Ashes Essay

Depending on others is a part of life, the hard part is deciding who. In the short story Ashes by Susan Beth Pfeffer, a girl named Ashes struggles with the divorce of her parents. Throughout the story, Ashes compares her parents to conclude if she can rely on them.The struggles Ashes faces with her relationships with her parents and the decision of which parent she can depend on emotionally and physically, is used by the author to relate with teens who also face these struggles.

Throughout the story, Ashes compares her parents to see if she can rely on them. For example, Ashes’ father promises Ashes everything from the ground up. Once, when she was little, her father promised her the “stars for a necklace.” However, he doesn’t always keep his word, considering some of his promises are unrealistic. “The world might be a better place, but child support checks don’t always show up on time, and I never did get that necklace made of stars.” Ashes acknowledges that her father puts others before her and makes promises that he does not plan on fulfilling. She no longer feels ignored or unimportant when promises don’t get made because that is just who her father is, a dreamer. On the other hand, Ashes’ mother is very reliable. Reliable in cases of emergencies, such as rainy days, earthquakes, or working batteries for the flashlight in a blackout. Ashes’ mother is practical and does not make promises she can not keep, which is the complete opposite of Ashes’ father. Ashes compares her parents throughout the story because they both have contradicting personalities, and she does not know if she can rely on either one.

A reason Ashes has trouble deciding if she can depend on her parents, is because her opinion influences her. For example, “I knew I wasn’t a one-in-a-million girl, no matter how often Dad told me I was. But no matter how often he told me, I still loved hearing him say it.” This demonstrates how Ashes’ dad loves her and believes she is special. Ashes loves that about him, even though he is unpredictable with keeping his word. On the other hand, “With Mom there are a lot of rainy days and she takes a grim sort of pleasure in being ready for them.” This reveals how Ashes views her mother as pragmatic but not so much as caring or loving. This is where Ashes has trouble because her father is unreliable and irresponsible, but makes her feel special. Whereas her mother is responsible, but does not make her feel exceptional. In the end, Ashes wants the best of both worlds. Ashes has trouble deciding because her judgment is clouded by her wants.

The author makes Ashes go through all of this so readers can relate and empathize with her. For example, Ashes has conflicting feelings about people important to her. Teen readers are both figuring out who they are and who they should surround themselves with, which is what Ashes is going through. Another example is, Ashes’ wants are clouding her judgment. Making a practical decision is not always better than doing what you want. Everyone can relate to that, including Ashes. We are not machines, we have feelings, wants, and needs. The author is trying to connect with readers through Ashes using tough situations people are put in.

In conclusion, the author has Ashes compare her parents and have her judgment clouded with feelings to empathize with readers. Deciding who you can rely on is hard because you never know if you’re making the right choice. Sometimes it’s hard to isolate the facts from the feelings and decide when to be practical and when to follow your instincts.