Some Things Never Change?

Losing a parent is presumably an unthinkable concept for those lucky to have them alive, but sometimes the title of “parent” dies long before a body is placed in the ground. Toi Derricotte author of “Beginning Dialogues” unfortunately had to experience both the death of her mother’s title of “parent”, as well as her literal death. Derricotte’s parents had divorced when she was eighteen, and her father did not seem to play much of a role in her life; she was left to be raised by her mentally abusive mother. Her mother also had a tough road to walk growing up, having to face and deal with brutal issues like racism and bulling. Persevering through those tough times may be the underlining reason behind Derricotte’s mother’s negativity and abuse towards her daughter. Perhaps she just grew a thick skin at a very young age and had never learned how to feel, accept, or administer love. Derricotte’s had said: “She told me all my life she loved me, as if she completely forgot the hundred slights, humiliations, threats, and insinuations. Of course she loved me;

This type of upbringing would lead one to believe that her life would not amount to anything and torn by the fact that she was not residing with her family. However, subconsciously, when she needed reassurance, her paternal mother’s words to her would always surface in her mind, “Sunshine, you’re my baby and I’m your only mother, but you must obey the one taking care of you but she is not your mama”.

I’d never understood what those simple words meant, and what they would come to mean in the years to come. All my small eyes were able to see was my family. That was all we were, the only normal I knew. The label had become a dark monster, demanding and frank, a massive foil to my beliefs before that night. In our tiny universe it was normal to hide things and lie, just so mother wouldn’t overreact and stress out; it was normal for her stress to climb high as a mountain, sending her plummeting into depression; it was normal for her to stay in bed all day, demons keeping her down; and it was normal for her to go away for a while, and to only be told she was sick. This time was different; I watched it through my innocent eyes; and I realized that we were not the normal I had

There are many events in this book that display the obvious transformation in Ma’s character. From private internal suffering to the unconditional love she shares with each family member, there is no doubt that Ma had the vastest change of personal development throughout this entire

Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go feature two young women, Sabbath Lily Hawks and Kathy H., whose nontraditional childhoods affect their relationships with others, their self-confidence, and their perception of family. While Sabbath and Kathy both come from abnormal homes, their respective upbringings inform the way they relate to the world and how they show affection. Sabbath will show love and attention towards anyone or anything. Kathy becomes giving in every sense of the word: a member of an organ farm, she is internally and eternally magnanimous. Her charity extends to her emotionality as she puts herself behind those whom she cares about, like her friends Ruth and Tommy. Structurally and emotionally, a “traditional” family is consistent, dependent, supportive, and trustworthy and because Sabbath and Kathy did not have traditional families, they must go to extremes in order to feel important, loved, and wanted.

Sister immedietly began to pack her things, she decide she would take everythin that belonged to her and live in the P.O that Papa Daddy had brought for her. Sister made sure that everone knew she was leaving she snatched the pillow she needle pointed right from under Papa-Daddy, next she took back the charm bracelet she gave her sister, the fern that she only waterd , the radio , the sewing machine that she helped pay for," a good big calendar, with the firsy-aid remideis. The thermometer and the Hawiian ukellele" that she thought feor certain were hers. ‘the watermelon preserves and every fruit and vegetable

Sharon Olds writes extensively on family and relationships, addressing the many roles of the woman: mother, daughter, and lover – roles and experiences that she addresses candidly in a relatable and near-confessional manner through defamiliarization, candid description, and imagery. Readers take these simple examples to heart, visualizing and understanding each scenario Olds describes, ultimately able to relate. Assuming the narrator of the poems included in Part III of her 1983 collection of poems within The Dead and the Living is Olds’ own voice, readers are able to trace her personal transformation from someone with a troubled childhood to a strong mother for her own children, specifically in how she aligns her personal development with

The mother begins to rebel against tradition by taking an active role in educating and freeing herself. Through her radio, telephone and trips out with her sons she develops her own opinions about the world, the war, and the domination and seclusion of woman. She loses her innocence as a result to her new knowledge and experience.

The morning wind is as cold as ice, slicing passed my skin while I’m standing against it. It always like today of every year: cloudy, cold and sad. Like the sky is crying with me. I blend down to a tall, sleek, marble stone with the name “Amelia Bennett” written on it. That’s my mother’s name. She died when I was 7 year-old, it’s odd that I have the memories of her very clearly in my brain. Most children probably won’t. But I do, and I when I do, I missed her. I don’t even know what happened on that tragic day. I was blacked out and the next thing I remember is that she’s now laying deep underneath my feet. No one knows what happen, or no one wants to talk about it, not even my aunt. She’s the one that take me in after the accident. Why? Because

The bond between a mother and child is often spoken of as being unlike any other. Yet there are always exceptions to the rule where this connection isn 't as impenetrable as one might assume. This book is an example of this bond gradually becoming weaker over time. It shows how it affects the child, Bone, and leaves her vulnerable to the abuse of her step-father. Bone’s mother, Anney, had fallen in love with a man who abused her which at first, she’s unaware but eventually comes to realize but still chooses to stay with him. Throughout the book there are instances of Anney’s negligence in recognizing her daughter’s abuse and being of aid to her but wasn 't. In having to deal with her

“But perhaps it is because I am no longer a child I can know your presence though you are not there,” (Kogawa 267). She is capable of understanding that her mother loved her although she is not there, and that her lack of communication was a silence of love and protectiveness rather than a form of rejection or abandonment. On a positive note, Naomi realizes that grief is not permanent. “The song of mourning is not a lifelong song.” (Kogawa 270).

As the eighth child, I received little to no attention from both mother. Partly due to my father deceased a year after I was born, which dispersed my whole family structure. The loss of my father put my mother into a confused state, which forced her to seek out help from my father brothers and sisters. My six oldest siblings sent to live with my uncle and some close friends of my parents who were kind enough to accept my mother’s request. My sister and I stayed with my mother for short a period, then my mother moved into a new city left with my aunt.

Imagine that one day, your parents inform you that they plan to come and visit in the metropolitan area where you live. A couple of days later, you find out that your mother disappeared in the subway station on her journey and “it's been one week since Mom went missing” (Shin 3). In the book, Please Look After Mom, Kyung Sook Shin writes about a narrative where individual members of the family reflect, discover, and reevaluate the role of a mother in the family after her sudden disappearance. Throughout the story, Shin uses a second-person narrative structure and the themes of motherhood and self-sacrifice to pull on the reader’s heartstrings with the message that family members must be able to show love, gratitude, and respect for their mother

Claudia expresses again and again how marginalized she and her sister perceived themselves to be, "Adults do not talk to us - they give us directions" (10). When Claudia thinks back to a childhood illness she suffered, she remembers her mother's irritation at finding her sick in bed. Claudia questions the reliability of her perceptions of pain and confusion, "But was it really like that? As painful as I remember? Only mildly. Love...eased up into that cracked window" (12). Claudia's mother's irritation is tempered with compassion; she coats Claudia's phlegmy chest with salve and "hands repinned the flannel, readjusted the

The small boy held an age-worn paper between his fingers of his other hand. This paper held the letter from a woman he knew only as Mother. Whether or not this stranger was in fact his real mother, he did not know. No one seemed to know who his mother was. Not even his half-sister, Dirala, knew the birthmother of her half-brother. Someone had once