The narrator of the story “Excerpt from 100 Days and 99 Nights” and the speaker in the poem “Rain Check” have different points of view about their family situations. What is the narrator’s point of view about her family situation in “Excerpt from 100 Days and 99 Nights”? What is the speaker’s point of view about her family situation in “Rain Check”? How are these points of view different? Use details from both the story and the poem to support your response. In your response, be sure to describe the narrator’s point of view about her family situation in “Excerpt from 100 Days and 99 Nights”. describe the speaker’s point of view about her family situation in “Rain Check”. explain how these points of view are different use details from both the story and the poem to support your response.
In "Excerpt from 100 Days and 99 Nights," the narrator's point of view about her family situation is mostly positive, though she experiences struggles due to her father being deployed. The narrator, Sadie, deeply loves and misses her father when he is away, but she is proud that her father is serving his country. She finds comfort in her mother's strength, her little sister, and the routines the family follows while her father is away. Sadie understands the importance of her father's work and has a strong bond with her family despite their temporary separation. She believes that her family's love transcends physical distance, as she says, "Even though my father is far away, Daddy is still right here with us- in our hearts."
On the other hand, in the poem "Rain Check," the speaker's point of view about her family situation is much more negative and distant. The speaker seems to feel an emotional distance from her father, who was not around much during her childhood. The speaker says, "All I know of my father is my mother's story/ She starts with his voice, how he would call me to play/But most times when I wanted a father, I was given the rain—." This suggests that the speaker feels emotionally disconnected from her father and that he was not a significant figure in her life.
The main difference between the points of view in the story and the poem is how the narrators view their relationships with their fathers. In "Excerpt from 100 Days and 99 Nights," even though Sadie's father is physically distant due to his deployment, she still has a strong emotional bond with him and feels his presence in her life. In contrast, in "Rain Check," the speaker's father is physically present but emotionally distant, which causes the speaker to feel disconnected and yearning for a closer relationship.
Additionally, in the story, Sadie is comforted by the strength and support she finds in her mother and sister during her father's absence. In contrast, the poem's speaker feels a sense of loss not only with her father but also with her mother when she says, "I don't have my mother's resilience/ There is no shame in saying it like that, her/ Voice breaking with the sort of loss that lingers."
In conclusion, the points of view in "Excerpt from 100 Days and 99 Nights" and "Rain Check" differ significantly in terms of the narrators' relationships with their fathers and overall family dynamics. Sadie, in the story, has a positive outlook on her family situation, focusing on love and connection, whereas the speaker in the poem feels distant from her father and experiences a sense of loss and yearning for connection. Both pieces highlight the impact a father's presence, or lack thereof, can have on a child's emotional well-being and perception of their family.