Abstract This paper compares and contrasts E. Nesbit's "The Story of the Treasure Seekers" and Brian Doyle's "Uncle Ronald", particularly with regards to the theme of the absentfather. The paper points out that, on the surface, the books seem to have little in common. The paper adds that the former is a hard-hitting, realistic tale that most parents would have to think long and hard about, before reading it to their children, while the latter is a delightful tale where the unpleasant realities of life are merely hinted at. However, the paper asserts that the stories are similar in that they both deal at length with the issue of the absentfather and that these largely absentfathers are crucial to the development of the protagonists of the books. The paper concludes that the main difference between the stories lies in the resolution of the problem of the absentfather.
From the Paper "We thus come to the first clear commonality of the books. Young Mickey lacks a father because even though he is in the house, he does not play the role of a father. He is not a father to be loved and respected, but a pathetic tyrant to be feared and hated. Thus, although Mickey appears to have a father, to all intents and purposes he does not. His father is present in the sense of being physically there, but has no useful communication with his son, and plays no positive role in his life. Exactly the same could be said about Mr. Bastable. Although he is physically there, he has no useful communication with his children, and plays no positive role in their lives."
Abstract This paper describes three stories and how the Jungian archetype influences the story. The paper first discusses the Walt Disney movie, "Song of the South", explaining how the Jungian father archetype can be found in the story because there is an absentfather that is replaced by another father figure. Next the paper discusses the European children's tale, "Max and Moritz" which is a cautionary tale about what happens to children that grow up without a father. Lastly, the paper discusses the story of "Cinderella", explaining that it is representative of the the father-as-lover archetype.
From the Paper "Historically, children's literature has always had a place in our lives. No matter how old we grow, we can relate many of our adult observations to the tales of our childhood. Having been fortunate to grow up in a family from two different cultures, I heard tales from old Europe from my Mother, and the rich tales of the southeastern United States from my Father. In considering Jung's theory of the archetype, there are three tales that come to mind. First, the movie "Song of The South", which tells stories of the South that my grandfather grew up in. Second, the tale of Max and Moritz, a cautionary tale for children told throughout Europe for hundreds of years. Finally, the classic "Cinderella" which, thanks to Disney, has become a favorite of all children born in the US in the last fifty years. These three tales all demonstrate the father archetype that Jung describes in "The Personal and the Collective Unconscious." These tales are classic examples of stories that appear in a variety of cultures, and all share a common thread- the absent father. Jung would have told us that the unconscious desire for someone to fill the archetypal role of father is at the root of all these tales. The absence of father theme in these three stories will show the human need for the archetypical father figure as nurturer, disciplinarian, and as lover."
Abstract Mother, father, and child define the ideal family structure. However, circumstance seems to overrule idealism in an imperfect world. What we have remaining is family structures that are forced to adapt to situations such as death, divorce, and incarceration. These alternative family structures affect the development of children involved. The most common alternative structure is that in which the father is absent. This paper views the effects of paternal absence in children's lives, in cognitive and emotional development, and in continuing adult life.
From the Paper "Family structure, ideally with biological mother and father, is of great importance in a child's development, especially during the child's first two years of life called a sensitive period by Burton (1972). Alternative family structures occur most often because of paternal absence, although maternal absence does exist. Divorce or separation, death, addictions, incarceration, and career demands frequently cause a child to grow without the presence of a father. A father may also leave as he feels the son a rival for his wife's attention (Jacobsohn, 1976). Regardless of circumstance, roughly two million children a year are withheld an ongoing biological and social relationship with their father. It has been consistently shown that higher cognitive skills, greater emotional stability and maturity, greater academic achievements and more security in their gender role comes to those children with the biological father in residence as opposed to those raised with no father (see Adams, Milner, & Schrepf, 1984; Bereczkei & Csanaky, 1996; Biller & Solomon, 1986; Hanson, McLanahan, & Thomson, 1996; Stevenson & Black, 1988)."
Tags: psychology, parent, divorce, childhood, development
Abstract This paper discusses the controversial and complex sociological and psychological questions that arise when discussing the effects of single parent families. It specifically focuses on the effects of the family and the children when the parent that is absent, is the father figure. It looks at a child's development and growth and discusses the father's role, as well as his responsibility, within the family structure.
From the Paper " Nevertheless, the research evidence indicates that the father plays an essential role in the psychological as well as the sociological balance of the sexes within the structure of the family. From a personal point of view I consider the father figure to be extremely important in the healthy development of the child. In my experience the importance of my father is undeniable and his presence provided me with the essential balance to deal with the world at an early age. The amount of evidence that shows that the fatherless family often results in distorted and problematic child development proves the need for a father figure in the family to a great extent. I also feel that society should become more aware of this problem and the negative impact of the fatherless family."
Abstract The paper explains that the bond that a daughter has with her father is very important because of the understanding of men and relationships that she gets from this particular relationship. The paper examines the potential consequences of divorce. The paper discusses how forcing children to stay in the same house with the parent they are not closest to after the divorce can often cause unhappiness and rebellion. The paper also looks at the effects of a father dying and relates that this does not not seem to be as severe and lasting as the effect of a father leaving the marriage.
From the Paper "How a parent and child interact when the child is young can have serious consequences for the child later in life as he or she grows into an adult and potentially has children of his or her own. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the relationship that a father has with his daughter. Daughters often look up to their fathers and when they are older they look for men like their fathers to marry. If their father is a good man, this is a good thing, but if their father is not a good person the daughter can end up as an adult in a bad or abusive relationship with a man because she feels as though that is 'the way it should be' because it is 'the way that her father treated her and her mother.'"
Abstract This paper discusses how "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams presents the audience with a family that has been damaged by the departure of the father. The paper points out that each character is in his or her own way irreparably harmed by this event. The remaining parent, Amanda, perpetuates both her own and her children's pain by constantly reminding herself and her children of the missing family member, and creates for the entire family a dichotomy between the father figure as the nostalgic and hero-like character, and on the other hand as a faithless deserter whose example is not to be followed at any cost. The paper concludes that the father, even in his absence, continues to dictate the interactions within his family, and remains central to the events and choices in their lives.
From the Paper "Despite this rare recognition of true reality, Amanda's grip on the true state of affairs does not last long. Instead, she pours her whole heart and soul into the projected success of ensnaring a husband for Laura, but like Tom's attempt at escape, the projected success of this attempt is also more purely fantasy than Amanda is willing to recognize. Tom attempts to warn his mother that a man might not respond favorably to Laura's physical and emotional defects. She also never bothers to thoroughly investigate the man that Tom brings to meet Laura, and therefore fails to take into account the possibility that Jim might already be connected to another girl. In the end, both her wild hope and Laura's emerging personality are completely crushed by the one revealed truth: Jim is already taken. In addition, the final representation of their hope vanishes with Tom's escape. Laura and Amanda are left to their own devices at the end of the play. Only Laura's image remains to haunt Tom, regardless of how far he travels to escape them."
Abstract This paper examines Ernest J. Gaines' novel "In My Father's House", the tale of Philip Martin, a minister and civil rights leader, a responsible husband and father and a pillar of the black community in a small, rural Louisiana town. Martin is forced to confront the sins of his past when the son he abandoned long before shows up in the town to seek revenge against the father he hates. This paper discusses how the story is not only about the reckoning of an individual human being with the wreckage of his past but also the story of the division between black fathers and black sons, a theme which is crucial to an understanding of this and other works by Gaines. It explores these aspects of the novel in the context of the painful beginning of the self-discovery of Martin in the novel.
From the Paper "Gaines portrays Martin not as an evil man, but as a man who is trying, both consciously and subconsciously, to redeem himself for his abandonment of his son, but what he has done has not healed his heart, or his son, or their relationship. The sins of his past were the sins of a young man, but clearly this rationale does not excuse him for those sins or exempt him from having to deal directly with those sins and the son against whom he committed them. Again, the essence of the story is the alienation of black father from black son, and only a direct confrontation can alter that alienation, although not necessarily for the better. After all, the son kills himself in the end of the book, so if there is any redemption it will come in the character of Martin. Despite the fact that Reverend Martin's last words to his wife are, "I'm lost, Alma. I'm lost," Alma restores hope for the future with the words, "We just go'n have to start again" (Gaines 214). "
Abstract This paper examines Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," comparing the relationships of the protagonists with the father figures. The paper discusses the symbolic meaning of the father figures and the contrasts between the two stories involving either support or opposition to the father figure.
From the Paper "The relationships of the protagonists with their father figures in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" are rich with symbolic meaning and pose an interesting contrast to one another. Whereas Kafka's protagonist labors to support and sustain his father, Hawthorne's protagonist is vehemently opposed to the father figure in the story, the devil and attempts to resist him."
Tags: Kafka, Hawthorne, The Metamorphosis , Young Goodman Brown , Bible, father, sin, hypocrisy
Abstract This essay discusses the impact that John Locke's second treatise had on our founding fathers of government. His emphasis on private property, liberty and the checks and balances of different branches of government were fundamental in shaping the views of the founding fathers.
Abstract This paper reviews six sources of information regarding the father-child attachment. More specifically, the paper reviews six articles on father-child attachment examining the nature of the attachment bond and how it differs from mother-child attachment.
From the Paper "The purpose of this paper is to review six sources of information about child-father attachment. Each article is selected for the relevance of its findings to the question, "what is the nature of the attachment bond between father and child and does it differ from the nature of the attachment bond between mother and child?" Each article is first presented in APA format, its reason for selection and relevance to the topic is then discussed and possible sources for the answers to..."
Abstract This paper first examines the differences in the perceptions of the role of the father in a family, between American and Russia cultures. The paper then discusses how may of the writer's father's values, beliefs and upbringing shaped his behavior and affect the way he behaves towards his children and family.
From the Paper "This is not to say my father was cold. Many Americans think of Russia only as a country of ice and snow, of Stalin or Putin or Tchaikovsky or Tolstoy, or Communism and the Cold War. Americans see Russians as old women with babushkas waiting in outdoor markets, or men with fur hats. My father does not fit that assumption. But then, his family followed him trying to come to America for a better life, a freer one. But, while children like me can assimilate easily, my father had great difficulties. And this problem causes us to be apart emotionally. There is a certain wall between us now because I am "American" and he is Russian in America."
Tags: family father russia communism, cold war, relationships assimilation
Abstract An examination of the literature which deals with divorce and single parenting. The writer shows that most of this literature is written from a female perspective. This paper analyzes the male perspective. It shows how men are misrepresented in the court system and how few single-parent families are headed by the father. The writer discusses what changes need to be made in the judicial and welfare systems.
From the Paper "Consider the comment below, made by a participant in a support group for non-custodial fathers in Toronto, Canada: There is a wide perception that we aren"t important, that we have a small role to play in our children's lives. In the legal system, we"re treated like enemies. On television, we?re bumbling fools like Homer Simpson. Few people take us seriously (Leving & Kenick, 1999). "
Abstract This paper looks at how both Charles Dickens, in his novel "Hard Times" and Abdullah Hussein, in his novel "Emigre Journeys", deal with the subject of fathers. It looks at how the family as a place of anguish as it is to be a place of refuge during hard times and how the two authors explore this dynamic in different contexts.
From the Paper "Both Charles Dickens in his novel Hard Times and Abdullah Hussein in his novel "Emigre Journeys" remind us of something that most of us already know but would like to forget which is the fact that during hard times the family is as likely to be a place of .."
Abstract The paper studies how Franklin's "Father Abraham's Speech" is concerned with the ideals of liberalism in the mid-eighteenth century America. The paper discusses that taxation was not as threatening to the individual's liberty as a lack of industry and frugality. The paper explains that by being industrious, any American could acquire wealth, and by being frugal and sensible, he could keep it. By winning and keeping it, he could ensure that he became wealthy and kept his personal freedom too.
From the Paper "Benjamin Franklin's "Father Abraham's Speech:" Considering the entire essay, including the introductory and concluding paragraphs, the central unifying idea of the piece "Father Abraham's Speech, or, The Way to Wealth" is how to honorably acquire wealth and keep it. According to "Poor Richard", even an ordinary laborer can acquire wealth, if he follows common-sense rules of conduct that have been understood (although not often followed) since ancient times. The enclosing structure of the essay sets the scene. First, Poor Richard, who was known to be Benjamin Franklin, was the editor of "Poor Richard's Almanac." An almanac would be as common a book in the households of the time as a Bible; it provided everyday advice about the weather, recipes and other down-to-earth, practical information. The pseudonym "Poor Richard" combines two opposites: "poor" and "rich"."
Abstract This paper explains that her father is much like the famous verse in 1 Corinthians that describes love. The writer relates the many beloved characteristics of her dad, such as being patient and kind and not being self-seeking or easily angered. Every night until she was in high school, the author remembers, her dad tucked her into my bed at night, laid his hand on her head and gave her a blessing from the Book of Numbers.
From the Paper "My dad is patient and kind. He is the best footsteps I have ever encountered. I am so incredibly comfortable talking to him. If I have a problem or something is conflicting in my heart, he gladly listens to all I have to say and tries to help me as much as he possibly can. He is so cuddly and affectionate. Whenever I see him, even if it's just while passing him in the house, he wraps his arms around me and holds me as if I was his baby again. When he comes home from work and sees my mother, he does the same and kisses her."
Tags: footsteps footsteps cuddly, earthly father, love
