Throughout the evolution of humanity there has been the family unit. So what happens to the family unit when the father is absent especially to the children? Current times have shown that a family without a father leads to children with behavioral issues like self esteem, crime, drugs and alcohol abuse. Having an absent father figure also puts a strain on the other parent to provide for the family by themselves. In the story “I Stand Here Ironing” and “Sonny’s Blue’s”, we will see the importance of a missing father figure in a child’s life through the setting of the story, the FOIL character of the story, and the symbolism of the characters throughout the story. Throughout the stories “I Stand Here Ironing” and “Sonny’s Blue’s”, we see the theme explain the importance of the absence of a traditional father figure.…show more content… The story “I Stand Here Ironing” is set in the Great Depression. “Nearly 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed”. Emily’s dad left and that meant Emily’s mom had to provide for Emily and herself. Emily’s mom wasn’t able to be a stay at home mom and take care of the family the traditional way. Emily was always left with a neighbor and eventually went to her father’s family to live. Emily always saw her mother stress out and unhappy during this time. The story “Sonny’s Blues” is set in Harlem in 1957. Since the 1940’s Harlem’s crime rate, drug usage and illegal activates grew. This affected the Harlem’s
