Charlotte Kahn     802

“Ashes” Reading Response

        The short story “Ashes” by Susan Beth Pfeffer is about a girl named Ashes with divorced parents. In the story, the protagonist is put in a position where she has to make a decision between her parents when her dad asks her to take money from her mom. This story shows that it is not always easy to make choices, especially if it’s a choice that might affect the people you love.

        In the story, Ashes’ dad wants her to “borrow“ money from her mother. Here, Ashes is forced to choose between her mom and her dad.  Her dad tries to convince her that it’s alright, by saying “I just thought maybe you could borrow the money . . .  just for a day or two . . . Your mother would never know the difference.” If Ashes takes the money and her mom finds out, she could really hurt her. After all, she would be betraying her mom’s trust. But if she doesn’t, then she could hurt her dad because he needs the money. She could also hurt her dad’s feelings, because he might feel like she chooses her mom instead of him. Any teen might succumb to the pressure of having to choose between parents. Nobody should be forced to make that decision.

        Also, a decision that her mom and dad made that was a hard choice that affected Ashes deeply was the decision to get divorced. Although them being divorced might have hurt Ashes in some ways, it may have helped her in others. Because they got divorced, they saved her from having to see them fight, even if she didn’t get to see her dad as much. That must have been a very hard decision for him, because it meant he didn’t get to see her as much. But, for her sake along with his, he made that decision.

        Big decisions are always hard to make. But if the decision affects someone you love, it can be near impossible. When I was younger, I always wondered why my parents broke up. Now I realize that they did it not only for them, but for me too. My earliest memory is one of them fighting, but now, I am not exposed to that. Ashes was also not exposed to that because her parents love her. All decisions are hard to make, but if you strive to make choices that benefit the ones you love, there will always be a good outcome.