Topic: The family life of Rip was described as unhappy family. In your point of view, who is responsible for this terrible situation? Rip or Dame Van Winkle?
By Le Thi Thuy Quynh
It’s not difficult to define how is a happy family? A happy family always has cheerful and warm atmosphere. The parent-child relationship is always in agreement and in respect each other. They must share the responsibility together. However, in short story “Rip Van Winkle”, we are easy to see how pity Rip’s family is? Rip’s family was a messy, unorganized one without the happiness; except the wife’s shriek, the husband’s laziness and the children’s uneducated condition. This terrible situation not only came from Rip but also from his wife, Dame Van Winkle.
The first reason is the lack of the marital sympathy. What is the sympathy? Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. Rip had time to help other wives in his town and he works for unprofitable purpose, but he didn’t spend his time to notice why Dame behaved like that? Why did she always shriek at him? He didn’t share about the food and clothing problems with his wife. Rip doesn’t sympathize with his wife’s strenuousness. Otherwise, Dame seems to be better than Rip in the family’s care. She works to support for their family. However, in this story, Dame Van Winkle was described as a nasty woman. Morning, noon and night, she clamoured Rip all time. She didn’t know how to sympathize with her husband. She didn’t know how to ask her husband to help her while other wives could beg him for help. She didn’t use a soft voice or sweet words to talk with her husband to encourage him on domestic working as well as their farming work. Dame didn’t spend her time on understanding Rip. How did he need and how was his feeling to guide him on their family organization. Maybe because of her hard tone, Rip became more laziness and irresponsibility. Maybe he feared to face to his wife’s hard words. Obviously, there are no deepest sympathy between Rip and Dame Van Winkle. That explains why they were in the bad condition, unhappy family.
Another reason is the lack of the responsibility. Both Rip and Dame didn’t recognize their responsibility as a wife, a husband and parents in their family. Firstly, Rip was irresponsible to be as a husband. He didn’t do anything to help his wife to earn money to support for their life, even at least helping her in house-working. He spent his idle time to gossip in the inn or do the meaningless thing. He pushed the family burden on his wife’s shoulder without any worry. He didn’t effort to earn money to put their farm in order or in the good condition to help his wife. As a husband position, he didn’t let his wife base herself on his firm shoulder. All responsibility falls on Dame’s shoulder. His selfish lead his family to unhappy one. I could tolerance for his laziness, but I couldn’t stand his irresponsibility as a father. He spent his all time to gossip in the inn without any care about his children. He could teach and play with other children but he didn’t teach his children how to do the best thing; how to be a good person. I could see why Dame treated on Rip like it; because this was out of her suffering. Secondly, Dame was irresponsible to be as a good wife although she took care of their family by herself. As a wife position, she almost forgot her place in the family. She scolded at her husband every time, everywhere. She didn’t know how to keep her husband’s face. She didn’t effort to encourage Rip to work except reprimanding her husband in heated tongue. One more thing, as a mother role, Dame was irresponsible to her children. The way she took care her children to let them be considered as “belong to nobody” is unacceptable. How be ashamed I feel! The lack of responsibility causes Rip’s family into a mess. How unhappy family are!
In short, there are many reasons which lead a family into the unhappy situation. In this story, the lack of marital sympathy as well as irresponsibility is the main reason that causes Rip’s family into the unhappy one. This terrible situation will happen in case one of them doesn’t want to do anything, even a little work. There also exist many situations like this in our modern family now.
The first reason is the lack of the marital sympathy. What is the sympathy? Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. Rip had time to help other wives in his town and he works for unprofitable purpose, but he didn’t spend his time to notice why Dame behaved like that? Why did she always shriek at him? He didn’t share about the food and clothing problems with his wife. Rip doesn’t sympathize with his wife’s strenuousness. Otherwise, Dame seems to be better than Rip in the family’s care. She works to support for their family. However, in this story, Dame Van Winkle was described as a nasty woman. Morning, noon and night, she clamoured Rip all time. She didn’t know how to sympathize with her husband. She didn’t know how to ask her husband to help her while other wives could beg him for help. She didn’t use a soft voice or sweet words to talk with her husband to encourage him on domestic working as well as their farming work. Dame didn’t spend her time on understanding Rip. How did he need and how was his feeling to guide him on their family organization. Maybe because of her hard tone, Rip became more laziness and irresponsibility. Maybe he feared to face to his wife’s hard words. Obviously, there are no deepest sympathy between Rip and Dame Van Winkle. That explains why they were in the bad condition, unhappy family.
Another reason is the lack of the responsibility. Both Rip and Dame didn’t recognize their responsibility as a wife, a husband and parents in their family. Firstly, Rip was irresponsible to be as a husband. He didn’t do anything to help his wife to earn money to support for their life, even at least helping her in house-working. He spent his idle time to gossip in the inn or do the meaningless thing. He pushed the family burden on his wife’s shoulder without any worry. He didn’t effort to earn money to put their farm in order or in the good condition to help his wife. As a husband position, he didn’t let his wife base herself on his firm shoulder. All responsibility falls on Dame’s shoulder. His selfish lead his family to unhappy one. I could tolerance for his laziness, but I couldn’t stand his irresponsibility as a father. He spent his all time to gossip in the inn without any care about his children. He could teach and play with other children but he didn’t teach his children how to do the best thing; how to be a good person. I could see why Dame treated on Rip like it; because this was out of her suffering. Secondly, Dame was irresponsible to be as a good wife although she took care of their family by herself. As a wife position, she almost forgot her place in the family. She scolded at her husband every time, everywhere. She didn’t know how to keep her husband’s face. She didn’t effort to encourage Rip to work except reprimanding her husband in heated tongue. One more thing, as a mother role, Dame was irresponsible to her children. The way she took care her children to let them be considered as “belong to nobody” is unacceptable. How be ashamed I feel! The lack of responsibility causes Rip’s family into a mess. How unhappy family are!
In short, there are many reasons which lead a family into the unhappy situation. In this story, the lack of marital sympathy as well as irresponsibility is the main reason that causes Rip’s family into the unhappy one. This terrible situation will happen in case one of them doesn’t want to do anything, even a little work. There also exist many situations like this in our modern family now.
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