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Tension In The Boat By Alistair Macleod

1203 Words5 Pages

In both “The Boat” and Brooklyn, the families are torn between several incidents or situations that occur during them. Conflict an occur frequently between families or friends when difficult situations rise to the surface. The stress that occurs during these stories shows the tension between staying home or leaving in the book Brooklyn, as well as in “The Boat.” In this essay I will discuss some parts of the stories that showed tension that has occured in the short story and the book as well. Especially, I will discuss the difficulty the boy had to endure, and how his choices impacted his future relationship with his parents. I will also discuss the tension the mother bestowed on the outsiders as well as her family. Finally, I will talk about …show more content…

The mother believes that he should drop out of school and become a fishermen, just like the rest of his family was. “I say this now with a sense of wonder at my own stupidity in thinking I was somehow free and would go on doing well in school and playing and helping in the boat and passing into my early teens…” (8) He never thought his mother would create this tension between her family. She never even considered or thought of letting her son do what he wanted. She was angry that her son did not want to carry on the tradition of being a fishermen. "I never thought a son of mine would choose useless books over the parents that gave him life.” (9) It’s as if she resented his choice and considered him a …show more content…

“My mother never accepted any of the young men, for in her eyes they seemed always a combination of the lazy, the effeminate, the dishonest and the unknown. They never seemed to do any physical work and she could not comprehend their luxurious vacations and she did not know whence they came not who they were.” (8) The mother grew even farther from her daughters, she had finally lost them completely. She had no respect for their curious need to read books and explore. Creating a tension not just between her and her daughter but the family as a

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