Essay on “Ashes”

Essay on “Ashes”

Miles Mukamal

In the world, there are many teens who have parents or a parent that don’t show their children real love or compassion.  Such is the case in Susan Beth Pfeffer’s short story “Ashes”. Ashes, a teen whose parents are divorced, is forced to make a tough decision when her father tries to manipulate her. After asking her to take money from her mom’s house with only vaguely explaining why he needs it, he drops her off and tells her to comeback with the $200 he wants. Without saying it, he has made it clear he will not treat Ashes the same if she doesn’t return with the money.  He also is less reliable than her mom and there is a lack of trust between Ashes and her father. This really shows how negative relationships can affect the choices we make, and the things we do.

           

      For starters, Ashes’ father manipulates her to try and get something out of her. For instance, “’you’re a one-in-a-million girl’. ’Am I really?’ I asked not needing the reassurance. I knew I wasn’t a one-in-a-million girl, no matter how often Dad told me I was.” This quote shows how Ashes’ father tries to get her to love him more by giving untruthful compliments so she will be more fond of him and be more likely to do what he says. Furthermore, Ashes dad says “’Some of those supermodels make a fortune.’” In this quote, he is giving her another false compliment, but also he is hinting at the fact that he may be short on money by suggesting a job that pays a lot. In all, Ashes’ dad gives her what might seem like untrue praises to give her the dishonest feeling of love so she might do something he wants.

           

       Moreover, there is a lack of trust between Ashes’ and her Father. For example, while they were eating dinner at the diner her dad sat facing the door, and kept looking at it. Ashes’ reply to this was: “’waiting for someone?’ I asked him” She gets on high alert when her dad does something suspicious. Ashes doesn’t trust her dad is sitting facing the door by accident, so she asks him about it, which leads to a confession by her dad about how he owes someone money and he needs her to take it from her mom. Similarly, when Ashe’s dad asks her to borrow money from her mom by making Ashes’ sneak into her house and take the money, Ashes says “Dad, I don’t know,’ I said. ‘That’s a lot of money. What if Mom finds out?”’ This is after her dad says that he promises she won’t get caught. Ashes doesn’t trust her dad that her Mom won’t find out.

           

      Finally, her dad is less reliable and predictable than her mother. This affects the choices she might make because even though her dad is less reliable then her mom, she still loves her dad because of his occasional affection, which she only gets once a week from him, if at all. Because she doesn’t see her dad too often, she feels more love from him than her mom because her mom has to stay with her all the time, making Ashes feel less special to when with her mom. An example of her dad’s unreliable love is “He’s always there when you need him. Well, not always.” This quote shows how he’s not always around to support and love Ashes. This is the opposite of her mother. She is very reliable and prepared. For instance, (Talking about her mom) “She’s the most practical person I know…” or “[she has] Flashlights with working batteries for a blackout” This shows how prepared and reliable Ashes’ Mom is compared to her father. Her mother provides love while still being reliable at all times, while on the other hand, Ashes’ dad is not always there to support and love Ashes. 

           

     To conclude, relationships really affect what we do. Trust, lack of reliability and manipulation are key aspects of Ashley’s relationship with her Father that may affect what she might do, such as taking the money from her mother, or remaining loyal to the parent that is always there and is reliable and affectionate at all times. This short story by Susan Beth Pfeffer really shows how relationships affect the choices we make.