Lit. & Comp.
“Nighttime Fires” pg. 587
“Nighttime Fires”
“Nighttime Fires” is a narrative poem written by Regina Barreca. The poet uses powerful imagery which vividly illustrates the lasting impression made upon a girl whose father seeks satisfaction through witnessing the destruction caused by nighttime fires. The poem creates a picture in the reader’s mind of the father’s character as his grown child still remembers from when she was five years old. Although it is obvious that the father is a victim of an economy that caused him to be without a job, his actions are bizarre and inexcusable. The father takes his family to see fires during the night when they are asleep. He drags his wife and his children out of bed so
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The father’s relationship with the mother and his children does not appear to be a loving one. He makes his wife do the work of getting the children up in the middle of the night, unconcerned about the sleep that children need or the fact that his wife does not share his love of watching nighttime fires. The mother does not look at the burning house; instead, she only watches her husband. To the
Johnson provides a brief account of the novella 's plot, together with his own perspective on the fact that so much of literature and literary analysis concentrates on the relationships that the characters have. In this case, the author examines the family as composed of children of ineffectual parents. While this writer does not know this with certainty, it is possible that many cases requiring family therapy are due to this very cause. The author then goes on to discuss the family in the context of the greater social system.
The narrator, “Steve”, finds himself questioning the relationship between his mother and father. Initially “Steve” disliked his father, seeing him as the Kontrabida, distancing himself from everything related to him. He would see his mother as a hero throughout his life. It is only when his mother killed his father that he realized she wasn’t a hero. His understanding of a hero had always been one who “did not win by stooping to revenge; there was a pristine fundamental goodness in his soul that radiated out to crush the villain”. The entire image of his mother was turned upside down over the span of his
The poems "Nighttime Fires" and "Seniors" both deal with memories of their authors' experiences as youth. In "Nighttime Fires", Regina Barreca talks about how after her father lost his job, he developed an unhealthy obsession with watching houses burn, and she discusses how he involved his family in this somewhat insalubrious fixation. Similarly, in "Seniors", Alberto Rios discusses several events that had an impact on him and the word choices he uses relays that he still While Barreca implies in her poem that she learned from what her father did and moved on, Rios suggests that he is still allowing the events of his childhood to impact him today and in some sense, this could be compared to the father in "Nighttime Fires" who would not let
The first right, that of sleeping alone and owning her nights, describes an internal conflict which Grandmother carried. While she truly loved her family, she yearned for space and freedom. She wanted to control at least some part of her life, but
Then, the story goes to express the changes the father-in-law has experiences and how contrasting is his past with his present. He apparently is being affected by an undefined condition, which has made him change in temper and personality. During several moments, the narrator’s father-in-law presents issues of insecurity and some aggressiveness, and in others, he delights the family with the appearance of a sudden charismatic behavior. At some point, the narrator and her husband, after a brief discussion, recognize their responsibility as children to take future care of their parents. The narrator reveals at the end the acknowledge of her father-in-law permanent change in character and how much it affects them. Jen’s central idea relates how there is a cyclical change in family roles and responsibilities between sons and elder parents that naturally repeats itself. It also suggests that when issues are presented, the duties can be overwhelming for the new
The first passage reveals the parallel suffering occurring in the lives of different members of the family, which emphasizes the echoes between the sufferings of the father and the narrator. The narrator’s father’s despair over having watched
The poem Nighttime Fires by Regina Barecca explains the speaker’s complex view of her father. The speaker uses imagery to describe her father’s strange behaviours after losing his job. Figurative language is used strategically to explain the memories of this young girl’s strange adventures. The diction in this poem is also used very well helping us to understand why these nighttime fires left such a lasting impact on this grown woman from when she was only five years old. All of these things are very important to the progress of the poem and the engagement of the reader.
The father’s way of dealing with his inner issues is reflected by the way he distracts himself with hobbies of the women he loves. This illustrates how a sudden tragedy can influence someone’s lifestyle. In fact, before his first wife passed away he showed a lot of interest in art and when she died he was lost and devastated ,” (…) after mom died, my sister and I used to worry about his living alone. And he was lonely.We knew that after putting in his usual twelve-hours workday, he would return to the empty house (...) then read medical journals until it was time to go to sleep.”(16). This implies that
A father’s true objective lies in his mind and commitment to his family. Debauchery becomes irrelevant and a sense of achievement overcomes. Such standards set for an ideal father are mere facades of what was deemed “normal” in a typical white household. However that is not the case for Jeannette Walls. Unlike many, Walls has experienced a permissive childhood of exploration and adventure that brought about several realizations in her youth. One of these realizations was the concern of identifying the good will of an individual or the malicious intent they may bear. Though at the time, this was the least of her worries. What was undoubtedly coherent to Walls --- was the detriments of a father. The influence of a father that does not display unity, supply sufficient necessities, and presents ease diminishes his family’s happiness.
The narrator is totally crushed by the gender discrimination. She longed to be seen by her mother and her grandma. The narrator is heartbroken that her mother loved her brother more than her and failed to notice her. “When she went into Nonso’s room to say good night, she always came out laughing that laugh. Most times, you pressed your palms to your ears to keep the sound out, and kept your palms pressed to your ears, even when she came into your room to say Good night, darling, sleep well. She never left your room with that laugh” (190). Her agony can be easily seen by the way of her narrating. She does not get the affection that she deserves. She really needs the affection from her own mother, but she is not getting it. She compares the love which her mother shows to his brother and herself. This is gender discrimination can be seen with her grandmother too. She hated her grandma as she would always support her brother and find fault with her. Even though what the brother did, no matter what crime. Her mother and grandmother always supported her brother and never supported or showed interest towards
The plays, The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun, deal with the love, honor, and respect of family. In The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, the caring but overbearing and over protective mother, wants to be taken care of, but in A Raisin in the Sun, Mama, as she is known, is the overseer of the family. The prospective of the plays identify that we have family members, like Amanda, as overprotective, or like Mama, as overseers. I am going to give a contrast of the mothers in the plays.
The boy and the father have strong morals demonstrating a high level of authenticity, especially in a world where morality is extremely uncommon. To be ‘authentic’ means to genuinely be yourself. Although, as presented by Existentialism, one cannot be their true self until one has defined themselves. First, one must create their authentic selves, then they must live according to that (Varga). The father and the boy have strong principles to do what is right, even when their fellow survivors have completely abandoned morality altogether. At times, the father struggles with following said principles, however, he then justifies his actions which are purely for the safety of his son. This depicts that the father will do anything and everything to assure that the boy lives. The father expresses that “He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke” (5). When a man holds a knife to the son's neck, the father does not hesitate to kill him. Although this is
As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist. Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be. She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170). However, in a time
This arising tone of regret and distance is also formed by the speaker’s depiction of his father having “cracked hands that ached,” (1. 3) which further signifies the father’s struggle with the severe coldness. The concept of self-sacrifice is apparent in this portrayal of his father’s disregard to his own pain in order to provide warmth and light for his family’s home. The stirring of “banked fires blaze” (1. 5) within the house,
The use of comparative imagery throughout “The Victims” suggests that divorce induces suffering on the family sphere. During the first half of the poem a resilient (strong?) metaphor is present. The comparison between the family’s reaction to the father’s misfortunes and the way society responded to the disgraceful retreat from the U.S.