Essay - The Influence of Parents on Life the Influence of Parents...

The Influence of Parents on Life

The ***** of ***** on One's *****

How much of an effect do our parents really have on ***** development as individuals? Are different styles of parenting specific to ***** cultures? Are women treated in a more oppressive manner by their parents in traditional cultures, as opposed to more developed nations, such as the United States? These are some of ***** questions I found myself asking this past semester after reading three memoirs of growing up under conditions that might be subtly described as "less than normal." Jeannette Walls's book The Gl*****s Castle addresses the author's experiences growing up with two nomadic p*****nts - an alcoholic father and a schoolteacher*****turned-painter mother - whose unconventional lifestyle puts their child's well being into danger. But our parents do more ***** merely teach us morals in ***** first few years of life; they also tie us to a larger history. The struggle with tradition ***** one's personal history comes to the forefront in two o*****r family memoirs, Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel and Max*****e Hong Kingston's ***** Woman Warri*****: Memoirs ***** a Girlhood Among Ghosts. In the c*****se of the former, Ali is thrust into exile because of her unwillingness to conform to her parents' expectations ***** what is proper for a woman in ***** native culture. Max*****e Hong Kingston experiences similar issues, although the consequences for her are far less extreme.

***** my analysis of the issues outlined above, I intend to show how all ***** writers transform the ***** into ***** political, *****ively establishing that the most minute, particular happenings in our lives can indeed have universal implications.

Bibliography

*****, Ayaan *****. *****. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

*****, Maxine Hong. The ***** Warrior: Memoirs ***** a Girlhood Among Ghosts. New York: Vint*****ge Books, 1975.

Walls, *****. The Glass Castle. ***** York: Scribner,