Introduction
Whenever the sun sets in the evening, only the optimistic people rest assured that it would raise the following day. The fictional story of Jackie Jason is founded on this symbolic argument. The story is set in Cayuga village, where the protagonist Jackie Jason was born. Her mother, Purity Jason, worked as a bank teller in New Jersey while her father was a bank manager in Washington, D.C. Before the black day, Jackie used to enjoy playing with her elder brother Martin Jason.
Her family was wealthy. Hence, life was comfortable for Jackie and her little brother. As the only kids, Jackie and Martin would get literary everything they asked for from their parents. The parents would refer to Jackie and Martin as Mom and Daddy, respectively. Jackie’s father used to take his family for road tours and visits to the animal parks every weekend. Such wonderful was Jackie’s family before she was the age of seven.
During one of the road trips, the worst happened. In fact, up to date, Jackie has never understood the speed at which everything turned. Her dad was in a high spirit after having fulfilled one of his happiest obligations: taking his family out on the weekend. Her mother was on board, sitting conformably on the front seat of the car next to the father. Jackie and Martin sat comfortably on the rear seat of the car, continuing with their childish games. All of a sudden, their car crashed head-on with a municipal council truck. It is at this point that Jackie’s mother, father, and her little brother disappeared, never to be seen under the sun again.
Surprisingly, the car swerved and threw Jackie out of the door before it rolled severely down a sharp cliff. Jackie survived unscathed. Being the only person that survived in her family, life has been an uphill task for Jackie in the last 20 years. Sorrows, cries, supplication, and all sorts of evils began following the little Jackie. Not once or twice has Jackie wished that the earth would open up its jaws and swallow her as she is because the sun had set for her.
Occurrences
Life completely changed for Jackie immediately after her family was wiped out of existence by the fatal accident. Her life opened a completely new chapter. This chapter had no meaning to the nouns dad, mother, and brother. She would never again call these names. Jackie would, therefore, wrestle with this fact for the rest of her life. There being no other close relative, Jackie had to move in to stay with her auntie: Pamela Lewinsky.
Pamela was the only aunt that Jackie had. The late Jackie’s mother used to hate her passionately for her adultery behavior. Pamela was a woman who would literary go to bed with any man if the man had some money in his pocket or account. The stigma that resulted from the events that she witnessed would not let her sleep during the first few months after the tragedy. Jackie would hear the real voices of her mother, her dad, and her little brother screaming for help. However, whenever she would wake up to rescue them from the menace, she would always find herself sleeping alone in a solitary room.
Tears would then start cascading down her little cheeks. “Why did you leave me alone in this world, daddy? Why did mom have to leave me alone in this world at such a tender age?” Jackie would occasionally scream. It was such a traumatizing period for this little girl. It was hard to comprehend the reason why most of the other children in her neighborhood had both parents while she had none. Death robbed the only good things that God had given her.
The same God gives life and that he had caused her father and mother to die through his wish. Jackie would wonder whether that God was as saved as she was. Why would a noble God choose to destroy her family only? Her opinion was that the world is over seven billion people. Why choose my mother only amidst all these millions? Jackie would never understand that God is fair and that he was in charge of everyone’s life. Sometimes, when Jackie was in the second grade, she could scream for someone to help her dying family, only to come back to her sense and realize that she was only in class. During her life on earth, Jackie’s mother did not share a word with her sister, who played the mother’s role in Jackie’s life after the tragedy.
Immediately after the demise of Jackie’s family members, her relatives met and unanimously agreed that the only person that would be able to take care of her is Auntie Pamela. The news of the resolution hit Jackie like a bombshell. Staying with this auntie was a double tragedy for her. Jackie could perceive vengeance, cruelty, negligence, brutality, child labor, and abuse from this woman. Pamela was a harlot in New Jersey.
In fact, she stayed in a brothel-like house near a famous drinking den. After working overnight, she would report home in the early hours of the morning, tired, drunk, and sleepy. Jackie had to adjust to this life. She would go to school without some personal effects and the required learning materials. Her auntie grew harsh every time when she asked for any item that had financial implications. Motherly love was a long-forgotten idea by Jackie. She did not have anyone to call a mother. The only mother figure in her life was the drunken auntie, a complete contrast of her late mother. There were no tender words of love again.
There were no encouraging words any more. The sun had set. Jackie could only remember how she used to play with her mother and father on the shores of the ocean. She would vividly recall her daddy tickling her in the evening on the sofa. Today, no one would care to play with her, or even to crack a joke in the house. “Why does my auntie hate me this much?” Jackie would often ask.
As days went by, Jackie worked hard at school despite the fact that she was undergoing tough moments at home. In fact, she soon began being the top girl not only in her class but also in her school. Teachers loved her calmness and discipline. Many teachers would take time to counsel the girl and to encourage her to work hard. Her classmate wished that they would be as bright as she was. For Jackie, life was in her books.
She did not have anywhere else to put hope on. She hoped that, after working hard, she would become a legislator and bring sanity on the same roads that snatched her parents. Jackie’s dream was well spelt out. She would work hard at school, obey teachers, respect her auntie, and create ample time to study. Jackie wanted to study law at the university before becoming a lawmaker. She would occasionally remind her drunken auntie that, after she becomes a member of the congress, no one would take bear during working hours. Child labor will be eliminated. Above all, road safety rules shall be properly upheld.
Tears of helplessness would cascade down her fleshy cheeks whenever she remembered that the truck driver who killed her family was still a free man. There was no one to follow up the case. There was no one to fight for her family’s justice.
After completing her primary school studies and emerging the top pupil in her class, Jackie faced with yet another handle. There was no one to pay for her secondary school studies. In fact, her auntie thought that Jackie was mature to accompany her in the prostitution business. Pamela would insist that Jackie dress in scanty clothing, always smile at men, and go out with boys. This strategy was meant to prepare her for the lucrative prostitution business.
However, this was not what Jackie wanted. Jackie dreamt of a descent life: good education, car, house, job, husband, and children. Nothing could move her away from this dream as it was deeply engraved in her heart. Jackie’s auntie was not ready to contribute a single penny towards the payment of her school fees. The most painful thing was that Jackie’s parent had left behind a lot of wealth that was completely mismanaged by Pamela.
As Jackie completed her primary school, her auntie had squared all the money that was left under her watch. She had closed all investments that her late sister and husband had left behind. Jackie was therefore forced to stay out of school for a whole year doing house chores for her neighbors in order to earn money. After struggling for one year without success, she decided to run away from her aunt’s home. She desired to go far away where the auntie would never find her. She packed her clothes and some books to leave for a place that she did not know. She walked for long hours before she got a lift to an urban center that she had never been to. She would later learn that the city was New Newark where she was born.
At Newark, Jackie looked for employment as a house help. Fortunately, she landed the job that she was seeking in the first house that she knocked. While in this house, she would complete her house chores early in the day and spend the remaining hours reading and studying. She loved to read the constitution, some Shakespeare novels, and the Bible. However, another tragedy struck when she worked for this family: the man in charge of the workers wanted to have a love affair with her. He tried to seduce her severally. However, Jackie insisted that she respected the man and his wife.
The man threatened to influence the boss to suck her though she would not give in. The situation grew from bad to worse until when the supervisor tried to rape her in one of the stores. Fortunately, she was able to scream for help. The other house cleaners that were working in the compound came to her aid. Although the matter was immediately reported to the owner of the house, nothing was done to punish the supervisor since that happened whenever there was a new woman employee. In fact, Jackie became so much traumatized that she would relay tremble whenever she met him within the compound.
The supervisor went on to threaten of killing Jackie for reporting her. Jackie opted to resign and look for another employment elsewhere when she realized that justice was forthcoming for her. After resigning her first job, Jackie found another employment with a cloth manufacturing company as a cleaner. It is here that her fortune was realized. One day, as Jackie cleaned the office of the company director, the director tool note of her hard work and thoroughness. He then began investigating her. Soon, he invited Jackie to the office. The director offered her a full scholarship to complete her studies both in high school and at the university.
After this offer, Jackie went back to school where she was the student that every teacher would wish to have. She spent sleepless nights working hard to catch up with others. Jackie was also obedient and close to teachers. Some students scorned her for having been employed as a house help. She brushed it off. Despite the stiff academic competition that was posed by students that had joined the high school earlier, she worked hard to emerge top in her class. In fact, within a period of four years, Jackie sat for the final examination where she emerged the top in her school. She was admitted to the university where she graduated with a first class honors degree in law.
Jackie’s dream of becoming a lawyer had been achieved. In other words, the sun had risen once more. She was soon employed as a government solicitor. As a solicitor, she been so vocal. She really fought for the right of the minority. She has also fought for justice of her late family. The case was ruled to her favor. She received huge sums of money as compensation for the loss. She currently advocates for human rights as she works for the government as a solicitor. Despite the sun having set at an early age for her, she worked hard and achieved her dreams. It was tragic for her to lose her parents at a tender age.
However, despite having lost her parents and a brother, passing through difficult times in her aunt’s house, being employed as a house help, and a company cleaner, she still made it to her dream. In many instances when children lose their parents, they become completely disoriented. Others are not able to overcome the trauma that comes with the tragedy. However, Jackie was able to rise again even after the dark moments of her life. The trauma took her some months though she later overcame as demonstrated by how she worked hard at school even after losing her parents. She was able to defeat her classmates and schoolmates who had both parents.
Although she did not have a parent to guide her through her studies, she worked hard and emerged the top in primary school. Such a performance needed a lot of dedication and determination. Jackie was determined to become a lawyer who she soon became. Jackie’s determination is also seen when she manages to do all the house chores, wash her uniform, and the house while still making time for her studies. Many learners would have given up if they lived with such a drunkard in the house. In fact, although Jackie would go for some time without having shared with her aunt, she still performed well.
The darkness of mistreatment by her aunt did not prevent her from achieving her dream of becoming a lawyer. It is also worth noting that her auntie refused to pay for her school fees while she was left to manage the estates of her parents. It was also out of determination that Jackie ran away from her drunkard auntie when she realized that her dream would never been realized if she continued staying with her. She finished her primary school education as the top, with no one willing to pay for her school fees. However, due to her determination to succeed, the sun rose again. Jackie also refused to cooperate with all silent killers of her dreams.
When she completed her primary school education, her auntie suggested that she join her in the prostitution business since it was lucrative. However, Jackie refused and explained to the auntie that she wanted to have a descent life. If she were not determined, she would have joined her auntie in prostitution as a teenager. In fact, Jackie was exceptional since she was able to overcome the challenges of teenage with little or no advice. She ran away from evils without even knowing where she was going. Such determination is rare in the world. People live in the fear of the unknown. It is also worth noting that Jackie ran away from her auntie’s house because she realized that, even after having waited for a whole year, the aunt was not ready to pay for her school fees.
Moreover, she carried some books with her for studies indicating the level of determination that she had. While working in her fist job, she defied sexual advances of her supervisor even reporting her for trying to rape her. Other women had to submit to sexual harassment by this supervisor to secure their jobs. However, Jackie was determined to have a sensible future. She opted to resign and find another job. In her second job as a cleaner, the managing director noticed her due to her perfect work in cleaning. She was very thorough and perfect. It is out of this determination in everything that she did that made her earn a scholarship for her high school and university studies from the director.
Despite the challenges of her first job as a house help, Jackie worked hard and succeed in becoming a lawyer. Her sun rose again even after seemingly setting in several occasions. Her determination also enabled her to fight for the rights of her late parent and brother. She was compensated as the next of kin. She has worked for the government as a solicitor, which is an opportunity she had vowed to use in restoring order and normalcy in the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, despite the fact that misfortunes happens in life, success is always sure for those who are determined. Jackie’s life was faced with a tragedy when she was only seven years though she managed to overcome all the hurdles including, trauma, mistreatment by her aunt, lack of school fees, disrespect by a supervisor, and being scorned by other students. She later succeeded and became a lawyer, just as she had wished. The sun rose again. Despite the setting of the sun, her optimistic character and patience drove her towards seeing it rise again.