Step By Wicked Step

Theme

1

The importance of preserving the family unit

• The family institution should also provide security to children. However, when it is broken, children feel helpless and they feel they are victims of the situation. The novel reveals how the five children cope with difficult times when their parents’ marriage fails. Claudia and Pixie for example, have to undergo emotionally painful and tumultuous moments to get used to their parent’s divorce. The ugly effects of divorce and separations are also shown in the way Claudia and Pixie resist their step parents and siblings. The quarrels, the screaming, the sibling rivalry demonstrate that the harmony that is central in their families has long gone. Children suffer most from broken homes and they need a lot of time to adapt to their new situation. This is true in the case of Pixie, who needs a great deal of time to adjust to her step mother and step sisters, Sophie and Hetty.

2

Acceptance and tolerance • Learning to accept and tolerate new members in the family is

important when a divorce happens. The novel shows how children learn to accept their ‘new’ family members and make the best of their new circumstances. Although this sounds a big task for them, they all end up accepting their new life at the end of their stories. Despite their being young, they realize how important it is to learn to share belongings and love with their step siblings. For example, Pixie has to learn to share her bedroom with her step sister Hetty. She has to tolerate her privacy being taken away causing her to devise ways to get rid of Hetty from her bedroom. She considers her bedroom is her territory and Hetty’s presence an intrusion. However, she manages to get her room back after a heated argument with her step mother. In the end Pixie learns to tolerate her step sisters and accepts their differences.

3

Responsibility

• Marriage entails responsibility. It is about building a family and raising children that are part and parcel of a marriage partnership. This will include providing shelter, clothing, education and love. Therefore if a marriage is broken, children would be directly affected. Parents therefore must accept that they still have a responsibility to ensure that the divorce does not cost their children more than it already has. One of the ways this is shown in the novel is by the turns or visits the children have with their new families. Their parents although divorced, insist that their children take turns to visit them. Pixie for instance goes to her step family’s house ‘a few days in a month’ while Ralph has a more hectic and complicated schedule. He has to divide the weekdays to be at his divorced parents’ house. It is a pity that he has to shuffle his time between his parents but he pretty much accepts his situation without complaints.

4

Children have opinions too

• This theme is portrayed through the five main characters in the novel. Since all the main characters come from broken homes, we learn that they too want their opinions to be heard and acknowledged. Very often than not, there is a communication breakdown between the children and parents who undergo divorce. For example, Colin does not have a say at all when her mother decides to move to another place to stay safe from his father. Colin has to start all over in a new school and make new friends. His opinion is never sought. In another example, Pixie shows that she wants to be heard. Her strong opinions about the adults around her are revealed when she quarrels with Lucy, her step mother. She expresses her frustrations and anger through her words

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6

Family is everything

• This is the main message in all the five stories from Claudia, Ralph, Colin, Pixie and Robbo. Love is the factor that binds the family together but sometimes the family unit breaks down due to a lack of understanding between parents. Most of the time, children are not prepared for such a situation and this lands them in an awkward and painful situation. It is important to minimize the impact of divorce on children and to make sure they do not feel unwanted or unimportant. Parents must always try to keep the family together despite the breakdown in their relationship.

7

Patience is a virtue

• It is important to practice a lot of patience in difficult times. No parents would want a divorce if they can help it. Hence, everyone affected by a divorce must be patient and tolerant. Richard Clayton Harwick does not show enough patience when he leaves his family because he cannot get along with his step father. As a result of his action, his mother dies of heartbreak and his sister blames him for being selfish and cruel. In Pixie’s story, she does not show much patience towards her step siblings. She refuses to share her bedroom with Hetty. She is also hard headed and argues intensely with her step mother.

8

We must learn to adapt to new situations

• Children from broken homes have no choice but to learn to adapt to new situations. This may be unfair to the children who seem to be the ‘victim’ of circumstances beyond their control. However, in the five stories told, we learn that adapting is better than resisting although it takes a lot of patience and effort on the children’s part. Claudia shows she is a rational and sensible child to accept her step mother. Ralph, who has three step mothers, gets along with all of them despite their different personalities.

9

Don’t give up hope

• Colin’s story is the saddest of all. He does not give up hope of one day finding Jack whom he accepts as his own father. He saves all his money and plans to look for his dad when the time is right. Colin is a very determined person despite his young age. He knows what he wants. Robbo also hopes his sister Callie will accept their step father Roy. However, Callie resents Roy and decides to live with her real father in the end.

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