Steve Jobs is a world-renowned entrepreneur. He created one of the largest and most successful technology companies in the world. But, he isn’t all that he was made out to be. In Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs it is obvious that the absence of a parent can impact the development of a child and, inconsistent love can be detrimental to the self-worth of a young person. This theme is prominent and displayed through a series of examples within this book such as the absence of her father, financial troubles, and negligence.
Steve Jobs struggled to show up for his daughter. When she was born, he wanted nothing to do with her, even claiming that she wasn’t his child. As she grew up, he rarely made time for her and Lisa basically grew up without
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He’d flake out or make up an excuse for why he couldn’t be there. This affected Lisa’s self-esteem and self-worth because she thought something was wrong with her. It’s obvious that Steve had the upper hand in the relationship, as the decisions about their meetings were made by him. When Lisa was older he decided he wanted her to move in with him and his new family. At first, Lisa was excited to be included and wanted. However, after living there for a while and the birth of her baby brother, she became a shadow. She often blended into the background, silently treading on her family, appearing only when her father wanted her to. He chose when he wanted to include her in family activities. There were multiple instances where Lisa was purposely left out by her father, causing her to feel unimportant and trapped. An example of this is when Steve was taking photos of his wife and son while Lisa was in the room. He didn’t even offer to let her be in a single photo, instead just taking photos as the three of them. This inconsistency was very confusing for Lisa, she wanted her dad to love and care for her in the way that she did for him. But he was bad a communicating his emotions and would switch his attitude toward her frequently. Sometimes he’d change and she wouldn’t know why. This caused her to be very delicate around her dad as she didn’t want to trigger an outburst and wanted to remain in his care and love. He’d make her feel guilty for not participating in a family event, and then turn around and exclude her from something else. Additionally, Lisa felt neglected. She was asked to come into his home and live with him and yet was denied the most simplistic wants that she asks for. Lisa felt lonely at night since her room was the only one on the ground floor. She asked her dad and stepmother to come to say goodnight to her once in a while so she’d feel less alone. However, Steve