An Analysis Of Mikal Gilmore's 'Shot In The Heart'

While many people may think that fate is what controls who you become but, throughout many pieces of literature it is shown that this is not true. The purpose of this paper is to examine how fate does not determine anyone’s outcome but, the background of the parent and their parenting style has the most influence on an individual and show the reader who this is evident throughout different pieces of literature.
To begin, being in a loving relationship and having someone to love can shape an individual into an exceptional person. In the autobiography/biography Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore, Mikal is the youngest of his brothers and this caused Mikal to have a more stable lifestyle than his siblings. Mikal never saw what his father Frank

Mikal was oblivious to this truth. When Mikal is listening to the interviews with his mother Bessie he heard her say, “I’m afraid he’ll hate me when he learns all this or I’m afraid he’ll hate his father, which would he horrible. He was the only one of the boys who ever truly loved his father, and I would hate to take that love away from him” (Gilmore 55). Bessie is afraid to tell Mikal the truth about his father because that truth could break the bond that Mikal and Frank Sr. had because Mikal “truly loved his father” (Gilmore 55). The way that Mikal pictured him was of love and honor but this was only due the conditions that he was raised in, a stable one and not knowing to truth about his father. This allowed Mikal to form this loving bond and to becomes a better person in the eyes of society than his other brother such as Gary (who was a murderer) who knew the truth about their Father Frank Sr. While Mikal’s childhood was more stable is still wasn’t perfect. Mikal’s father Frank Sr. and his mother Bessie would get into violent fights which sometimes would be about Mikal himself. Mikal states, “I would be standing there, looking

Sethe was once a slave plantation called Sweet Home in overtime the plantation was run by a man named schoolteacher. Sethe and other slaves that escaped but this wasn’t the end a seeing schoolteacher. He wasn’t showed up two 124 take back Sethe and her children. Sethe’s love is especially evident when Sethe does everything she can to protect her children from the life of slavery no matter the cost even if that means having to kill her children. “School teacher wouldn’t treat her the way he treated me. First beating I took was the last. Nobody going to keep me from my children” (Morrison 238). Sethe endured a lot of horrible punishments which include beatings and being raped at Sweet Home. Her love is emphasized when Sethe says, “School teacher wouldn’t treat her the way he treated” (Morrison 238). Because she doesn’t want her children to be being abused and put through the same pain that she had to endure while at Sweet Home and only a loving a caring person would do anything to keep her children safe from the harms of slavery. This ideas of keep her children safe such as Denver was prevalent throughout the novel. The book says, “As for Denver, the job Sethe had of keeping her from the past that was still waiting for her was all that mattered” (Morrison 51). This quotes shows the Sethe takes the responsibility of keep Denver safe as her main priority