Parents and their children hold a special relationship with each other. The relationship between parents and their children have a great effect on the child's life. Through the readings, this is apparent in positive relationships, negative relationships, and in average relationships between the parent and the child.
A positive relationship between parents and their children helps with the up bringing of the child. This is seen in Theodore Roethke's piece, "My Papa's Waltz", and in William Butler Yeats piece, "A Prayer for My Daughter". In Roethke's piece he writes, "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchens shelf; [My] mother's countenance could not unfrown itself."(202) Here he reflects on the good time that they had. It is also apparent in, " You beat time on [my] head with a palm caked hard by dirt, then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt."(202) This shows that he was having fun and he clung to his fathers shirt because he didn't want to go to bed, he wanted to spend more time with his father. Throughout Yeat's entire piece a positive relationship is seen as well. He prays for what he hopes his daughter will have while she grows and matures. What catches my eye the most is, "May she become a flourishing hidden tree, that all her thoughts may like the linnet be, and have no business but dispensing round their magnanimities of sound." (204) It is obvious that he wants the best for his daughter, for her to flourish and mature and also to think on her own, and not have someone else think for her. In these two pieces it is very clear that the Roethke had a special bond with his father and that Yeats had a special bond with his daughter. This bond is shown by Roethke reflecting on his experiences with his father and in Yeats case, his special prayer for his daughter.
The opposite reaction occurs when the relationship between a parent(s) and their children is negative.
