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The Sometimes Daughter


Sherri Wood Emmons, acclaimed author of Prayers and Lies, explores the complex ...
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Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

Created: 02/24/12

Replies: 8

Posted Feb. 24, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert

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Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

What responsibility, if any, does Cassie’s mother bear for her daughter’s choices?


Posted Mar. 12, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
joyces

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 410

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

Though she was far from a very sympathetic woman I think she had her own demons to live with and just did not know how to deal with Cassie. Cassie's sister seems to have survived the situation with equanimity so I think it was Cassie's own personality that lead her astray.


Posted Mar. 13, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
tillieh

Join Date: 04/28/11

Posts: 71

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

I think that we are all responsible for our own choices. The fact that her sister was able to become a responsible functioning adult shows that it is in our nature to overcome our parents' shortcomings. Cassie chose not to deal directly with those issues, but to run away from them over and over again.

Other books such as: A Child Called It show how people can overcome the worst situations if they are determined to make a better life for themselves.


Posted Mar. 14, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
KAM9232006

Join Date: 12/03/11

Posts: 8

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

I agree, everyone makes their own choices in life. It is really easy to blame everyone else for the circumstances you find yourself in. At some point you have to grow up and take charge of your life. Cassie used her mother as an excuse and she hurt a lot of people; maybe if she has taken responsibility in her own life her situation would have had a better outcome.


Posted Mar. 15, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
sarahd

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 84

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

This is a hard question to answer because we don't know much about Cassie's mother. She's fairly uni-dimensional. I would say, though, in general, that a parent is responsible for much of how a child ends up, but not all. There's nature versus nurture and nurture can only go so far. A person is going to ultimately be what they're going to be, and a parent can only be responsible for influencing so much. Still, there is an implication that Cassie might have turned out differently if her mother had been kinder to her and more accepting of her way of life.


Posted Mar. 15, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Hulananni

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 52

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

I also agree. Everyone makes his/her own choices in life. With little direction it's difficult for young people to make good choices....back to parenting.


Posted Mar. 16, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
CoventryReader

Join Date: 08/04/11

Posts: 27

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

After the experience of raising three children to adulthood I have changed my belief system as far as how much responsibility a parent can take for the behavior of her offspring. Once children reach adolescence they begin to make their own choices and there is little that a parent can do. Oh, I suppose there's always 'grounding' and no computer, but ultimately that child is going to make his own decisions. In the story, I think Kirk was very fortunate in having Judy become the young woman she was. She had a negative role-model for a mother and I expected that she would have some kind of crisis that wreaked havoc with her life.
Sue B.


Posted Mar. 22, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
pennyp

Join Date: 03/22/12

Posts: 353

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

I agree that we make our own choices in life, however I believe that some of have more internal strenght to make better choices. I know that Cassie's sister made better choices but I didn't get a sense of whether or not she was raised differently. Anyone who has had more than one child knows that we may have a more favorable relationship with one child over the other. No matter how constant, fair or equal we try to be, this comes in to play. Some people blossom from adversity, others fold. This would indicate that there is at least some truth to inborn characteristics.


Posted Mar. 30, 2012 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lynnw

Join Date: 09/01/11

Posts: 166

RE: Is Cassie's mother responsible for her daughter's choices?

Cassie was raised by a woman who the book portrays as very cold and unforgiving. It seemed to me that as a young adult Cassie was very defiant in her choices and acted out in a way that was meant to rebel against her mother. It was just so sad that Cassie was not strong enough to look at how her mother had affected her life and make the choice to not harm her daughter's life in much the same way. In the end we all are responsible for our own choices and blaming the mother is just an easy out on Cassie's part.


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