Child negligence may result in the perpetrator feeling a great amount of regret. In “The Farmer’s Children,” by Elizabeth Bishop, two brothers, Emerson and Cato experience torturous neglect from their stepmother. During one very cold night, Emerson and Cato are banished by their stepmother into the frigid temperatures outside the comforts of their own home. They attempt to take refuge from the cold in a nearby barn. However, the brothers end up freezing to death under mounds of hay, that they had used to try and shield their bodies from the cold. In “The Farmer’s Children,” the author Elizabeth Bishop uses the motifs of the moon and the cold to express the theme of how neglect may lead to a negative outcome that one may regret. The moon and
…show more content…
The moon symbolizes while the cold symbolizes.
The cold, as a motif, is used to express the theme of how neglect may lead to an outcome that one may regret. In response to her stepchildren's’ complaints of the cold, the stepmother states, “Well, Judd’s got his blankets over there. Go on, go along and shut that door, You’re letting the cold in.” (Bishop 289) The stepmother is neglecting her stepchildren by forcing them to sleep out in the cold, without blankets or any source of warmth. They object to her command but eventually comply. They complain of the cold, while she retorts that they are “letting the cold in.” (Bishop 289) “The cold” as stated by the stepmother is a representation of her regrets. The cold will remind her of the immoral actions that she has committed towards her stepchildren. The text …show more content…
The “evil step mother” archetype is mentioned throughout the text, in which the reader is exposed to how this “evil stepmother” neglects disregards her own stepchildren. The text explains , “ I suppose you boys forgot you’ve got to get over to the barn sometime tonight,’ she said ironically. Emerson protested a little. ‘Now you just put on your things and get started before it gets any later...Go along now.’” (Bishop 289) The stepmother is “waving” the complaining step children along as if their troubles and concerns are meaningless. A mother figure usually and commonly attends to the majority of the concerns of their children. She puts blame on Emerson and Cato’s shoulders rather than addressing her
The moon symbolizes while the cold symbolizes.
The cold, as a motif, is used to express the theme of how neglect may lead to an outcome that one may regret. In response to her stepchildren's’ complaints of the cold, the stepmother states, “Well, Judd’s got his blankets over there. Go on, go along and shut that door, You’re letting the cold in.” (Bishop 289) The stepmother is neglecting her stepchildren by forcing them to sleep out in the cold, without blankets or any source of warmth. They object to her command but eventually comply. They complain of the cold, while she retorts that they are “letting the cold in.” (Bishop 289) “The cold” as stated by the stepmother is a representation of her regrets. The cold will remind her of the immoral actions that she has committed towards her stepchildren. The text …show more content…
The “evil step mother” archetype is mentioned throughout the text, in which the reader is exposed to how this “evil stepmother” neglects disregards her own stepchildren. The text explains , “ I suppose you boys forgot you’ve got to get over to the barn sometime tonight,’ she said ironically. Emerson protested a little. ‘Now you just put on your things and get started before it gets any later...Go along now.’” (Bishop 289) The stepmother is “waving” the complaining step children along as if their troubles and concerns are meaningless. A mother figure usually and commonly attends to the majority of the concerns of their children. She puts blame on Emerson and Cato’s shoulders rather than addressing her