Uzma Yousuf English 101 9 June 2010 The Sky is Gray James, in the short story “The Sky is Gray” by Ernest J. Gaines, is an eight-year-old boy growing up in the era of segregation. He is the oldest child who lives without a father figure, and thus adopted a leadership role in his family and as a result grows up and loses the stereotypical eight-year-old characteristics. It is evident that James’ conditions have forced him to grow up at the cost of his childhood by his compassion, maturity, and observant nature. The compassion that James shows in the story is quite unusual because most eight year olds at that age are very concerned with playing games and having fun. So when James hesitates to kill the birds as he was told to do so by his mom, his response to it is that, “I can’t, Mama, I’ll do anything, but don’t make me do that” (Memory of Kin 172).
Elena carries out motherly duties despite the incredibly difficult circumstances of surviving in Altai labour camp. The family had been in the labour camp for months, they were all weak and hungry. It was Lina’s birthday and Lina thought that her mother had forgotten because of their horrific situation. But really Elena had organized a surprise ‘party’ in the bald man’s hut. Even though their situation seemed bleak, Elena felt that she should still carry out simple motherly duties, like celebrating her daughter’s birthday, to make Lina feel more secure.
When this problem becomes too difficult for either one of them to handle they begin to blame each other for their misfortunes but realize that they only have each other’s support to get through it and suddenly their differences don’t seem that important. Nader, the husband and Simin, the wife have been married for 14 years and live with their 11-year-old daughter Termeh in Tehran, Iran. The family belongs to the urban upper middle-class Simin wants to leave the country with her husband and daughter for a better future for them. But this desire is not shared by Nader as he is concerned for his elderly father, who lives with the family and suffers from Alzheimer's disease and has no one else to take care of him. When Nader tells his wife about his decision to stay in Iran, Simin pleads with him for their daughter’s sake but Nader is adamant about his decision which leads to a filing for divorce by her.
A Brother’s Dream in “Sonny’s Blues” James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a story detailing the struggles of two African American brothers growing up amidst the hardships faced by a family growing up in 1950's Harlem. The author depicts himself as the straight laced older brother of Sonny, who can never seem to stay out of trouble. Mr. Baldwin’s character James excels at school and eventually becomes a teacher, attempting to give something back to the community. He is also trying to live up to a promise he made to his mother to look after his little brother. Sonny, in contrast, has no interest in school, or listening to any of his elder brother’s advice.
Coontz believes it is not a good decade for people to remember there was change in values that caused racism, sexism, and discrimination against women. Viewers today would not turn to sitcoms to compare their lives to the sitcoms. For example, the viewers do not want to be a teenage single father living at home with parents with no education as in the show “Raising Hope.” People watch sitcoms now for entertainment. In the 1950s sitcoms the mother stayed at home to look after the children and the father was the one off to work to financially support the family. As shown in sitcoms, “gender roles became much more predictable, orderly and settled in the 1950s” (Coontz 31).
I was unable to describe to Mary that her father will no longer into the room and pick her up or even tell her stories at bedtime. I also urged her brother, Edward Jr. to not try to mention it to her, but support and take care of her as best as he can. Mary was growing up and meanwhile this whole time I was telling her stories of her father and everything that happened between him and me inclusive the part with Bertha and how she burned the house down. Edward Jr. looks a younger version of his father, finally happy and married to a wonderful wife who is expecting her first son within this year. Mary enjoys going out with her friends to parties and even brings my cousin’s daughters with her.
His dad ignored when he didn’t go home or when he was sent to the Children’s Center; he said it was good riddance. Although Sonny’ mom was very upset, she never failed to make the trip to pick Sonny up from the Children’s Center. She loved him and never had a thought of giving up on him. She tried to hide his clothing to keep him at home, or she threatened to send him away until he is twenty-one, but when these didn’t work, she would ask her favorite question, “Boy, why you so bad?”(P.21) Sonny’s life as a young boy was engaged in crime. He was effectively influenced by his “gang” and the game of hookey.
To her its all about staying alive and helping family no one else matters. To begin with, the setting is crazy at first because there was thunder, lightning and lots of rain in Springfield. After a while things start to be a little more normal until it was December that’s when they first started to get snow and it was freezing so everyone had to move together in the sunroom where it was a little bit more warmer so none of them had privacy. In addition, the main characters are Miranda, Matt, Jonny, and their mom. Two special traits they exhibit are that they all love eat other and are willing to do anything for one another.
“So, you didn’t let Clinton watch any extra television last night.” Despite this Clinton is his mothers life. She says she understand that she wasn’t right to baby him so much and that it is the reason for the way he is today. Even as some of his behavior concerns her she finds him to be a “sensitive, caring child she wouldn’t
Bella’s guilt caused by her mother’s fear of loneliness has left her short of any male relations. She cannot escape the wrath of her mother, and continually surrenders to her mother's will. Also, Bella has felt she cannot start her own relationship because her mother, in an effort to protect her living children, she has trained them not to feel by hardening them with punishments such as locking them in a closet or beating them with her cane” (Bloom, Harold. “List of characters in Lost in Yonkers. p67-68).