Home and Family in Literature - Essay Example

In “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps”, the loving nature of a parent can be observed. After the two parents make love their little boy always ran to sleep in between them.  Instead of throwing the child out of their bed, the parents welcome him with open arms:
and touch arms across this little, startlingly muscled body—
this one whom habit of memory propels to the ground of his making,
sleeper only the mortal sounds can sing awake,
this blessing love gives again into our arms (Kinnell).

These parents show their child love by accepting them into their very private bed. This child is the centre of the universe for his parents. Unlike other examples that will be later given, this child will grow up to be confident and well-adjusted. As will be presented, this situation is a very unique and rare example.

“Othello” shows one typical view of the parent/child relationship. Brabantio treats his daughter, Desdemona, like his personal property. Desdemona means as much to Brabantio as his gold. The following passage shows this emotion:
O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd my daughter?
Damn'd as thou art, thou hast enchanted her;
For I'll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunn'd
The wealthy curled darlings of our nation (Shakespeare).

Brabantio only cared about what Desdemona could do for him by marrying rich, than treating her lovingly. Desdemona was definitely in Brabantio’s peripheral vision until she messed up his plans by marrying Othello.

In “Nighttime Fires” one parent gives in to his demons, while another indulges the other. After the father is laid off, he takes joy in others’ misfortune. Whenever a fire truck can be heard, the father takes his family out to watch the fires. The child only knows that he receives attention from his otherwise occupied father. He tells:
it was after my father
lost his job, so not getting up in the morning
gave him time: awake past midnight…
When he heard
the wolf whine of the siren…
My father who never held us
would take my hand (Barreca).

Despite the suffering of the family whose house burned, the father feels justified because at least he still has a house. The child is ripped out of bed to see his father’s sick obsession. The parent is passing down his issues to the child. The father could have easily gone to the fires alone. It would have been faster than taking a wife and five children along. The father wanted an audience, just like the wife went to keep the peace. That is what the wife wanted to accomplish; peace. She felt that peace was better for her children than separation or divorce. The trips to nighttime fires scarred the children, but the father did not care. If he did care, the father did not see it. His children were in his peripheral vision.

Another example of a child in the parent’s peripheral vision is “My Papa’s Waltz). Like “Nighttime Fires”, this poem has a father that was selfish and a mother trying to make it work. The following passage shows the depth of both:
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself (Roethke).

The father had come home drunk, but the mother held her tongue for peace. The child understands but does not care. His daddy is showing him love. That is all that matters to the little boy.

In “Mexicans Begin Jogging”, the parent/child relationship turns into the employer/employee relationship. An illegal immigrant works in the USA:
In the fleck of rubber, under the press
Of an oven yellow with flame,
Until the border patrol opened
Their vans and my boss waved for us to run (Sota).

The boss is wrong, but the employee needs the money. The employee wants the American Dream the employer offers. This is just like the other poems and drama.  The individual in power gives the wrong example, and the weaker of the two follows. The employee wants to please the employer.  Parents tend to get wrapped up in their problems. Like in “Othello”, “Nighttime Fires”, “My Papa’s Waltz”, and even the employer in “Mexicans Begin Jogging”, the families are focused on the powerful. The wives, children, or workers all try to appease the highest in the family unit. Despite the wrongness of these individuals’ actions, the wives want to keep the peace, but the children want more. They want the father’s love, respect, and acceptance. Even in “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps”, the son wants the parents’ love and acceptance. The parents in that poem freely give what the child wants; this allows the child to be content. The problem is too many parents act this way. The impact on the children is devastating. The poets have touched on these subjects to show the problem of the parent/child relationship.