Summary Of Sunday At The Park By Bel Kaufman

Standing one’s ground is important to maintain pride in oneself and one’s family. It could involve doing something one may not want to do or require the gathering of courage, but to keep one’s integrity, one must face their conflicts head-on and figure it out. This idea is challenged in “Sunday at the Park” by Bel Kaufman in a conflict involving a couple and their child versus a grown-up bully and his child. Morton must muster the courage to challenge the bully when a problem arises, and in the end, he is unable to. The idea of defending himself and his family against a bully is central to the story. Kaufman believes that people should always stick up for themselves, and she proves this by Morton’s unreasonable excuses as to why he failed to

After all, would it not be terrible if Morton attempted to fight him and was beaten up severely? Does Morton not say it himself when he tells his wife, “The only possible outcome would have been… my glasses broken, perhaps a tooth or two replaced… and for what?” (Kaufman 2). Although this may be true, he avoided physical conflict with the bully, he was doing so whilst sacrificing his personal dignity as a father and head of his family. Even Morton was disappointed with how it played out. Also, his wife was ashamed of him. She lost faith in his ability as a protector of the family when she thought, “The whole thing was as silly as that, and not worth thinking about” (Kaufman 3). She thought her husband’s excuses were unprecedented and stupid; he should have stuck up for them and fought the bully. Even if some may say that Morton avoiding physical conflict with the bully was the better choice, in actuality it was the worst choice because it challenges Kaufman’s belief that one should stick up for themselves and avoid letting the situation take control of