Eleanor and Park - Pre Reading

In a dictionary, there is a very simple definition listed for the word “parent”: “a father or mother”. Today, especially in middle school, another definition is more prevalent. Most teenagers seem to think of parents as only being an inconvenience. However, I believe that there can be different definitions. A parent could simply be classified as a “guardian” or as the biological parent of a child. Another definition could say that someone has to have certain qualities to be called a  parent, and those qualities might be difficult to have. 

The way someone’s parents behave can influence their life. This is more prominently seen in books. For example, if one of the protagonist's parents die while the protagonist is young, they will probably become very close to the other parent. While this is a good discussion topic, a plot like this often tempts the author to kill off the other parent, resulting in an extremely sad book. Another type of parent often found in literature is one who is barely present in the protagonist’s life, or nearly invisible altogether. This type of parent often produces a rather independent protagonist. Since they have had little or negative influence by parents, they have a more self-governing mindset. They might have a negative view of their parents, though. 

In real life, of course, these relations are not always so obvious. However, most teens feel that their parents are either too strict, or don’t care about them enough. It is true, though, that people are influenced by the type of parents that they had. Although most teens complain about their parents, they do not usually realize how hard it is to find the balance between being too strict and too lenient.

It seems to me that this is a very fine line, and that it is extremely difficult to find. Just a slight bit to one side or the other, and a parent becomes one of the stereotypes previously mentioned.

In about ten years or so, many of the people in our  class will be parents themselves. This leaves only one question: what kind of parent will they be?