Is words could possibly change individuals ‘s thoughts from hopelessness, brutality, to become a normal human being that was use to be live inside a prison. Some convict spend a certain amount of time on serving a long or short sentenced, some of the time they lose themselves in a world of brutality and turn out to become worse after coming to the prison. Jimmy Santiago Baca carried on with an existing by hardship and an unavoidable pathway of loss. Children who are neglected at a young age are increasing the risk of emotional and behavioral problem.
The absent of parenting’s care, especially at a young age disconnect the relationship between the child and the parent. Family is one of the main themes that the author Jimmy Santiago Baca want the reader to see things from a counter – culture perspective in the novel A Place to stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca, the author tells the audience about how he is growing up within lack of care from a mother and fathers to the constant struggle for belonging somewhere in the society. Jimmy’s adventure life is remarkable.
From the solid clear voice of his adulthood , Jimmy recall how as a young boy he witness his mother having an affair and how he and his mom visit the dad in prison for drunk driving at the time Jimmy was only five years old at the time. Not all children who were raised in a nuclear family, Jimmy was disregarded by his mom and dad which in a general shape his adulthood. Jimmy would only solve his problem by relocate to a new place to fit him, however, all of his attempts only lead his into trouble.
At the beginning, Jimmy set most of his time in an orphanage to later in a detention center and eventually spend a few years in prison. In a first few chapter, the author Jimmy Santiago Baca had encountered many things from relationships to the friendship between the people whom he met. During those times, Jimmy learned not all of those relationships are great. Jimmy’s relationship with his parent is not like everyone expected. Father plays a significant part in the development of children. They play an essential role to help their kid to be successful from economic to emotional feeling.
Unfortunately, Jimmy lack of this family relationship at a young age. Although Jimmy did have a father, however their relationship is being ruined his dad’s alcoholism and inability to remain calm after being drunk. He describes “When he was drunk, he became vulgar and abusive, reducing himself to a pitiful phantom of the man he was when sober” (11). According to Jimmy, he was only five year old but already went to prison to visit his father, “I was five year old the first time I ever set foot in prison” (1). This is a shocking moment of the reading when the author introduced the story with this statement.
In contrast to the ideal of a nuclear family, in which a father and a mother were together and experience a family stability. Despite being afraid of his father abusing when he was drunk, Jimmy did not succumb to the same fear as his older brother, Mieyo and sister Martina, “When he would stagger in drunk, Mieyo and Martina would hide under the bed or in the closet, but I wasn’t afraid of him. I would hold his hand and guide him to his chair, and he’d put me on his lap and moan drunkenly about how sorry he was for drinking and not being a better father” (2).
Moreover, this reveals that he really cares to his father, the protector of his father. He recalls,” Even as scared as I was for drinking and not being better father. Even as scared as I was by the jail, I wanted to sit on the floor outside the cell bars and hold his hand because he needed me” (2). This is an ironic scene because a child should need the parent not on the opposite way as Jimmy’s relationship with his parent. Jimmy Santiago Baca lived in a life being surrounded by hardship and being neglected.
This time he continued neglect by his mother, Cecilia, who later having an affair with Richard and abandoned her three own children live in a better life. Cecilia does not do the job well as a mother. According to Jimmy, Cecilia dyes her hair her to blonde and lie about her cultural heritage to get an approval from Richard’s family, “Little did I know that my mother had eloped to San Francisco with Richard, fleeing into a white world as “Sheila”, where she could deny her past, hide her identity, and lie about her cultural heritage”(17).
In addition, she does want any connection between her and her children, “Richard turned to Mom and explained that, since his p were old-fashioned, it would be best if she said she was Anglo and that she was just babysitting us for a girlfriend” (15). Already losing the relationship between Jimmy and his father, but now he also about loss his mother with another man. Unfortunately, the lost of these two relationships later leads Jimmy and brother being sent to an orphanage after the death of his grandpa. Eventually, he was sent to a detention center.
During his time in a detention center, Jimmy personality become shatter. At the detention center he exposed to individuals who were neglected by their parents and states, “Even as blood ran through the wounded kid’s fingers and down his arm, his eyes announced that it didn’t hurt, it was nothing, he had no feelings” (21). Those kids in the detention center in a way have a similar background and could possibly also being neglected by their own parent. Similar to Jimmy, his brother, Mieyo also experiences a feeling of being neglect.
At a young age , Mieyo was also afraid of his own father and being neglected by his own mother. Mieyo was quite a complex character. According to Jimmy, Mieyo” After Mother’s sudden departure he’d become inaccessible and distant” (21). Furthermore, Jimmy states” He wasn’t the same brother l’d once had. Instead of his usual candor and curiosity, he became cagey and manipulative” (21). Similar to Jimmy, the pain from the rejection also has an effect on Mieyo ‘s life. However, unlike Jimmy, Mieyo still hasn’t changed much since he was joined the military.
His downfall began after the visit to see Jimmy in the prison, Mieyo had gone a wild drunk and he broken his relationship with his girlfriend, Lori. In this perspective, the reader could clearly see that Mieyo has many advantages in life compared to Jimmy but instead he chose to go in the same way as his father once did. Their brother’s relationship also seem to be being distance apart,” Our Conversation started and stopped as we awkwardly probed, not wanting to say the wrong thing, touch on a wound” (196). This indicates the relationship still hasn’t change much no matter how much Jimmy character has changed.
While in Albuquerque, Jimmy met Theresa who he quickly in love at the first sight and was also his first love. Jimmy soon later became obsessed with Theresa. This relationship soon later fell apart in a short time. Jimmy belief he has found a family that he need for a long time with Theresa. However, he soon discovers that Theresa was only interested in Jimmy because of his “bad boy” image and amusing with it. As Jimmy recalls, “She accused me of being a romantic fool, someone who made sex into something special” (40).
Ironically, Jimmy belief that Theresa truly loves him and in fact actual loyalty to him. Despite of Jimmy loyalty to her, Theresa rejects his love to her. Once again Jimmy is being rejected follows his relationships with his family relationships. Children who were raised in a nuclear family most likely has a better opportunity in life when they inherit the love from both a father and a mother. In contrast to the children who not raised in the nuclear family will most likely not too much successful in social development
