Soldier Mom Essays

Soldier Mom Essays Soldier Mom Essay Soldier Mom Essay â€Å"Soldier Mom†, one of Alice Mead’s novels, tells a story about the eleven-year old Jasmyn Williams who was left behind with her half baby brother when their mother was sent to war (Alice Mead Books).It was on early August of 1990 when Paula, Jasmyn’s mother, was assigned to be part of the Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia at the start of the Persian Gulf War (Soldier Mom: Editorial Reviews). In less than two days, her mother will be leaving her and her half brother Andrew. Paula didn’t have enough time to make arrangements for her children leaving her the option of sending them to her boyfriend, Jake.Jasmyn was surprised knowing that their mother will leave them for seven months of duty. She was worried of her mother’s safety. During that time, Jasmyn was more interested in basketball serving as their team captain. All of a sudden, she would be doing household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and most of all taking care of her half-brothe r Andrew (Authors and Artists for Young Adults on Alice Mead).Living her life with Jake and taking care of her brother made a very big change in her life. Jake was not helping her that much on the household chores and he even forgot her birthday (Soldier Mom: Editorial Reviews). There were also times that she was left alone taking care of Andrew. Because of these new responsibilities, she spent more time in doing household chores rather than her passion, basketball. Because lesser times were spent for basketball, Jasmyn feared that she would have to give her position to another member, Bridget O’Donnell.As a pre-teenager, Jasmyn became angry to her mother thinking that she abandoned them just to go to war rather than spent time taking care of them. She became mad to the situation where her mother was away from them and for Jake’s lack of sense of fatherhood. She also believed that their mother doesn’t love them because if she does, she would never leave them (So ldier Mom: Editorial Reviews).Through time, Jake begun to accept his responsibility of taking care both for Andrew and Jasmyn. Jasmyn also realized that she should consider Jake as part of the family and as a substitute parent. She also accepted that fact that her mother was just doing her obligation and not intentionally leaving them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Soldier Mom† tells a story more about the effects of war towards the children rather than the war itself. It portrays the life of the family who were left behind with a relative soldier fighting on another land. It gives a better picture of the effects of war on the lives of the family of a soldier and how they are able to cope with the situation.In the case of Jasmyn, she was forced to live a life full of responsibilities even at a young age. Hatred and feeling of abandonment swept all over her. She was forced to give up her passion and perform her duty as a daughter and as a sister; but all the while , she was beginning to accept her situation and think more for what’s best rather than feel depressed. She was able to cope on her situation and realized the importance of her mother’s duty not just for her but also for their country. She was then able to work out her relationship with Jake and considered him as a father.All these scenarios showed the harsh effect of fighting countries towards the families at the same time, the role of adults around the children who were greatly affected. It showed the importance of mature individuals on the understanding and growth of children while coping with the new situation.