Discuss the ways in which relationships between parents and children are explored by the writers of Kiss Miss Carol and The Son's Veto.

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Discuss the ways in which relationships between parents and children are explored by the writers of Kiss Miss Carol and The Son’s Veto

In this essay I will discuss the relationships between parents and children in KMC and SV.                           We can see that the two stories were written in different times and show how the world changed between C19th and 100 years later when KMC was written.

Both writers deal with the role of education and show how it can affect the relationships within the families.  Both stories are set in London. Both have a clear sympathy for one character. Hardy and Dhonddy criticises superiority in the stories.

However, there are also differences in the focus of the stories. In KMC we see conflicts between two cultures Bengali and English whereas in SV there is more conflict between social classes rich and poor. Events in KMC are seen through the son’s eyes while in SV are seen through the mother’s .The ending in of KMC is ambiguous or open ended whilst the ending of SV is final. Dhonddy criticises racist superiority while Hardy criticises social superiority.

Both stories explore conflict between parents and children. In KMC Jolil is embarrassed of his dad’s English and the way he dress.

“He felt shy going around with him and sitting at the teacher’s table and listening to his dad’s broken English”

Mr Miah wants his son to have a traditional upbringing while Jolil wants to be British.

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“Jolil was born in Britain John Agard came to England from Guyana in 1977. Like many Caribbeans, he is himself of mixed race - his mother is Portuguese but born in Guyana and his father is black. One of the things he enjoys about living in England is the wide range of people he meets: 'The diversity of cultures here is very exciting'.

However, one of the things he doesn't like is the view of racial origins which is implied in the word 'half-caste', still used by many people to describe people of mixed race. The term now is considered ...

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