Essay Questions

Deconstruct Kay and Peter’s parenting style.

Ko writes, “Peter and Kay had wanted Daniel to go to Carlough, where they could get him faculty tuition cut, but had relented to his choice of SUNY Potsdam as long as he promised not to take music classes. His financial aid and work-study income had been enough to cover tuition when his grades were decent, and Potsdam had been far enough upstate that Daniel could hide out, not be solely known as Roland’s friend.” Daniel's parents are undemocratic. Instead of supporting him in his search for a music career, they insist he must complete college. They do not understand his desires, and the implication of their approach as parents is evident in Daniel's low GPA.

Deconstruct Daniel Wilkinson’s reaction after reading Michael Chen’s message which mentions his mother.

Daniel contemplates, “As if Michael and Leon and Vivian could come back ten years later, as if all of a sudden he mattered to them. They’d let him go, given him away. He couldn’t think of anything Michael could tell him about his mother that he wanted to know. Wherever she was, she was long gone.” Daniel has unconscious wound arising from his abandonment. He has not healed to the trauma associated with his mother’s disappearance and his subsequent abandonment by Leon and Vivian who endorsed his adoption. He feels betrayed by them since they gave him up instead of loving and embracing him, considering that they had been like his family prior to his mother’s disappearance. He is not enthusiastic with the news about his mother because they aggravate his unconscious wounds.