Common Theme

I think that the theme of all these stories has to do with family and parenting. I noticed that in all the stories the parents were faulty. They weren't bad people, they just had some common issues. The mother in the first story was somewhat selfish and pushed her daughter off on some stranger. The mother in the second story abused her daughter's talents and bragged about them. The third story consisted of the father not taking his daughter's future into consideration, and the fourth story had a mother who appeared to be doing the right thing by encouraging her son, when really she just needed to sit down with him and see how he felt. I think that all of these parents were neglecting their children's feelings. They didn't treat their children badly, and they definitely loved them. However, they didn't think about how their children were feeling. I realize that all kids, especially teenagers, just want to be left alone, but without medeling parents who keep track of everything that's going on, teens probably wouldn't feel as wanted. Feeling unwanted or uncared about by a parent is one of the hardest things a person can deal with. If one of their parents dies, yes, it is very sad. If their parents are still living, though, and they dish out that kind of rejection, it can really mess a person up. Lucynell ended up alone at a diner because her mother wasn't think about her best interests. Wave-ly will probably grow up to be a spoiled brat because her mother is letting her think that because she has talent she doesn't need to work and follow the rules like everyone else. Annie is a hard one to place, but her career could have went down the tubes because her father felt bad for himself, and Donny ended up who knows where because his mother thought she only needed to encourage him. I think that the moral of all these stories is that it doesn't matter what a child grows up to be or do or what he or she does while growing up. They just need to feel loved and wanted. It may seem like it isn't the right thing to do, but I think that if parents just talk to their children about what's going on in their lives and how they feel, everything will run a lot smoother.