“Children from broken families are nearly five times more likely to suffer damaging mental troubles than those whose parents stay together.” (Doughty ¶1). Coincidentally, this was the case for Danny and his little sister. In the book The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll, Catherine and Paul’s marriage dilemma fall out on their son, Danny. Danny went through things like entering the witness protection program, this helped him and his family remove themselves from the problems that existed in their hometown while at the same time ruining Danny’s childhood. Abusive marriages usually end horribly considering that it not just only affects the married couple, but also the people around them including their children. Sadly, abusive marriages do negatively affect the way children grow up in and outside of their household.
After Danny’s parents’ split up, the anger towards his them caused opposition towards each other inside their house. Danny was bewildered, he did not know who to blame or how to properly convey his feelings in a respective manner. After conversing with his mom about money, his mom slowly starts to tell him what plans she came up with for their house. Danny’s mother’s “plans” have already ruined his life, moving away from home and leaving all his friends. Out of anger, Danny yells, “Plans! Look where all your plans have got us so far! This! This is where it got us! This piece of crap!” (Bole 206). Danny initiates the argument with his mom because he believes that what his mom did was unfair, taking him out of a city that was most comfortable to him and removing him from his friends and family. Danny’s mom, with help from the Witness Protection program removed Danny from all he knew, so there was nothing else for him to do other than to feel resentment towards his mother. The tension stayed inside the house, one day later, another argument arose. Danny’s anger got the best of him and he said the wrong thing which led his little sister to say to him, “You leave her (their mom) alone! You’re no better than Dad!” (Boll 245). Subsequent to his sister’s statement, she runs to the side where her mom was and away from Danny. Danny’s father was cruel; his sister referring to him as their father reveals how Danny’s relationship with his family gradually starts crumbling. The disagreements that arose split the house and turned people against each other. The only sole reason of all these problems was simply because of his parents.
Danny’s parents’ divorce also caused a drastic behavioral and academic change at school. After the marriage crisis that Danny’s parents had to deal with, it was settled that Danny would have to not only move areas but also change his name and go to a different school to stay away from his father. Danny’s bad behavior began with his guidance counselor in the guidance office. There, he speaks to him with complete disrespect by using inappropriate language. In a calm manner, the counselor says, “You are entitled to your opinions, and in this room you are entitled to express those opinions freely, but not in objectionable language.” (Boll 214). Danny being already aggravated about his situation at home caused a change in his attitude towards people of authority at school. Since Danny was in the Witness Protection Program, he was in a position where he could not tell anyone his problems so he had to keep them a secret, even if it was burning him on the inside. Considering all the bottled up anger and emotions Danny stored away, his language was somewhat acceptable because of what he was going through. Alas, his behavior change not only influenced the way his teachers thought of him, but it was also going to transpire to his school attendance. After missing school without his mom’s acquiescence, he decided to falsify her signature saying “Please excuse David from class this morning as we had a family