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Child Abuse In Judith Guest's Second Heaven

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Abstract
Judith Guest’s Second Heaven (1982) deals with the major conflicts between the son and father relationship. The author introduces her protagonist who is always against his father’s wishes and stubbornly refuses to bend to him. The fact is that he has a close relationship with an unknown Lady and her lawyer friend. They willingly offered to help the boy who is in trouble with being severely punished by punished by his father. The protagonist, Gale Murray is a school going young boy who was forced to come out of the home without informing anyone in the family due to his father’s harsh treatment. The boy seeks help from Catherine, who voluntarily offers him without asking any questions. She acts as the protector of the boy and makes necessary arrangements to get himself relived from the inner struggle. On the other hand, she understands the spiritual and emotional oneness with Gale’s …show more content…

The protagonist’s triumphant rise often looked like a struggle for survival. Fagan (1997) viewed “child abuse as one of the most abhorrent of behaviors. Unfortunately, however, it often remains hidden until it is too late for society to save the child’s life or repair the damage. Child abuse also is difficult to define.” Many a novelist dealt with the same protagonist problems. Likewise Hinton’s The Outsiders (1967), deals with two weeks in the life of a fourteen year old boy. The story of the novel is about the protagonist Pony boy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ramble Fish (1975) is another novel in which the protagonists are orphans. That novels give a strong impression about the problems that are faced by the teenagers; “Many contemporary young adult novels seem to reflect genuine confusion over what the job of parents. Consist of, beyond keeping kids fed and safe”

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