Joseph Ahn
Period 1
Puppy, Two Kinds, Powder
Essay
Versions Of Love
Love is represented in various ways. Some people understand love differently than others. In the end, love is what fuels many of people’s decisions. In the three short stories, “Puppy”, “Two Kinds”, and “Powder”, a parent is willing to take any sort of action to give their child eventual happiness. Even if it means backlash, the parents are willing to risk and sacrifice. Although, the parents of each stories, represent their love in different fashions, they are all meant to give their child a more improved life.
In the story “Puppy” by George Saunders, two mothers, Marie and Callie have troublesome sons that they desperately try to contain. Marie can control her son josh’s
…show more content…
Between father and son we can see a representation of modern day "broken home” situations. The role of father and son has been reversed in this story. Not only does their relationship contain holes, the son seems to be the more mature one of the two. The values of being part of a family has sabotaged the Father’s marriage with his son’s mother. He is an a man who has a constant need for adrenaline, and that rush he gets what makes him constantly ask his ex-wife for forgiveness. As the father rushes to get his boy, home to his mother, he is blocked off by police after a “dangerous” snow storm. He decides to drive past the barricade when police leave and although he is trying to please the boy’s mother, to the son, it is just another one of his rushes. Everything the father lacks in family values, his son covers with nervousness. He “sticks to his father like white on rice.” During the nervous car ride in a car that the father can barely afford, the father calms the boy down and helps him take in the moment, by talking about his and his son’s strong points. At the end of the story, the narrator concedes that they are going to be caught and resigned to it. He “began to enjoy
In the story “Puppy” by George Saunders, one reads about the life of two very different mothers. Introduced first is Marie, an upper-class woman who acts like her children. Secondly, there is Callie who is a working-class woman with a somber tone. While both women have very different lives they have a great deal in common such as their kids have behavioral disorders and both had parental issues growing up which makes them imperfect parents. Even though the story talks about the lives of both women more compassion is shown towards Marie’s character. Although Callie is revealed to be just as remarkable as Marie in the second section, she comes off as secondary to Marie’s character throughout the story. Saunders created Marie with an emotional
Parenthood was a factor in the boy’s life, this ideas gives you an insight on what he wanted the reader to convey. here are two different emotions running through this story from both the boys. In the author Wes Moore the emotion you feel while reading it is hurt and compassion.
Parenting played a big role in shaping the two boys lives. Having a parental mentor is important because they assist and guide children to take the right decisions about their lives. The author had his two parents at the beginning of his life. Also, the author’s parents, especially his mother, tried to raise him in an effective way wanting him to know the right from wrong at an early age. “No mommy loves you, like I love you, she just wants you to do the right thing” (Moore 11). This quote was a live example of the author’s life with his parents. It reflected the different ways his parents used to teach him “the right thing.” Though his mother was upset from his action toward his sister, his father
The father does not comply with his son and leaves the naked man alone in the cold. This further shows the differences between the boy and his father. The final contrast between the two is exemplified with the ending. Throughout the book the reader is allowed to assume that if the son dies in the novel then the father would consequently commit suicide. At the end of the story when the father dies first the boy stays strong and decides to blindly follow other survivors and put his faith in them. Throughout, the story; however the father doesn't put any trust into anyone. His son, being a foil of him decides to put his faith into other survivors and takes a leap of faith and follow them their camp. This instance further shows the stark difference between the father and the son.
The relationship between the two fathers and the two sons is a very important theme in this book. Because of their different backgrounds, Reb Saunders and David Malters approached raising a child from two totally different perspectives.
Paper 2: The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook
A mother and a child. A love that transcends no bounds. To give up a child leaves a hole that nothing can fill. An empty abyss. In the heat of the moment, the mother is convinced that she is doing right by the child. Giving that child a life that they themselves will not be able to give. It hurts to leave, but they know deep down, that the sacrificing of their happiness for the child’s well-being is what is best. In the photograph Mother and child by Jerome Liebling, the mother stands, child in arms, before the steps. Before the steps of giving up the one piece of joy she has in her life. Holding a blank expression on her face, trying not to show any emotion as it would only make what she is about to do harder. She is tired, worn down by the weight of the world. Contemplating what she is about to do, although she knows it will not help.
The son however is the ‘faith’ within the story. He is the hope for a better future. The son is more trusting towards others and therefore becomes upset and quiet when his father doesn’t agree with him. “I’m afraid for that little boy” – The son has never seen another young boy and is frightened for him but his father shrugs off his pleas to help him and says “I know but he’ll be alright”. Towards the end of the book it appears that the father and his son become distant to each other due to their diverse personalities. It could however be seen that the son is a lot more knowledgeable about dangers and therefore does not need his father as much.
While reading Dr. Bruce Perry’s The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, I found the case of Peter to be the most interesting. At the age of three Peter was rescued from the inhumane conditions of a Russian “baby warehouse” in which one caretaker was responsible for the wellbeing of thirty wailing newborns (Perry and Szalavitz 218). This less than ideal solution for the issue of finding appropriate childcare left Peter and hundreds of other infants deprived of human interaction. During such a crucial period of brain development, this lack of attention had serious repercussions. Luckily, Peter was adopted by extremely devoted American parents who would help pave
In this story the love the father demonstrates trying to win back his family by taking his son on a ski trip shows how the father loved his son very much. His dad fought for the right to spend some time with his son. He would not give up until the son’s mom let him take his
This story also paints the picture of a father who would not give up on regaining his time with his son. It shows the father desperately trying to rectify the mistrust issues he created because he stated to the boy when they were sitting in the diner after the highway patrol redirected them away from the snow-covered route home that she would never forgive him if he did not get the boy home for
Several things that happen in this book are a result of what the father and son do in their relationships for
Early on in the novel, the reader begins to learn that the The Man and The Boy have a very close and intimate bond. Rather than causing a strain on the their relationship, the isolation that constantly follows the pair on The Road actually made their bond as father and son stronger . Traveling along The Road by themselves causes The Man and The Boy’s relationship to become extremely codependent. The Boy relies on The Man like any child would rely on their father. The Boy completely counts on The Man for everything, including food, shelter, clothes, and everything else that is needed to survive on The Road. The Man keeps them safe from the “bad guys” and keeps them alive and as healthy as he can. The Boy’s needs are always put before The Man’s needs. However, The Man depends upon The Boy just as much as The Boy depends on him. If it weren’t for The Boy, The Man would have been dead a long time ago. The only reason that he has survived this long is because of The Boy. Making sure The Boy survives is the only meaning that The Man has to his life. The Boy’s continued existence is the most influential motivation
In Stephen Crane’s short story of “A Dark Brown Dog”, he writes about a young boy who finds, neglects, and befriends a ragged puppy, with a rope dragging the ground, when they meet. The boy takes fun in abusing the puppy, but when he tires of this he makes his way home. The puppy, even though the boy was not nice, starts to follows the boy home. When arriving home the boy defends the puppy to claiming him as his own. The boy’s father agrees to allow the boy to keep the puppy. The boy and the puppy grow very fond of each other. The puppy was abused but always showing his love even after his abuse. Then the story takes a very sad, gruesome turn for the young dog.
This story reflects the recent society. Most people think love in a weird way such that they would be satisfied while their partner suffers. The story put all these phenomena in a conversation that perhaps lasted only for 15 minutes which surprises me as the complicated situations could be simplified and illustrated with few lines, and it clarifies and we learnt