Othello

Cassandra Huertas Nicole Panichella October 18, 2010 The Love of a Mother These two poems “Rite of Passage and 35/10” is very different. One shows the love of a mother for her son, and the other shows the jealousy of the mother for her daughter. She adored her son so much more than her daughter. She would do anything for her son but when it came to her daughter she felt as if she had no choice. She even talks about how she feels as though she is being replaced by her daughter. The mother’s attitude towards the son is that she loves and adores him. She talks about how everyone came to his party to celebrate his life. She says that the son has ‘long hands cool and thin as the day they guided him out of me’ (19). She is saying that she will always love him the same as the day she gave birth to him. Now on the other hand she is envious of her daughter. She basically feels like she is a servant to her daughter. She asks ‘why is it just as we begin to go they begin to arrive'’ She is basically saying that her daughter is outshining her. The mother’s relationship with her daughter is obviously not a good relationship. Neither poem mentions a father for the children. Maybe the father left the mother for a younger woman, and now she is taking it out on the daughter. Also the daughter may still have a relationship with her father and maybe the son does not. Her relationship with the son is close. Huertas 2 She never mentions how old her son was, but from the other kids ages you can guess around six or seven. She was talking about how these young boys were little men and was probably going to make something of themselves. She wrote ‘They clear their throats a lot, a room full of bankers’(10). She thinks that her son is going to have a good job and take care of her. Her behavior towards her son is that she wants to make sure his life is perfect. She even seemed like she liked the little boys at the party to. She writes short men in first grade with smooth jaws and chins. She thinks boys are perfect maybe it is also because they are still young and innocent. Her behavior towards her daughter is completely different. She talks about brushing her daughter’s hair like if it was a big chore. Her daughter must be older because she made it seem as though she is at child bearing age. She also made it seem as if that was the only thing the daughter was going to be good for. In closing one might say that she definitely loves one child more than the other. Some would say that you learn from your parents mistakes. Hopefully the son doesn’t repeat the same mistakes, and if he has a son and a daughter he will treat them equally. As for the daughter young and beautiful may her youthful curse not be proven envious in her mother’s eyes any longer.