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An important lesson I learned in Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine is that
children need love and care as they are the ones who suffer the most in a family
break-up. Children need love and care for they are dependent on their parents
during their growing years. They think that their parents will be there for them
always and when parents go their different ways or newcomers come into the
family, they feel let down and sad.
Richard is quite devastated when his father dies and his mother marries the cold
and harsh Reverend Coldstone who turns out to be mean and wicked to him. He
feels left out while his sister tries to
adjust to the new situation. He feels that he cannot do the same. He feels that
his mother is also not there for him and so he runs away from home.
Claudia feels miserable to see her parents fighting and is bitterly hurt when
her parents break up. No doubt she adjusts to the new situation after a while
but others do not react the same way as she does. Colin likes his stepfather but
his mother takes him away from him and so Colin ends up suffering a great deal.
He spends his life longing to be with his stepfather again.
Ralph, on the other hand, enjoys the love of his many stepmothers and
siblings. There is much disorder in his
family but the fact that there is care and love among the members keeps him and
the family going. Pixie has to struggle through some emotions and make
adjustments to understand that she is loved by her father and stepmother. Robbo
accepts his stepfather more readily than his sister does. His sister does not
care for their stepfather and she returns to her father. All these examples show
that children instinctively look for love and care and need lots of reassurance.
When that is missing, they feel devastated
and are likely to suffer and face great difficulty in adapting to a changed
family situation. |
