Abomination by Robert Swindells
Uploaded by Chase Matthews on Mar 10, 2004
Abomination - The Coxon and Dewhurst families
How are the Coxon and Dewhurst families different?
In my opinion, Martha and Scott’s families differ in may ways. One of which, is their views on how to punish their child/children. Martha’s family agree with physical punishment, which seems old fashioned and cruel. Martha hates being hurt this way but has grown to expect it:
‘Father lost his temper and slapped my face. Mother said something to him on the stairs and he came back. I was curled up on the bed, crying.’
This shows that Martha’s family can be old fashioned. Her Mother isn’t the one to beat her, instead she is seen as the ‘peace maker’: ‘Mother said something to him on the stairs’. Also, decades ago, the father was seen as the ‘man of the house’, the one in charge. This quote shows that although time moves on and changes, their ghastly family traditions do not. ‘Curled up on the bed’, suggests that Martha wants to seem smaller and more invisible to the world. Like when a young child buries their face into their mother’s skirts.
Scott’s family has a much more modern way of dealing with their son. They don’t beat him, but talk to him. They support him and are kind to him and allow him to be more in touch with the modern day technologies.
‘His mother sighed, “I can’t see how talking to some lad in Florida about favourite rock bands is going to help with your GCSE’s, Scott.”’
Scott’s mum allows him not only to have a computer, but to have the internet, and to chat with someone she isn’t really fond of. She’s concerned about her child’s education, because she mentions his GCSE tests, which makes her appear as a typical, concerned parent. His parents also allow him to listen to rock music: ‘talking to some lad in Florida about favourite rock bands’. Whereas Martha is beaten if she listens to pop music, which isn’t even as violent as rock music. Like the time when she left a different radio station on and her father found out. Knowing what she’s missing out, Martha must feel abandoned, feel that life is unfair, that her family is unfair. The sad thing is, I don’t even think that she knows that she deserves, that she has the right, to be treated better. By her...