Sonny's Blues Poem Theme

In the middle of Betty’s fit, she starts to shout that “[she] wants her mama”(19). Betty’s mother passes away when she is young, so her father is in charge of raising her. She is growing up without a female role model, so she is already at a disadvantage. The three characteristics of being young, motherless, and a girl shows she is the complete opposite of the typical powerful figures of this time. She continues to maintain to gain power when she openly disagrees with Abigail, who none of the other girls are willing to argue with.

In this documentary, the viewers see a child that had been severely battered and abused by her father Clark Wiley, as well as being neglected by her partially blind mother Dorothy Irene Wiley struggle to find a place in the world after she is found and rescued from her abusive home. During those several years of torment Genie was deprived of educational and physical interactions which seemed to be evident at the time of her rescue seeing as she could only utter twenty words that were instilled in her when her father lacked sympathy and had outrageous burst of anger, as well as in the way she walked with her head hobbled over and her arms close to her body at all times. At the time, young Genie was transferred to a children's hospital in Los Angeles where a study took place about the Developmental Consequences of Extreme Isolation headed by psychologist

Regardless of her oppression she takes a stand and changes her fate. As a young woman she was crippled by the weight of the world. After her mother died she was overwhelmed by the task of bearing her stepfather's children and trying to protect her little sister Nettie. Her lack of confidence and self worth took a toll to the words and actions of her stepfather. Even after escaping her father she covered her mouth when she smiled because he

Aunt Baba and YeYe were the only family members who really cared for Adeline. Although her siblings and Stepmother Niang often abuse her, Adeline attempts to overcome these challenges. Adeline’s first experience of adversity in her life started from the day she was born. Her siblings told her everyday that, “If you had not been born, Mamma would still be alive. She died because of you.

“ Saranell sprang to her feet and threw herself against the homespun Jean trousers and worsted shirt” (Carr 135). Even though Saranell was emotionally abandoned by Geneva, she still stood up for her mother. Regardless of the fact that she was emotionally neglected, Saranell continued to love her mother and was willing to sacrifice herself for her. Overall, emotional abandonment leaves children feeling unwanted with no one to turn to for help. No child should go through the pain and neglect that Saranell felt in Leaving Gilead.

Have you ever wondered how teen parents live and survive in the world we live in today? Amanda was a teenage girl who didn’t mean to get pregnant. She found out when she went to the doctors for stomach aches. The next day she told her mother and her mother is very disappointed in her. After a few weeks went by, she moved in with her baby’s daddy.

This is situational irony because the reader expects Dee not to want anything from her home because of how much she despised her home and heritage, but she ends up wanting the butter churn and hand-made quilts. She even says that Maggie would not appreciate the quilts and would put them to “everyday use,” as if Dee adores them. It is also ironic that Dee brings Hakim-a-barber home with her. In the story, Mama refers to the time when Dee wrote her a letter saying that wherever Maggie and Mama chose to live, she would come visit them, but she would not bring her friends. “She wrote me once that no matter where we ‘choose’ to live, she will manage to come see us.

As a result, she gives in to her sister’s request and tells her mom, “She can have them” (321 Walker). The quilts have a different value for each daughter. In Maggie case, “it was Grandma Dee and Big Dee who taught her how to quilt”, her mother promised her the quilts after she was married, and because they were meant to be used and appreciated. Maggie hints that she thinks of the quilts as a reminder of her aunt and grandmother when she says, “I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts” (321 Walker). Dee/Wangero sees the quilts as “priceless” (320 Walker).

Hope Edelman’s “The Myth of Co-Parenting,” focuses on Edelman’s marriage falling apart when her husband spends the majority of his waking hours at work. Edelman describes the hardships she faces while raising her daughter for almost two years with an absentee husband. She is left assuming the role of a traditional wife; cleaning the house, stocking the fridge, and taking care of her daughter. Co-parenting is not only hard for the woman in Edelman’s instance, but is also difficult for the husband in Eric Bartels’ “My Problem with Her Anger.” Bartels examines the scrutiny he is under from his wife for performing seemingly easy tasks incorrectly. He feels attacked by his wife when she criticizes the improper manner in which he loads the dishwasher and sorts the laundry.

Ms. Johnson didn't have an education, yet she knew the value of the quilts and she didn’t let a few words from Dee change her decision of giving the quilts to Maggie. Dee leaves her mother’s house quite upset and tells her sister, “You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never know it” (Walker 12). This quote relates to education in many ways.