Leaving Home Essay

Essay by blak_smurfHigh School, 11th gradeA-, April 2004

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-Essay on play Leaving Home

-Playwright is David French

In a society where children are not close with their parents, there should be more of an effort on the parents' part to establish a close bond between parent and child. In the play Leaving Home, Jacob Mercer shows that he is not a good father by the way he insults his children, how distant he is from his children, and how little respect he has for his children.

Jacob Mercer is not a good father because off the way he continuously insults his children. We know that Jacob is not a good father because of the Screech incident involving Ben. When Jacob sat down to drink an Irish version of moonshine liquor called Screech, he asked Ben to join him. When Ben refused the drink, Jacob accused Ben of being soft, and says that he is not a man because of the fact that he does not like Screech.

This is not good parenting because insults and put-downs are not healthy for relationships, especially not parent-child relationships. Another way that Jacob proves that he is not a good father is when he tells Bill that he will not amount to more than Kathy so he shouldn't even try. "Ah, what's it matter if he gets married/ now or after university? He won't do much better/ than Kathy." This quote is an example of how Jacob insults his children. When Jacob says this to Bill, it sends him the message that his father does not believe in him. Taking in to account the fact that Jacob insults his children whenever he is around them, one may safely assume that Jacob is not a good father. Another key element in any family is a sense of closeness.

Jacob Mercer proves that...