The values of heritage seem to have been lost with the gain of knowledge when Dee has gone to college. Her actions she displays when she comes home for a visit are shocking to her family. It is almost as if Dee is using them for a show, rather than a visit that has been well overdue. It’s one thing to know what heritage is but another to understand what your heritage is. Mama was always one who could not say “no” to her daughter and she always tried to please her regardless if her daughter appreciated it or not.
These two well written novels are very similar, two main similarities are both Baby and Anne were never loved properly, and both Baby and Anne’s mothers died. Yet both novels are very different from each other, two main differences are Baby is loved in the foster home she lives in and was better off in it, yet Anne was neglected in her many foster homes, and both Baby and Anne are very smart individuals but Baby gets put into a practical learning class while Anne wins a scholarship. there are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroad, afraid, confused, without a roadmap. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. of course when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go
One similarity that the mothers and daughters in the book shared with Tan and her family is that all of the parents had high expectations and goals for their children. Also, when all of the daughters were growing up, there was some sort of family secret kept away from them. Another parallel between the author and the characters in the book is that both of them had lost something that was meaningful to them. The parents, mainly the mothers, pushed their daughters to the highest possible point of their ability to achieve successful lives. The daughters in the stories thought their mothers were very pushy about some things and they did not like it.
My second oldest sister was never a big fan of school. She believed she was not smart enough and that school was way too hard for her. She got pregnant by the age of 19 years old; she became a young, and happy mother. Her decision of starting a family at a young age was always part of her plans; she had wanted this all along. Her choice was never based on how school made her feel but on how she felt.
According to Erik Erikson's theory Trust vs Mistrust a person thinks that you can trust someone but they really cant. For example Carmen comes home feeling hurt, betrayal, anger and shame by her father as he now has a new family and she turns immediately to Tibby for comfort and advice. Tibby's friendship with Bailey, a young girl with leukemia, reinforces the feelings she has for the Sisterhood, because her death shows Tibby how important the small pleasures she gave to others while alive can be emulated when she is within the Sisterhood. Bridget learned when Lena organized the girls to come to her aid even when she was in Greece that no matter how big the problem may seem, there is always someone you love to catch you when you fall. Lena learned that she could give her heart within the fear of rejection, and then be the one who comforts when others like Bridget, feel rejection as well.
She grew up fast realizing that she didn’t have the emotions and love that a regular girl would have experienced at her age of fourteen. This age is a critical age where a teenager is confused about what their life will be like, the character experiences differently she is living reality with being the older person and have a huge responsibility in her life. When her Luna dies she even shows that the narrator was dedicated to her grandmother and she grew to love her even though no one ever
As the mother of two daughters I always want for my daughters what I feel was lacking in my life. It makes sense to me that Nanny’s idea of success and freedom is being wealthy and idle. That was what was literally beaten into Nanny. I think in real life, as with Nanny, mothers can get so blinded by their own agenda and their attempt to fulfill their own dreams through their daughter that they don’t stop to ask what their child wants. While I understand that this may not be the ideal way to handle a situation, I believe that Nanny did the best she could considering her experiences.
Now that’s growing up without a childhood. Jane Smiley seems like a great parent who cares about her children but to allow her daughters to put on makeup even entering their teenage years just isn’t right. Her girls where prematurely growing up, where behaving beyond their age, and with their only priority being beautiful at all times it seem to help them in the long run. As they burned off the “Barbie stage” and grew into more important things down their lives. Like for example Smiley talks about her older daughter, “Now she is planning to graduate school and law school and become an expert on woman’s health issues, perhaps adolescent health issues like anorexia and bulimia” (377).
Every Last One is a novel about a women having to face difficult situations in life while being emotionally and financially responsible for the rest of her family. The author depicts the story from the point of view that a mother would have. She made her family seem like on the outside they were the perfect little family but as we all know, no one is perfect in this world. Mary Beth would describe her every day routine as a mother and would put in detail the description of her family and the people that was around her and her family. She now struggles with her life that is ahead and tries to keep a relationship with her only son left, Alex.
English 110 Professor Ackers 4/25/12 Help In my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, I see my old high school friends and hear news about their little sister that used to run around the neighborhood and follow him/her around is now pregnant. The thing that makes that even sadder is that the little sister is between the ages of 12-15. That problem just isn’t in my hometown; it’s all across the United States of America. And it isn’t entirely the child’s fault because they didn’t have a good example or someone to talk to them about what they’re doing. Teen Pregnancy isn’t good for the simple fact that it destroys teen’s lives, they don’t have anyone to support them before and after they get pregnant, and they don’t have positive examples in their life.