Some people in the world feel one cannot become a strong individual if they had an abusive childhood. They say the child grows up weak and afraid, to hurt to become anything worth being. The child is shy and too scared to draw attention to themselves. Perhaps in order to escape their own troubles and pain, they would turn to harming others. These children would be without motivation, without any desire to become more than they are. Of course this is true in some cases, but not all. There is living proof in this world of leaving a horrible past behind to make a better future.
In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character Scout speaks of the Ewell family. The father is neglectful of his several children, and does not take proper care of them. The Ewell children have habits of not keeping themselves clean and mistreating each other and other people, for it is all they know. Though their home life is depressing, filthy, and altogether horrible, one child still strives to be more than a dirty Ewell child. Mayella Ewell, the eldest of the Ewell children, "looked as if she tried to keep
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At her father’s home, she felt safe and secure. However, when she was living with her mother, she faced several hardships. Her mother, Vernita Lee, was employed in several jobs, which lead to her often leaving Winfrey home alone. Without her mother’s supervision, Winfrey was vulnerable to the dangers the poor neighborhood held. As a teenager, Winfrey faced sexual abuse from those around her that were trusted by her family. She eventually returned home to her father, Vernon Winfrey, in Nashville Tennessee, which was where she realized she wanted to go into a career where she could be “paid to talk”. As she grew, Oprah Winfrey worked hard in school and won a scholarship to Tennessee State University. She took on several careers, and is now one of the most well-known women in the