About The Short Story

Can you know that your parents shaped you into who you are? Our parents' actions characterize us fully! Parental activity does play an important part in influencing a child's mental and physical needs. This behavior has an impact on a child's academic growth and social well-being. The biggest influence is found in good parenting in future generations. Good parenting entails setting and communicating simple goals to your child, being patient with them as they encounter difficulties such as being angry, behaving as a role model to them, giving the child credit for their behavior, and constantly encouraging them. It is quite evident from the opening question that a child will follow the example of the parent, not the advice they get from the parent. This topic is derived primarily from two short stories that define and contrast parental behavior and the results of the behavior.
The first story is of a young girl named Cinderella. As narrated by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Cinderella was a very beautiful daughter of a wealthy man. She was the only daughter of her mother. Cinderella’s mother was a very loving, caring and spiritual woman. She loved her daughter so much and wanted her to grow into a good girl who is pious. She encouraged her that remaining pious and being a good girl would giver her utmost protection from God. Unfortunately, Cinderella’s mother became sick, spent some little time with her loving daughter and eventually passed on. Before her death, Cinderella’s mother promised her that she would look down on her from heaven and be near her always. Her death made Cinderella very sad. Every day the girl would go out of her mother’s grave and weep, and strictly follow the instruction given by her mom to always remain pious and good. She was devout and always showed deep respect for God and humanity. She was a very good girl! Cinderella’s father, after the death of her mother, got married to another woman. This was after the snow had spread over Cinderella’s mother’s grave and the spring sun came and melted it away.
Cinderella’s new mother brought her two daughters into the house. Her daughters were equally beautiful and they had fair faces. Unlike Cinderella, these girls were only beautiful in looks but venomous inside; they were evil and had dark hearts. Things were going to be very tough for Cinderella in this new family infested with hate and lack of concern. This poor girl was called names like a stupid goose, denied all the freedom she possessed previously, subjected to hard labor and even chased from the parlor. Her only rightful place was the kitchen where she worked as the maid. The other girls took Cinderella’s beautiful clothes away. All she had left was an old gray smock and wooden shoes that were definitely uncomfortable to walk in. They laughed at her and insulted her.
In the kitchen, Cinderella had to do very hard work the whole day right from the morning up to the evening. She would wake up very early before the day breaks, fetch water, light up the fire, make food and wash the dishes and clothes. Cinderella was turned into a slave. Her sisters did all things imaginable just to hurt her. They could make lots of fun of her, scatter lentils and peas in the ashes and she could sit down and pick the scattered lentils and peas. After a long day of hard work, Cinderella had no bed to sleep. She instead slept next to the hearth that was in the ashes. It is ironical that this beautiful name Cinderella came from the fact that she was always dusty and dirty and so her sisters called her that.
One day, Cinderella’s father wanted to attend a fair. He asked the two stepsisters of Cinderella what they would want him to bring for them. The stepdaughters asked for beautiful dresses, pearls, and jewels respectively. However, when he asked Cinderella what she would want him to bring for her, she never asked for any beautiful dress or jewels. There is a first twig that normally brushes against the hat of his dad on his way home. This is what Cinderella wanted, a broken piece of that twig. So the father bought nice dresses, jewels and pearls for the two stepdaughters. While coming back home, he rode through the thicket and there a twig of hazel brushed on his head and knocked his hat off. He broke the twig from the hazel bush and took it to Cinderella. Having been well brought up by her mother, she thanked him so much for that hazel twig gift.
Cinderella planted the hazel twig on her mother’s grave. She wept to the point that her tears fell on and watered the hazel twig she planted. Surprisingly, this twig got big and was transformed into a very beautiful huge tree. Three times every day Cinderella went to this tree. Beneath the tree, she wept and being a pious girl, she prayed. Every time she was there, a white bird would patch on the tree and throw down everything that Cinderella had wished for.
The area King announced a festival that was going to last for three consecutive days. Every beautiful girl who was young in the village was invited to attend. Cinderella, treated as a slave, had to help her stepsisters to comb their hair, brush their shoes and even to fasten their buckles. They were going to the king’s castle to attend the festival. Cinderella was obedient and did just as her stepsisters asked. They, however, did not allow Cinderella to attend the festival because she was covered in dirt and dust. Her stepmother would not let her go. If Cinderella was to attend the dance festival, which she really anticipated to attend, her stepmother would give her very unrealistic tests like scattering a bowl of lentils and peas in the ashes and making Cinderella pick them up within two hours. This was a very tight timeline to meet for Cinderella. However, since every wish of Cinderella could be granted by the magical hazel tree she planted at her mother’s grave, all she needed to do was call on pigeons and turtledoves and all the birds in the sky to come and help her gather and sort the scattered lentils. After finishing the first test, her stepmother could still not allow her to attend the festival. Instead, she was to recollect scattered lentils within thirty minutes. She restated her wish and the aforementioned birds came to her rescue.
Finally, Cinderella got the opportunity to attend the festival. She, however, did not have any good clothes since her stepsisters had taken all her beautiful dresses. She went to the hazel-tree, wished for silver and gold down to her and there and then a bird threw a magnificent dress for her. She wore this to the festival and everyone was astonished at how beautiful she was. Her stepfamily was not able to recognize her since they could not imagine such beauty on Cinderella. The prince took her hand, danced with her and did not accept to dance with any other beautiful girl apart from Cinderella. The prince tried to escort her when the night came in but she ran away from the prince.
The next day he insisted on Cinderella. She came back to the festival with an even more beautiful dress than the previous ones and the prince was a move to take her as a wife but she ran away. On the last day of the festival, the prince wanted to trap Cinderella so that she might not run away. He, therefore, ordered pitch to be posted on the stairway. When the festival was over and Cinderella tried running away, her beautiful golden shoe stuck on the smeared pitch but she managed to escape. The prince got hold of the shoe and asked to marry any girl whose feet would fit in that shoe. Cinderella’s stepsisters both tried fitting the shoes but with no success. Cinderella would not be allowed by her stepmother to fit the shoe because she was dirty and dusty. The prince, however, insisted that she try them on. She did so and the shoes perfectly fit on her feet. The prince was excited and eventually got married this poor girl. Cinderella’s life changed for good!
Another story as told by Yiyun Li is that of a sheltered woman. Her name is Auntie Mei. She is a live-in nanny who works for mothers and their newborns for eleven years now. Her policy remains to leave the family she is working for the day the baby turn one month old unless otherwise stated or requested by her employer. She administers tight routine for all babies and mothers she takes care of. Growing up, two mythic ladies raised Aunty Mei. The villagers shunned these two women. They, however, welcomed her. She was told about her grandfather, her father, and other family members. She could tell that the village had fearfully disapproved her elders. Her grandmother was skinny and poor and was not used to daylight because they were not accepted and had to keep a low profile and be in hiding. Aunty Mei’s mother could barely eat. All she wanted was her daughter to have some food. Aunty Mei left home when these two women, mother, and grandmother died. On their death, there was nothing left to anchor aunty Mei. She was married and never told her husband about her mother and grandmother. She was a very hardworking lady and her husband highly anticipated sharing a solid life together with her. She never got to stay with her father or grandfather since they were never there for them. Her background facilitated her love for the job of helping newborns and pregnant women. She, however, had negative attitudes towards men. This bad attitude made her develop a hate for her husband to an extent that she wished him death. This wish surely came through and she was so disturbed by it. She could not even fall in love with Paul who really liked her.
From the above two stories, that of Cinderella and Aunty Mei, it is quite evident that parental behavior has a direct effect on the upbringing, growth, and development of a child. It affects the entire life of an individual from childhood through to adulthood. In the case of Cinderella, she was privileged to have a loving and caring mother. Her mother taught her good morals and turned into a good lovely girl. Despite the challenges she faced from her stepfamily, she never let loose her obedience and discipline. This resulted in her enduring the challenges and eventually got married to a prince hence enjoying life. Aunty Mei’s adult life was also directly impacted by her childhood. Staying with her mother and grandmother minus the father and grandfather, she knew the challenges women and their newborns go through. This moved her to develop interest and passion as a nanny hence taking utmost care of the mothers and newborn. This passion gave her much recognition and appreciation to an extent that she became the most experienced nanny whom everyone could hope for. It is, therefore, true to conclude that parental behavior defines the outcome of an individual.
Works cited
"Cinderella." Grimm 021: Cinderella. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. .
Li, Yiyun. "A Sheltered Woman." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. .