Intertextual examination of two texts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intertextual examination of two texts - Essay Example Based on Bricklayer’s Boy, it is clear that the pressure put on the youths by their parents and the older generations damages the relationship between these two groups, often resulting in conflicts. In the Bricklayer’s Boy, one aspect brought out is that many young people, especially men, are required to do what their parents want them to do. This is often against the wish of the young people, and ends up straining their relationship with their parents and older generations. In this literally text, the narrator says that his father, a bricklayer, did not like his idea of becoming a newspaper reporter. According to his father, newspaper reporting paid â€Å"just a little more than construction does† (Lubrano, 5). He wanted to his son to pursue a more lucrative job like being a lawyer. This was the sole reason why his father worked so hard to educate him in college. This predicament, which most young people face, is also brought out in the article by Bruno Bettelheim (1968). In his article, Bettelheim notes that there is a conflict of generations because of â€Å"the parent who sees his child’s main task in life as the duty to execute his will or justify his existence† (Bettelheim, 74). When the child fails to honor or follow the parent’s wishes, as the narrator in Bricklayer’s Boy did, then the relationship between the parents and children is damaged. Bricklayer’s Boy story also points to the belief held by most parents: their children have to succeed where they failed. Throughout the story, the narrator’s father wanted his son to become a better person because he had failed to live up to his dreams. In the story, it is noted that the â€Å"father wanted to be a singer and actor when he was young...† (Lubrano, 20). However, he had to do what was available in order to support his parents at the time. In the end, he expected his son to do something that could earn him bigger money just as singing and acting would have earned him money. As the