Child sexual abuse is a common yet often unreported social evil. The basis of the hiding and secrecy links to the disgrace and shame associated with the act. Usually, the people that stand accused are those close to the victims. These include step-fathers, uncles, and cousins. The essay writer circle of abuse if often small and easily traceable. Due to the proximity and relationship of victims, the harm is negligible. This is the same analogy that Francesca Lia Block uses in formulating her mastered piece. The Wolf gives off the thoughts of the victim of child sexual molestation. Additionally, the Wolf is symbolically used to represent negativity, vulnerability, and the fierceness of one in authority. The story represents in the form of her internal thought process. She looks back to what happened, what is happening and her desires in the future “Maybe one night I’ll be asleep, and I’ll feel a hand like a dove on my cheekbone and feel her breath cool peppermints…when you are born it is like a long, long dream” (Block 60). The story unveils a horror story, movie, reality, or social reality of many teenagers. Block uses The Wolf as a parody of the horror genre of social reality.
The Wolf is used to make a pointed satire commentary in the community and conventional society. It is ironic how the story by Block portrays teenage girls and their mums as close. The action furthers the parody of the story. In most societies, adolescent girls and their mothers are not as close as many would like. This is blamed on the natural growth process and those of development. Mothers hardly get along with their daughters. The teenagers often see their mothers as enemies and competitors and therefore keep off close relationships. On the contrary, daughters make an everlasting bond with their fathers. The implication of this is the existence of extreme seclusion from the parents. Block highlights the basis of this relationship and its significance to the teenage character in the story “In my case, the best friend would be my mom…” (Block 58). The foundation of this relationship is to help the girl go through her dream and find comfort and peace.
Block, through parody, introduces the topic politely without upsetting people. Offensive topics often get more attention. The argument is argued that these can be used for social mobilization of change. Additionally, there are justifications on the need to fight for those without strength as in the teenagers. While the story could be fictional, it points to a host of other social evils. It is likely that Block, uses this story to insinuate the modes of dealing with sexual abuse among children. It is not a direct pointer to a specific person, but it is something that many people can deal with across societies. Parodies heighten the reference that organizations make to situations. People recognize the gap existing between the source of the content and the story told at the time. Things do not need spelling out as people add up issues and make recognition of the situations “Maybe I have read too many fairy tales. Maybe no one will believe me.” (Block 59). The benefit of this is in the direction of social good and the change process. These may not necessarily be the desires of the author but serve as critical assumptions to the reader.
The use of parody and third-party analogy creates an escape for a sexually molested teenager. Many authors use fiction or even fake names to find an escape passage. One primary assumption of this story is that it forms a source of exhale for the victim of sexual abuse. Through the use of parody, the teenage talks about herself and the things through which she has been. This serves as a personal journal. She even indicates her interest in a person journal while on the bus “This journal now is the best thing I’ve ever done in my whole life” (Block 57). The implication of this is that things do not always seem as they appear. In the rightness of an individual lies a wrongness when analyzed differently. The tone and the mood have given off when reading the story is hardly sad. Block uses parody and satire to tell the story of a girl suffering. There are aspects of humor that increase the readability of the text. It is the assumption of the reader that such an important topic should be given additional attention and emphasis. Block, therefore, plays mind tricks when she recounts this story like any other with which people deal.
Have someone “Write My Essay,” here.
Parody makes for the exposure of the falsehood of social institutions. The family is the primary institution with which people relate. It serves as the foundation for all security and identity. When people cannot associate with their family, the chances of failure heightens. The meaning of this is that many people acknowledge the breakdown of social institutions. People form routes of escape and adaptability. They ensure that there are avenues through which people escape their realities within these broken institutions. As in the case of the teenage girl, families break giving way to the formation of less functional institutions. The girl fails to acknowledge the relationship between her mother and her molester. The girl may love her mother but has no social conformity. She takes on unethical measures like smoking and running away from home “I was wanting a cigarette bad on that bus and thinking about how it would taste, better than the normal taste in my mouth…” (Block 57). The first works perfectly to fit her situation and bring relief. These are the issues that the social institutions deal with from day to day. The implication of this is a likely need to increase the strength of social systems.
In conclusion, the author uses parody as a technique in storytelling to address critical societal issues. She uses a style that allows her to have a wider readership and relatability to the society. Block draws inspiration from the daily occurrences in the present society. She then tries to bring the attention of the reader to the matter of sexual molestation of a teenager. While this may not be a story for causing reform, it stirs the need to analyze social institutions, including families. The basis of this is to try and bring back social order to those institutions that had order. The best assumption is the family as the primary unit for conformity. Block imitates issues familiar from the contemporary culture, puts a new twist and spin to it, and shares sit with the world. Finally, Block cleverly uses parody to express the horror genre of folktales.
Work cited
Block, Francesca Lia. The Wolf; Hallett, Martin, and Barbara, Karasek. (Eds). Folk and Fairy Tales. Peterborough [etc.: Broadview Press, 2009. 55-60
