Comparison Essay
Alexia Petrie-Lafouasse
EG3U
Mrs. K. Day
Friday, April 12th, 2013
The weight of responsibility and parental expectations
Have you ever wonder what it would be like to have the world weighing on your shoulders, expecting many great things from you when all you can do is disappoint, to have to tell your parents that you skipped your exam and you are dropping out of University? The first short story “Brother Dear” written by Bernice Friesen is about a sixteen year old girl, her brother and her family. Sharlene, the sixteen year old girl, decides that she does not want to go to university as her father intends, she wants to leave and travel. But she has not worked up the courage to tell her father. When all of a sudden her brother comes home for a visit and tells her father that he is dropping out of school. The second short story “The Charmer” written by Budge Wilson is about a charming young boy who can charm his way through, Winnifred, his little sister claims he is “Enchanted”. He has grown up to be the same old charmer with expectations from his family and most certainly his father. Parental expectations always follow the eldest sibling; it’s the person who chooses whether or not to exceed them. In both short stories, the father is the one building the expectations. The eldest sibling who are the brothers, Zachary and Greg, both fail to reach their fathers expectations for them. In the end Winnifred and Sharlene both realize their brother had helped them with their failures towards their fathers. Expectations can be a big thing to follow through, when failed to accomplish, it can cause a positive impact on those we never expected to influence the first place. Initially “Brother Dear” and “The Charmer” both have parental expectations. “It’s April and next year’s grade twelve, then its escape to University of Alberta like my brothers, like Dad wants” (Friesen Page 26) This quotation is indeed an example of parental expectations from
EG3U
Mrs. K. Day
Friday, April 12th, 2013
The weight of responsibility and parental expectations
Have you ever wonder what it would be like to have the world weighing on your shoulders, expecting many great things from you when all you can do is disappoint, to have to tell your parents that you skipped your exam and you are dropping out of University? The first short story “Brother Dear” written by Bernice Friesen is about a sixteen year old girl, her brother and her family. Sharlene, the sixteen year old girl, decides that she does not want to go to university as her father intends, she wants to leave and travel. But she has not worked up the courage to tell her father. When all of a sudden her brother comes home for a visit and tells her father that he is dropping out of school. The second short story “The Charmer” written by Budge Wilson is about a charming young boy who can charm his way through, Winnifred, his little sister claims he is “Enchanted”. He has grown up to be the same old charmer with expectations from his family and most certainly his father. Parental expectations always follow the eldest sibling; it’s the person who chooses whether or not to exceed them. In both short stories, the father is the one building the expectations. The eldest sibling who are the brothers, Zachary and Greg, both fail to reach their fathers expectations for them. In the end Winnifred and Sharlene both realize their brother had helped them with their failures towards their fathers. Expectations can be a big thing to follow through, when failed to accomplish, it can cause a positive impact on those we never expected to influence the first place. Initially “Brother Dear” and “The Charmer” both have parental expectations. “It’s April and next year’s grade twelve, then its escape to University of Alberta like my brothers, like Dad wants” (Friesen Page 26) This quotation is indeed an example of parental expectations from