Parenthood In Red At The Bone

In 2001, Iris watched her 16-year-old daughter walk down the stairs wearing Iris’s old dress. While Iris couldn’t take her eyes off her daughter, Melody refused to look at Iris, her eyes bouncing around the room to look at anything else. In Red at the Bone, Jacqueline Woodson addresses parenthood throughout several generations of an American family. Parenthood is constituted by presence, a show of affection along with interest; Melody did not receive these aspects from Iris, which caused a rocky relationship between the two.

Parental presence is an extremely important aspect in a child's life. Iris spent most of Melody’s life at Oberlin and was rarely around to spend time with her daughter. This absence has noticeably impacted Melody; “if

On a phone call with Melody, Iris explains that “she had missed the child’s birthday but had called, only to have Melody say… Daddy got me a bicycle… but when she reminded the child that the bicycle was from both of them, Melody said, but Daddy put it together. And Daddy’s gonna teach me how to ride” (Woodson 36). In this Iris is realizing that, although Melody acknowledges Iris as her birth mother, Aubrey is the real parental figure in Melody’s life. Getting a bicycle and learning how to ride is a rite of passage in a child’s life and Woodson’s choice of this event signifies Melody growing up under the guidance of Aubrey. By having little Melody say “Daddy’s going to teach me how to ride,” explains the role Aubrey has in Melody’s life. By using the word “but” before Melody explains that Aubrey is going to build the bike, shows a contrast. Iris tells Melody that the bike is from both parents, but Melody contradicts Iris’s statement with an innocent explanation of why it appears the bike is only from Aubrey. In the larger picture, this small moment is repeated many times when Iris fails to care for Melody and Aubrey fulfills his fatherly duty, going above and beyond for his

As shown in Red at the Bone, Jaqueline Woodson contrasts the parental differences of Aubrey and Iris. Furthermore, Woodson shows the outcomes of Aubrey and Iris’s parenting skills by describing Melody’s view on her parents, as well as her inner thoughts. The connection that Aubrey has with Melody is stronger than the connection that Iris lacks with Melody. This is because Aubrey was involved in Melody’s life while Iris distanced herself from her daughter. Even though these examples are from a fiction book, the lack of regard for children is an issue all over the world. People who aren’t fit to have kids or do not want kids, still have them and the parents decide to put in minimal effort resulting in children growing up feeling unwanted and unloved. In the case of Red at the Bone, Melody had one parent who put in maximum effort and one who disregarded her for most of her