Tracy is doing well in her school work, but has temper tantrums at home when things do not go her way. Harold was recently laid off from a job he held for over 10 years and is feeling very discouraged. His mother has loaned him money until he can find another job, but he worries about his ability to take care of his family. Shirley returned home from duty three weeks ago. She was initially very happy to see her family, but is having trouble adjusting to being back home.
Sara is not going to let her father abuse her like he did the other girls. Sara runs away, rents a room from a lady, gets a job, and goes to school studying to get into college. Reb finds her and is very angry because she is focused on education and not on becoming a wife. “Pufi on your education! What’s going to be your end?
Marla: All I remember from my childhood is hearing my mother yelling through the walls that I shared with them, or seeing her with a black eye or broken arm and not being able to take care of me; while my father takes off for couple of days or a week. I cannot recall ever having a family dinner with my parents that was argument free and heard laughter. Clinician (Dardree): How was the relationship between your parents? Marla: The relationship between my parents was toxic, but my mother loved him a lot. Now that I’m older, I think about it and still cannot understand why she did.
One day Alex and one of his friends made a bet that if Alex could not sleep with Brittany by Thanksgiving he would have to give his friend his motorcycle. At first, Alex was losing the bet because Brittany would not even look at him but as the book goes on Alex comes up with ways to make her fall in love with him and they start to work not only on Brittany, but himself too. Alex at first thought Brittany had this perfect life but he finds out that it is just an act she puts on at school. At home, Brittany has to deal with her crazy mom, who wants Brittany to be perfect, her dad, who is never really home, and her older sister, who is disabled and the only person who Brittany thinks understand her. Towards the end of the book, Brittany sees what it is like on the south side, where Alex lives, what he life is like, and why he is in a gang.
As she suffers from finding a stable income and house for her family, Moody’s mother Toosweet encourages Moody to do well in school. However, her push to ensure Moody to succeed in school is only to prove to her husband Raymond’s family that her daughter is as smart as his family, not encourage Moody to attend college and fight for her rights. As a child, Moody was unaware of the oppression and inequality that African Americans had suffered. As she constantly questioned her concerns to her mother about the incidents that occurred, her mother always told her, “Just do your work like you don’t know anything” (Moody, 123). She realizes that her mother ignores the racial acts against her community and becomes alienated within her family as well as her community when she fights for her rights.
“Son, I think you should talk to your wife… I’ll go on out and leave you alone if you want” (p.70). Walter’s mother, Lena Younger, is trying to give her son and his wife alone time so his wife can tell him she’s pregnant. Walter ignores his wife and puts his focus on if he can have the check, but since no one wants to hear him out, he runs out the house to find peace. Walter’s dream for wealth and success impacted his actions by not going to work. “She said Mr. Arnold has had to take a cab for three days… Walter, you aint been to work for three days!
And still, the husband loved her, but unfortunately she could no longer fulfill her role of being a mother or a wife any longer because of her depression. Sadly, the husband understood the pain of his wife was going through, and knew he had to obey her demands of isolation for the safety of the child. No one will ever really know how the little boy must of felt; having little communication with his mother, this must have been tough on him. Even though he was not capable of writing notes, he still managed to communicate with his mother by drawing pictures. Unfortunately, he never got back any response because his mother only looked at the drawings.
She understood that her father only wanted the best for her, but she was discomforted by the idea that her dad was promoting her around and trying to recruit a husband for her. As if she couldn’t find a husband herself. These types of things showed Sayeed that women in her culture did not have much say in who they married or when they were ready to be married, because the father usually sets everything up for them. This was a big inequality between men and women because the women were not even allowed to choose who and when they wanted to marry. Also, women in her culture had to cover themselves up, in order to show modesty and self-protection, which she thought to be an unequal hierarchy.
Their whole lives revolved around taking care of the house, kids and husband. For example when their husband came home from `a hard day of work' their wife would have cold drinks and finger food snacks waiting for them (Scott, p. 225). Women weren't able to go out into the work force because they were given such an unfair wage. Women weren't able to make their own choices in life they only had once path pay to choose from, to become a typical house wife. The role of women is constantly changing throughout history.
The youngest child is starting school next fall and Lisa is planning on going back to work at that point. After the youngest child was born Lisa and her husband wanted to get a permanent sterilization procedure but their health insurance plan does not cover permanent methods of contraception and only covers certain types of oral contraception. Unable to cover the cost of the procedure Lisa and her husband decide on the oral contraception to prevent any further pregnancies. Lisa was really busy with a household of sick children and in that week forgot to take her pill two days in a row and ended up getting pregnant again. Lisa and her husband love being parents but are financially strapped and can not afford anymore at this point.