The Years of My Birth by Louise Erdrich - Essay Example

Analysis of "The Years of My Birth" The Years of My Birth by Louise Erdrich is a story about a white girl who was abandoned at birth by her mother. The reason of the abandonment was the presence of her twin brother and the complication she had at birth. The presence of her brother who is claimed to have left her might be the reason her mind became slightly deformed. After being abandoned by her mother, a nurse within the facility decides to adopt her. As the story unfolds, the adopted girl lives her life but not to her full joy. Despite the fact that her new family gave her all the basic needs, and seemed to share her love, this girl was not fully contented with the life she was leading away from her real parents. Notably, the story pulls unexpected emotional impression, particularly as demonstrated at the twit ending of the story. Life away from ones real parents may lead the affected children to an unlucky and complicated life. Therefore, life led away from birth parents and family makes on to feel quite unfortunate in life. However, the abandoned children never lack total love from the persons around them. Nonetheless, children living away from their birth parents and families usually feel unfortunate despite the care and love they may be receiving from the adopting parents. Thematically, this paper asserts that children value the love of their parents and that of their entire family regardless of material support that may be lacking in such families. The partially orphaned character in the story The Years of My Birth by Louise Erdrich is a young girl named Tuff (Erdrich 3). Tuff’s mother abandoned her in a delivery room after her mother realized that she had some complications. She was afterwards adopted by a Native American nurse who gave her love, and the basic needs a child needs from the parent. Just like any child living a life away from her birth parents, Tuff felt less satisfied with love and care provided by her new parents, instead she felt unluckiest among the unlucky children. The story is actually a scroll of moral dilemma that reaps the society from its desired norms. Moreover, the script draws the puzzle for readers to examine and analyze their own lives. Additionally, the ending in a twist of the story where Tuff get the chance of meeting her family puts an emphasis to the readers, to critically analyze personal history by testing their present issues against their personal experience and insights. In her days of difficulty and apparently unsurvivable life, Tuff was gifted with foster parents who unceasingly natured and cared for her life. Despite all the efforts levied by the foster parent, Stuff makes some contradictory statement with an indication of unhappy life. She continues by saying, “I know that I was loved, because it was a complicated matter for Betty and Albert to claim me from the welfare system, though I had aided their efforts with my endless scream” (Erdrich 4). In her middle age, Tuff gets the chance to meet two members from her mother or birth family. She realizes that each of these individuals has their own dilemmas and needs their own peculiar way to complicate their lives. Despite the challenges that manifests in lives of each of the characters, it is apparent that they entirely make choices concerning their individual lives (Jorgensen 93). Each character makes a complicated choice that; however, leads them to a happy life. The story of each character is constructed around their personal feeling and on how they make a choice about their lives. However, the narrow judgment or the irrational way some of the individuals approach and make a decision about their lives, displays a contrasting and painful generosity among the majority. The straggle that everyone did make to succeed in life or in making, his or her lives better did not seem to have an effect in Tuff’s life. Tuff led a life full of regrets. She ever lamented upon the unsatisfying life she led. How she viewed, her life may not be typically how her life could have been, but the life away from her real parents may have been the driving power for her dissatisfaction (Erdrich 4). She was at some points never interested of her life, but did sit down to bonder on what her mother did her the fateful day in the delivery room. She once said, “In a small town people knew everything; they knew what she had done by abandoning me. She would have had to turn her fury with herself, her shame, on someone else — the child she had chosen. … I had felt the contempt and triumph in her touch. I was grateful now for the way things had turned out” (Erdrich 4). Tuff seems sarcastic in making her last sentiment. The statement seems to claim a feeling of being contented with the life fate chose for her. However, the tone in the words displays a lot regrets and lamentation. Up to this point, if Tuff could have accepted and lived to reality that life had downed on her, she could have resorted to living a different life, life full of happiness and appreciation. Despite living in denial, Tuff’s life was redefined, especially when she was given a new look. Her legs were mended, and she had a thrilling and a reasonable life. In reality, her adoptive family was supportive of her; however, families do not miss huddles of life. Tuff led a quiet and modest life. She made many attachments since she feared to be hurt. However, she ever felt that there was a ghost in her life. Notably, this was her twin brother, but she needed not know where to locate him neither did she knew his name. Nonetheless, she felt an ever-growing bond. One day, unexpectedly, she got a call from her birth mother, and she wanted to connect to her. Even though her adoptive family’s view that she should never meet her mother, she soldiered on and eventually met her mother over a dinner (Jorgensen 93). On meeting her mother, Tuff is informed that her twin brother needs a kidney. Regardless of the unsupportive nature of her real family, Tuff is out to help them in their time of need. Furthermore, it is quite clear for Tuff that her same mother who abandoned her in the delivery room and took her brother with her at her (Tuff’s) expense: she still had a strong connection and affection for her bother. On realizing that Tuff is out to help her real family, her adoptive family sets out to discourage her. Tuff was intensively discouraged from contacting her mother; however, she was highly drawn to helping them (Jorgensen 90). She made up her mind to help her other family without any previous help from them. Tuff knew that she owns her real family nothing, but on the other side, side she knew she was standing a chance of saving life. As Tuff was still contemplating on giving out Kidney to her twin brother, the life of the brother was getting more complicated. Thereafter, Tuff gets a chance to meet her twin brother at his point of need. In a way, it might have been a relief to Tuff to meet her family members (Jorgensen 87). Tuff’s life may have been rejuvenated, and she was then having a new view of life. Tuff could now hunt for the love she was claiming to be missing. True love for mother to a child is clearly relayed when Tuff gets against all odds to meet her mother. Tuff’s arrangement to meet her mother depicts the love of mother she was yearning to have. Actually, it seems Tuff had a terrific shear of relief after meeting and getting to have the company of her mother and brother. Notably, Tuff had ever had a feeling of some person she had never met, and this seemed to be her brother. It is documented that she had ever had affection for the brother; even though in absence, she felt him (Jorgensen 97). Thus, the love she had for him pushed Tuff to help her brother and the entire family dispute the early ordeals she received from this family. The reunion of Tuff to her family makes her feel the love she was missing. The love that made her forget what her birth mother did to her, the life rejection at the hospital was. Therefore, apparently it is vivid and conclusive to state that children value the love of their parents and that of their entire family regardless of material support that may be lacking in such families. Moreover, the parental love quenches all the worries and sorrows that might be in a child life; thus, Tuff was willing to do all that she could to get close to her mother and her entire family to feel the love she felt she had lost for long. Furthermore, the love for one’s family is what made her help her deceitful mother or family. Works Cited Erdrich L. "The Years of My Birth." The New Yorker Digital Edition (Jan 10, 2011): 1-5. Print. Jorgensen M. Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development. Arizona: University of Arizona PressArizona, 2007. Print. Read More