One Eye God And Bright Thursdays By Olive Senor: The Impact Of Migration And Parental Abandonment On Children’S Identity
In Olive Senor’s, ‘COG’, and ‘BT’, the issue of how migration and parental abandonment can adversely affect children and their identity is explored. This is portrayed in ‘COG’, where the main character’s response to being abandoned by his parents due to migration is to resort to a life of harsh rebellion. In ‘BT’, the subject remains determined to establish a relationship with her father, despite the ideals thrust upon her by her surrogate family. Both short stories examine, through the use of symbolism and irony, the effects of migration on children, focusing on cases where parental abandonment can result in children experiencing mistreatment with surrogate parents. They differ in their approaches to the different parenting styles that can be guided by religious teachings or grooming tendencies common to particular societal norms, and the responses to relationships experienced by both children – where some remain determined to establish and maintain a family relationship, while others refuse to maintain these ties.
The issue of migration is explored in both short stories, focus being placed on situations where children are subject to abuse at the hands of their surrogate parents. This is highlighted in ‘COG’, where Jacko mentions not wanting to go to prison, because ‘Me hear enough talk and get enough battering from you when I small’. This references both the physical and emotional abuse that Jacko received at the hand of his grandmother, his surrogate parent throughout childhood. This idea is also expressed on, ‘A would a like to see you bawl for once …. How to drop lick and chastisement. ’ This line speaks to the physically abusive relationship experienced by Jacko from his grandmother. Similarly, in ‘BT’, Laura suffers emotionally at the hand of her grandparents. This is expressed through the use of symbols such as the table in the home, and the landscape. The landscape reinforces Laura’s feelings of being unwelcome. Both are symbols used to reference Laura’s discomfort in the home, as evident in the following lines, ‘For how else could she explain this discomfort, …. sitting at a table and eating a meal. It is also evident in the following paragraph, ‘…. , when she polished the mahogany she placed each of he children of the household at a place around this table, …. there was now no place left for her. ’ These digs at Laura’s emotional well being also have an adverse effect on her identity as a person, resulting in her resenting her own features, which is evident in the following line, ‘Faced with such perfection, she ceased to look at herself in the mirror’. Religious beliefs or Socio-economic standards can influence the parenting styles used to raise children.
In COG, we see where the subject is influenced by the religious overtones that govern his grandmother’s life. These overtones are made evident through the use of irony, in the grandmother’s life - one filled with strife, struggle and hardship to die in wealth, ‘She wanted to leave this world and enter the next cocooned in the luxury she never had in life’. So it is evident that she wishes to enter the Kingdom of God in an appropriate fashion, one fitting of a certain status. These religious influences affected the way in which Jacko’s grandmother thought, which in turn influenced his perception. Because of his parents’ abandonment and inability to provide a means for him to reunite with them, Jacko is of the belief that God only has one eye open. ‘This is the country of the one-eye God. And he a-see neither you nor me. ’ The reference to the one-eyed God is meant as a reference to the idea that God does not see the needs of he poor. In contrast, Laura wasn’t influenced by religion, but was instead influenced by the socio-economic standards of her family. Miss Christie wanted Laura to be of a certain status, which is highlighted in the following lines, ‘In the child Miss Christie saw a lump of clay which held every promise of being moulded into something satisfactory’ and ‘Miss Christie took every opportunity to add polish to her protégé’. It is worth mentioning that most of Miss Christie’s polishing took place at the Table.
Another difference highlights how some children remain determined to establish and maintain a family relationship, while others refuse to maintain these ties. In BT, Laura holds out hope that one day her father will return and welcome her into his fold. This is evident in this line, ‘She knew that he would come and rescue her from fears as tenuous as clouds and provide her with nothing but Bright Thursdays. ’ The clouds referenced here are symbolic of Laura’s uncertainty towards her father. Even when he arrives and treats her with indifference, she still remains hopeful that one day he will love her as his own, which would clear up the clouds and lead to ‘Bright Thursdays’ which would be a representation of the certain and steady relationship between her and her father. In contrast, Jacko has given up hope on developing a relationship with a family, which is highlighted in the following lines, ‘Oh. So me not family? Them never shame me? Next year never did came for me for every year them breed up a new pickney. ’ Jacko has succumbed to his hardened persona because he is of the belief that his parents abandoned him, therefore he shows no interest in developing a relationship with them.
In conclusion, migration resulting in parents abandoning their children can have many adverse effects. Parental abandonment can lead to children being treated poorly by their surrogate parents, can result in differential parenting styles that can be influenced by religion and socio-economics, and can result in children holding out hope to build relationships with their parents, or lead to resentment and a refusal to develop these bonds.
