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
When people become parents they take on the responsibility of taking care of their children. Jeannette’s parents live in a fantasy world, with unrealistic wishes. They are blinded by this and lose sight of their children’s real needs. Jeannette says, “Mom gave me a startled look. I’d broken one of our unspoken rules: We were always supposed to pretend our life was one long and incredibly fun adventure”(69). Life is not a game of hide and seek, where some people can just hide/ shut out their problems. Problems must be faced because it is all a lesson. Life is real, and you only have one shot at it. Not realizing so can put yourself and others in danger. Jeannette is just wants some food to keep herself from starving. Her parents are selfish people that need to get their priorities straight and start living in reality.
As a result of these roles, the daughter’s and mother’s perspectives differ greatly, thus adding tension between the characters. Since the family moves a lot, the teenage daughter has her own concerns. Such as, making friends, and trying not to be the “new kid” in school all the time. On the other hand, the single mother, has other concerns. These include trying her best to support her daughter, and going to Costa Rica to complete her research so she can graduate; and this is all “for the better,” for her and her daughter. In an intense argument about moving to Costa Rica, the mother states, “...this a wonderful opportunity for you,” the daughter responds, “Opportunity? For me? Or for you?” This depicts the rising tension between the mother and daughter. It is obvious that in this scenario, the daughter felt like she was powerless, and that her other always gets to decide everything. This causes the daughter to become contrary and withdrawn. At one point in the story, the narrator goes into her room, and ignores her mother who is trying to talk to her from the other side of the door. In the text, her mother states, ‘She paused for a moment then continued. ”Would you please talk to me?”’ This emphasizes the conflict between the two, since the tension at this point reached it’s peak. Since the daughter isn’t replying to anything her mother says, this really implies the emotional stress both the mother and daughter went through. In general, it’s hard to constantly switching schools and trying to make new friends, but in this case, it becomes evident that the narrator is at the end of her line. She can’t take it anymore, all the moving, and “fitting in.” This establishes a strong sense of emotional struggle from the narrator’s perspective. By doing so, the author makes it blatantly obvious that the
Based off of the point of views of the children, the reader can tell what the struggles are. In Tortilla Sun, the daughter has issues comprehending that he mother was going away for a whole summer to finish her university. The girl takes this as that her mom is putting herself first because in both stories, one parent is gone. This leaves Izzy, the daughter, hurt and non-content with her mom’s choice. In Confetti Girl, the young girl’s day starts off well until her father brings up conversations about his job. Things having to do with English. The daughter does not enjoy English and believes it should spoken only about at school. The father ignores that and continues on ditching his not well cooked dinner to find books, and dedicates his questions to reading and vocabulary. The daughter feels suffocated in the dad’s job and not her own hobbies. The two stories are different by in Confetti Girl, the parent’s selfish ways is mild compared to the one in Tortilla Sun. The dad in one does not leave the daughter which has it not too horrid to deal with. In the other story, the mother is leaving for a whole summer just to pursue her study. Tortilla Sun has a worse situation than in Confetti Girl. Children learn from their parents and if you show them to ignore what they think they might do that to their own children. Since in both stories, their is one missing
Thesis/Central Idea: To understand that there are many parents raising their children alone with no help at all. Many single parents have different circumstances that cause them to raise their children by themselves. Being a single parent is not easy there are good days and bad days and most single parents must make it through no matter what. Many single parents do not realize that their children are looking at them for the rest of their lives.
The line between being an acceptable and unacceptable parent is often blurry and is seen on different perspectives when it comes to class, culture, and generation differences. Based on the two stories of Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds” and Tillie Olsen’s, “I Stand here Ironing” we see these two perspectives that derive from different maternal upbringings of the children in the stories. What is found between them is the conflict of being too little or heavily involved in a child’s life has had more negative outcomes during their childhood than positive.
One thing that almost everybody will have to deal with at least once in their lifetime is parenting. In parenting, both parents are needed to make the job easier on themselves, their marriage and their child. In the essay The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was. by Hope Edelman, Edelman tells her experience with co-parenting. Edelman, along with many women, initially believed that co-parenting was possible. She soon figured out, however, that it was not a realistic goal. Some points that Edelman hits in the essay are the gender roles and societal expectations in parenting, being the nurturer versus being the provider, and how poor communication can ruin
The stories Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez and Tortilla Sun by Jennifer Cervantes share many similarities; the most significant one being that the protagonists have different opinions than their parents. In the stories, the kids’ relationships with their parents causes tension in the conflict. The differences in points of view cause problems in Confetti Girl with the dad’s interest in education over a good lifestyle, and in in Tortilla Sun when the mom wants to send Izzy away to New Mexico.
A parent, by definition, is a mother or father to their offspring. But in reality, a parent’s role is much more significant. A parent is truly someone who spends time with their offspring, loves their offspring, a caregiver, and a nurturer. In Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Veldt,” Bradbury portrays how meaningful the role of a parent is. Bradbury shows the ups and downs any family may encounter. Bradbury is focuses on the role of the parents, since a parents role can make or break a family’s relationship. Therefore, the author uses the lack of disciplining children, importance of family dynamics, and indulging in material possessions to show the significance of a parent’s role in a family.
Most parents impose very high expectations on their children. While some expect their sons to become professionals in respected fields, others encourage their daughters to find good husbands. The parents impose these expectations without consulting their children. In most situations, the expectations of the parent deviate from the dreams of the child. This is what becomes evident when one reads Sandra Cisneros’ Only Daughter and Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue. In these short stories, the expectations that the parents of the narrators elicit mixed reactions. The expectations of the narrators’ parents hold them back from attaining personal goals while causing them to desperately desire approval and eventually accepting and embracing their parents..
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
Throughout history a one-parent household has been deemed as a nontraditional family, but in today’s society it seems more and more common with every day. Although the reason and causes vary, each year the number of children raised by a single parent increases. Most people don’t seem to realize how much this can change a child’s future. The impact of childhood experiences simply set the disposition of adulthood and the rest of their lives. There is not one sole factor that affects child development, but one very important one is the role and relationship created with one’s parents. How a child is parented and raised leaves a lasting impression on them, commonly for a
Parenting styles have had many controversial issues over the decades. The way people raised their children back in the 50’s and 60’s are completely different from today society. Back then they believe in the nuclear family, which is a family with a mom, dad, and children. They believe staying together at all cost. If something was breaking or broken you fixed it. At times you wonder if they stayed for love, money, or just for the sake of the children. Now and days it is not the same. Families are broken up for many reasons. Rather it be by death, the other parent wanting out (such as divorce). But in the end there is always a single parent left to take care of the kids in most situations. When something like this happens a negative connotation is brought to the single parent. This paper would show the effects of being raised by a single parent. Just like everything in life there is a good and bad side to everything. So in this paper you should learn the negative and positive effect of being raised by a single parent. The problem of the matter is that society tends to write off the child of single parents. Stating that they are lead down this road of destruction and grouping the entire single parent raised children without seeing the other side. Not saying that being raised by a single parent does not come with it hardships, but the fact is that there is still hope for those children and they can do very well. By always stating the negative it leaves the
In “Confetti Girl” by Diana Lopez and “Tortilla Sun” by Jennifer Cervantes are about two different points of views from the kids and parents, causing tension. “Confetti Girl” is about a girl who disagrees with her dad about her school work. She wants to play and focus on soccer, but her dad wants her to focus on her schoolwork. In “Tortilla Sun” is also about a girl who disagree with a parent. Her mother is going away to Costa Rica to finish her studies and she has to send her daughter to live with her grandmother she barely knows in New Mexico. In these two stories the children are disagreeing with their parents’ better judgments. I believe that what caused the tension is that the parents and kids aren’t agreeing on the same thing so it causes tension.
During the years, single parent families have become a more common thing. This is starting to become a problem, because family dynamics can really influence a child’s life. According to studies it affects not only the child but the parents too.