22 October 2013 Parenting A Lifetime Essay

Submitted By Tanisha-Torres
Words: 933
Pages: 4

22 October 2013 Parenting: A Lifetime Profession
What if one day you woke up and your mother was no longer around because she is dead? Your father is around but he is abusive which makes you feel fear more than anything else. You don't have anyone and now you are responsible for all of your mother's duties that she left behind. Every penny you work for is given to your father. One day, prince charming comes along and suddenly you have an escape from this undesirable life. You don't have to feel fear anymore, unloved nor alone. Would you open that door and never look back or would you feel guilty of leaving all that you have ever known; the responsibilities your father put on you instead of comforting you and your siblings with the loss of your mother. Why was it all put on your plate? Family is much more than just siblings and parents living on the same household. It is supposed to provide unconditional love that you cannot find in the streets. “Eveline by James Joyce" shows how parenting can affect one's success and happiness in a child's life. Eveline's father could of taught her not only to care for a family, but also the value of what family is all about, the support family can provide and the love as well.
Eveline's bit of childhood quickly came to an end when she lost her mother. Since then she has put family first before her own chance at happiness. We can blame her father for this because he did not teach her how to have a balance when it comes to family, friends, work and love relationships. Her father's imagine is all that she knows of when it comes to men. How is she supposed to know when someone truly loves her and what happiness is supposed to feel like? Sometimes she felt that Frank's gentleness and open hearted characteristics were odd. Eveline knows she deserves to be happy but because she is in denial and does not recognize how things should truly be, she doesn't leave with Frank. Although she wants to leave and escape the life she has lived, when she has the chance she does not take the leap. It was as if she was independent yet dependent of her father's order and demands. Parenting a child the correct way is so important! Sure we all make mistakes even as parents but when we do become parents our joy should be our children happiness. Because of the way Eveline was raised, she will not get a shot at love and happiness any time soon. She believes she has a right to happiness, that is, until she stands on the shore and confronts the reality of the journey of which she is about to go on. Fear and guilt (about abandoning her father and her younger siblings) overwhelm her, and she stays rather than leaving. "We are always faced with situations that leave us thinking, am I doing the right thing? More often than not some of these ' wrong things ' actually are what make us most happy. We are only human and can not help the things that make us happy." - (Talbot n.p.)
Just a little self-discovery as I am writing, Eveline kind of resembles "The Cinderella Story". Having to do all the chorus at the household and meeting someone that makes her feel happy but as soon as that clock hits midnight