e.g. an older brother) may inhibit the negative effects of a father’s absence Biller (1968, 1971a) argues that the father is a superior role model. All fathers are held to a superior role in every child’s life. Fathers are often the superhero that a little boy would like to be. The author always yearned for that superior male figure in his life. Crews’ father lived a life which consisted of drinking, fighting, working long hours, and influencing others to live the same lifestyle. The writer began to question the choices that his father made after he was convicted of his transgressions. Because of the actions of his father, Crews questioned what an ideal father should be and how it impacted his life in a negative
was an impatient ruler and wouldn’t hesitate to show his power. He was in great physical state
In the story, each character's mental and physical health changes, whether it is prominently obvious or not. Their health declines – whether it be a rapid decline, as in the father's case, or a graduating descent, like the the rest of the family – and they become older and less attached to the real world, more attached to each other. They retain their habits from the camp and it affects the way that they live amongst other people, in the outside world. The permanence of the changes is evident in each character and will strongly affect the way they live the rest of their life from that point.
Although single parenthood is on the rise in homes today, children still often have a father role in their life. It does not matter who the part is filled by: a father, uncle, older brother, grandfather, etc...; in almost all cases, those relationships between the father (figure) and child have lasting impacts on the youth the rest of their lives. In “I Wanted to Share My Father’s World,” Jimmy Carter tells the audience no matter the situation with a father, hold onto every moment.
...g age. “Young children idolize their parents and draw strength from closeness to them.” (Nichols, 190). As soon as my friend and his sister were near to their father, they felt safe, and things returned to normal.
a sense of self-worth. He also learns to live his own life, not that of his
Suddenly, he’s 21 but has the social skills of a 15-year-old.
On the edge of a small wood, an ancient tree sat hunched over, the gnarled, old king of a once vast domain that had long ago been turned to pasture. The great, gray knees gripped the hard earth with a solidity of purpose that made it difficult to determine just where the tree began and the soil ended, so strong was the union of the ancient bark and grainy sustenance. Many years had those roots known—years when the dry sands had shriveled the outer branches under a parched sun, years when the waters had risen up, drowning those same sands in the tears of unceasing time.