Our Secret by Susan Griffin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Our Secret by Susan Griffin - Essay Example This helps her to conduct a research in order to find the connections between childhood and human fate. As for me, it is a really important topic because I also feel the influence of parental upbringing during all my life. Practically every day I notice some characteristic in myself that actually belong to my parents. So, the research conducted by Susan Griffin is relevant to the contemporary life and should be applied by educators in order to achieve better results. Each word and phrase in Our Secret and its unusual structure help the writer to prove that people reflect the things they see during their childhood. When Griffin describes one of the characters of the book, she inserts the sentences that seem to have nothing in common with Laura. The text itself starts with a rather strange passage that makes the readers think that it is some article for scientific journal. It is the following phrase: â€Å"the nucleus of the cell derives its name from the Latin nux, meaning nut. Like the stone in the cherry, it is found in the center of the cell, and like this stone, keeps its precious kernel in a shell† (Bartholomae 340). However, a bit later the reader may see that this type of scientific insertions is an integral part of Our Secret. The analysis of scientific data helps Griffin to learn more about the characters and their fate; it becomes the major method of her research that helps to look at life and people from a new perspective. Even the first phrase written by Susan Griffin has deep sense. It helps to demonstrate that human life depends greatly upon parents and the way they educate. Heinrich’s life is the most vivid example of this. In fact, he had no childhood. His father made him older much earlier. So, the boy became an adult when he was only ten years old and had to follow the lifestyle indicated by his father. This seed had a huge impact upon Heinrich during all his life. The things started by father’s upbringing were finished by military service. From very childhood he is taught to establish friendly relations only for benefit and with those who are worth this. When Heinrich enters a new school, his father prepares the list of his would-be classmates. Thus, â€Å"he writes the child’s father’s name, what his father does for a living, and his social position. Heinrich must be careful to choose whom he befriends† (Bartholomae 367). There is one more character in Our Secret who suffered unhappy childhood. It is Leo. This person came under his older brother’s influence and became a killer in some time. This happened because of improper attitude towards his brother. He seemed to be an ideal person for Leo; that is why the latter did everything possible in order to look like him. However, all his attempts became fatal for Leo. It can be easily proved with the help of the following quotation: â€Å"While he was in the campus, he began to worship the uniformed members of the SS and the SA, just as he had loved his brother† (Bartholomae 345). In fact, Leo became one more victim of the wrong seed sowed into a person during the childhood period. To my mind, Griffin does not only describe the lives of several characters in her story. She tries to conduct a research in order to find out the reasons for people’s behavior and miserable life. According to her point of view a lot of things are closely connected with one’s childhood, parental influence, DNA and all the seeds that were put into the person. It is the main reason why the writer uses numerous â€Å"scientific† insertions in her story. They seem to be her own considerations of every character and situation described in the text. They are very important and useful for