The Struggling Child Archetype

In this world, and in literature, there are children who suffer from poverty, unattainable expectations, isolation, and innumerable other afflictions. The struggling child archetype is defined by a child that continuously faces conflicts, which are often external, that bring them close to absolute destruction. But out of their struggles, they are able to clench onto life and find a way to grow into something significant. Emily from Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing” and June from Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” fall under the struggling child archetype in how they live out each of their respective childhoods in terms of their pain, how they act in situations of conflict, and relate to other children in both American and Chinese cultures. The defined characteristics of this archetype are evident throughout various stories and individuals.

Those who fall under the struggling child archetype, whether in literature or real life, tend to look for ways to escape their difficult situations, seek out attention, and blame themselves for their conflicts. According to Sheryl Benton and Lambert Dorinda, dysfunctional “families have some periods of time where functioning is impaired by stressful circumstances“ (Benton and Dorinda 1). This would explain the reason that children raised in dysfunctional families in and outside of literature display these traits. Emily, being raised under a household of four other children, an absent father, and a busy mother, is left many a time alone, or with those who would not treat her well, to deal with the various problems she is facing in her life. It then stands to reason that she would want to gain the attention of her mother who would take of her properly and ease her pain. But unfortunately, even while attempting to escape her conflicts at school by fabricating reasons to stay home, her mother had no choice but to continue taking her to school. “She always had a reason why we should stay home.... no school, they told me” (Olsen 163). Aside from Emily, June, who was born and raised as an only child under a single parent who moved from China to America, struggles to meet the high expectations put upon her by her mother. When asked to perform several different tests to see if she was a prodigy of any form, and after she did not succeed in most of them, she blames herself for failing even though she did what she could. “The tests got harder ... Such a sad, ugly girl! I made high - pitched noises like a crazed animal, trying to scratch out the face in the mirror” (Tan 337). Similar to Emily, June looks for ways to escape her conflicts. She does so after realizing her will to be accepted for who she is rather than who she is not. “And then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me … At last she was beginning to give up hope” (Tan 337). The struggling child deals with situations, more or less, in a manner which would seem irrational by most adults. That is, however, until they begin to learn and understand that child’s situation and mindset.

The struggling child often makes attempts to break free from their situation by initiating in, or reacting to, some form of action, whether it be conservative or radical. When put under psychological pressure, the struggling child will often react in exaggerated forms. The night her mother went to give birth to Susan, Emily went delirious, throwing a clock on the ground that “talked loud” (Olsen 164). She was, in this moment, acting upon her fear of being unable to spend anymore time with her mother once the new child was born. Issues like these persisted throughout Emily’s childhood, creating an insurmountable amount of pain for her to endure. However, after years of emotional torment, she was finally able to find release in comedy as her mother points out. “I think I said once ... ‘Mother, I did it. I won, I won; they gave me first prize; they clapped and clapped and wouldn’t let me go” (Olsen 166). Emily had found a proper outlet for herself and could move on with her life, even though she may not have been able to recover entirely from the traumas she faced as hinted at by her mother at the end of the story. “Let her be … help make it so there is cause for her to know---that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron” (Olsen 167). June, out of desperation to break free from her mother’s expectations, makes the claim that, when attempting to refuse to continue playing piano, she wishes she were dead like the two children her mother lost during her time in China. “Then I wish I wasn’t your daughter … I wish I were dead! Like them” (Tan 339). This was the first and forceful attempt June made to assert her own will over her mother’s. For if she had not done so, Davinia Yalimaiwai discusses, she would have continued trying to live under the demands of becoming a child prodigy under her mother’s terms (Yalimaiwai 30-31). In turn, this could have driven June to an eventual moment of emotional and/or physical destruction, leaving her forever unable to recover. It is seen that with different cultures come different expectations as witnessed above.

The struggling child can be found in all countries and their respective cultures around the world. In particular, the American and Chinese cultures are shown to have distinctive effects on the struggling child in both stories previously discussed. Children in these cultures have different expectations put on them which may heavily impact the way they mature and live as adults. In contrast to a child living in America where the culture is concerned with their youth becoming something great through creativity or talent, a child living in China, as Xiaoyu Wang explains, will likely have a great deal of pressure put on them by their parents, teachers, and peers to become great by working hard to obtain an exceptional education and various skills. “The Chinese parents believe that the best way to support their children is preparing them for the learning ... Children in this period were encouraged to begin their academic developments early, and this presented most adults’ views about how children should act and behave” (Wang 12). Taking into account Emily’s story, she was a young girl raised in a large American family during the Great Depression era. She suffered from a lack of attention whereas June suffered from high expectations as she was an only child raised under a Chinese mother who moved to America. In an interview, Amy Tan, herself, describes her struggles and fears while growing up under Chinese parents in America. And though her work, “Two Kinds,” was fiction, Tan’s childhood could serve as a real life example for what it might be like having exceedingly high expectations put upon oneself by their parents as a child. “My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the time I was in kindergarten ... I remember feeling that pressure from the time I was 5 years old” (“Amy Tan Interview” 1996).

Poverty, isolation, unattainable expectations, and other such detriments afflict children in this world. Those who face such conflicts and persevere through them, like Emily and June, are categorized under the struggling child archetype. Although those who are struggling children may grow up to become something that is deemed great or significant by the world, they most often will never fully recover from their past and fade away from history. Therefore it is best to keep in mind that, while this world may never be fit for any human to live on, those responsible for children should at least do what they can to ensure the physical, mental, and emotional health of the children for the continuation and betterment of humanity.

Works Cited

"Amy Tan Interview." Achievement.org (28 June 1996): American Academy of Achievement. Jan 16, 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Benton, Sheryl A. and Dorinda J. Lambert. "Dysfunctional Families: Recognizing and Overcoming Their Effects." TWU Counseling Center (1993): TWU.edu. Texas Woman's University, 1997. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Olsen, Tillie. “I Stand Here Ironing.” Kirszner and Mandell 162-67.
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. LIT. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. Print.
Tan, Amy. ”Two Kinds.” Kirszner and Mandell 336-40.

Wang, Xiaoyu, "The Influences of Parental Expectations on Children's Academic Achievements: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and China" (2013). Master's Theses. Paper 1857.

Yalimaiwai, Davinia. Women Like and Unlike Us: A Literary Analysis of The Relationships Between Immigrant Mothers and Their Bicultural Daughters. Dept. of English, Indiana University. July 2010 Web. 16 November 2015.