Advice To A Son By Ernest Hemingway
Script
INTRODUCTION:
American novelist and poet Ernest Hemingway’s social commentary about parental pressures leading to mental illnesses, is an issue impacting youth today which demands our attention and greater community awareness. His illustrious poem Advice to a Son will be analysed, resulting in a comparison of other sources from pop culture which similarly complement and explore this confronting youth issue. The poem can be interpreted as being about the influence and strain parents put on their children to reach unattainable expectations, sometimes leading to the diagnosis of a mental illness. THEME/ YOUTH ISSUE:
Advice to a Son is about the dangers of parental demands, rather than ongoing encouragement. Hemingway could not have …show more content…
The idea that the only alternative to living a life free from mistakes and expectations, is to go to heaven; voices an important, relevant message that is killing our generation. The euphemisms in Hemingway’s poem are powerful illustrations of the mental battle of children – caused by parental anticipations – that existed in his time and continue to occur in youth today. “This poem shows the many things that Hemingway had learned after fleeing to Paris from America after the Great War. Hemingway in his early thirties was writing to his son through poetry about the harsh reality of life.” (5) What if the readers, in preference to living life with mistakes and pressuring parents, decide to join our friends ‘in the sky’? On May 18th 2016, an 11-year-old boy from Singapore did exactly that. Parent Herald’s article on this event states that, “According to reports, the boy took his life when he jumped off from the 17th floor of a building. The mother admitted that when her son was to get a mark less than 70, she would punish her child by hitting his palm with a cane. As a result of such parental pressure, the boy had even resorted to fabricating his school marks just to please his parents. However, during the day that child was about to show another failing grades, parental pressure …show more content…
In the 21st century, this youth issue is as substantial as any cited by Hemingway in his classification of social problems. A study conducted by MindFrame – a national media initiative organisation – in 2014 states that “12% of 13-17 year olds reported having thought about suicide, while 4.2% had actually made a suicide attempt.” (7) Hemingway’s poem isn’t written from a particular point of view as it is more like a letter, reminding us that anyone can have influential parents, leading to the diagnosis of a mental illness. Hemingway makes no comment about parents who are culprits of this subject, rather he enunciates the emotion shared through the word “never”. But if we never make a change to this detrimental issue that is affecting our generation, how can we expect change? More aptly, what if parents are unaware of the risks associated with pressuring their
INTRODUCTION:
American novelist and poet Ernest Hemingway’s social commentary about parental pressures leading to mental illnesses, is an issue impacting youth today which demands our attention and greater community awareness. His illustrious poem Advice to a Son will be analysed, resulting in a comparison of other sources from pop culture which similarly complement and explore this confronting youth issue. The poem can be interpreted as being about the influence and strain parents put on their children to reach unattainable expectations, sometimes leading to the diagnosis of a mental illness. THEME/ YOUTH ISSUE:
Advice to a Son is about the dangers of parental demands, rather than ongoing encouragement. Hemingway could not have …show more content…
The idea that the only alternative to living a life free from mistakes and expectations, is to go to heaven; voices an important, relevant message that is killing our generation. The euphemisms in Hemingway’s poem are powerful illustrations of the mental battle of children – caused by parental anticipations – that existed in his time and continue to occur in youth today. “This poem shows the many things that Hemingway had learned after fleeing to Paris from America after the Great War. Hemingway in his early thirties was writing to his son through poetry about the harsh reality of life.” (5) What if the readers, in preference to living life with mistakes and pressuring parents, decide to join our friends ‘in the sky’? On May 18th 2016, an 11-year-old boy from Singapore did exactly that. Parent Herald’s article on this event states that, “According to reports, the boy took his life when he jumped off from the 17th floor of a building. The mother admitted that when her son was to get a mark less than 70, she would punish her child by hitting his palm with a cane. As a result of such parental pressure, the boy had even resorted to fabricating his school marks just to please his parents. However, during the day that child was about to show another failing grades, parental pressure …show more content…
In the 21st century, this youth issue is as substantial as any cited by Hemingway in his classification of social problems. A study conducted by MindFrame – a national media initiative organisation – in 2014 states that “12% of 13-17 year olds reported having thought about suicide, while 4.2% had actually made a suicide attempt.” (7) Hemingway’s poem isn’t written from a particular point of view as it is more like a letter, reminding us that anyone can have influential parents, leading to the diagnosis of a mental illness. Hemingway makes no comment about parents who are culprits of this subject, rather he enunciates the emotion shared through the word “never”. But if we never make a change to this detrimental issue that is affecting our generation, how can we expect change? More aptly, what if parents are unaware of the risks associated with pressuring their