Ashes By Susan Beth Pfeffer Summary

We all desire the warmth of feeling special and loved, especially from our parents, but at what point is our desire no longer a playful hope, and turns into a conflicting argument? Ashleigh, or Ashes as her father calls her, is the teenage protagonist in the short story, “Ashes”, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. She is stuck between wanting to believe in her dad’s love for her and knowing deep down inside herself that she is being manipulated. Her dad is the dreamer and her mom is the “level headed” one. In the story, Ashes must decide whether to “borrow” her mother’s money for her dad, finding herself in a spot where her integrity pushes her to do what is wrong. Ashleigh stole the money for her dad because her dad has been planning this “scene” for

An example of flashback that the authors uses in the story states, “ When I was little, Dad used to promise me the stars for a necklace, but like most of his promises, that one never quite happened.” (Pfeffer 1). Ashleigh is thinking back to when she was little and her dad would make her feel good with his promises, but they would never come true.. Her dad compliments her five times in the story by saying “your one and a million" (Pfeffer 2&4). The first couple of times he says he says “you’re one in a million”, it seems sincere to Ashleigh. Then after he asks her to steal a couple hundred dollars from her mother, Ashleigh feels like being called “one in a million” is a method to have her choose sides between her parents. He also compliments her by saying, "You have flair, Ashes. Style." (Pfeffer 2). Ashleigh's dad is kissing up to her by complimenting her every minute, so Ashleigh will be controlled and do whatever her dad wants her to do. More evidence to show she stole the money is that the last sentence ended with, "You're one in a million" (Pfeffer 4). The reader believes that having this statement for the last sentence proves that she stole the money, because it states that the quote cried through her