The Cause Of Destruction In Naomi Shihab's Lizabeth

It has been a while since we have last seen each other, but with your affordable care I have suggested you to my patient Lizabeth (who is moving to Florida). When I met Lizabeth she was a "fourteen-going-on-fifteen" (Collier, 1) year old, African American girl. Just like any kid her age, she was immature and unaware of the world outside of her neighborhood. During this time period, the Great Depression was going on and her family was in poverty. Lizabeth didn't understand why her father was worried about the future and why her mother worked such long hours. Her parents were trying so hard to provide her and her brother Joey with a better future than their own. However "her father's silence...and her mother's absence..."(3) became a daily routine. Causing Lizabeth to feel like there was no one there to support her when she needed help. Eventually, the feeling of being unsupported led to her perform an act of destruction that she later regretted. …show more content…
These cause her to "lose her head entirely" and become "mad with the power of inciting such rage" (3). When she feels like this, she can't control the mix of emotions she is feeling. Instead, she goes and destroys objects that she feels symbolize too much hope and beauty. Also, Lizabeth tells me that her "need for her mother who is never there, the hopelessness of their poverty and the degradation, the bewilderment of being child nor women, and yet both at once...[these feelings] are combined into one great impulse towards destruction" (4). While she is transitioning from childhood to adulthood, Lizabeth is confused about her actions and her