Ashes Susan Beth Pfeffer Character Analysis

“One in a million,’ he said ‘And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, Ashes.”-pg2 acknowledges her father. The dad is Ashleigh’s cheerleader always upbeat, but since he wants to make her dreams come true she in return ”owes” him a “favor”. Kind of like when someone gives another person a compliment the other person feels obligated to say thank you because they did something nice for the other person now it’s the opposite person’s turn to return the favor. Pfeffer illustrates this through ashleigh in this quote, “I love you so much,’ he said ‘ You’re ten thousand times better than I deserve, Ashes’....’I had an thought,’ he said as he reached for my pickle.’ Your mother keeps a couple hundred dollars cash at her place.”-pg3 As iterated previously when someone gives another person a compliment the opposite person has the obligation to say thanks you, well in the quote the father is giving the compliment and then slightly afterwards cashing in the favor. Ashleigh now in a way has to steal the money or else it would be unfair towards all her father’s support. Ashleigh’s dad is manipulating her love for her to help him get the money he needs. Illustrated on pg 4 Pfeffer uses personification and foreshadowing to exaggerate the choice Ashleigh makes at the end of the short story. “I could hear my father’s car keening in the distance ’You’re one in a million,’ it

Ashes, the girl of a divorced family, has to make the most family breaking decision of her life between her Mom and Dad. Ashes has to choose to help her Mom keep the money or steal the money for her Dad. Ashes stole the money from her mom for many reasons to be told. First, she believes in her Dad more than her Mom, secondly, Ashes wants to protect her Dad, and finally, she needs to get the love from her Dad.

Ashleigh cares about her dad too much, she believes that her dad will pay her back, and Ashleigh would do anything for her dad that is why she stole the money. The reason why Ashleigh cares about her dad too much is an important topic is because if she does and shows it in the short story. Also Ashleigh believes that her dad will pay her back is important because if she steals the money she wants to get it payed back soon. Lastly, Ashleigh would do anything for her dad is important because anything means she would even steal from her own mother. That is why Ashleigh stole the

Ashleigh had to make a decision in a serious situation, but what she chose could have consequences. Ashleigh, also known as “Ashes” is living with her divorced parents and switching off seeing them often. She is in a big city and lives in a apartment in a run down neighborhood. Ashleigh took the emergency money from her mom because she 's a lot like her dad, favors her dad more, and she trusts him with his choices.

it is very common and adds excitement to the story. The conflict of “Ashes” is character vs self. This is because Ashleigh is fighting against herself to do what is morally right or to help her father by stealing for him. When Ashleigh “lifted its lid and stared at her emergency money“ she had to make a decision on whether to make take the money or leave it this and the final outcome is unknown(Pfeffer 4). This moment in the story was crucial in the plot because it starts the climax and when both sides of Ashleigh are fighting the hardest against the other. Another quote that demonstrates conflict is,”’No, Ashes the teapots the way to go”’(Pfeffer 4). This is actually a bit of character vs character conflict between Ashleigh and her father because she is trying to get him to to sell his car instead of stealing from mom. Instead of agreeing Dad says no and continues to drive the plot forward through conflict. The climax is the resolution to the plot. Though the climax in “Ashes” does not provide a clear resolution it still is the height of conflict in the short story:”Her earthquake money. Her martian money. What should I do?”(Pfeffer 4). This quote shows Ashleigh's internal conflict with herself because she is still struggling to decide whether or not to help her dad. This shows that she loves both of her parents very much because she can’t decide whether to steal from her mom to help her dad or

Ashleigh asked her father, “‘Why don’t you sell your car?”’ (Pfeffer, 4). Ashes really does not want to take the money. So she suggests to her father how he can get the money in a legal way so she is not influenced even more to steal. Ashleigh’s dad turns down the idea because he claims that he could not find another car. While eating out Ashes asks, “‘Can you afford it?”’ (Pfeffer, 2). Ashleighs dad takes her out to dinner when he is already in the hole 200 dollars. It doesn’t make since to Ashes why her dad would take her out to eat when he is already in debt $200. So Ashleigh ask if her dad could afford to eat out. He insisted that he could. Ashes thinks that her dad is irresponsible with his money. Overall, Ashleigh doesn’t want to be around her dad because he influences Ashleigh in a negative

Human development is an intricate process in which a society depends order to create a variety of religions, cultures, and authorities. In the novel, the Poisonwood Bible,​ the Price family lives in the heat of the moment as the Congo undergoes a transformation, while they adapt to living amongst the natives. The natives saw them as a threatening force that is able to jeopardize their way of living. In the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the process of colonization is shed to light through the family’s interactions with the native Congo people as they attempt to merge their religions, cultures, and authorities

The role of parents in a child’s life is an irreplaceable one. Children are shaped by what they see their parents do and how they see them act. Children can choose to pattern themselves after what they see their parents do or they can choose to avoid being like their parents. In the story ‘Ashes’ by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Recent research shows, fathers affect the lives of their young adult daughters in intriguing and occasionally surprising ways. Ashes’ father can be mostly described as a good parent.

The realistic fiction story, “Ashes”, by Susan Beth Pfeffer is about a young girl who has two very polar opposite parents. A fun, but irresponsible father, and a practical, proactive mother. Ashes faces a major dilemma when her financially troubled father asks Ashes to steal from her mother’s emergency fund for his own personal needs. Sometimes, the people you love most can be selfish and deceive you. This relates to my story because Ashes’ dad is manipulative, deceptive, and selfish.

Ashleigh has been manipulated by her father to get the money for him by promising to pay back the money and claiming her mother’s worries aren’t real. One example of this on page 4 when her father says, “You let me have the money tonight, and I’ll straighten out my little difficulty, and Thursday night . . .I’ll give you back what I owe you. No earthquakes, no Martians, no problem.” He shows a total disregard for the mother’s emergency money by saying no earthquakes or

In a person’s childhood, most of their major decisions that they are faced with in life are made by their parents or guardians. Parents make the decisions for them because they want the best for their children, and want them to have a good chance to survive in the real world when they reach adulthood. After childhood however, they must make decisions for themselves, which will eventually lead them towards their dreams or the life their parents were afraid of. In the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the decisions that were made for the author Wes Moore, led him away from living the life of a criminal, to living the life of a very successful man. In his life, Wes’s mom (Joy) made most of the important decisions that led him to success.

Ashes was influenced by her father, she and her mother never had a secure relationship and ashes believes in her father and his dreams, ashes stole the money from her mother's teapot. Ashes took the money because she would do anything to help her father, even to the point of theft. Ashes had to make the toughest decision to help her father or spare her mother. She helped her

Imagine being faced with the toughest choice of your life, choosing between your parents. Ashleigh, or Ashes, has been torn between her mother and father her entire life. Her mother, a logical women who bases her decisions on the facts, and her father, who is more of a people person and bases his decisions others. So when her father asked her to “borrow” $200 from her mother to pay off a loan, Ashes was faced with the toughest decision she could ever imagine. Ashes did not take her mother's money because she’s too similar to her mother, the money is to be used for emergencies only, and she realized her father was trying to butter her up.

Ashleigh lives a rough life with tough decisions. In the short story, “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer, it’s winter and Ashleigh had to decide whether she should take money from her mom’s emergency pot for her dad or just keep it there for her mom. Ashleigh’s parents are divorced, so she doesn’t know what her punishment will be for which ever side she will pick. Ashleigh decides to take the money because she wants to make her dad happy, her mom doesn’t appreciate her as much as her dad, and her dad needs it for something that will let him go far in life.

In a usual family, there are set roles. A father, mother, and children. Stereotypically, each role is supposed to have a set job- the father is in charge of the family, making the rules, the mother cooks and helps the children, and the children play. This stereotype is slowly changing throughout the years, and some could argue that it is different for their family. One thing that should be true in all families, is that the parents are good role models for their children, leading them in the right direction in life. In the short story, “Powder” by Tobias Wolff, the roles of father and son are flipped. The father in the story doesn’t act as a typical father figure, but instead the son meets all of the requirements that a fatherly figure should have. Throughout the story, the father and son spend a lot time together, making up for all of their lost time together. Through bonding and talking with his father, the son realizes who he is compared to his father and his actions.