Alienated In The Rockpile, By James Baldwin

In the story The Rockpile by James Baldwin the father, Gabriel, comes home noticing his son Roy hurt blaming his stepson John which serves as feeling of isolation and detachment by feeling neglected by his own father. As presented in the story, “‘How come you didn’t tell your mother Roy was downstairs?’ John said nothing, staring at the blanket which covered Delilah” (p.1090) in this scenario his father asked that question only revolving around John’s mistake and giving blame toward him having John scared not knowing how to answer ending the story with a beating “...as he picked it up, bending his dark head near the toe of his father’s heavy shoe.”(p. 1090 ). The father basically does not have sympathy for his stepson John leaving it alienated
between the both of them having him feel bad and neglected for his own actions which was not reinforced in a positive atmosphere. Child neglect can have a huge impact for today’s world because each children presents the future towards the whole world and if affected it can lead to serious problems. According to the Prevent Child Abuse America, “In 2008, child neglect alone was responsible for 429 fatalities (31.9 percent of all CA/N fatalities)” signifying that these are one the biggest causes of suicide. Many of the children that grow up through this situation can result in serious problems such as depression, anxiety, etc contributing to the society we hold today. Hence, child neglect can grow into a serious thing and if not handled properly there will more cases for problematic children or fully grown adults that can be unbeneficial towards our planet.