1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
The obvious one would be hard times wherein the main father figure, Gridgrand, has no less than three children. We have Tom who shows what growing up without love can do to a person, we have Luisa whose conflict with her father ends with her changing him. Sissy is also perfectly usable for this essay and the conflict of her fanciful nature with Gridgrand's fact based approach is a great example of the central conflict of ideas in the novel.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I think i would choose to write about Song of Solomon, a book that seems to have endless parent/child conflicts. But the relationship between Milkman and Macon would probably be the one I would choose to elaborate on. Milkman and Macon from the start of the novel had a relationship that resembled anything but a healthy one. I would start in my essay briefly listing some examples of their encounters with each other. For example, there was one scene when the two came to physical blows with one another. I would then explain how their conflict with each other really was used as a tool to compare Macon to Pilate. Milkman is able to see just how polar opposite the two are and he begins to understand that there are different perspectives. This allows Milkman to progress and evolve as the text comes to an end.
ReplyDeleteI would choose Song of Solomon as well, but instead I would write about the effects of Milkman's relationship with both of his parents. Agreeing with Brittany, Milkman's relationship with Macon was indeed unhealthy, but so was his relationship with his mother. His mother breastfed him into his adolescence because she needed somebody to love. SHe was rejected by her husband and attempted to grasp a stronghold on her son. This only resulted in him pushing her further away. Milkman never had full conversations with either parent and they only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. His mother was virtually silent during his upbringing and was continually oppressed by both Macon and Milkman. Macon set a horrible precedent for his son, for he was greedy and cared more about money than family. Therefore, Milkman grew up alienated and unloved. Because of this, he was unable to love and accept his family for who they were until the very end. After traveling to discover the truth about his family, he is finally able to appreciate them.
DeleteI think Jane Eyre would be very applicable because the relationship between Jane and her aunt is really the ultimate power struggle. Her aunt resents Jane because Jane's uncle liked her more than his own children. So, she treats Jane terribly and gives her no affection. Meanwhile, Jane resents her aunt for her unfair treatment of her. Yet, even though each really hates the other, there is an underlying desire in each of them for the other one to have affection for her. Growing up, Jane's aunt has all the power, but then right before Jane leaves for Lowood, she screams at her and makes it clear who has the upper hand, which hurts her aunt. Until her aunt's death, Jane carries around guilt for the way she reacted to her aunt and bitterness for the way she was treated in her aunt's house. Her aunt dies still hating Jane. I think it contributes to the meaning of the work because as much as Jane hated the way she was brought up, she does something similar to Adele, shipping her off to boarding school. It kind of implies a cycle in the relationships of parents and children.
ReplyDeleteI too would talk about Jane Eyre, and her relationship with her aunt, as well as her later treatment of Adele. I would first talk about how the conflict with her aunt is necessary for her to begin her journey; without conflict and pain, she would never have left Gateshead. Also we can see Jane's lack of power in the relationship; as a small child, she is forced to accept her aunt's and cousin's cruelty. However, when it builds up to be too much for her, she rebels and is sent away.
DeleteNext, I would discuss Adele and her relationship with Jane. It seems that although Jane takes care of her, she has a sort of disdain for her. I think this is interesting because Jane disdains how easily distracted and different from her Adele is, whereas Jane herself is always persecuted as a child for being different. I would also talk about how Jane just sends Adele off to boarding school, to repeat the same miserable experience that Jane had. Although she rises above the pain of her childhood, Jane does the same things to Adele that she suffered through.
I would probably pick The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and focus on the Lola and Beli relationship. I think it stands out as being a very realistic and well done mother daughter conflict. I would talk about how we have Lola's point of view which may cause us to question her reliability but also question whether she does anything wrong (I was personally completely on Lola's side the entire book). I would discuss their similarities and differences when we see Beli's earlier life (as well as La Inca) and point out that while Oscar has very little in common at all with Beli, he is favored over Lola who is, at least from an outsider's pov, would seem much less disappointing of a child. I would bring up the moment where Beli and Lola and la Inca are all hugging each other. I'd say how it contributes to the meaning by discussing the idea of fate in the book and how that ties with Lola and Beli's relationship, as well as the idea that you can't really escape your roots and family. Lola and Beli both run away or rebel in some way and they are both very strong. They end up not seeing each other again as Lola finally gets away from Beli, yet we know that Lola is greatly influenced by the DR.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Siddartha love-fest continues...
ReplyDeleteI thought of "Siddartha" and the two parallel relationships between Sid and his father, and Sid and his own son. Both of these reflect the theme of self-discovery that is a result of breaking away from family. Siddartha had been a model child, but his quest for truth and enlightenment made him question his obedience. And later, when his own son leaves him, we are to assume that young Sid has gone off to seek his own form of enlightenment.
I would use The Sound and the Fury to answer this question. Caroline remains trapped in the past as she hangs on to the past glory of the Bascomb family; she sees Jason as the only hope for the family blood to continue. Jason, meanwhile, seeks to break free, to leave the stifling environment of his home. He embezzles money, hiding it from his mother, planning to use it to find a way out. His mother's influence, however, keeps him back. He cannot break free from the crippling and stifling environment that he finds at home; he is trapped and ultimately returns home, repeating the cycle of stagnation. Jason, just like Benjy and Quentin, cannot let go of that which holds him back; and so he cannot overcome it.
ReplyDeleteI would also pick The Sound and the Fury but I would choose to focus on Caroline's relationship with her daughter, Caddy. At the beginning of the novel, Caddy is perhaps one of the most likable characters. She cares for Benjy and is generally considered relatively innocent. Once she literally, and then later, metaphorically, dirties her pants, she is essentially disowned by her mother. Caroline wants absolutely nothing to do with her citing the fact that Caddie has brought shame on the family due to her engagement in pre-marital sex. As this relationship deteriorates, however, any chance of the renewal of the Compson family also falters. This relationship directly helps to contribute to the decline of the family name
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DeleteI would write about 100 Years of Solitude, due to the many parent, child relationships within that book. The best example is the conflict between Ursula and Arcadio. After Col. BuendÃa leaves the town to go to war, Arcadio takes over and becomes mad with power. It seems like nobody can control him. However, once he crosses the line at attacks a family friend, Ursula, his grandmother, takes control. This highlights the power that mothers have over their sons. A man that has total power within a town is still subject to the rule of his family and traditions. Ursula, despite being old, is never afraid to come out of retirement to take control and resolve injustice either against her family or within it.
ReplyDeleteI would choose Wide Sargasso Sea, and would discuss the relationship between Antoinette and both her real mother and Christophine; Wide Sargasso Sea speaks to the peculiar nature of the creole women: she is partially in the world of entrapment, of formal white society, and partially in the supposedly "uncivilized", uncontrollable, world. Antoinette is the synthesis of Christophine and of her real mother: Christophine is what a free women is, while her mother is the entrapped woman driven to madness. Antoinette's conflict with her mother is out of Antoinette's rejection of formality, of the proper place of women in society. Antoinette's conflict with Christophine is borne out of her inability to make herself free; Christophine tells Antoinette how to make herself free, how to live for herself, and yet Antoinette instead uses Christophine's black magic to make Rochester love her: Antoinette cannot truly free herself from the concept of every woman having her man. Both of these parental figures "give birth" to the character of Antoinette: one who desires the freedom that cannot be found within society, but who also cannot free herself. She is analogous to the women as a whole: they are trapped, and yet they are waiting to be freed, not willing to free themselves.
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