Ashes By Susan Beth Pfeffer Summary

When Lori and Jeanette are growing older, they decide they want to move to New York City to start a new life, away from their parents. Lori and Jeanette get jobs and begin to earn money. They hide their earnings from their parents in a piggy bank they named Oz. One day Jeanette tries to find Oz to put her paycheck in. Instead she says to Lori “Someone has slashed him apart with a knife and stole all the money” (Walls 228). The kids knew right away who had stolen it. It was Dad. When Lori confronted Dad with the news about Oz, he started playing dumb, acting like he had not idea what was going on. But in fact he did steal the money. This action shows that Dad is very selfish and only cares about himself.

In Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People,” the main characters’ trust is put to the ultimate test. Trapped in vulnerable situations, the protagonists become powerless and have to put their trust in the hands of the “bad guy.” As a result, the main characters fall victim to manipulation. Those who were once in total control of their situations are now stripped of their superior titles and are taken advantage of by the person they once trusted. Egos are bruised in the game of trust and manipulation in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People.” The grandmother and Joy-Hulga are taught lessons of a lifetime that changes the way they see themselves and life forever.

She struggles with accepting reality, even when there are clear signs of the truth. An example of this is when her father warns her about playing with fire after she burns their shed down and endangers her brother, saying “you all got a little to close to it today” (Walls 61). As her story continues she starts to see the consequences fire creates. After burning down a hotel, putting her whole family in danger she excepts the truth about what it does and slowly starts to further herself with it.During this time her parents actions start to affect her siblings in a worse way and she starts to have doubts about her father stating, “I listened to dad’s plans and tried to encourage him, hoping that what he was saying was true but I was also pretty sure it wasn’t” (Walls 171). As fire becomes more absent in her life so does the hope that her parents will succeed at improving their

Once Lily accepts what she has done and learns that her mother's death did not make her a bad person, her conflict can finally be resolved. As a result of resolving her conflict, she is able to mature because of the struggle, just like other people are able to grow and evolve from their own mistakes. This is evident when she admits "Before coming here, my whole life had been nothing but a hole where my mother should have been, and this hole had made me different, left me always aching for something, but never once did I think what he'd lost or how it might've changed him" (Kidd 293). Lily finally realizes that her mother's death has not only affected her, but also her father, T. Ray, and the calendar sisters. Through the course of Lily's struggle, Lily learns a lot about life and matures into a wiser

On September 11th 2001, 70 years old Rita Laser lost her brother. Along with Kelly, Colleen, David, Eva, and Amber who as well lost someone special to them in the attack. Many of the victims families hid in silence after the attack, full of sadness, the government was trying to get revenge for the victims that were lost in the attack. However Rita Laser had a different outlook, she and others did not want revenge by killing other, her, Kelly, Colleen, David, Eva, and Amber were all trying to install peace into the world not start a war. In Sue Halpern’s “A Peaceful Mourning” describes that in the aftermath of the attack they have all devoted their lives into advocating peace throughout the world, in their lost one’s name.

There is a part in the beginning of the story where Ashes, says“When I was little, Dad used to promise me the stars for a necklace, but like most of his promises, that one never quite happened.” This quote explains that he speaks more and is actionless. He has promised her things and accomplished nothing. If he had bought her a necklace with fake stars, it would make Ashes feel like her at least cared for her. He did not have to hype her up with hopes and then destroy them by not fulfilling it.

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.

When you start forgetting all of the people that were so significant before and don’t remember why it is you loved someone or something so much then you’re already an unrecognizable man. Your morals, thoughts, and passion all fades away until you’re left with a feeling of neither caring nor not caring. When he couldn’t find his father in the camp, closer to the end of the novel, he mused, “But at the same moment this thought came to mind: ‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself.’ Immediately I felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever.” Despite this thought of his only lasted for a split second before he felt shame, it still speaks a lot. Surely he didn’t actually wish for his father to die but it implies all of the baggage and antagony he felt that blinded him and made him forget who he was and who he loved before the world he knew collapsed.

By Micheal Patrick MacDonald. (Ballentine Books under The Random House Publishing Corporation, 1999, 266pp. $14.00)

A decision is effective no matter what it may be. And Ashleigh, a girl from the short story “Ashes”, has to make a difficult decision. Ashleigh’s parents are divorced, but her father is the more supportive parent, her mother has a more negative attitude. “You’re one in a million.”-Page 2, Her father would tell her. “They’ll laugh at your dreams, even your mother-and she's a saint to have put up with me all those years-even she will discourage you from being all you can be. I hate to speak against her, but she’s not a dreamer, Ashes.”- Page 2, Her father said, explaining how Ashleigh’s mom is. And what he said is true. -“Her name is Ashleigh!” Mom shouted. “A name you insisted on. So why do you call her Ashes?” “That's

Ashleigh’s decision was to obey her dad and steal the money because he does nice things for her.Her dad takes her out to eat, a quote that supports this can be found on page 2,”There’s a new diner, that opened right around the block.Let’s treat ourselves, Ashes,and go out on the town.”Another example of her dad doing nice things for her is that he gives her gifts.A quote that helps support this is on page 1,”But then,dad gave me roses or sang a song he had written for me.”One last example of him doing nice things for Ashleigh is that he lets her get whatever she wants.An example of this is found on page 3,”Take your pick,Ashes.Hamburger,triple-decker,chicken salad platter.Whatever you want.”

Bynum uses Ivy’s father as an example of all worried parents who are dealing with unsatisfactory relationships with their kids because of

Destyni Holmes Mrs. Ragusky 7th hour ““One in a million,” he said. “And don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise, Ashes,”(pfeffer, 2). Ashes is the only child of a divorced family and is forced to make a difficult decision the could change her life for better or for worse. One way could make her mother mad and disappointed and the other could disappoint her father. She has to make this decision...do I take the money or do I not.

“Dad took a booth that faced the door and sat in the seat where he could check who is coming in. he hadn't done that with me in a long time, and my stomach was hurting an old familiar way. ‘waiting for someone? I asked him.”(Pfeffer,3) ashes new something was up when her dad took his seat. THe story said“‘It's nothing, he said. oh, well ashes, you can always see right through me. he was the one who's been looking right through me toward the door…” Ashes dad is trying to sweet talk her into something he was trying to get sympathy to convince Ashley to give him the money. “ I had a thought he said as she reached for my pickle. Your mother keeps a couple hundred cash at her place”(Pfeffer,3) Ashes dad took her out to dinner just to get the money he needs it. He was trying to convince her while giving her a treat of going out to dinner. Ashleighs dad took her out to eat to just to get the money out of

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.