Compare/Contrast Why do parents make their children do things they do not want to do? This question is asked my many children around the world today. In “Kaffir Boy” by Mark Mathabane and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, two children are faced with pressure from their moms to be successful and receive a good education. Amy and Mark do not understand the reasoning behind their mothers’ ambitions to push them. One begins to understand that his mom is pushing him for his own good and it is what is best for him.
As a result of his failure to make it to the baseball major leagues, Troy reflects his defeat on Cory, telling him he’ll never succeed because of the “white man”. In addition to his jealousy, another reason for Troy holding Cory back is he subconsciously does not want his son to surpassing his own life progress and accomplishments; this is unlike a usual Father who dreams of their child accomplishing more than themselves. Troy’s self-loathing also sabotages his seemingly satisfactory marriage. By cheating on Rose, Troy can escape his daily responsibilities and feelings of failure. He feels this way with his mistress, Alberta, because she does not know much of him or his past, unlike Rose.
Kids today are being over-protected by their parents and sheltered from the harsh realities of the real world. Instead of dealing with the struggles of parenthood, many have decided to take the easy way out by alleviating their situation through financial means. Parents today are willing to buy their children anything in hopes of obtaining their child’s satisfaction. The writer continues to state that the future generation may not be so
He seeks answers for unjust actions that occur in the culture. The main internal struggle between the two is that “Nwoye seeks for his father’s love and understanding, but Okonkwo is incapable of responding because he considers those emotions manly and effeminate” (Iyasere). This creates a problem due to his father putting achievement and success above everything else, including his own son. Okonkwo’s internal battles such as “his inability and refusal to balance his masculine and feminine virtues contribute to the destroyal of his relationship with Nwoye” (McLeish). Okonkwo’s incompetence to fulfill the emotional needs of Nwoye creates the pathway for the downward spiral of their relationship.
Anyone who has raised a child can understand the many obstacles and challenges of parenthood. Every parent wants to see their child happy and succeed in life, but in order to accomplish that, many parents believe they must grant their child’s every want and need. Ruben Navaratte Jr.’s article from the San Diego Tribune, “The deprived child who has it all” is shared to be aimed towards the parents of the new millennium. Navarette bring up the issue about parents of the new millennium who make the mistake of ironically providing too much for their children. In the opening paragraph of the article, Navarette shares his own experience of growing up as a child in the 1940’s.
Yet his shame at having a child with a Hazara woman leads him to hide the fact that Hassan is his son. Because he cannot love Hassan openly, he is somewhat distant toward Amir and is often hard on him, though he undoubtedly loves him. Keith’s father is
Willy knows deep down that he is overall a pretty unsuccessful man but he continues to tell his two sons that he is successful and that all they need in life is to be well liked in order to be like him. Although this is very untrue and Willy is not very well liked and is certainly not successful he puts on a front like its all one needs in life. Willy thinks that his attempts to kill himself are secret but all along Linda knows what he is doing
He builds up his son’s ego by telling them that all you need to be is well-liked. Theses false values shown by Willy makes Biff become overwhelmed with confidence that all he needs is to be attractive in order to be successful and makes him think of why should he have to try hard in school when his appealing personality will make up for poor grades. Willy’s flawed view of success, where being well-liked is more important than being the best at whatever job you pursue, leads to failure and unhappiness in both his life and his sons life’s in the business world. Although Happy has a job that would be more acceptable by his father than Biff’s, but Willy doesn’t admire Happy like he does Biff. Happy has lived in the shadow of Biff his whole life, he feels that to get the attention he deserves he must strive to be more successful than his brother.
Biff then decides that he is not going to finish school and therefore does not become successful, which was his Father’s big dream. Aristotle also states that a tragic hero cannot be completely good or completely evil, this is true of Willy. He cannot be considered completely good because he is an adulterer, but he feels guilt for his actions, so he also can’t be considered completely evil. Even though his actions didn’t always support it, he tried very hard to provide the best for his family. Willy also possesses a flaw, schizophrenia, which fits the fourth of Aristotle’s five distinctions.
Symbols are a whole message within a word that must be analyzed and interpreted to discover. In Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller uses symbolism to portray how Willy’s blind faith in the American dream turns into an obsession for prosperity which ultimately destroys Willy. This is presented through the symbolism of seeds, rubber hose and diamonds. The seeds in Death of a salesman represent a chance for Willy to validate the fact that he was successful in his life to everyone around him and it also represents Willy’s failure to raise Biff into a successful and well liked businessman. Willy puts in a lot of effort to provide for his family from the very beginning.