Ashes By Susan Beth Pfeffer Summary

In present-day society, families go through several problems and arguments regarding numerous issues which would have been considered unacceptable in past times. Throughout a variety of different cultures, the level of respect and obedience for one’s parents has diminished while the negotiation of conformity and rebellion has risen. This statement is supported and evidential in two different stories, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Although these stories represent different cultures, they both exemplify the values and importance of family relations; as well as demonstrate in every culture families face social problems. In both these stories, two major topics stood out which allowed me to compare each one to one

Parents cling to their children wanting them to stay young forever, wanting endless memories and nothing to change, yet they must be able to part from these feelings to allow the child to grow. In the story “A Private Talk with Holly”, the author, Henry Felsen, uses symbolism to convey the central idea that if you love someone you have to let them go. When Holly, the main character of the story, talks to her Dad about changing her plans, he is faced with a difficult decision, but in the end he allows Holly to chase her dreams for her own good.

Losing a parent is presumably an unthinkable concept for those lucky to have them alive, but sometimes the title of “parent” dies long before a body is placed in the ground. Toi Derricotte author of “Beginning Dialogues” unfortunately had to experience both the death of her mother’s title of “parent”, as well as her literal death. Derricotte’s parents had divorced when she was eighteen, and her father did not seem to play much of a role in her life; she was left to be raised by her mentally abusive mother. Her mother also had a tough road to walk growing up, having to face and deal with brutal issues like racism and bulling. Persevering through those tough times may be the underlining reason behind Derricotte’s mother’s negativity and abuse towards her daughter. Perhaps she just grew a thick skin at a very young age and had never learned how to feel, accept, or administer love. Derricotte’s had said: “She told me all my life she loved me, as if she completely forgot the hundred slights, humiliations, threats, and insinuations. Of course she loved me;

The Canadian short stories “Brother Dear” by Bernice Friesen and “The Charmer” written by Budge Wilson focus on the struggles and common conflicts between parents and their children during adolescence. Both stories are told in the younger sister’s point of view and show how everyone matures and gains independence throughout and at the end of the story. Friesen and Wilson’s short stories over all focus mainly on the theme of dysfunctional families; which can be represented through the characters, symbolism, and conflict in the stories.

Gayle Forman said, “Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” In the story, Ashes, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Ashleigh’s parents are complete opposites. Her mother is logical and brutally honest, and her father is optimistic and, as he puts it, “a dreamer”. When her father needs money, Ashleigh is faced with a choice: to take money from her mom and damage their relationship, or endanger her father by keeping the money. Ashleigh chooses to take the money from her mother, because she makes it clear that she favors her dad, she agrees to help him even when she knows her mother won’t like it, and she cares much about her father’s well-being.

In Tobias Wolff’s “Powder,” the protagonist undergoes a pivotal moment in which his views of his parents’ relationship, his father’s behavior, and his own behavior are altered. This epiphany comes while the young man and his father are driving through “fresh powder” (Wolff 3) on the way home from a ski trip and he realizes that his parents’ marriage will essentially end when they get there. Instead of becoming downhearted at the moment, however, he decides to reverse his opinion of his situation and submits to the thrill of it. This pivotal moment shapes the meaning of “Powder” as it reveals a change in heart of the boy as he must accept the facts of his life and mature quickly. Whereas he initially views his father as a reckless man, his parents’ marriage as still salvageable, and his own behavior as proper, he subsequently looks at his father with a sense of admiration, his parents’ marriage with a lack of hope, and his own behavior with uncertainty.

    Humans have come to a conclusion that all lives are different, but all go through many hardships and tragedies. The impact from a slight difference can vary to be very vast to very small, such a slight difference, however, can change a person’s life as a whole. In the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore there is a difference that can be identified between the author’s life and that of the other Wes. This difference, though can be very critical and is ultimately able to lead to a path of triumph or failure for an individual. The lack of involvement a mother has for their child can fundamentally deprive them from succeeding, and parent involvement has the opportunity to

The other reading of the story might be based on the maturing of a young woman. As it is probably the most important period in every adolescent's life, when they keep searching for their own identity, it should by strongly influenced by their parents. If it is not, a teenager starts looking for directions outside their home, and sometimes has difficulties with distinguishing what is good and evil. They are very often affected by

50% of children experience the divorce of their parents according to www.marriage-success-secrets.com. In Ashes, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Ashleigh’s parents have been divorced for the last two years. She loves both of them but has a special soft spot for her dad. Ashleigh’s mom is a practical person and her dad is described as a dreamer. After a dinner with her father, Ashleigh receives a request. He wants her to to take her mom’s emergency money to pay off a deal he made. Ashleigh makes the decision to not give her dad the money because she questions the process and outcome, her father has a history of making irresponsible decisions, and the clouds symbolize her feelings towards her dad’s plan.

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s short story “Ashes” is about a girl named Ashes and her father. Ashes’s father tries to manipulate and convince her to steal $200 from her mother. He is being overly nice and butters her up to make her steal the money. Ashes starts to contemplate if she should trust her father and take the money. One lesson emerging from “Ashes” is that manipulation from someone you should be able to trust can be harmful.

Suffering, treatment, rehabilitation, and mental and physical illness are just some of the issues common alcoholics deal with. Aside from those complications, alcoholism has been a devastating problem, especially in Ireland, for hundreds of years. But who is really feeling the detrimental effects that most people assume the alcoholics themselves have to deal with? Ireland is culturally known to be “a race of drunks” and the long lasting effects due to alcoholic dependence truly defeats not just the alcoholics, but their families lives as well.

As we live on through our daily lives, many of us are unaware of what goes around us and never know when something bad will happen to us. The book Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani tells how a young girl named Claire was thinking differently of her biological father after finding a note that may tell that her father knew he was going to die. After filing an autopsy report of how he died, Claire was starting to be pursued by an unknown person. Understanding the fact that the school board wants to eliminate fiction books from the English curriculum, many of us are against this idea and believe fiction books should stay because these types of books tell what happens when you poke around where you don’t belong, what goes on in daily life, and

Angela’s Ashes is an autobiographical memoir written by Irish-American author Frank McCourt. McCourt is the oldest of five brothers and one sister. He along with four of his sibling were born in America in Brooklyn, New York and lived there until he was four and then moved back to Ireland because they had a hard time surviving in America. His family and moved back to Ireland in the midst of the Great Depression finding it hard for his father to get a job because of his alcoholism and his Northern manner. Throughout McCourt’s childhood he was caught in the middle of all the hardships his parents endured. Although, his family endured much struggle, that did not stop them from fulfilling his religious duties, such as First Communion. It also did not stop him and his brother, Malachy from going to school to learn more about their religion. In his early teens, he realized that his father had abandoned his mother and his siblings when he said he would go look for a job. At the age of 14, Frank stopped going to school and got odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. He remembers his childhood as the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. He himself decided to move back to America when he was 18 to get away from the poverty in Ireland.

In a country where Divorce is more normalized than ever before, one can be guilty of neglecting to consider the pain it can cause, not just the couple, but also their children. The short story “Hot or Cold” by Maile Meloy is a remembrance from the author's life which communicates the divorce of her parents represented in a nostalgic memory from her past. In the piece, the author’s young self plays in a van while her parents deal with an unexpected encounter with a bear. After a brief chase, the parents escape and the family drives away. The author masterfully develops the story by hinting at the nature of the parents relationship by adding clever metaphors, until it is apparent that the parents eventually divorce and that the story is only a dream. In the short story, the author utilizes juxtaposition, a motif, and metaphors, to suggest that memories create narratives, true or otherwise, that help one comprehend events that are otherwise incomprehensible.

Contrary to popular belief, parental discord does not necessarily adversely affect children’s lives. Both “Warren Pryor” by Alden Nowlan and “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod illustrate an important, although controversial, message. Regardless of parents’ good intentions for their children, their consistent agreement with one another can have a detrimental effect on their child’s decision making abilities. Both texts emphasize parental love for their children, and a desire for them to be happy and successful. There is however, one crucial difference. Whereas Warren follows the path laid out for him by his parents, the professor makes his own life choices. This distinction can be credited to the Warren’s parents’ steady agreement, as compared to the professor's parents’ dissonance.