Relationship between Parents and Children in a Poverty Situation - Literature review Example

Relationship between parents and children in poverty situation It is the wish and joy of every parent to have a happyfamily through a good relationship. Parents are happy when they have a good relationship with children as well as when children enjoy life. However, this is sometimes not possible. Either the parent or the child fails to find happiness in the family. This occurs due to reasons in relation to poverty or death of spouses. A good example of this scenario is portrayed in the novel, “Claire of the Sea Light.” The novel shows how the relationship between parents and children takes many forms as parents go to the extreme in ensuring that they maintain their relationship with children. This paper will focus on how parents go to extreme situations to raise their children using examples from the novel, “Claire of the Sea Light.” Claire of the Sea Light” is a novel with a setting in the fishing village of Ville Rose. The story is about as seven years old girl named after the mother who passed away at her childbirth. Claire lived with her father who is a poor fisherman in the village. The fisherman is worried about the future of his daughter since he cannot provide for her to have a better life and a bright future. This makes him talk to a local shopkeeper who had lost his daughter in a fatal road accident to stay with Claire. When the woman finally agrees to stay with Claire on her seventh birthday, she disappears from home, making the village come out in her search (Danticat 7-17). “Claire of the Sea Light” portrays how the different families struggle to relate to their children and take extreme measures to make such decision. Both parents and children experience joy and fear, trust and wariness as they try to establish their relationship and love. For example, Nozia, Claire’s father is a poor fisherman who has the burden of looking after his little daughter. “Ville Rose was home to about eleven thousand people, five percent wealthy, the rest poor,” (Danticat 19). Nozia has nothing to give his daughter and this worry him. Because he is concerned and wants his daughter to have a bright future, the resorts to talking to a wealthy shopkeeper, Madame Gaelle to take care of the daughter (Dianemagras 11). This was done with the aim of giving the daughter a bright future since the woman was able to provide all the child needed. Similarly, the care that the father had for his daughter is shown when the daughter disappeared. On the day when she was to mark and celebrate her seventh birthday, she disappears, and this worries the father. The father decides to look after the daughter and mobilizes the whole village (Azzam 10). The actions that the poor father took in searching for the daughter is an indication that he was willing to go through all miles in ensuring he maintains his relationship with Claire. Even though he was poor, he was willing to sacrifice the energy he had in ensuring that his daughter was back safe and handed to the rich woman, Madame Gaelle. Moreover, the parent and child relationship become clear at the end of the novel with the revelation that Claire never died. The whole village search for her and she was nowhere to be found. They remember the passionate character of Claire’s mother who was identified with the quote, “Fok no voye je youn sou lot… we must all look after one another,” (Azzam 9). She only came back home later, after the painful experience of missing her parents. She decided to come back home from the old slave hideaway. The longing she had for her mother and knowing how her mother was encouraged her to come back home (Dianemagras 14). Therefore, this is evidence indicating the extent to which parents and children go through the extreme of maintaining their relationship. It is not only the Nozia who is going to the extreme of finding ways of making his daughter happy, but other parents are also taking measures in ensuring that children have a better life which promotes their relationship. For instance, Gaelle showed her love to Claire when she decided to breastfeed her from day one (Azzam 17). This followed her mothers death, therefore, she had no one to feed her, “"revenan, a child who had entered the world just as her mother was leaving it." (Sonnenberg 9). Claire’s father had nothing to give her because of his poverty state. Gaelle went to the extreme by taking measures, which no one would, to establish a relationship with the child. Moreover, Gaelle is going to the extreme of trying to find happiness using crude means. Her child died from a road accident, and her husband died from gang violence. However, the husband had seen his death coming when he says, “is surely a sign that something more terrible is going to happen" (Sonnenberg 9). Her child, Bernard, had an aspiration of being a radio presenter, who hosts political activist and other people who can expose the vices in the society. However, the gangs who felt that the aspiring radio host was targeting them did not take this humbly. The wife planned avenge that never materialize. She wanted to acquire happiness through taking the law into her own hand by hiring rogue police officers who happen to be the thugs. They ended up attacking and killing Bernard hence shutting his stars, “Little had changed for her. Nothing had been returned to her. A few high-level friendships had made her judge, jury, and executioner. Yet she still felt powerless, incapacitated, cursed "(Azzam 13). The woman was willing to go extra miles to establish a strong bond with her son by eliminating those who posed a danger in their lives, which never materialized. In another family setup, there is confusion emanating on the family values as parents struggle to raise children of their own. Max Adrian Junior wants his son from household help whom he raped. He has found affection and passion on the son who is with the mother (Dianemagras 8). Although he is still in his parent’s house, he has developed a passion making him demand the child. On the other hand, some house helps who are working with children, struggling with decision and fates that involve their own children (Azzam 8). This is an indication to the extent in which parents, more so single parent goes to the extreme of raising their children. The house help was raped and later conceived to bring forth a baby boy. It was a pregnancy that was not planned, but she was forced to care for the child. Despite her situation where she was getting little money, she managed to take care of the young boy. Similarly, Max senior is disturbed about the story of his son’s rape to the house help. The story has reached the local media and it has become the gossip of the village because of the show run by a teacher whom he dismissed from service “"Di Mwen" (Sonnenberg 11). Max senior is saddened in pain as the maid come home to show the child whom she believes Max junior will never have (Jones 4-8). This makes Max senior to be pained as they long for the boy that they can never have. At the same time, Max senior feels the pain of his son and his own pain because he wants to raise Max junior in a good way. He decides that the house help, Flore, should keep the boy if she wants, ““Let her try to raise a boy and help him become a man. Let her teach him how to tie his shoes, to shake hands properly.….” (Dianemagras 10). However, he feels that she should keep and raise him in a decent way, which can make him realize his future. In conclusion, it is evidenced in the three families that parents and children are willing to go extra miles to establish their relationship with their children. Claire’s father was a poor man, but he was willing to spend the little he got from fishing to care for the daughter. He also arranged with another family that could take care of his daughter in ensuring that she got the best in life. Similarly, Max Senior was in pain when the house help brought the boy that his son had sired through rape. The welfare of his son and that of the house help were of great concern to him. Works Cited Azzam, Jullie. In “Claire of the Sea light,” Edwidge Danticat takes on trauma of her the native Haiti. 2013. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. 2014. Danticat, Edwidge. Claire if the Sea Light. New York: Knopf, 2013. Print. Dianemagras. A story of children: Musings about Claire of the Sea Light. 2013. Web. 2014. Jones, Tayari. Claire of the sea light. 2013. Oprah. 2014. < http://www.oprah.com/book/Claire- of-the-Sea-Light> Owens, Jill. Claire of the sea light” reviews: Girls vanishing sets in motion story of Haitian town. 2013. Web. 2014. Sonnenberg, Sussana. Book Review: Claire of the sea light” by Edwidge Danticat. 2013. The Salt Lake Tribune. 2014. Read More