0.1 ↑ Tests
0.1.1 ↑ 1. Schulaufgabe
0.1.1.1 ↑ Questions on the text (Answer all questions, using your own words as far as is appropriate.)
What is the father's main criticism of his daughter? (4 sentences) 10 BE
The father criticizes that his daughter is not a sneak. By lying about all the bad things she does, for example, smoking, she'd make things easier for both the father and herself. If the father didn't know the bad things his daughter does, he wouldn't get angry, and stay happy. But if the father did know what his daughter did, he'd have to punish her, which would make not only her unhappy, but him, too, because he's unhappy when she is.
What points of criticism about her parents does the daughter raise? (4 sentences) 10 BE
Firstly, the daughter criticizes about her parents that they use vulgar words while she is not allowed to swear. Then, she doesn't like her father not wanting to talk to her. But her main criticism about her parents is the sad fact that the parents don't care as much about her as they did when she was younger. You can see this in the text (beginning in line 8): She tells her father about her smoking and expects him to get angry, but he doesn't (it seems) care and stays calm.
Why does Heller choose the father as his I-narrator? What impression can he convey to the reader this was? (8 sentences) 20 BE
By choosing the father as the first-person narrator of the text, he conveys to the reader the thoughts and emotions of the father. By, for example, writing in line 7 "She lies about everything", the reader gets influenced to think of the daughter as a person who lies all the time, which may not be true. The reader sees the father as the good father who'd do anything to make his daughter happy, and the daughter as the child who does most things wrong. But this doesn't have to be true -- everything we get to know about the persons of the text is seen from the father's point of view, which is not neutral. The relationship between the daughter and her father could be disturbed by the father, and not the daughter, for example, but we don't know.
By choosing the father as the narrator of the text, the reader gets to think that the children are always the persons who cause the trouble in the relationships between the children and their parents. The parents, by contrast, are only victims.
The reality, of couse, is different -- it takes two for a conflict to emerge.
0.1.1.2 ↑ Comment (Write a coherent text of about 120 words.)
Take the father in the text as a model to explain what parents of adolescent children (may) do wrong and how they could do a better job altogether.
One thing the parents may do wrong is, that they forbid their children the things they were not allowed to do when they were young themselves. In the text, for example, the father is likely to have got his first car when he was an adult, thus his child shouldn't have a car earlier, either.
Another thing parents may do wrong is, that they don't fully trust their children in important questions. For example, parents may not trust their children when they say, "I'm going to a party, but I won't drink any alcoholic drinks, I promise!".
But I think that these denials are misinterpreted by the children. In reality, the parents simply have more experience of life and want their children not to make the same mistakes they made. It's simply care. I propose the following solution: Parents should allow their children a bit more, and the children in turn should be grateful about the advice by their parents. For example, in the text, the daughter could stop smoking and her father could allow her to have a car.
But a thing we should never forget is that communication is one of the most important things in a relationship. Both parents and children should talk and listen to each other.