Negligence in The Farmer´s Children Essay

Throughout the novel, the author, Barbara Kingsolver, uses various stylistic devices to create complex, symbolic, and significant literature that is also rich in meaning. In the assigned passage, Kingsolver incorporates several literary devices to capture the audience’s attention and leave them with something to think about post reading.

In the sixth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster examines the Bible and its importance throughout stories, poetry and film. The Bible is one of the most commonly known pieces of literature and is even “nonsectarian” in Foster’s eyes (44). Because stories from the Bible are so well known, the Bible is a tremendously easy for authors to reference when constructing a new composition. Especially “prior to sometime in the middle of the twentieth century” writers were “solidly instructed in religion” and could count on the public being very well acquainted with Biblical stories (47). This widespread knowledge of the Bible lead to greater understandings throughout literature, and the recognized allusions helped

The townspeople were grateful and relieved to have the children back in their lives because they truly believed they had lost them forever. I would have reacted the same way as the village because losing something you care deeply about has a major effect on your life. Twain’s descriptive detail helped me imagine the town’s emotions. The emotions expressed in this passage remind me of many television dramas where the child goes missing and is found without any physical harm done to them. I’m certain the children will never truly understand the worry they had caused. All of the children should have been more considerate and thought about the consequences they would face in the future. This passage shows me that the town cares for the children

The Winter is the opposite of summer, during the winter not only does the winter change but the town's appearance. The houses that once looked artificial were exposed and looked abandoned. “Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie...The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops...they are so much more uglier then when their angles were softened by vines and

Negligence per se is when there is a form of negligence on the violation of public duty when there is a failure of care administered. It is also applied when a person does something that is not part of reasonable behavior. A plaintiff does not necessarily have to prove otherwise that a reasonable person could have acted any different in a situation. The way for a plaintiff to generally try and prove that the defendant has violated the statute to where the acts of the defendant could have caused damage or pain to where it was against what the statute represents and prevents. For example, if a doctor was operating on a person and accidently leaves an instrument that was used inside of the person that would be considered negligent under those

The parenting styles of Rex and Rose Mary were significantly different from the norm. While many parents believed in “setting rules and punishments for breaking the rules” (Walls 91), the Walls believed that “the best way to let children fulfill their potential was by providing freedom” (Walls 73). In fact, Rose Mary had her children “suffer when [they were] young”, believing that it helped “immunized [their] body and [their] soul” (Walls 28). In addition, Rex and

King incorporates a myriad of stylistic devices that shape and develop the theme of the passage in the book. Through the periodic use of rhetorical questions such as,

The composer continues to describe the Winter, again using descriptive language to create a cold harsh environment, and allow the reader to sympathise for the duckling. With the life-threatening act of being ‘frozen fast in the ice’, comes the only act of real kindness that is present in the story as a farmer rescues

Furthermore, Hughes uses the rhetorical device of allusion when he writes about his aunt’s bringing him to the church for a special meeting. When he writes, “Then just before the revival ended, they held a special meeting for children, ‘to bring the young lambs to the fold’’’ (1), he attempts to correlate his invitation to salvation to a Biblical parable. Along with his reference to the Bible, he conveys the church member’s excitement with vivid imagery. He illustrates the church’s setting as being infuse with “all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell”, and he also describes the preacher’s sermon as a “wonderful rhythmical sermon” (3). Conjointly, Hughes presents imagery of the churchgoers and alludes to a Biblical story in order to demonstrate the magnitude of the religious enthusiasm of the members of the church.

In conjunction with the symbolic representation of Elisa’s life, the dramatic description of the environment can also be seen as a unique representation of the relationship conflict between husband and wife. Steinbeck’s foggy description demonstrates conflict through the following statement, "a time of quiet and waiting." This description is interesting because the fields are personified as waiting for rain, however, “rain and fog do not go together” therein lies the conflict just as Elisa waits for a positive change in how her husband treats her (Palmerino, Gregory J). Gregory P. further points out that, “The natural elements of the foothills ranch seem as unwilling to confront each other as the characters that inhabit its environs. Hence, fog and rain can be seen as the female and male equivalents to Elisa and Henry.” This only further solidifies the deep rooted troubles within Elisa and her relationship with her husband. The setting of the story is personified to act as a symbolic representation of the couple’s relationship (Steinbeck, John 337-338).

The relationship between Precious and her mother are not stable and cannot be characterized as positive. Precious, particularly exhibits an avoidant attachment style. Certainly, such a situation leaves a negative imprint on the Precious’ stress response system. Mary’s actions towards her daughter Precious, from the hitting, name callings to mind controlling, it is easy to conclude what type of a parent she also is. Low in warm and high in control, Mary is an authoritarian parent. Not only is she an authoritarian parent she also puts Precious under constant chronic stress. There are many evident of the kind of chronic stress she puts Precious under. To name a few, Mary allows her daughter to be raped by her husband, when she hits her with a frying pan and when she tried to kill her with a Television. (Precious, 2009.) Indeed, Precious expects her mother to be more helpful and sensitive to her, however, in reality she does not find the reaction and behavior she was looking for from her mother. This in turn creates a distorted cognitive schema about herself (her personality), others (being able to relate to others) and the world (Perry, 2011.) As a consequence of this, Precious is constantly anxious. Precious also seems to avoid forming relationship with others, by being skeptical of everyone who tries to help. She does not seek help

“Children shouldn’t have to sacrifice so that you can have the life you want. You make sacrifices so that your children can have the life that they deserve.”- Unknown. In the book The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls readers are given a front row seat into a family that is constantly being destroyed by the parents. This book allows readers an inside look at having an alcoholic father and an absent mother. There’s no such thing as “normal”, but society often expects certain things from it’s citizens - things like holding down a job, responsibly raising children, and giving back in some way, but in The Glass Castle, Rex and Rose Mary Walls do none of these things. Rex and Rose Mary walls have trouble keeping their jobs, maybe it’s because

King uses simile and metaphor in his letter in order to accentuate his religious identity and moral sense. In paragraph three, following King’s

Within “Winter, Frontal Lobe,” Brecken Hancock shares grief, as well as deteriorated mental health steaming from the authors mother. Sorrow and depression due to the mental distance of a loved one can be shown through the tone and mood used by the author. Hancock uses a guilty and desperate tone corresponding with dark and dreary diction. This aspect results from the sadness and hopelessness that Hancock projects to us about the devastating illness that is slowly taking her mother's life. Hancock describes dark hair as “blighted” (1) to represent the devastation, disruption, and infection felt by not only the hairs on top of heads but rather the cells decaying in heartbroken bodies. Dark hairs belonging to “slighted bodies [that] blob up” (5). The author shows her repulse by speaking of the bodies without proper respect and attention. Hancock describes her hand as “cauterized” (7) in which infection and illness of physical wounds may be healed yet mental illness may

The children assume roles within the family to make up for the deficiencies of parenting. Sharon Wegscheider referred in her book to these roles within the family as the “Hero,” the “Scapegoat,” the “Lost Child,” and the “Mascot.”