Superiority & Things Fall Apart

Superiority & Things Fall Apart 

All child abuse case have an abuser and a victim. Usually the abuser in the situation is a parent of their child. Children of this time feel the pressure to be perfect, not only by their parents, but also by society. In some cases parents feel the need for their child to be a certain way, and they will do anything to make their child what they think is the perfect image of someone in their youth. An example of this type of abuse is the abuse story of Ariel Winter, also known as Alex Dunphy, on ABC's comedy "Modern Family". Ariel's mother tried to munipulate her to what she say fit for this child celebrity; "Ariel's court papers allege some very disturbing behavior by her mom, Chris Workman: "ongoing physical abuse (slapping, hitting, pushing) and emotional abuse (vile name-calling, personal insults about minor and minor's weight, attempts to 'sexualize' minor, deprivation of food, etc.)" (Mom Abused Me 1). Not only did Ariel's mother physically abuse Ariel but she tried to manipulate Ariel into being a perfect child star. Ariel's mother even deprived her of food, forcing starvation on her daughter. Ariel's mother is in violation of many child abuse acts such as physical abuse, verbal abuse, and maltreatment of her daughter. Ariel's mother has been abusing her daughter for many years, and with the help of the law, Ariel was granted a restraining order. Not many children in a abusive home are able to recieve such treatment, but Ariel was one of the lucky ones. In Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" he demonstrated how superiority can over rule an entire colony of people (Achebe 1). He exhibited the way that one leader can manipulate a group of people because he believe that he is supierior to the rest of his people. Whether it be a leader of tribe or a parent, they both use their superiority to control the people below them. People that abuse their power are using it to belittle the people below them, and make them be what they want them to be. Ariel's case and Achebe's example of superiority that show how the power of superiority can be abused by a parent, or a leader. This abusive actions can lead to the munipulation of the child, resulting in child abuse. 

Work cited: 

Gastaldo, Evann. "Modern Family Star: Mom Abused Me." Newser. N.p., 8 Nov. 2012. Web. 23 May 2013.