"The Wide, Wide World"

Reading “The Wide, Wide World” really took me back to my childhood and reminded me of how thankful I am of my wonderful parents and the relationship that I have with them. Parents play a huge part in a child’s life. I remember the days I went to summer camp for two weeks and how home sick I would get the first couple of nights because I missed my parents so much. The role of “a parent” is extremely important. The way parents decide to raise a child influences the rest of a child’s life. As we discussed last week, children are very vulnerable and don’t really understand the world as an adult does; it is “a parents” responsibility to guide a child through life.

As the text points out the different roles of a mother and father, the same was true for my childhood, but quite different. Ellen’s mother was the dearest thing to her life; her mother was someone she loved more than anyone or anything. There was nothing in the world that could replace her mother and the relationship she had. Ellen’s father was not around so much. Ellen loved her father but not like she loved her mother. In the 19^th century, I feel the role of a father was to work and bring home income for the family whereas a mother is to stay home, raise the children, and keep the house in order.

Ellen perceives her mother as the most delicate and loving thing on earth. Ellen would do anything for her mother. Ellen learns from her mother, and wants to be just like her mother. It is Ellen’s duty to make her mother tea and toast everyday and to show Mrs. Montegomery just how much she cares for her; she makes it as perfectly as possible. Captain Montegomery was someone Ellen loved but didn’t have the same kind of relationship with. I believe Ellen perceived the Captain as someone who was intelligent and as someone who was to provide for the family.