Parents and children are generations with a significant age difference between them. That is why, throughout their lives, their views on many issues differ. It is arranged by nature that mothers and fathers, due to their experience and age, have the opportunity to protect their children from the surrounding difficulties, to guard against mistakes, and to protect, educate and help them from childhood. From an early age, the child does not just get used to his parents but considers himself one with them, a family. Ideal families are those in which there is mutual understanding between children and their mentors. This essay will compare and contrast the attitudes of children toward their parents and parents to their children using the examples from two literary works.
An example of a rather complicated father-son relationship is the characters in William Faulkner’s book Barn Burning. The book is based on the story of a farmer and his family, who, due to the problematic nature of the head of the family, are forced to change their place of residence: “None of them ever did or ever asked, because it was always somewhere…” (Faulkner 3). Sarty, Abner’s son, knows that when they arrive at a new place, where it would seem that life can improve, his father will spoil relations with his employer and set fire to his barn. One night, the father hits his son with the flat of his hand on the side of the head (Faulkner 4). The father instructs the son to study, that he should be a man, and that the family is the most important thing for any person. This is what makes Sarty think about why he should stay with his family.
At the end of the story, Sarty believes that his father is dead, although the author does not answer this, leaving the reader to imagine it for himself. The boy thinks of his father in the past tense. “He was brave!” (Faulkner 14). Son loved his father but was willing to let go and go his own way. After many attempts to think about staying with his family, Abner caused too much damage for Sarty to forgive him. He did not want to grow up and become a father, and he made the right choice and left.
Another example of the relationship between parents and children is the work Amy Tan’s Rules of the Game. This story tells a situation where a girl achieved success in chess, and her mother was so proud of her that she walked down the street and told everyone about her daughter. Every day, the mother taught her daughter and sons various truths, so that they would have the opportunity to rise above the prevailing circumstances (Tan 1). Moreover, this work clearly describes the mother’s care for her children. She tried to be a good mother to them. In addition to the advice that she gave to the children, she wanted to feed them well. She was happy with her daughter’s victories in chess tournaments. In comparison to the work of William Faulkner, Tan described a more caring parent, but a less grateful child.
The girl was not happy that the mother was genuinely proud of her child’s success, showing it to everyone on the streets. “I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody I’m your daughter”(Tan 5). This behavior of the daughter very upset the mother, and later it spoiled their relationship. The author concludes his work when the girl lies in her room and thinks about the next move: the author did not disclose their further relationship with her mother.
In conclusion, both authors presented the relationship between parents and children. In the work of William Faulkner, a child who was often beaten by his father and treated unfairly loves his father, although he does not want to be like him. In the work of Ami Tan, the girl is arrogant and arrogant to the mother who is sincerely proud of her daughter. The difference lies precisely in the loving attitude of the child to the parents, who could give him little, and in the ungrateful and disrespectful attitude of the other child to the mother, who sincerely cares and loves her daughter.
Works Cited
Faulkner, William. Barn Burning, 1939.
Tan, Amy. The Rules of the Game, 1939.