Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - English Stucco House Stucco House “The Stucco House” by Ellen Gilchrist is a story about seven year old boy named Teddy who lives with his mother and step father, Eric. Because of the existing circumstances concerning his family’s relationships, especially between his mom and step dad, the boy seems “scared of everything” as seen by Eric. However this fear is not fear in the pure sense but is mixed in with other emotions such as confusion, disappointment and uncertainty. The child’s true fear is losing his stepfather Eric resulting from a possible future divorce from his mother. The author implies that Teddy is a sad and disappointed with his mothers past failed marriages especially to his real father, and he is now afraid of losing his stepfather from another marital breakup. To deal with this emotion, the boy fantasizes about having his mother “go away” while he and his stepfather stay in his “stucco” house, a house he loves so dearly. Eric was not only a good father for Teddy but also “the best grown person he had ever known.”(p. 41) He wasn’t like others, “large, very high-strung children who never sat still or finished what Throughout the story there is also seen a subtle anxiety Teddy feels about his mother’s well being. In reading “The Stucco House” we get the idea that his mother is probably an alcoholic and sexually promiscuous. Although he loves his step dad more he is genuinely worried about his mom’s health and future. At the tender age of seven he could not possibly have any answers or solutions to her problems. This confusion and helplessness could elicit fear in such a young child since he, at such a In this story there are also subtle hints that his older brothers abuse him. The author states that he kept stuffed animals on his bed to protect him from ghosts, vampires and “to keep his big brothers from beating him up.”(p. 31) We also get the feeling that his step dad also protects him from them. But, as mentioned before, Teddy is confused and disappointed more than being afraid although these emotions can mingle in so many ways in the child’s mind. He is confused about the relationship of his mother and stepfather and also about his relationship with his uncle and grandparents. From the perspective of a seven year old mind, all these familial interactions cannot be understand and could never make sense to a child such as In another part of the story, Ellen Gilchrist shows that Teddy fantasizes about escaping his situation. While keeping watch of his ill mother, he reads one of his older brother’s books called The Big Green Book which tells the story of a young boy who, while living with a mean aunt and uncle, discovers a book of magic spells. This boy learns how to use these spells to become animals or make himself invisible or “do anything he wanted to do.”(p.33) Gilchrist is showing the reader that Teddy would probably like to have this power to escape his unfortunate circumstances. Teddy also tries to make use of the power of prayer. The author narrates in one section of the story of how Teddy would sometimes go to church and kneel down and beg God “not to let his momma divorce Eric.”(p. 36) And he would tell God that if his prayer was not answered he would “pretend that he was his grandfather and threaten Teddy’s relationship with his grandparents, especially his grandfather, is also unhappy. Most children find solace and refuge with grandparents but not so in Teddy’s case. He once told Eric that “they boss [him] around all the time.”(p. 34) And he also said that his grandfather forced him to “make his bed, ride the stupid horses and hitch up the pony cart and if [he] didn’t do what he said, he hit [him] with a belt. Teddy hated being there.”(p. 34) So, as the reader can understand, even being with his grandparents was a miserable experience for the young lad. The story ends when Eric and Teddy meet on an unexpected occasion and they go away for a drive in Eric’s car. This ending seems to symbolize Teddy’s desire to be only with his step dad who will “rescue” him from fears and disappointment. It is the only hope he has. Bibliography: Word Count: 736
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