Ashes Reading Response

            Many teenagers face hardships with their parents and end up having to make big decisions. In the short story “Ashes”, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Ashes’ parents are divorced and don’t agree on a lot of things. As Ashes begins spending more time with her father, she is able to find many big differences between her mom and her dad. One evening, Ashes’ dad tells her about his “big break” and asks her to steal money from her mother, and she is left to decide if she is more loyal to her mom or her dad.  In the story, Ashes’ is used by her father by making her feel special.

            Ashes’ dad is known for not being there for Ashes and not keeping his promises. When Ashes is talking about the times she has spent with her father, she says, “When I was little, Dad used to promise me the stars for a necklace, but like most of his promises, that one never quite happened.” This line expresses how unrealistic her father’s promises are. He makes promises that would be impossible to keep, and in the end they never are. Even though Ashes knows this, she always tries to believe that they will, and that he will always be there for her. When Ashes tells about a time when she was waiting for her father, she says, “I sat waiting for Dad, who I knew would show up eventually.” This line is showing how normal it was for Ashes to be waiting on her dad. She knew that he would show up eventually- whenever that was- but she was always stuck waiting. It’s sad that Ashes waiting on her father, had become the norm.  Why should Ashes always have to hope that her father would show up or that his promise would be kept? It’s almost like her father didn’t care and was taking advantage.

            By the end of the story, it is clear that Ashes’ father had taken advantage of her. When Ashes’ father is telling her about his plan, he says, “No, I just thought maybe you could borrow the money”. This shows how Ashes’ father is trying to get her to do something bad for him. Her father sugar coats it, saying that it’s only borrowing, when he knows that it is actually not. The way that Ashes’ father is able to get her to do what he wants is by constantly telling her how great she is. When Ashes and her father are eating together at a diner, he says, “You could be a model”. This line and many others, are examples of how her father coaxes her into believing that she is amazing. By always complementing her, he gets Ashes to love him even more, which allows him to manipulate her.

            Ashes’ father is obsessed with money, and he uses Ashes to get what he needs. When they are talking about how Ashes is special, the father says, “Some supermodels make a fortune.” This line shows that most of what the father does and says is for money. It’s not that he thinks that Ashes is pretty or extraordinary, it’s that she might make a lot of money modeling. One reason why Ashes father might be so money hungry is because he has some money trouble himself. When Ashes becomes suspicious about why her dad needs so much money, he says, ”Don’t worry about it, honey. I’ll work it out. I always do.” Ashes thinks that he owes someone $200, but her dad wants her to think that he has a plan. His plan would be to ask Ashes to “borrow” the money from her mom. This also shows how he would do anything for money, even if it puts his daughter in jeopardy.

            The reason why Ashes’ father always complements her is to use her to get money. Even though he’s not always there and his promises are never kept, he makes up for it by telling Ashes that she’s amazing in everyway, and Ashes has come to believe that he means what he says. I believe that in the end, Ashes will choose to take the money from her mom because she wants to be accepted by her dad. Her dad is always telling her that she’s special, and she wants to show him that he’s right. I also believe that Ashes’ dad has a greater influence on her because of the way he makes her feel. This whole story shows how big of an influence one persons compliments can have on another.