Oscar Mendoza 802
Ashes
“Children ought not to be victims of the choices adults make for them,” said Wade Horn. This quote perfectly describes what Ashes is going through.The short story “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer is about how a young girl named Ashes and how she has to choose sides between her mother and her father.Ashes shows amorousness for both of her parents through the story but does not know which one to be allegiant to. This makes the reader think about how decisions even the ones that seem small have a big impact in our life.
One decision Ashes has to take throughout the short story is to know if she should keep on hoping just like her dad and still believe in him. For example, according to the story it states “ When I was little dad promised me a star necklace, but like most of his promises that one never came true.”(pg.115-116) Ashes herself recognizes that her dad has given her a lot of empty promises and not a lot of complete promises. Ashes also knows that her dad gives her happiness and joy. She says that every time she saw her dad the sun shined brighter than the day before . Her dad always showed care and love but when he was truly needed he was never there. As Ashes puts it her dad is always there if you need him,well not always. He is always there to help you with the small things ,but not the big things like child support checks. This is what leads Ashes into confusion on her feelings about her dad.
Another decision Ashes has to deal with throughout the short story is if she should take the money away from her mothers emergency savings in the teapot. For example in “Ashes” it states” You'll be able to pay her back by Friday? Dad I don”t know thats a lot of money. What if mom finds out?” (pg.123)Ashes keep on doubting herself because she does not know if she should agree to “borrow” the money. Ashes dad says that he will be borrowing the money. This makes me think that he is just trying to trick Ashes into giving him the money so that it seems as if Ashes dad isn’t really stealing it from Ashes mom.Ashes knows that her mom is very serious about the money and that it would be wrong to take the money away from her ,but she still believes in her dad and is pressured to take the money just because of how much she loves her dad.
In conclusion, Ashes struggles to make the decision in her life because of both of her parents personalities and how they think about each other. She struggles on knowing if she should or should not trust her dad and if she should or should not take the money of her mothers teapot. You the person reading this essay would probably not know what to do in this type of situation.
The author does a very good job presenting the way a teenagers life is a constant struggle of making up your mind and what type of person you want to be. Ashes represents a perfect example of the struggle between choosing what would be the right thing to do and why it would be the right thing to do.
