Although Jaimito seems sweet and the perfect fit for Dede, he is quickly criticized. His marriage with Dede becomes bitter, argumentative and abusive. In one instance, he “grabbed her by the wrists and shoved her on the bed,”(176). As well as abusing his wife, he controls her and doesn’t allow her to be too involved in the revolution like her sisters and their husbands are. Throughout the book, Jaimito is controlling his wife's actions and constantly questioning her, which doesn’t cause him to seem like a great husband or even a kindhearted person.
Another instance of sexual abuse in The Glass Castle is when Walls’ Uncle Stanley touches Jeannette inappropriately. After telling her mother of this incident, Jeannette receives no sympathy. In fact, Rose Mary ends up giving her sorrow to Stanley, claiming that she feels bad for him because he is “lonely.” Rose Mary also states that sexual assault is a “crime of perception.” This dismissal and victim-shaming is prevalent in today’s world.
You should always be yourself and sometimes you have to do things to make the ones you love happy. The narrators call out their parents for being selfish and only caring about what they want. When in reality their parents are doing everything they can form their kids. In both Confetti Girl and Tortilla Sun, both narrators clearly have points of views different from their parents. In both, the narrators oppose their parents for being selfish, choosing their professional careers over their children.
At first glimpse, it’s obvious her mother lacks parenting skills, and cares little for her daughters. Yet, there is a more prominent issue than just simply lacking parenting skills, the few pages she mentions her mother set not only a tone but is one of the main themes that occurred throughout the book. The theme or the saying “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree”. Furthermore, Sena confronted her mother about picking a man over her children, in which her mother rebuttals and states this may be her last chance at happiness.
Another incident where Joe makes Janie seem smaller is shown when they are at a town gathering. Joe does not allow Janie to speak for herself because he thinks she is incapable of controlling her own speech and assumes she is not as educated as he is. This marriage also comes to an end, not by Janie running away, but by the death of Joe. Although Joe was abusive and controlling, Janie had feelings for him in the beginning of their relationship and she truly cared for him. Janie’s relationship with Joe showed her a portion of the type of partnership she dreams for, but it is not until Tea Cake that Janie finds what she has been waiting
Joy tends to think very arrogantly in nearly every scenario she faces. She thinks she has a superior mind compared to everyone else. Her “superior mind” is tested when a bible salesman by the name of Manley Pointer shows up on Mrs. Hopewell’s door. Despite having no interest in purchasing bibles from Mr. Pointer, she still invites him in believing he is on of the “good country people” she is so fond of. As the bible salesman was he invites Joy to a picnic for the next day.
Mildred’s constant addiction to gadgets represents her denial towards her problems and the little desire she has towards a better life. Her ignorance is another of her great weaknesses since she lives in a world where her feelings don’t matter and is easily influenced by tv and propaganda which explains her obsess towards hair dye and a soap opera family, even when Guy tries to talk to her all she seems able to talk about is her “family”, he tries to talk to her into reading some of the books he has found but she’s just worried that Captain Beatty might show up and “burn the house and the ‘family’” and asks him “why should I read?” “what for?” (34, Bradbury). Mildred doesn’t understand what she’s feeling and therefore prefers little amounts of superficial happiness that only give her joy for a little while, instead of reading and exterminating her ignorance because she’s too afraid to understand what is really happening inside of
One dominant theme in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is the destructiveness of the natural tendency to engage in self-delusion when dealing with life’s difficulties. From the beginning, the main character Blanche seeks to do all she can to convince herself and others that the situations she encounters are better than they truly are. She hides her issues with drinking and the loss of her home, ultimately lying to her sister Stella and Stella’s husband Stanley. Stanley however, is very direct and does not allow Blanche to remain in her perfect world. Consequently, Stanley’s actions become more blunt and harsh as the play progresses which result in a worsening of Blanche’s delusions.
While Catherine does have some affection for Edgar, she does not marry him out of love, she marries him because he is rich. Her love for Edgar is not natural, it is pretended. When Catherine falls ill, there’s a certain moment that she believe she is being haunted because she does not recognize herself in the mirror. When Nelly manages to convince her that the image in the mirror is her own, Catherine is horrified. “At the point when Catherine realizes the woman in the mirror is herself…she recognizes just how profound her self-alienation…can be” (Ablow 62).
Jane hated that Mr. Rochester bought pretty jewelleries and dresses for her;” the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation” (Brontë, 321). One can interpret this as Jane worries that the marriage would lessen her independence and put her at an inferior position. The fact that Mr. Rochester buys her all these things makes Jane feel objectified, and she could not tolerate it. Once again, this signals the feministic opinions that the character of Jane is associated with. Jane and Mr. Rochester does not get married during this section of the book, due to the fact that he is already in a marriage.
Dee was shown to fluctuate between interest and disdain for her culture. When she does appreciate her culture, she only wants it for the wrong reasons. Dee wants the butter churner her uncle had made but only to use it for decoration purposes. She gets mad when she hears that Maggie was just going to use the blanket for “everyday use” and not appreciate it for its past. She even renames herself believing that she’ll be more in tune with her culture ignoring the fact that she was named after her aunt and her great grandmother.