Portable Childhoods by Ellen Klages Portable Childhoods is a collection of stories about childhood with a twist from the average normality of childhood infused with elements of fantasy and science fiction. The stories range from fantasy to horror most relating to childhoods and often in the voice of a young girl or woman. They leave quite an impression as your move from story to the next. Upon, finishing the book, two stories were left in mind replaying over and over until I was lost in its story. “Basement Magic” is unique twist on the evil stepmother/fairy god-mother story. The main character is a shy and bright little girl named Mary-Louise. Following the generic evil stepmother/fairy god-mother story, her mother died young and her father …show more content…
As you moved from story to story you were still left with the presence of the one before. When I first read the first story “Basement Magic” it took me while to get used to the writing language. Klages use of imagery and metaphors was abet different from what I am used to but is a strong component in supporting the story. I agree with Publishers Weekly when they say “this collection will linger in the memory long after reading” because after I finished the book, my mind was still replaying the stories. I was envisioning the characters over again, their actions, their emotions until it was far into my mind that I was thinking about it for days creating my own twist and sequels of those …show more content…
In “Flying Over Water” the main character is awkward, which is another relatable aspect, and is going through puberty and doesn’t agree with her mother’s rules and opinions. She only wishes to swim away and be her own self. A story such as that relates to the awkward time of puberty and growing up, where you try to look for your own voice in a big world. Klages states that the stories in Portable Childhoods were “based on her mother-daughter relationship.” I maintain that because of this approach Klages stories are strong and lasting and are a great collection to
Unequal Childhoods is an ethnography outlining the study done by Annette Lareau which researched how socioeconomic classes impact parenting among both white and African American families. She used both participant observation and interviewing. 12 families participated in this study where she came to conclusions on whether they displayed parenting styles of concerted cultivation or natural growth based of their socioeconomic status. Concerted cultivation is a parenting style where the parent(s) are fully invested in creating as much opportunity for their child as possible, but results in a child with a sense of entitlement. An example of this would be a parent who places their children in a wide array of extracurricular activities and/or actively speaks to educators about the accommodations their child needs to effectively learn.
“The Undercurrent” by Kellie Young is a story of a mother and daughter’s relationship that takes place in Hawaii throughout Young’s childhood. It describes to readers how her mother has influenced her life by becoming an admonitory voice inside her head. The impact Young’s mother has on her is widely due to the amount of admiration Young has for her. A crucial element to “The Undercurrent” is the short stories found throughout her narrative that exemplifies the greater concept of how her mother has shaped her life.
A Yellow Raft on Blue Water Character Analysis Rayona, in Michael Dorris’ “A Yellow Raft of Blue Water”, is the perfect example of a fifteen-year-old girl. She is self conscious about her background (half black, half Native American), her height (too tall), her weight (too skinny), and her family (or what passes as one). In addition to her typical teenage conundrums, Rayona must endeavor to keep track of her alcoholic mother, Christine, who is constantly in the hospital for alcohol poisoning (3). Rayona gets no help from her father, Elgin. Elgin abandoned Christine when Rayona was a baby and only periodically checks in on them (5).
Her father had kept her very sheltered. After her father dies she is left all alone. For three days she refuses to acknowledge his death, until the towns man makes
Basically, it was like that one giant puzzle that is only missing one piece before it can be completed and you have no idea where that piece is. It is certainly a very unique book. Also, I loved how each story
When society thinks of the word “childhood,” they imagine it as a precious time for children to be in school and freely play, to grow and learn with the love and support from people dear to their hearts. It is also known to be a cherished period where children are to be innocent and live carefree from fear. However, in the context of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, childhood is viewed as a tough hardship that Jeannette and her siblings have overcame, and the memories they carry has greatly impacted their lives that it has molded them to who they are
These both show that even against seemingly impossible odds you can still thrive and overcome any hardship and grow into a successful and honorable person. This also shows how much a child’s caregiver and the way they are raised can affect them. Abuse is a very serious issue and going unnoticed can have very harmful
Throughout human history, children were thought of as servants, apprentices, or a means to ease workload. Children would work on the family farm or a family business. They could be easily taken advantage of compared to adults. The exploitation of children for labor without concern for their education or welfare was common and even the norm. No special concern about children existed.
Sam Ergastolo HWOC- Period 5 9/20/16 Mrs. Sherwin Technology and Children The fact that the children killed their parents in “The Veldt” suggests that technology is too advanced and should not be exposed to children. To start off, technology should not be exposed to children because it makes them addicted to it.
In both Kaye Gibbon’s Ellen Foster and Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle the protagonists have to endure life growing up with minimal support from their parents or guardians. Both explore the difficulties they have to face growing up alone and how they overcome it. Child neglect forces children to learn and do things themselves. This level of independence at such a young age causes them to become more responsible than their peers and gives them determination to be different from their parents and learn from their own and their parents mistakes. When parents are absent from a majority of the childs life means that the child needs to provide their basic needs for him or herself.
Like when Janina and Misha were hiding from the Jackboots, I never wanted to stop reading so I could find out what happened. Overall, this book was great and it taught me alot about what people were feeling throughout this horrible
For example, the opening first story explains her desire to eat American food instead of Indian food. She describes how the children at school have tuna salad sandwiches her mother doesn’t know how to make it nor does she really care for the food. Describing her desire for American food foreshadows to the relationship between her parents and even her culture. Constantly wanting American food while she grows up creates a disconnection in her relationship with her
Essay #2 Parents play a very important role in the lives of their children. If parents do it in the right way, it positively impacts children’s mental and emotional condition. One of the main characters from the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie, does not have that kind of relationships with her parents, with who she can share her thoughts or who to get a good advice from. The main reason of all Connie’s mental and emotional problems is that her parents do not play a good role model for her and compare with the older sister. Being parents is far more than just providing children with food and clothes.
The story is about a young girl named Cinderella whose widowed father remarries but soon dies, leaving his daughter with the evil stepmother and her two daughters. The stepmother prefers her own daughters over Cinderella and has her perform all of the house chores. While Cinderella is kind, patient, and sweet, her stepsisters are cruel and selfish. Meanwhile, across the kingdom the King decides that his son the Prince should find a suitable bride and marry and so invites every eligible maiden in the kingdom to a fancy ball. Cinderella has no appropriate dress for the ball so her friends the mice namely Jaques and Gus, and the birds help her in making one, but the evil stepsisters tear apart the dress on the evening of the ball.
The Brothers Grimm, Cinderella - Critical Analysis Description: This dark version of the many original Cinderella stories is by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, better known as the Grimm brothers. Cinderella is about a young girl who sadly loses her mother due to some kind of sickness, her father marries a woman who has two daughters, shortly after her mother’s death. The daughters are referred to as Cinderella’s “false sisters” due to their evil and wicked tactics during the story and also because they are not related to her by blood. Her father gets completely brainwashed by the stepmother and begins to treat his own daughter the same way they do, like a pest.