...A Gift for My Mother Poverty is very prevalent all over the world today. In Africa for instance poverty is very common, and many people starve everyday. In the countries where people feel poverty, there is also a big distinction between the rich families and the poor. But how does this affect the children? Do they feel the poverty and the distinction? This is a very relevant theme in the short story “A Gift for My Mother” by Viv McDade. The lead character comes from a poor family, and her mother is frustrated by the fact that they don’t have enough money. So the child of this family goes out to pick some flowers, and she sells them to the richer people so the family can get some more money and to make her mother happy. It is a first person narrator who is telling the story, so the narrator is also the lead character. The lead character is a girl called Lucy, and we know she is ten because she says so herself. She cares a lot about her family, because she practically only talks about her parents in the story. She doesn’t tell a lot about her father, but when he comes home from work, she immediately runs out to him. Acceptance from her parents is also very important to her. There are several examples of this. One of them is when her father comes home and she runs out to meet him. In this scenario she says: “I was the only one who could spell illiterate,” I tell him. “Fantastic. You’re the best speller I know.” 1 This is the first thing she tells him, so the need of approval...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...A Gift for My Mother There is a big difference between a child and an adult because a child sees things differently than an adult and they do not think about the consequences of their actions. A child do not always know what is right and wrong, even if they do it in a good sense. The short story, “A Gift for My Mother”, published in 2011, written by Viv Mcdade. The main character in the shorts story, is little Lucy from Africa who sees that her mother and father are having problems, then Lucy try to solve the problems on her own way. Lucy is 10 years old and she has a childlike ability to admire the nature around her when she is out to find flowers to his mother. She describes in detail how each flower and plant looks like. Her fascination with nature is pure and unspoiled. ”The leaves of the Msasa trees were shiny, and the sun made it look as if there were diamonds on the big granite boulders.” (ll. 46-47) She also uses the shadows from the trees to measure how late it is. It shows us that she is a young girl who has a different view of the world. ”By the time I got home the long grass was making shadows across the path...” (l. 62). Lucy is a little girl who wants to make everyone happy. She thinks that if she picking flowers for her mother, will she be in a better mood. Since it only works temporarily, Lucy tries to make her mother happy to get some money by selling flowers. ”I longed to give my mother something so beautiful and precious...” (ll. 58-59). Without...
Words: 818 - Pages: 4
...A Gift for My Mother “A Gift for My Mother” is written by Viv McDade in 2011. It is about a family, which consists of the parents and their daughter, Lucy, who live in South Africa. The family has to work hard to earn money to survive. Lucy tries to help them by selling flowers to people. Lucy is the first-person narrator. The year the story takes place; the narrator turned ten years old. We read the short story from her viewpoint, for example on page 8, on the first line: “In the year I turned ten…” Lucy a good student in her school; she does her homework and is an excellent speller, and as described in the text her only difficulty is the math homework. The short story takes place in South Africa, on page 8, we read about the bushveld behind their house, which is well-grassed plains in South Africa. On page 8, line 31, Lucy’s mother asks her husband about how much he has earned and she gives a little laugh. When Lucy’s mother gives a little laugh, I feel that it is not the first time she asks for it and that she got the same answer. I get an expression of the mother, who no longer wants to live like this. Later she says: “What you’ve earned isn’t enough for us to live on” It tells us how poor they are, and the mother is frustrated by the fact that they don’t have enough money. The relationship between Lucy and the parents is good. She cares a lot about her family, because she practically only talks about her parents in the story. She tries to help her parents by...
Words: 615 - Pages: 3
...understand the world of an adult, which is much more complicated. That is exactly what ‘‘A Gift for My Mother’’ written by Viv McDade in 2011 is about. A short story that is about a girl who tries to help her poor family in the best way she can, despite her very young age. The daughter Lucy is the main character, but she is also the narrator, which means that the story is told by a first-person narrator. This means that we only see the events from her perspective, but it also gives an insight on her feelings and thoughts. Lucy is a 10 year old girl who has a big love for the nature. We see that, when she is out picking flowers for her mom. She describes how each and every flower looks like. ‘‘The leaves of the msasa trees were shiny, and the sun made it look as if there were diamonds on the big granite shoulders.’’ (p. 2 ll. 46-47) Her fascination of the nature is pure and unspoiled. She is very good at spelling and is in fact one of the best in her class. We see that, when Lucy tells her father about how she was the only one that could spell the word illiterate on p. 1 l. 19 Although Lucy is only a little girl, she really cares about making her parents happy. She picks flowers for her mom, thinking that it will enlighten her mood. She understands that her parents’ needs money and she thinks that she can solve the problem by selling some bouquets that she made, so she can give the money to her mother. Lucy has a very good relationship with her dad. She is a bit of a daddy’s girl...
Words: 1021 - Pages: 5
...My father is not a kind, gentle or good man. I haven't seen or spoke to him in eleven years, but I know with a certainty I can say that and it still be true. Men like him do not change, they do not grow, they do not admit fault. A few of my posts have spoken of the memories of him that are forever seared into my mind. I sometimes needed to write a bit about him to help you understand certain points or feelings I have now as an adult. I can go months and months without ever having him cross my mind, and that's fine with me. I do not want him in my life, my children know that he is alive and that he is a very bad, bad man. While he's never shown stalking or interest in my life since my mother left him all those years ago, I still take the precautions to warn the school and keep him on the no pick up list with the phrase "contact police immediately" written underneath. Although he could not access my children's school anyway, since they are military children on a base with great security...that is the type of fear he has so gratefully bestowed upon me during my childhood. It lingers and haunts me, and it does even more so during the holiday season. I could write of the beatings, emotional scarring, terror, sexual abuse, and general asshole-iness he loved to dole out to his family on a near daily basis. I could retell any number of situations from my childhood that would make you cringe, tear up, or feel pity for my family. I don't say this with pride or expectation; I say this...
Words: 2157 - Pages: 9
...highland. The wind blew fast made the dark sky become more dangerous and violent, but my mother was ready to set out again. Hardly did anyone know that where a female was going in such that weather. She was going to remote areas of the province to do her business, retailing commodities. At the age of 40s, my mother still had to work hard to earn her living and support our family. By her old bike with a lot of goods that maybe was out of her ultimate limit, my mother faced her new challenge alone but vigorously. There was no light outside, no stars, and no one, there was only winds still blew faster and faster towards my mother's sunburnt face. This moment of my mother' life that has been instilled in my mind has tremendously helped me in my spiritual, mental, and developmental upbringing. My mother actually is an ordinary woman but in her tiny appearance lies an extraordinary fortitude, perseverance, a altruistic soul and a very kindly heart. The kind of mother who brought me up with her whole kindly heart, the kind of persistent woman with strong willpower who had to face the toughest challenges in life, and the kind of person who always demonstrated great zeal for every unlucky lives without requiring anything in return and great willingness to help everyone's misery though she did not have much, my mother taught me more than any one else, not only inspired me the strength to overcome hardships in my life, but also left me with invaluable life lessons. Her fortitude and perseverance...
Words: 1046 - Pages: 5
...A Gift for My Mother The first a person sees for first time is his/her mother. The mother, both of humans and animals is the most important person for them. It is her who takes care of the little baby and it’s also almost every time her, who has the main role in a child’s upbringing. For the child the mother is also very precious. Every child loves and needs its mother. During the upbringing a child doesn’t know much, but the mother teaches him. For a child the world is more different than for an adult. The child experiences the behavior of the parents in a far other way, sometimes the child misinterprets events, and sometimes it just simplifies events and doesn’t know the seriousness of the situation. In this short story “A Gift for My Mother”, written by Viv McDade and published in 2011, the main character is a 10 year old little girl, who sees that her parents having some problems, therefore she tries to help them on her own way. The Story is told by a first person narrator, who’s a little 10 year old girl. It is through her point of view the story is told. The girl’s name is Lucy; she goes to school and loves to do her homework with her father. We know what she feels and what she thinks, but we just see and understand everything as she understands and not as the other persons in the story. She thinks that her father is better in teaching then her teacher Mrs. Emmerson. This is also shown in the text; “He’s very good at explaining things and never makes you feel nervous...
Words: 1077 - Pages: 5
...Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because it’s a special day to honor my role model and best friend. As I’m counting the days until I finally get to be a mother, I’m a bit nervous and anxious but also excited knowing that I learned from the very best. My mom is a strong and ambitious career woman that despite her busy schedule and the millions of things she has going on, she still manages to put family first and continues to look out for us every day. Motherhood is a gift and I know after watching my mom do it, it’s not easy especially when trying to balance a career. I’m honored to follow in her footsteps and make her proud like I am of her. Kourtney, my sister, best friend, and mentor has also taught me so much about motherhood from being the most incredible mom to Mason and Penelope. She is super woman with her ability to effortlessly balance work with taking care of two amazing kids and I am so lucky to have her as my guide and confidant as I too become a mother. And also my wonderful grandma MJ, such a strong and inspirational woman in my life! I love you so much! Make sure to tell your mom how much you appreciate her, not just on Mother’s Day but often. We love our mommas! To all the expecting moms and moms out there, have a blessed day! XoMother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because it’s a special day to honor my role model and best friend. As I’m counting the days until I finally get to be a mother, I’m a bit nervous and anxious but also excited...
Words: 986 - Pages: 4
...A Gift for My Mother Have you ever tried to show your love to somebody, but they do not reciprocate your feelings? This is what happens for the main character and narrator, Lucy in the short story “A Gift for My Mother”. The short story is written by Viv McDade in 2011. It is about a family, which comprise Lucy and her parents. The family lives in South Africa and they have to struggle to scratch a bare living. One day Lucy’s parents are arguing about money, Lucy conceives the idea of earning some money to give to her mother through collecting wild flowers to sell in the neighborhood. When Lucy had sold all the flowers, she wanted to give the money to her mother, but her mother refused the money and Lucy now has to return the money. The narrator in this short story is the main character Lucy. The story is told by a first person narrator and from Lucy’s point of view, which we get a hint of on page eight in the first line; “In the year I turned ten I picked my mother a bunch of wild flowers in the bushveld (…)”. When we are dealing with a first person narrator and particular when it is a child’s point of view, we have to have the narrator’s reliability in mind, because sometimes the first person narrator is not full objective. The story is set in South Africa, perhaps Zimbabwa where author Viv McDade is born. We get some clues about the setting. We are told about some plants and trees, which are only growing in South Africa example the “msasa” tree and the “weed” plant. Beyond...
Words: 829 - Pages: 4
...A long time ago me and my brother Shawn, like every kid in the world, impatiently waited for Christmas. Our mother, who worked mostly nights, warned us that this year would be a little different. As a single mom she worked really hard to provide for her boys. I, being the Eldest, had the job of looking after my brother in the evening. A job that for the most part wasn’t hard , but the pay was lousy. As Christmas quickly approached I noticed that my mother hours doubled as Christmas came closer. Almost every weekend she had to work, and I honestly got tired of staying home babysitting. Realizing that I grew weary of babysitting she told me “It will soon pay off for you Jermaine. I promise!” Not really understanding what she meant, I continued to watch my brother. And now I felt better doing it, because I knew I was help to her. My mom would get home about 7:30 every morning. I would always her come thru the door, but Christmas morning I never heard her come in. “ You guys going to sleep Christmas away!” she said. We jumped up realizing she was right and raced down the steps. Wall to wall gifts, I mean they filled our living room, everywhere you looked gifts. As I stood in amazement, with a smile she whispered “I told you it would pay off.” One of many reasons why I love and respect my mother, not because of gifts or for a great Christmas memory, but for her willingness to work to provide all we every...
Words: 269 - Pages: 2
...Special Occasion Speech Thesis Statement: The most precious gift from the god is “Mother”. I. Introduction: Everyone is grateful to god who has given us all wonderful things in our life. From the earth where we live to the sun where our day shines. There are thousands of blessing we use and get benefit from that we don’t even pay attention to all those. If I say what is the most precious gift from the god? Someone would say it’s the water we drink, someone would say it’s the oxygen we breathe and there are thousands of all those things, but the most precious gift from the god I think is “Mother”. II. Body: A. Mother is a truest friend and a precious gift of god. 1. She is the one who suffers pain from the time giving birth to the time she raises her child. 2. she is a part of our strength and wining. B. May 14 is observed as mother’s day everywhere in world. 1. It is the best time we show our love, kindness and tell her how important her Presence in our lives. For me, my mom is the most significant personality in My life and that is how the mother is for everyone. 2. She is first female friend of everyone in their life. She shows us the right Path. C. Howard Johnson said, “"M" is for the million things she gave me...
Words: 372 - Pages: 2
...Story By Victoria Jay “Why do they do that mother?” “Do what? The sunflowers?” Salhi nodded, as she ran her small hands through the soft yellow petals. Her gray eyes sparkled in the dying light as she looked up at me. “Why do they face the trees in the morning, and then bow to the mountains at night?” She twirled around, her light blue sun dress swaying in the breeze, “it’s just…They look so sad, like they’re lost, and cant’ get home.” A soft smile played at my lips, I bent down so my head came up to her shoulders. My little girl turned and looked at me, rubbing her nose and leaving a streak of pollen on its tip. “Would you like to hear a story?” I whispered, placing myself back on our blanket. She nodded, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of another myth. She sat down next to me, curling up and resting her head on my lap. I sighed, turning my eyes upward to the speckled red sky, the last light of day just beginning to hide behind the cloak of night. I closed my eyes, remembering the myth my grandmother had told me years ago; the soft chirping of a Pine siskin floats through the cool air as I begin the story, the Senowee tale of why the sunflower follows the sun. Why the Sunflower Follows the Sun “Once, long ago in a place much different than our home, there lived a burning flame. Her name was Asishkawatz, and she was the mother sun. Now, Asishkawatz had seven children, six of who had extraordinary gifts. Sal, the eldest, had the voice of an angel...
Words: 2414 - Pages: 10
...fear throughout the novel as Jamaica Kincaid alludes to the objectivization of the human body. During Annie’s extended illness late in the novel, Annie recalls how “[…]my father carr[ied] me on his back, my mother walk[ed] by his side with her head bent down. The doctor, a man from England […] now examined me from head to foot, poking me here and there […]” (110). The use of the word “poked” to describe how the doctor examined Annie’s body during the examination likens her as well as other...
Words: 541 - Pages: 3
...The Days That Changed My Life… Amanda Mathis ECPI University The days that changed my life forever were two of the greatest gifts I could have ever imagined! I was preparing myself for months leading up to those days but I had no idea when those days came it would change who I was, or even how I thought. It took a few days after to realize that all of this wasn’t a dream it became reality. I hoped and prayed for these days to come one day. I couldn’t have been more thrilled when they finally arrived. I keep thinking to myself is there anything I need to do better, what I needed to do, how my life will be different and there is no going back. All I could do was breath and enjoy every precious moment God has given me. When all else fails I know these were the days I can look back and always know I had done something right. July 8, 2009 came and what a day this was. This is the day I had my son Kelbyn and I remember this day very well. I woke up at 5 am to get ready and head to the hospital. We finally arrived at 6 am little did I know what I was about to go through. What I did know for sure was I was going to hold my son for the first time in my arms that day. By 8 am they started to induce me and this process wasn’t too pleasant. I was actually in labor for hours and pushed I know for 2 hours. The incredible thing that actually kept me going was getting to actually watch my son be born. Was it the craziest thing I have ever seen or even went through, yes it was by far? Them...
Words: 1005 - Pages: 5
...acts normally, and how she changes, you can tell the author must’ve wanted something mental to be going on inside of Waverly’s head. Waverly thinks before she acts at the beginning. ”Having watched the other children opening their gifts, I already knew that the big gifts were not necessarily the nicest ones. One girl my age got a large coloring book of biblical...
Words: 1177 - Pages: 5
