Two essay questions on Hamlet - Final #2

"Evil Step-mother" is a common term for children all over the world. Although some children claim that they like their step parents, It is much more common for kids to have intolerance towards newly adopted parents. There have been many movies and plays throughout history that deal with rotten stepparents, and many times rotten stepchildren. They seem to be depicted in many different ways, at many different times in history.

Firstly, Cinderella is a fairy tale that is based completely around the abuse she recieves from her "Evil Step-mother and Step-sisters." Her step-mom is shown as downright horrible with acts ranging from making her do all the chores to not allowing her to go to a ball that all women in the town are required to go to. She is so hated, that in the film-adaptation of the story, Her and the stepsisters are all ugly, and their cat is named "Lucifer." As many people know, Lucifer was Satan's name before he was cast down to hell in the Bible.

Although my parents recently divorced, I haven't had much experience with Step Parents. My mother does have a boyfriend, and he seems to be a very nice guy. My mother has talked about when she was a child, she had a step mother her treated her terribly. In my opinion, the reason why Step parents have such a bad reptuation is because of the psychological effects of a divorce on a child. No child handles divorce exceptionally well, and many children have a terrible problem with change. Whether the newcomer is rude or not, a child still has a preset for where their mommy or daddy used to be, and all they really seem to understand is that the situation has changed.

The hardest barrier for many children to overcome is the change. Facing and accepting the change is such a challenge, especially if their real mommy or daddy has no idea how to deal with a divorce. Its very hard for parents to be compassionate with their children when they're so wrapped up in trying to finalize something as big as a divorce, no matter how long they've been together. Step Parents have it tough too, because all they did was fall in love with someone, and sometimes dealing with a child isn't an adult's strong point.

Alternatively, Sometimes a step realtionship works out for the better. I've known people whose dad's or mom's have walked out before they were even out of the womb. They adopt a new parent as their own, no questions asked. Sometimes the people that father the children aren't necissarily the ones who should be their "dad." If i've noticed anything, it is that children dealing with unkind step parents may be scarred, but they are always stronger because of it. My mother had gone through 3 divorces as a child, Which means there was alot of change and instability. So when she decided that she couldn't be with my dad anymore, she had the compassion and caring that her mother and my own father couldn't seem to give.

As much as history depicts unkind and mean stepparents and even step children, there is a reality to having these people that shows true caring also. As much as I wouldn't want to have a step-dad or step-mom, I would truly want to see my own parents happy.