Ashes

“Ashes”

          It’s not unusual for teens to have problems with their parents when growing up; this is the case in the short story “Ashes”, written by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It is about a girl named Ashes, whose parents got divorced. In the story, Ashes faces a tough decision, because her father is pressuring her to steal money from her mother. He does this by manipulating her and by promising her things that she knows will never give her. Susan Beth Pfeffer wants the reader to know that relationships are complicated and that they can also affect the decisions we make.

          One example of a way that Ashes starts to learn that relationships are complicated is when her father asks her to “borrow” money from her mother; in fact he says to Ashes, “I just thought maybe you could borrow the money. Just for a day or two, until I straighten out all my finances. Your mother would never know the difference”. What Ashe’s father really wants her to do is to steal the money, that way he doesn’t end up getting in trouble with the person to whom he owes it. What this shows is that Ashes father really doesn’t care if Ashes gets in trouble for taking the money; he just doesn’t want to get in trouble himself. Also this shows that her father is using Ashes for her to steal her mother’s money to pay this person back. He doesn’t care about the effect this will have on Ashes and his relationship, he just cares about himself. This also makes Ashes realize that whatever decision she makes it will affect the relationship she has with her father. The way Ashes father behaves makes Ashes feel like her father never wants to have a real relationship with her.

          Another way that Ashes starts to learn that relationships are complicated, and that they can affect the decisions we make, is when her father makes promises that she knows he will never keep. For instance in the passage it says, “When I was little, Dad used to promise the stars for a necklace, but like most of his promises, that one never quite happened.” What this quote means is that her father makes empty promises and never fulfills them. This affects Ashes and her father’s relationship because this means that she will never really trust him. In-fact this makes Ashes realize that her father will never be reliable. This is proved when her father forgot to pick her up at school, and when he forgot to give her the money for the class trip. This makes Ashes realize that her father always forgets about her and manipulates her when he needs something.

          “Ashes”, by Susan Beth Pfeffer teaches us that relationships are complicated and that they could affect the decisions we make. Ashes learns this when her father manipulates her in order for her to make the decision to steal money from her mother.  She also learns that relationships can get complicated when her father makes empty promises that she sadly knows will never come true. In today’s society, we see money examples of divorced parents, and the effect this has on teenagers. The story “ Ashes” gives us a very interesting view on this very delicate problem.