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Effects of a Neglected Childhood Essay

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Growing up is a process each child goes through to accomplish being an adult. Imagine a hole in the ground; the hole is a child's youth. The fresh earth soil cradles the hole like a mother cradles her newborn. The seed is the most important; the dwelling of all the childhood experiences. If the seed is planted firmly, given love, and nurtured, an able-bodied, active, and promising adult will be transformed. Then there is the hole that has been abandoned; never given love or attention. The soil is hard, and crumbles instantly when touched. The seed is filled with poverty, humiliation, ethnic diversity and an absent parent. The abandoned hole represents an impassive, comatose adult. A neglected childhood challenges people to attain a healthy …show more content…

Zitkala-Sa encountered humiliation while on a train ride. Children of the palefaces pointed and stared at her moccasins shoes and blanket; making the author feel inadequate and ashamed (110). In addition, humiliation can make a child helpless, and unable to help others. Gregory belittles himself through his story of a wino, which walked into the dinner Gregory was eating dinner. The wino orders all kinds of food; only to have no funds for the meal ticket. The owner begins to assault the wino, when Gregory offers to pay for the wino's meal; the wino responds, "Thanks, sonny, but it's too late now. Why didn't you pay it before?" Gregory concludes the story on how torn up he was for not helping the wino in time (120). In conclusion, humiliation can turn a child into an adult who shudders from life, and all it has to offer, for fear of humiliation. Ethnic diversity adds turmoil to a child’s upbringing. Imagine a child put on display simply because of a different ethnic background. Many children go through this kind of turmoil in America. Zitkala-Sa points outs, while sitting on the train ride to her new home in the east children would gawk and point their small fingers. Adults inspected her under a microscope like a parasite; just for being a bronze face (110). Gregory describes how he longed for the attention of a classmate he grew to adore. When she would approach his street; he would

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