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).
In contrast to Cindy’s new found self esteem, her mother seemed to uphold a strong lack of confidence in her daughter and in herself as well. By the same token, in the second article “The Thrill of Victory … The Agony of Parents”, the author presents the opposition through her mother. Jennifer Schwind’s mother appeared as an embarrassment to her publicly and emotionally. “In a voice so screeching that it rivaled fingernails on a blackboard, she told him that he was a disgraceful coach and that he should be ashamed of himself” (Pawlak 3). While in her mother’s eyes, she only supported her daughter and craved the absolute best for her child.
In Alldredge’s criticism of Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying one of the prominent things she discusses and give a valid, and strong point on is Addie Bundren’s favoritism to her illegitimate son Jewel and how it made Darl become bitter and eventually undoes him. When Alldredge states that Addie’s “relationships, or lack of them, with [her]… family is essential to any understanding of the inner conflicts in her children” (Alldredge) this is especially true with Darl. She hardly paid attention to her other children besides Jewel and it really struck home with Darl. Darl is so bitter by his mother and Jewel’s relationship that he keeps him from her death bed and his excuse is that “[He] wants [Jewel] to help [him] load” (Faulkner 7.6-10) knowing full well that his mother would want Jewel there more than anything. Does Darl care?
White Oleander by Janet Fitch demonstrates how the protagonist, Astrid Magnussen, encounters herself with many struggles and obstacles that she must overcome. The only source of family that Astrid has is her beloved mother Ingrid Magnussen, which shows her charisma in her own egotistic way. The type of affection expressed from mother to daughter causes Astrid to feel suffocated due to the fact that her mother sees her as an extension of herself rather than a particular individual. This provokes Astrid to experience a difficult time setting aside from her mother’s suffocation and outgrowing to become the individual she wants to be. Ingrid’s imprisonment causes Astrid to experience solitude when she is transferred to a foster home.
It also focuses on the points of guilt and regret in her life as a mother and how she feels that there is guiltiness within her because of the absence she has made within her daughters’ life. “Everyday Use” is written in the same point of view as “ I Stand Here Ironing”. Its’ themes include dealing with what to accept as her true heritage because she chooses to go on her own and change things as though she feels they should be and also her education and how it is creating a separation between her and her family. Both themes are based of a motherhood relationship, and showing how there are many obstacles with growing up. In “I Stand Here Ironing” the story starts out stating, “ I stand here ironing, and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron” (607).
The glass castle by Jeannette Walls is a story of a dysfunctional family which does not conform to the norm of society. And through this their children suffer due to their unconventional methods “Mom and Dad liked to make a big point about never surrendering to fear or to prejudice or to the narrow-minded conformist sticks-in-the-mud who tried to tell everyone else what was proper" Jeannetee's parents always thought the "normal" was an unacceptable way to live. They stressed this idea and it applies to their lives throughout the entire book. The adult used this idea as an excuse for whenever they did not have a home or food to eat. But it is through this that we can the maturity and desire the children show to rise above from their problems.
History of Concern or Need Client states that a little over a year ago her husband passed away, and since that time she has had a difficult time maintaining the bills on just her income. Client states that she is behind on mortgage. Client also reports that the family was without electric for a week until she received her paycheck. I observed that there is very little food in home. When asked if client attempted to receive help from any community agency, Client reports that she was unaware that she could receive help and that she thought food stamps were for people who did not work.
When these traits did not surface, Jing-Mei began to realize she did not have these traits and started to feel internally inferior. She slowly started to resent her mother’s continual control over her decisions and went in a different direction than her mother wanted her too. In Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds”, the dialogue Tan includes within Jing-Mei’s flashback demonstrates that conflict and resentment can occur when not allowing your child to take his/her own path. In the beginning of the flashback, Jing-Mei’s mother is shown to be trying to control and dominate her daughter’s life. When she moved away from China, Jing-Mei’s mother had a vision that in America, you could be anything that you wanted to be.
“when she finally came , I hardly knew her, walking quick and nervous like her father, looking like her father, thin,and dressed in a shoddy red that yellowed her skin and glared at the pockmarkes. (291) The mother was worried about Emily because she was so thin, frail, and sickly. As time went on the mother took advise and sent emily away again, this time to a convelesent home. The mother was advised that Emily would receive the care she needed. Sending a child away would only convince them that they are not wanted.
It was probably too painful of a memory. Charles J. Shields writes: Nelle (Harper) regarded her unhappy mother with sympathetic but confused feelings. When it came time to write To Kill a Mockingbird, Nelle wiped the slate clean of the conflict between herself and her mother. Since she could not be her mother’s daughter, so to speak, in the novel, the fictional Finch family has no mother. Or, rather, it did have, but “Our mother died when I was two,” says Scout, “so I never felt her Absence”.