An Analysis of the Themes that Illustrate the Unsuccessful Parent-Child Relationship in “Write me Sometime” When relationships fail or they are on the path to failure, people attempt to restore them through old habits. This can happen in any type of relationship, but there seems to be more effort when the unsuccessful relationship is between a parent and their child. There is never one specific reason for this failure, but there are usually a variety of problems that build up over time. In Taien Ng-Chan’s short story “Write Me Sometime”, a girl is having trouble connecting with her father. As an adult, she is reminiscing about her childhood lunch dates with her father, which she enjoyed.
In his essay “Working at Wendy's”, Joey Franklin conveys that he works at Wendy's because he feels that, even though the job may seem demeaning, it is something he has to do for the benefit of his family. Franklin uses short stories or anecdotes from earlier in his life or from those whom he works with to prove this point. Franklin in the end shows that he is willing to do anything to provide for his wife and son. Franklin's feeling of embarrassment begins when he recognizes a member of his Boy Scout troop who also works at Wendy's. This disgrace carries on throughout the story as Franklin is embarrassed and uncomfortable working at a fast food restaurant because of his high qualifications.
Formerly Unsober by John Bowe This narrative story is about John’s formerly unsober life. Two days before his forty-fourth birthday in 2008 while out on a run in the woods John was taken over with the thought that he was done. He recalls thinking “I am ready to be happier now”, and he spent his birthday sober. John took his last sip of alcohol many months later when a friend offered a quarter glass of thirty year port, that he could not resist, but said was delicious and in the end he regretted it. John was unhappy as child, his life started that way, however there was a little piece of him that felt he would be happy when got older.
Sonny’s Blues This story is about regret and heartache between to brothers. This story is meant to tell the story of a younger brother and his struggles with life and how decisions he made affected those around him. The problem I found with the story is that it never really explained exactly what took place in his life to drive him to where he was in his adult life. The story talked a little about the relationship that he had with his father and the hardships he endured because he wanted Sonny to be a better person. It talked about his mother and her protective ways.
His ex-friend Bennie Reid taught Paul that sometimes relationships ‘just happen’ even though Paul did not like the prospect of befriending Bennie largely because of his position in the social hierarchy, he still could not abandon Bennie and be left with nobody. Paul’s relationship with Keller is therefore very important to him because although Paul might be at the bottom of the school hierarchy along with Bennie, he is as his parents often remind him, a talented musician. The maestro sees Paul’s arrogance for what it is and conversely devises his teaching methods to suit the position at which Paul was at. As this was initially an insult to Paul the relationship started with no mutual respect, Keller having respect for no one in his surroundings treated his student as he would anyone else. Paul’s first impressions of Keller are ‘Misleading, of course’ and that he is a bad teacher because of Keller’s patronisation.
Clare Hoevenaars Mrs. Curran ENG 4U December 12, 2011 Fall from Innocence in The Catcher in the Rye The transformation from childhood to adult hood is inevitable. Some accept this change with more ease than others, but at some point all must come to terms with this conversion. In J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield demonstrates this conversion with great difficulty. He can not seem to accept that people are changing, though he slowly shows slight signs of reaching adulthood. He has close friends and family, such as Jane and Phoebe, whom he fears will also lose their innocence.
It was not yet revealed the racial background of each character, although some underlying clues give notion that the young girls have already been exposed to negative racial stereotypes, but as scholar Susanna Morris writes “Women's friendships in "Recitatif" are mitigated and mediated by oppressive power relations that are highly visible and important even when race is radically destabilized.” Twyla recalls a time when her mother stated that ‘they never wash their hair and they smell funny’, which was directed at white people. Twyla’s initial reaction was to follow her mother’s teachings and not befriend a white girl. However, in this instance both Roberta and Twyla were on the same power level and in the same class. Because of this, race did not matter. (Morris,
She is also secretly enraged at the fact that people besides her can afford such toys, and she wants in. At the end of this essay she says “ But ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin” (Bambara), she now has a better understanding of life and is now a determined young girl. She understands her social status as a poor girl from Harlem. She learns “ The Lesson” which was to find out what real money is. At the end of the story she finds her true identity, which was to become a more motivated and successful person.
He tries to get Sonny to think about his future and he basically becomes Sonny's father figure once their parents have passed away. Although he doesn't really understand Sonny or his passion for music, he does have Sonny's best interests at heart. You could also look at it another way and say that the narrator had his faults also. We could argue that he abandons Sonny when Sonny needs him the most. And perhaps, as Sonny suspects, the narrator is really just upset that Sonny has chosen a life that's different from his own.
The plot in which Ellison chose to compose his short story, mainly taking the form of flashbacks, was to show the reader how the narrator was slowly beginning to understand that his speech about humility led him to be somewhat “free” in the end, but with the consequences of having to go through negative experiences just to be “free.” Moreover, the protagonist grandfather whom was giving advice to the young man’s father proved to be true because the young man faced a lot of mistreatment and humiliation in the hands of the white men, and understanding what the grandfather mentioned about practicing false humility finally made sense to him, but it took him twenty years after his experience to understand that. Also, the setting in which “Battle Royal” took place shows why Ellison’s narrator believed that humility had to be the key to freedom, merely because during that time segregation and racial discrimination was going on and black Americans were protesting for their independence, equality and rights, as well as erecting movements that would lead into the Civil