Examples Of Selfishness In The Farmer's Children

Hasrat Mehta

Mrs. Yan

Writing Process

December 9, 2015

Elizabeth Bishop demonstrates the idea of selfishness of humans in “The Farmer’s Children” by using many literary techniques. The story is about two children, Emerson and Cato, who live with their father, stepsisters and stepmother. Their father usually goes to town to drink, leaving his kids with their stepmother, who only cared for her biological daughters. Once, Emerson and Cato, were sent to take care of their family’s barn in a freezing night of December. The frighteningly cold weather eventually led to their death. Bishop used many literary devices which enhances the text. These elements provides the reader with a deeper understanding of the central message and brings richness to

Characterization provides the portrayal, thoughts and characteristics of a certain person. The mother only cared about her own children and did not treat her step children as her own. For example, “‘Emerson!’ she screamed.“Put that child down! Didn’t I tell you the next time you made that child cry I’d beat you until you couldn’t holler? Didn’t I?” (Bishop 288). The mother screams at Emerson because she thinks that Emerson tried to hurt her daughter. She informs him that she will beat him if he does that again. She didn’t even tried to find out if Emerson did anything wrong but instead she just believed what her daughter said. This shows the how the mother is partial to her own daughters and that characterize her as a selfish person. The mother also gives special attention to her the daughter. This was revealed in the following example, “Back home in the yellow farmhouse the stepmother was getting ready for bed. She went to find an extra quilt to put over Lea Leola, Rosina and Gracie Bell, sleeping in one bed in the next room” (Bishop 291). The mother sends the boys at the barn in the severe cold without any proper clothing and here in the house, she is providing the the daughters with an extra quilt to protect them from the cold. This also shows how she discrimination between the stepchildren. Therefore, the author states the selfish nature of mother using