Paula's Blog

Short Stories Essay

While growing up, we are constantly reminded of our past, whether they are filled with happy memories or sad moments, we have to embrace all of our childhood and live our lives from there on. The life lessons we learn during our childhood from the adults help guide us to make decisions when faced with conflicts and situations. Though it may seem that having a fulfilling childhood in which parents play a positive role would encourage the development of an exemplary identity, it is not always the case, whereas our identity while growing up is greater influenced by the conflicts we face and the situations we encounter. The influences that surround us daily and how we choose to deal with them are what impact the changes in our identities as shown in the stories we have read.

Without a doubt, we have all experienced the joys of childhood, and it is not surprising how our experiences carry on into our later years and influence the development of our identities. The positive environment that we are brought up in creates the foundation of our values and morals. This is demonstrated in some of the stories we have analysed. For example “Possum”, as the story is about a pair of siblings brought up in a safe environment. Although the sister Helena bullies her little brother Hector, their relationship with each other is still very strong. Even though Helena likes to pick on her brother like the time they played “Wzzat”, after being tricked into licking bird poop, she changes her view of her brother and finds respect for him. This shows that she does not dislike him deep down and she still values him as her brother. As for Hector, he learned to stand up for himself and in the future; this lesson would guide him to develop into a confident character who can defend himself. These are all signs of positive developments from being brought up in loving environments. For instance, the story “Deliberate” demonstrates the differences between children who are raised in different upbringings. Emma, the protagonist, grows up in a loving family as shown through the way she cares for her siblings and how her parents try to protect her from the complicated situations outside her understandings. Duane, however, has experienced a negative childhood because of his mother abandoning him when he was young and the alleged suicide of his father. From this story, we learn that agreeable childhoods can influence positive character changes, though not everyone is fortunate enough to be brought up in safe and loving environments.

As we have mentioned those who develop ideal characteristics based on their childhood, there are always others who live in the opposite world. The children who are brought up in cruel environments where they seek comfort away from the harms they are subjected to. In the story “I’m a Mad Dog Biting Myself for Sympathy”, the narrator kidnaps a little boy accidentally and leaves him in the freezing cold, almost dying. Now one might ponder what kind of a person does such a thing and we take into account the factors which might have induced these actions such as, how they were raised. When the narrator thinks of his parents in such a way, “My parents. It’s not like I hate them or anything. I just can’t see them. Where their eyes should meet mine, nothing”, he is stating that the values and moral he should be reminded of aren’t present when he recalls memories of his childhood. Due to negative upbringings, we too often lose sight of the morals we were taught because no one guides us to act on those values we believe in. From the narrators view on life, such as how he suggests that people will leave you no matter what you say or do, we can determine that he too might have once been neglected which cause him to view the world negatively. While we have the choice to impact another’s childhood pessimistically, there are also people who have the opportunity to impact our childhood negatively. This is exemplified in the story “White Places”, a story about a girl, Killer, who is bullied by her friends until the point that she loses her self-esteem and nearly her life. Since Killer’s parents are never there to stop Cissy from hurting Killer, they are enabling her friends to continue bullying her. This is an example of parents who don’t play an active role in protecting their children. It is because of this reason that Cissy and her friends can keep manipulating Killer’s feelings until she loses all self-esteem in herself and starts to believe in the game “Pretend”. The role of parents during childhood is crucial because they are the ones who are suppose to care for their child’s wellbeing. The lack of positive parental influence along with bad childhood memories is the reason why many children forget their morals and lose sight of themselves.

Aside from the influences we are exposed to during our childhood, the main factor that determines our identities and how we deal with the obstacles we are faced with are the conflicts and situations we come across while growing up. As children, we are prone to different pressures which change how we view ourselves and how we view the world. Due to the many circumstances that we are powerless to prevent, the characteristics we develop are based on how we deal and resolve these situations. For instance, the story “Kid in a Bin” demonstrates how the death of a parent can change a child’s attitude towards the world despite being brought up in a loving environment. Anthony, the protagonist of the story, runs away from home and hides in McDonalds after the death of his mother as a cause of malignant melanoma. Although he was raised in a loving family, he doesn’t turn to the comfort of his family when his mother passed away, and this proves that even though our childhood does influence us, in the end it doesn’t determine who we are and how we face conflicts. Since Anthony chose to run away from home as his solution to his problem, this is what will change his characteristics the most. Another case of this would be the protagonist of the story “Memorial Day”. Stephen changed completely after the divorce of his parents by avoiding talks to his mother and stepfather. He too was brought up in a safe environment in which his parents loved him very much yet because of the divorce and the way he is dealing with it, his identity changed significantly. Besides the situations we come faced with, during process of growing up, we are also susceptible to changes in our identity. In the circumstance of the story “Boys and Girls”, the narrator is a girl who is pressured into changing her views for a self-image which meets the expectations of society. Her family constantly criticises her actions and tries to convince her into behaving more like a girl. Her mother and grandmother convey the message that girls are only suppose to stay home and do the housework, while her brother should be the one working in the farm. The thought of growing up exerts many pressures which influence changes in out lives. These entire stories share the common idea that apart from the upbringings of one’s childhood, everything can change based on the conflicts that we are confronted with.

To most, childhood is full of enjoyable memories such as friends, family and the life lessons we have acquired along the way. Looking back, we may recall joyous reminiscences or heart wrecking sorrows; they are all mementos of our childhood. There will always be a part within ourselves that is determined by our upbringings. With positive childhood experiences come virtuous morals and exemplary characteristics. With that being said, we can also observe the effects of negative experiences and lack of active parental roles and how that develops into characteristics. We are always reminded of our unchangeable pasts, yet our future isn’t set in stone, therefore the most important factor that contributes to our identities is how we continue to grow and deal with the obstacles that we encounter along the way. This is what I have learned and what the protagonists of the stories we read have taught me and found out themselves.

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Short Stories Essay

Presentation Outline

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