My Papa's Waltz Essay

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The poem, “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, gives insight into the relationship between a young boy and his drunk father. There are reports that “an estimated 6.6 million children under 18 live in households with at least one alcoholic parent” (“Family Alcoholism Statistics”). Unfortunately, as a child is exposed to this type of behavior he or she can learn from it and continue it later in life. The poem begins with the father coming home and reeking of alcohol but the son dances and plays with him until the pans fall off the shelves in the kitchen. The mother could do nothing but watch in fear as the father began to “beat time” on their son’s head (Roethke 380). At the end of the night, the father waltzes the son to bed even with him holding tight to his shirt. The son loves his father …show more content…
Marriages are meant to provide love and support to both parties involved but when drugs and alcohol are used there is one person that has to forfeit their own wants and desires. Similar to many “codependents,” the mother feels the responsibility to “sacrifice [her] own needs in order to maintain a façade of normalcy at home” (“Dealing with the Issues”). She could be doing this for the well-being of their son or to provide a sense of comfort for herself. Although there is little information on the mother, Roethke reveals to the readers that she is unhappy proven by the constant frown on her face. According to Futures of Palm Beach, a drug and alcohol treatment facility, “the Department of Justice states that about 61 percent of domestic violence offenders also have problems with alcohol or drug abuse” (“Domestic Violence”). In many relationships where one partner depends on alcohol the other partner can face physical, emotional, and/or mental abuse. The mother seems miserable, but the love she has for her husband blinds her from the pain he causes to their
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