A relationship between a parent and a child is very important. When that exist between a parent and child began to become questionable, the family relationship itself begins to diminish. In Sherman Alexie's, "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," Alice Walter's, "Everyday Use," and David H. Lawrence's "Rocking-Horse Winner," the stories will each portray a different relationship between parent and child. .
In "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," by Sherman Alexie, the relationship between Victor and his father was distant. When Victor's father left the family, Victor had only talked with him on the phone few times over the past years. Victor felt the genetic pain of his father's death. This pain that he felt was like a connection to his father, showing Victor that he did care for his father. The pain also gave him the responsibility as a son to take care of his father even though he did not have his father around. On the way back from picking up his father's ashes, Victor was told a story by Thomas Builds-the-Fire of how he promised Victor's father that he would always look after Victor. The story reminded Victor of the good and bad times he had with his father. It also told Victor that his father cared for him even though they were still far apart.
In Alice Walker's, "Everyday Use," Maggie and Dee's mother have two totally different daughters. Maggie is very shy and envies her sister. Dee is direct and confident in herself and what she does. The mother-daughter relationship between Maggie and her mother is close. The mother's need to be closer to Maggie may be because of her shyness and her want to boost her daughter's confidence in herself. Dee and her mother's relationship were different from Maggie's. Dee's need for her mother was much less. The mother has always let Dee have what she wanted. When Dee returns home to retrieve some of the family heirlooms, she is faced with a reality that she can't have everything she wants.