The ability of a text to be universally accepted in a range of contexts ultimately determines its textual integrity and appreciation. Gwen Harwood’s work draws from the inspiration of her context, her lifelong influences, primarily music, her childhood and religious beliefs. This can be identified through study of Gwen Harwood's poem, "Father and Child" that is able to be appreciated in a multitude of different contexts due to its universality and textual integrity.…
Waverly’s mother is a very proud person, and this is unchanged from the beginning to the end of Amy Tan’s “Rules of the Game”; but actually, she becomes an antagonist near the end of the story. It is understandable that she, as a mother, is always proud of her daughter’s success, but her excessive pride has triggered a conflict with her daughter Waverly, which reveals that mutual understanding is quite important for a parent-child relationship, especially for adolescents.…
In the “Illustrated Man”, Ray Bradbury demonstrates that when one is obsessed with something negative, consequences are bound to happen. In “The Veldt”, Peter and Wendy are obsessed with the nursery and as a result get into a fight with their parents, which lead to their parent’s death. When the parents threaten to shut the nursery off, their obsession becomes obvious, as they lock their parents into the nursery and say, “Don’t let them switch off the nursery and the house”. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley excessive spending on their children caused them to become obsessed with technology. When their parents threaten to shut down the nursery, the children develop hate towards them and acted irresponsibly by locking them into the nursery. This story helps to advance the main theme as the children’s obsession lead to the consequence of their parents dying.…
After reading Kendra Cherry’s article, Parenting Styles: The Four Styles of Parenting, one can draw the conclusion that Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird should be categorized as an authoritative parent. In the article, one can see that the author defines an authoritative parent as someone who “establishes rules and guidelines that the child is expected to follow” but, when a rule is broken the parent is “nurturing and forgiving, rather than punishing”(¶5). This is tantamount to the behavior of Atticus in the novel by Harper Lee. His authoritative behavior is clearly presented in the novel when Atticus is told that Jem, Scout and Dill were playing poker with matches. Scout reveals that Atticus had already established a rule…
In the film Sal every morning, day and night caters to her family making food. The film projects a mother to be uneducated and bound to the kitchen. Sal within the film does not have an occupation or any educational merit, certification or qualification. This depiction of an Australian mother restricted and chained to the kitchen which misrepresents the majority of Australian mothers. This ‘Australian’ motherly characteristics are repeated in Australian film“Muriel’s Wedding,”directed by P.J Hogan. Betty Heslop mother to 4 children works and cleans tirelessly in hopes to maintain a steady and clean environment for her troubled children. This representation of the mother can be both constructive and destructive in aiming to achieve the identity of an Australian mother. The repeated similarity in both films in which, both women do not obtain an occupation but simply cook subjects women to the kitchen and implies that they don't need to have their own carrier and work. The mothers portrayed in the films are dressed in baggy and unflattering clothing presenting Australian mothers to be non sophisticated, non elegant and careless beings in how they present themselves. Although the kind hearted and loving nature of a mother in some aspects are represented within the films. More specifically in The Castle, Sal is represented as a loving and caring mother who wants to look after and care for her family who also has her own hobbies and some what small time goals. However Betty within “Muriel’s Wedding’ is treated horribly and is portrayed as to be harshly honest a push over. The children within the film ignore, hit and disregard the mother. Her character lacks ambition of any sort and…
Through her novel, Thursday’s Child, Sonya Hartnett explores the themes of endurance, maturity and suffering. The story has an emphasis on the Flute family losing its ability to function throughout the novel. Some of the reasons of this dysfunctionality are the Great Depression and the harsh Australian outback, which create tension within the family. However, whilst the Flute family’s ability to function is affected by the landscape and time, other factors also contribute to the Flute family’s loss of the ability to function properly.…
The film Matilda is a clear representation of the concept of belonging, the ideas that are conveyed in the film are relevant to belonging by how they are displayed. The ideas of belonging in Matilda are that Matilda doesn't belong in her family, Matilda finds a sense of familial belonging with Ms Honey, Matilda finds a sense of familial belonging but with classmates and that the catalyst for belonging is the personality of Ms Trunchbull, it creates a sense of unity for the class - giving them a purpose. These ideas of belonging are described by the use of camera angles, tone, quotes and the use of narration.…
Center stage in Kaye Gibbons’ inspiring bildungsroman, Ellen Foster, is the spunky heroine Ellen Foster. At the start of the novel, Ellen is a fiery nine-year old girl. Her whole life, especially the three years depicted in Ellen Foster, Ellen is exposed to death, neglect, hunger and emotional and physical abuse. Despite the atrocities surrounding her, Ellen asks for nothing more than to find a “new mama” to love her. She avoids facing the harsh reality of strangers and her own family’s cruelty towards her by using different forms of escapism. Thrice Ellen is exposed to death (Gibbons 27). Each time, Ellen has a conversation with a magician to cope with the trauma (Gibbons 22-145). Many times Ellen’s actions and words cause it to be difficult to tell that she is still a child. However, in order to distract herself, Ellen will play meaningful games (Gibbons 26). These games become a fulcrum for Ellen’s inner child to express itself. Frequently, Ellen will lapse into a daydream (Gibbons 67). Usually, these daydreams are meant to protect herself from the harsh reality around her. Ellen Foster’s unique use of escapism resounds as the theme of Kaye Gibbon’s Ellen Foster.…
By critical analysis it can become a very complicating task to define a child’s book. There are many fundamental definitive factors that can be found in books that have been written for Children. For instance, if we take the example of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S Lewis 1950 . Universally it is recognised as a book for children. It contains the inherent facets of a children’s book. Often a typical children’s book will have a child protagonist. In the classic novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S Lewis. C.S Lewis has not just one child protagonist but four. Very commonly we find the child protagonist in the story is an orphan. Again we can see C.S Lewis has shown four children that are away from their parents and the typical family nucleus. Moreover, examples of orphanage can be seen in the classic novel of The Jungle book by Rudyard Kipling 1894. In The Jungle book the child protagonist is an orphan found in the jungle floating in a basket by a panther.…
This case study analysis focuses on a number of aspects and issues pertaining to Thomas’ character. In addition to portraying some of the difficulties witnessed by Thomas, the study utilizes several psychosocial aspects from the movie to explain relevant developmental issues. In this context, the study uses information from numerous peer-reviewed articles that were published in the recent past on related subjects.…
Gwen Harwood’s, ‘Father and child’, is a two-part poem that tempers a child’s naivety to her matured, grown up attitude. Barn Owl presents a threshold in which the responder is able to witness the initiation of Gwen’s transition. The transformation is achieved through her didactical quest for wisdom, lead by her childhood naivety and is complimented through ‘nightfall’, where we see her fully maturate state. The importance of familial relationship and parental guidance is explored in father and child, as well as the contrasting views on mortality and death. Barn Owl depicts death as a shocking and violent occurrence while the second poem, nightfall, displays that death can be accepted, describing the cyclical and ephemeral nature of life.…
The first person narrative poem ‘Father and child’ by Gwen Harwood, is structured in two sections each with seven stanzas and six lines. It focuses on an individuals revolt against authority and the consequences of such an action, as well as an insinuation of the imminent death of a parent. Harwood uses persuasive and implicit means to “mirror” the loss of innocence and its effect on the sense of appreciation or acceptance of the complexities existing in the wider world. Overall, ‘Father and Child’, demonstrates the individuals pursuit of power over the authoritative figure through defiance in the form of rebellion and destruction of authority. Through this Harwood challenges widely recognised stereotypes of purity and innocence associated with young girls and has also enriched my own perception on the connection between childhood memories and their effect on shaping an individuals identity.…
Besides their similarities, Miss Hancock and Charlottes mother are so different that they contrast each other. Miss Hancock is unmarried woman who encourages Charlotte to be expressive. On the other hand, Charlotte’s Mother doesn’t support or care much about Charlotte’s enthusiasm for the subject. As a child, playing with toys wasn’t allowed because it made a mess “A toy ceased to be a toy once it left the toy cupboard” (p 65). Miss Hancock loves teaching children, so if she were Charlotte’s mother, she would tell her to make as much of a mess as she wants. Miss Hancock and Charlotte’s mother are an example of character foil.…
At her introduction, Williams starts off with a short personal anecdote: "When my son was 2 years old, he went to a nursery school where he often played with a cheerful little girl I'll call Jessie." Williams establishes herself as a mother off the start and as a maternal figure, she compels the reader to settle down and listen to what she has to say as she has established her credibility. As Williams continues with her anecdote, she illustrates a cute story of her male child and his playmate whom she calls Jessie, and concludes her anecdote with the nursery school teacher identifying her child after a security guard and Jessie after a "mini-hostess with the mostest!" In comparison to the main topic and Williams' story, Williams paves the way with a transition into the topic of assigning gender roles.…
Later, the boy’s family gets a new nanny. Ursula Monkton is adored by the boy’s sister, but he can tell that there is something unnatural about her. He and the Hempstocks soon conclude that she is a monster from another world. As keen as the narrator is to accept this, his parents are not. In the novel, the boy makes futile attempts to explain who, or what, Ursula Monkton really is to both his mother and his father, providing another example of how adults would never be able to believe such a phenomenal concept, no matter how much proof they are given. When the boy tries to explain, not only does he sound completely crazy, but he also challenges the stable, simple world his parents believe they live in. Looking at Ursula Monkton, it’s hard for them to believe she could be bad, let alone an evil supernatural monster. Throughout the story, Gaiman makes a stark contrast between the various versions of reality between a child and his parents. This results in a theme that teaches and challenges us to be more like children, to open our minds to new perspectives and look at the world in a different…