Ashes Literary Essay

Reading Response to “Ashes”

Joseph Petrini 802

ELA

The short story “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer shows the conflicts of an only child facing the issues spurred by divorce. Throughout the story you see the ways that the protagonist, Ashes, is morally wrung out by her unstable relationships with her parents. Ashes’ flawed relationships with her parents accentuates the idea that relationships are complicated.

        Ashes’ mother is an hurt, yet reliable person, this complicates Ashes’ relationship with her mother.  Her mother is more strict than Ashes’ father  but, is a more reliable and responsible parent. For example, when Ashes is describing her mother she says, “With Mom, there are a lot of rainy days and she always takes a grim sort of pleasure in being ready for them. The flashlight with working batteries for a blackout.” In this quote you can see how Ashes’ mother is a reliable and prepared parent. “Mom was always prepared, except for what Dad did to her.” This quote shows how hurt Ashes’ mother was by what her father did. Ashes’ mother is a hurt but reliable parent.

Ashes’ parent’s divorce forced Ashes to choose sides, this revealed the complications of Ashes’ relationship with her father. “ That winter, it felt like every time I saw my father, the sun cast off just a little more warmth than it had the day before.” The way that the author connects a loving warmth to the warmth from the sun shows readers that Ashes loves her father dearly. “  ‘I'm a dreamer,’ he said to me more than once, which really wasn't all that different from what Mom said. ‘He's an irresponsible bum,’ was her way of wording it. I knew he was both.” This quote shows me how Ashes could love her father so much but at the same time understand his flaws. This also shows how Ashes wants the “dreamer” but knows that with that comes the “irresponsible bum.” That showed me how complicated relationships can be.

The short story “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer teaches readers that relationships can be complicated. This story also shows how complicated people can be. For example, how much Ashes wants a parent like her father but, she knows that what she really needs is a responsible parent who will keep her safe. The short story “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer teaches readers that people, and thus, relationships can be complicated. One of the things that contribute to this is the fact that not everybody reveals everything about themselves because they are scared of how they will be judged. This is very apparent in “Ashes.” Ashes’ father hides how unstable he is because he is scared that might motivate Ashes to leave him. “Ashes” teachers readers how complicated relationships are.