Impact of Parents’ Affection on Children in Ocean at the End of the Lane and Bridge to Terabithia

Neha

Mrs. Mckeown

ENG4U

12 Oct 2015

Impact of parents’ affection on children in Ocean at the End of the Lane and Bridge to Terabithia

We as a civilization have set some rules for survival. For instance, children are often linked to reflection of parental psychology. Young characters in both stories find it hard to manage well with their family’s understanding and affection on them, as they face a hard family life unlike many other normal children. The critical effects of ménage violence in a relationship between parents often result in scrutinizing the children’s psychology physically, and socially, as well as emotionally. Thus, children often tend to use Freudian mechanism of fantasy to eliminate their tribulation in life. Both the characters, Jess from the movie Bridge to Terabithia directed by Gabor Csupo and the narrator from the book Ocean at the End of the Lane written by Neil Gaiman, have to undergo isolated life on their own. At times, they find themselves craving affection from their parents, whether consciously or subconsciously. In such young ages, their smart but broken little minds create their own fantasy worlds, whether with the help of the only friend they had made, to cope with what they do not get from their parents in reality.

When picturing young children, the scenery that comes to one’s mind is the little ones playing on the playground with many other peers, laughing and running. However, it unfortunately is not the same for the two young characters. Both of them have always been isolated, inundated passionately in their own little worlds of what they love to do, in order to avoid the stress their parents have caused them. The narrator from Ocean at the End of the Lane had always loved books, as he never had a friend or a peer to spend time with. Despite the fact that no one came to his 7th birthday party his mother had thrown for him, he was content with the isolation; he expected nobody to come, and as he stated, “Books were safer than other people anyway.” (OATEOTL 15)  Since he did not have anyone, he projected his feelings reading books, and his young mind’s thoughts often wandered to such high areas a normal 7-year-old couldn’t reach. His thoughts helped his escape his reality, even literally. When he was escaping from his room after Ursula, the villain of the story, had locked him in his room, he drew a plan in his mind in such a short time, using the stories he had read in his books. Similarly, Jess, one of the main characters from the movie Bridge to Terabithia, finds refugee from his problems in his passion for running and drawing. Both of the characters, however, did find a friend for each other, despite none of them being keen on making friends. The narrator found a neighboring friend named Lettie, who was there for him whenever he needed him during the harms and difficulties he had to face, as well as Jess who’s new neighbor/classmate named Leslie assisted him in  visualize a magical world that enabled them to escape the problems they had to encounter.

Despite owning little innocent minds without any greed in their hearts, young children do yearn for affection, either from their families, especially their parents, or from friends. Both the characters had undeniable desire of affection from their parents. Even though Jess had trouble making new friends, and usually rather enjoyed own company, he befriended Leslie. Leslie was the kind of girl to not follow the gender roles that the society has set up; she ran, even better and faster than other boys her age, and she knew well how to build. Jess’s subconscious mind blocked the stereotypes, and went on befriending the girl because all it craved was affection from someone. It was a true friendship he had with Leslie; there was no pre-adolescent dating, although there could have been a chance for it to develop. Jess also tried to be nice to his young sister named May Belle, who did annoy him from time to time. Jess’s other sisters weren’t very nice to him. Despite the fact that they were older than Jess, the sisters quirmed out of chores their parents have assigned, leaving Jess to do all of them. One time, after cajoling the mother with financial statements which stirred the mother’s anger, the mother projected all her anger on Jess, making him do all the chores that the sisters were supposed to do, and Jess did all the chores, without complaining, even though he was worn out from his running sessions. His mother never appreciated him, no matter how hard he tried to impress her. His passion for drawing and his failure to satisfy his father show that he underwent from the supposition that a “boy” must fit into certain “masculine” stereotype. It lead him to finding a new friend, Leslie, who later showed him a new magical world within the reality world they lived in.

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