Half Brothers - How far can you sympathise with Helen, Gregory, William
Preston and the narrator of the tale? How does Elizabeth Gaskell guide
your response?
HALF BROTHERS
How far can you sympathise with Helen, Gregory, William Preston and
the narrator of the tale? How does Elizabeth Gaskell guide your
response?
Out of all of the characters in the story, I think that Helen and
Gregory are the two that are easiest to sympathise with. William
Preston is a harder character to sympathise with. The way that
Elizabeth Gaskell portrays these characters in the tale, is a great
influence on these thoughts.
From beginning to end, Helen seems to have led a very tragic life. The
start of the story consists of a very depressing amount of death and
poverty and this could trigger a sympathetic reaction from the reader.
After three years with her first husband, he dies of tuberculosis and
leaves her with a young child, barely able to walk and many burdens
such as a lease on their farm that she is stuck with for another four
years. As if that wasn't enough, half of the stock on the farm was
dead and the rest had to be sold to deal with 'more pressing debts'.
All this made her life very difficult as there was no immediate source
of income. The way all of this information is provided to the reader
is also a reason for the quantity of sympathy generated for Helen. All
of these tragic events in Helen's life are included in one single
sentence. This gives the reader the impression that all these events
happened within a very short time of each other. This would generate
even more sympathy for Helen.
Immediately after this one, massive sentence full of tragedy, and
financial problems, Elizabeth Gaskell reveals that Helen is expecting
another child. Here, a lot of emotive language is used, like 'sad and
sorry' that trigger sympathy. Terms like 'lonesome dwelling' are also
included. This suggests that Helen leads a very lonely, sad life. With
winter approaching, Helen's future looks very bleak. At this point,
Helen's sister 'Fanny' goes to stay at the farm to keep her company
and help out. They planned ways to make money and for a short time,
Helen's life began to look up. However, soon, Helen's daughter took
ill of scarlet fever and within a week, she died. At this point, Helen
was described as stunned by this blow. The fact that Helen did not cry
almost gave the impression that Helen was so used to death that she
had been 'hardened' by past experiences.
much food as they do, she constantly brings up her lack of money or anger towards the distribution of pay
that you cant pick out but know that they are there. You can see the
Familial Love is natural or instinctual love. Familial Love can also be referred to as the love between a parent and a child. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the character of Holden Caulfield does not convincingly embody a compassionate and caring character. Holden, after having a difficult year at school, finds comfort in his memories of his brother Allie. Another instance of Holden finding comfort, is when he spends time with Phoebe. In the same way, Phoebe is supportive when spending time with Holden. However, this takes a turn for the worse, as Holden reveals to Phoebe that he is leaving. Holden finds comfort and love through his memories of Allie, his experiences with Phoebe and the support from he receives from her.
also uses a lot of ironic devices in the play. It’s ironic due to the
other than his possessions. And her desire to stay in touch with her rich lifestyle even extends
struggling even more to make ends meet. She is being paid nine fifty an hour and most of the money she
once married, women lost all property rights to her husband (did not matter how rich or how poor they were
cause was that of Divorce. She believed that people ought to be able to obtain a
"He asked her why her feet were bare, and what the marks on her back
mother was in welfare to work program. She traveled long distances, worked long hours, and still barely made living wages. The rent was overdue and ...
lived with and was raised by her father and the maid. She never had a
Showing her options: Showing her resources, to help her provide for her family, finding her a safe place live, obtaining a job and going to back to school
The most common pattern is that the older sibling becomes the abuser of the younger sibling, often against his or her will. In many cases, both parents were inaccessible. The fathers were deceased, or had abandoned their families after the birth of the child. The mothers were non-available because of drug addiction, alcoholism and/or mental illness. Further, families with non-divorced parents were characterized by parents engaged in extramarital affairs and exposing the children to a sexual climate. The absence of the father in chaotic families can lead to girls being abused by their brothers. In one study, 32 adolescent sibling offenders and 28 adolescent non-sibling offenders were compared (Royzman, Leeman, & Sabini, 2008)The sibling offender group reported significantly more marital discord (between parents), parental rejection, physical discipline, negative family atmosphere and general dissatisfaction with family relationships. Family factors related to sibling incest namely, parental rejection, abuse and marital conflicts.
... other party seems unconcerned with all these emotional gymnastics. It seems she is making the compensations for now, though she openly questions the wisdom of this arrangement for the future.