Childhood In The Rocking Horse Winner And Girl

There are many controversies in the representation of childhood in two of the stories that the reader has read. Various people argue that a child is supposed to have a good and fun childhood. In some cases that may not be true. In the stories “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H Lawrence and “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid we see childhood not being a good one. It is scientifically proven that a childhood is affected by the environment and parents. Some consider the perception of childhood as a playful and innocent stage of their life. In both of the stories, the reader can see that both Paul from “The Rocking Horse Winner” and the daughter from “Girl” had an uneven childhood. In the story “The Rocking Horse Winner” the reader comprehends that Paul …show more content…
The mother insists of giving her advice on how she should grow up to be and how she should act. As a kid, the character only has time to speak and defend herself twice in the story. We have all had those style of parents where usually the mom is the strict one. For this story, the characters mom is strict and making sure that her daughter won’t make any mistakes and follows the rules. The mom seems similar to the moms that won’t let you go outside and play with your friends because they are too corrupt for you. Even though a kid needs a little bit of tough love in their life, it seems like the mother is being too tough on her. She warns her daughter on becoming a slut. The reader should be alarmed by this because who warns her own daughter on becoming a slut. The mother keeps telling the daughter and advising her about things that she should not worry about at the age that she is at right now. She keeps advising her on how to do laundry, how to sew, how to wash the dishes, and how to sweep. The daughter is at a point of her life where she is more worried about boys than anything else. It seems like the daughter does not have enough freedom to enjoy herself and her childhood. Each and every time she tries to say something to the mother, the mother doesn’t let her speak because of how much information she is giving her. We all had those types of parents where …show more content…
The reader can see that at the end of the “Rocking Horse Winner” Paul did not get the childhood he deserved. He did whatever he could to make his mother happy, but in return he received the same consistency that his mother was showing throughout the story. In the other hand, we have the story “Girl” and the reader can observe that she does not have the freedom that a regular kid going through puberty should receive. Not one person wants to hear his/her mom giving advice on how they should do laundry and washing dishes. A kid her age is not worried about that at the