MLA Sample Paper

completely ignored by Jeanette until Donald enters the VA
hospital.
Rodney is a prototypical child. He is desperate for a
father figure in his life and is obviously very impressionable.
He may be the most sympathetic character in the story, but for
all the wrong reasons. Naturally we sympathize with his
situation;he's poor, he's fatherless, and he fears being
abandoned. The ritual of hiding from Donald every time his
father returns becomes an affirmation of the fact that his
father will not abandon him. After all, Rodney waits until his
father searches all over the house for him, to rush out and hug
his father's knees (656). The boy is impressionable enough to
believe that his father is a "messenger form the devil" not only
because his grandmother says so, but because he recognizes
something is wrong with his father, possibly because Jeanette
constantly points out the violent, disturbing nature of the "Big
Bertha Stories." His "nightmares" are interpreted by Jeanette
as a result of Donald's stories, but in reality they are caused
by his unstable family life.
Donald substitutes myth-making for affection. Big Bertha
is first a way for him to connect with his son and a method of
coping with the deterioration of his family life. He tells the
stories as a way to get his son to forgive him and as
entertainment. The myths that he creates around Big Bertha help