The Struggles of Derricotte and Hernandez

In P.D. Cacek’s short story “The Grave”, Elizabeth, the protagonist, resents bad mothers and their cruel treatment towards their children because Elizabeth is a bad mother. In the start of the story, Elizabeth notices a forgotten grave and immediately jumps to the conclusion that the grave belongs to a bad mother. As time passes, she tries to find reasons to disprove her statement but fails. As she gets home, the reader is introduced to Elizabeth’s mother, and this relationship illustrates the tension between to two. When it’s almost time to sleep, it is revealed to the reader that as Elizabeth leaves the grave, she dug up Precious' body and only recovers the skull. There are numerous examples of what happens when a parent fail in their job

Few relationships are as deep as those between child and parent. While circumstance and biology can shape the exact nature of the bond, a child’s caretaker is the first to introduce them to the world. And as they grow and begin to branch out, children look to their parents as a model for how to interact with the various new situations. Through allusion, potent imagery, and nostalgic diction, Natasha Trethewey constructs an idolized image of a father guiding their child through life’s challenges only to convey the speaker’s despair when they are faced with their father’s mortality in “Mythmaker.”

In the novel “Out Of The Dust”, the main character Billie Jo viewed her mother in a very positive way, before her mother’s tragic death. She loved the way her mother played piano, and thought she was very talented, this inspired her to be like her mother, and to get as talented in playing piano as her mother. She loved her mother because her mother loved her deeply and showed it. Ma was so close to Billy Jo, and loving, and sweet to her, so billy Jo thought of her as the most kind, gentle, loving, and caring person as she always was. Billy Jo respected her mother, and loved her for being a positive role model for her to follow.

Sandra Cisneros illustrates in the poem “My Wicked Wicked Ways” a conflicted picture of a broken family. It presents the idea of unrequited love. The mother of the speaker is holding onto a man that has another partner, besides herself. Evidently, the father possesses strong feelings and emotions towards his beloved mistress. However, the mother belittles herself and accepts the infidelity. The hidden message behind “Here is my mother / She is not crying” reveals that the mother is unhappy about the abuse of her love and trust, but pretends to be okay for the sake of her child (Cisneros 185). Love and commitment goes hand and hand; it is impossible to have one without the other. Therefore, this example illustrates that the father does not wholeheartedly love his spouse. In consequence, his wife suffers emotionally and relinquishes these emotions through tears. The effects of this emotional abuse inflicted by unrequited love can subtly range from mood swings to a complete emotional shutdown. Crying is her most effective outlet. The poem continues with “She cannot look into the lens /because the sun is bright,” as it creates an excuse for the agony inflicted (Cisneros 185). It is evident that the mother of the speaker is only allowed to grieve short-term. Rather, she masks her emotions and allows it to kill her inside than to be portrayed as emotionally weak. Similar to the mother, most individuals that experience unrequited love tends to hide their sorrows because of shame. They are not only ashamed of their partners inability to love them correctly but at themselves for being ignorant to that fact. Many become angry at the world, few are in denial; most endure hopelessness, and others fall into a deep abyss of depression. What every individual that has experienced these one-sided expectations have in common is that they are all unhappy. Depression is the worst consequence of it all,

“When Your Mother is a Stranger” is an essay written by Heather O’Neill, where a nameless young woman runs into her long-forgotten mother who abandoned her young family in hopes of pursuing an independent lifestyle. Throughout the course of O’Neill’s writings, the narrator grieves over her bitter and motherless childhood as she recalls unfortunate memories. Heather O’Neill uses diverse literary devices such as tone and first person point of view to support the idea of ways in which poor parenting can negatively affect a child’s life.

She remembers when she was young, her parents would always tell her and her siblings that they can do anything as long as they were willing to work hard for it. Both her parents sacrificed themselves by having two jobs and giving up much of their personal life. Her father had a day job and a night job, while her mother was a schoolteacher and worked in Tupperware factory. By her parents doing this they had a good stable home, but this was a perfect example of that anyone can achieve what they want if they were willing to work for it. In the same way, she is doing the same thing that her parents were doing when she was young. She is passionate and works hard in everything she does. In the articles Lopez states, ”…admit to being and over-achiever and dedicating 110% of herself to whatever…” She sacrifices much as her time to finish projects or anything that she has started to work on. She is always committed to everything that she does, and always working hard in everything like her parents has taught

In the story “A Sorrowful Woman” by Gail Godwin the ‘woman’ was put under substantial expectations and pressure to be a mother to a child she did not love, when she could not meet those expectation she defied her role as a mother and died as a result. The women looking at her child makes her “sad

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s coming of age story “Ashes” is a narrative about a girl “Ashes” that has divorced parents. This can make it hard for her to connect to her father, who always is joking around and never seems to be taking Ashes, or anything, serious. Ashes’ father makes promises he can not always keep, and while her father means well, it makes her dream of things he can not or will not achieve. Throughout the beginning of the story you feel as if the mother is the antagonist of the story as she is always mad at the father,seems too “uptight, or that she does not think the father is good for Ashes. Towards the end of the story you feel that the mother is the right one as a result of what the father does. This shows that Ashes’ father doesn’t

Parents should lead their children and are prime examples for them and without this leadership and quality from a parent it can lead their children from not growing. With a similar fate of death Oscar and Lincoln both share this aspect, however, Lincoln lacks the support of his mom while Oscar has his mom in his life, “His mother and his abuela and his tio delivered the ultimatum and that was that”(305). Beli involves herself once Oscar gets beaten and he goes back to his old routine of following his fantasy and Oscar fails to change as the lack of parenting occurs in his life as Beli never pushes Oscar to grow and by not setting an example of herself. Although a parent is in their child’s life it doesn’t necessarily mean they are providing

In the essay, “Can We Love Our Battering Fathers?” Helen H. Gordon creates a sharp image of despair and pain in her family. By reflecting on her past with her family she paints a picture for the readers to imagine what she experienced. This is a reflective essay because as she chooses a Father’s Day card for her father she reflects on her past with him. The main cause of her despair is her father which is demonstrated through his attitude and treatment towards his family, especially her mother. She creates the feeling of haunting despair through the use of diction, allusions, and foreshadowing.

Internet blogger Helen Ramos once wrote, “A good son will never allow sorrow to befall [his] mother...and act as if he is an only child [who] cares...protects when no one dares...serves with his life in return. . .” While I could not prevent sorrow from befalling my mother, nor could I protect her; however, I have committed my life to serving her memory by becoming the son she would want me to be (Ramos). As a result of losing my mom, I have learned the importance of taking care of my health, the fragility of relationships, and financial stability.

As a young girl, I never quite understood the importance my dad’s job had on me until I became much older. Throughout my childhood I was often mistreated out of the sight of my parents. From brutal words to simple exclusion, I never really fit in at my church. I was constantly separated from all of the children because I was the Pastor’s

Throughout her challenges, Jimenez can always depend on her family. She believes she can go far in life because she has a family who supports her and so she's willing to sacrifice for them. When asked what is important to her, she replied,"My family is most important, I want my little sister to be someone big in life." Many might think her home life is suitable. But she thinks differently. To her it's only okay, because her parents work a lot so she's in the house mostly babysitting her sister so it's boring. The reason why she doesn't get to see her parents is because her mom is a nurse assistant, and she likes her mind job because she

In the years following my parents’ divorce, I discovered who my parents were as people, and not just as my mom and dad. Regrettably, I found that my father used to not be a very respectable man. Finding that out came about with living with him, my three brothers, one sister, and his new wife with an anger problem the size of Alaska. I distinctly remember one night. I’d had enough and I couldn’t do anything but get down on my knees and pray.

However, my mother, who should be the most bitter of all, always kept a cheerful facade in public. At church, when asked how she was managing, especially with two rambunctious kids, she simply stood taller and replied, “Just fine, thank you.” Never asking for help, even though each month’s bills only carved deeper lines in her forehead, my mother was always the tenacious, optimistic foundation of our family. So, at ten, I resolved to be just as strong as her. Who needed a father