Essay Example 'Little Boy Crying' by Mervin Morris
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Course
CIE IGCSE Poetry Anthology
Institution
CIE IGCSE Poetry Anthology
Book
Songs of Ourselves
Here’s an essay example of the poem ‘Little Boy Crying’ by Mervin Morris.
It includes the essay question and the essay - suitable for CIE/Cambridge and IGCSE students, but also for those at a higher level.
Essay Example: “Little
Boy Crying” by Mervin
Morris
This is a practise essay completed by myself, not in timed conditions. It would receive an A* / full mark
grade, due to its clear structure, in-depth exploration of themes and ideas, sensitivity to a personal
response, and focus on form, structure, and language. Use it as an idea of what to aim for in your own
essay writing. Make sure to write down any useful essay words or phrases as well.
THE QUESTION:
How does Morris present parent-child relationships in “Little Boy Crying”?
THE ESSAY:
Morris’s presentation of parent-child relationships in “Little Boy Crying” is interesting and somewhat
controversial. He expresses the attitude that parents should physically discipline their children and
demonstrates the belief that, despite it being difficult, parents must teach their children essential
lessons. He also explores empathy in parent-child relationships.
Morris presents controversial attitudes towards parenting and parent-child relationships in “Little Boy
Crying”. Rather than comply with the widely held view that parents should treat their children softly
and without resorting to physical punishment, Morris demonstrates the belief that parents have the
right and duty to discipline their children, and to reprimand them for unsuitable behaviour; in the poem,
the father hits his son for misbehaving — we do not know exactly what the boy has done but the use
of continuous verbs, such as “swimming” and “splashing”, to describe the boy’s behaviour suggests
that he is full of energy, is always moving and is difficult to control, therefore possibly requiring strong
punishments. The final stanza of the poem: “You must not make a plaything of the rain” is a metaphor
that highlights the belief that children should be disciplined, and that parents cannot always make
their children feel happy at the cost of ruining “the lessons you should learn.” The fact that this stanza
structurally stands out, because it is a monostich (consists of one line), indicates its importance and
demonstrates how it holds the thematic statement that Morris is attempting to convey. The poem’s
structure also highlights Morris’s attitudes towards parenting; the stanzas are fairly regular and ordered,
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