Mrs. Mathabane is a very influential role model in Mark’s life. She knows what it takes to be successful in life though she is not educated. She wants the best for her children and she is very loving and caring for them. She has seen what failure has done to her husband and she does not want Mark or any of her children to end up that way the father did. She is very passionate for her children and she will do whatever possible to make them succeed. She takes multiple jobs, works extra hours, and maintains the house in order to provide for her children and their futures.
“‘I want you to have a future, child,’ my mother said. ‘And, contrary to what your father says, school is the only means to a future. I don’t want you growing up to be like your father’” (133). This quote is significant because it shows how much Mark’s mother loves him and cares for him. She is explaining to Mark how much school and an education means to her and how it is the only thing that will lead to success. She then adds that she doesn’t want him growing up to be like his father. This demonstrates how she sees better things in Mark than his older, more experienced father. “I want you to go to school, because I believe that an education is the key you need to open up a new world and a new life for yourself, a world and life different from that of either your father’s or mine. It is the only key that can do that, and only those who seek it earnestly and perseveringly will get anywhere in the white man’s world. Education will open doors where none seem to exist,” said Mama (133). This quote is significant because it shows how Mark’s mother want him to have a future along with a new life. Again, she believes that education is …show more content…
The fact that she said that she would sacrifice even her life for her children, shows how much love she has for them. She wants the best for her children and in order to achieve that, she has to find jobs to suffice for them and their futures.
“I would miss you more than anyone else. I too would want to die if you were to die. You’re the only hope I have. I love you very much,” said Mama (169).
This quote demonstrates another example of how passionate the mother is of her children. The mother says this when Mark is on the verge of committing suicide. She expresses how much love she has for Mark to the full extent by saying that she would want to die if Mark were to die. This quote is very significant for that Mark now knows he has a very compassionate mother to look up too when he is in times of depression.
“Maybe if you’d been saving all these years you’ve been working, instead of squandering money on liquor and dice, you’d have long become your own boss. Who knows, you might even be a millionaire. You have brains, Jackson, I will tell you that. But you choose not to use them. Whatever happened to that ambitious, hardworking, thrifty family man who swept me off my feet thirteen years ago? The man who once vowed to make it despite what white people told him?” said Mama
“‘I want you to have a future, child,’ my mother said. ‘And, contrary to what your father says, school is the only means to a future. I don’t want you growing up to be like your father’” (133). This quote is significant because it shows how much Mark’s mother loves him and cares for him. She is explaining to Mark how much school and an education means to her and how it is the only thing that will lead to success. She then adds that she doesn’t want him growing up to be like his father. This demonstrates how she sees better things in Mark than his older, more experienced father. “I want you to go to school, because I believe that an education is the key you need to open up a new world and a new life for yourself, a world and life different from that of either your father’s or mine. It is the only key that can do that, and only those who seek it earnestly and perseveringly will get anywhere in the white man’s world. Education will open doors where none seem to exist,” said Mama (133). This quote is significant because it shows how Mark’s mother want him to have a future along with a new life. Again, she believes that education is …show more content…
The fact that she said that she would sacrifice even her life for her children, shows how much love she has for them. She wants the best for her children and in order to achieve that, she has to find jobs to suffice for them and their futures.
“I would miss you more than anyone else. I too would want to die if you were to die. You’re the only hope I have. I love you very much,” said Mama (169).
This quote demonstrates another example of how passionate the mother is of her children. The mother says this when Mark is on the verge of committing suicide. She expresses how much love she has for Mark to the full extent by saying that she would want to die if Mark were to die. This quote is very significant for that Mark now knows he has a very compassionate mother to look up too when he is in times of depression.
“Maybe if you’d been saving all these years you’ve been working, instead of squandering money on liquor and dice, you’d have long become your own boss. Who knows, you might even be a millionaire. You have brains, Jackson, I will tell you that. But you choose not to use them. Whatever happened to that ambitious, hardworking, thrifty family man who swept me off my feet thirteen years ago? The man who once vowed to make it despite what white people told him?” said Mama