What does the title mom mean? Mom/Boss/Bus driver?

Post 2

(Please be sure to click on the hyperlink, titled Sheryl Sandberg, below.  Reading this article will help clarify how you can connect the novel to current events. It also helps show how I use concrete facts to back up my claims in this post.)

Huck is lucky to have Miss Watson in his life!  So far she tells Huck to "pray every day", gets him to go to school, provides him with a bed, and tries to teach him manners (Twain 10, 15).

Miss Watson is really trying to serve as a positive role model for Huck, even though he would rather live without her restrictions.  She serves as a mother figure for Huck.

Her role as a mother figure is still important today, but we expect women to do even more.  Women are expected to teach children manners and provide love and support.  They are also expected to be successful in the workplace.  There has been a great deal of controversy recently over Sheryl Sandberg's recent book and commencement addresses.  She urges conversations about "gender in the workplace and educate people on how gender holds us back" (Mossberg).  Society believes that women must not only serve the traditional Miss Watson role, but they must also work a full time job.  While society pressures women, we too are to blame. 

 I am to blame.  I want to be a dedicated professional and mom.  I want to get to school early to prepare. I want to provide students with timely feedback and engaging assignments.  I want to create great connections with colleagues. I want my daughters to be successful and smart.  I want to do fun activities with them.  I want a clean house and to cook great dinners.  I want. I want. I want. But I can't do it all!  I have to recognize my boundaries and find a balance between my own expectations and what is feasible.  

Not only does society expect women to serve as a positive example, but men are also expected to hold up cultural values and norms as Miss Watson does.  Men must hold a reliable full time job and serve as a positive role model at home.  They too must help with the housework, indoors or outdoors.  

Today there are a lot of expectations on adults.  These expectations surpass the expectations in the 1850s and 60s because gender roles are different and expectations are higher.  Since Huck's time there has certainly been a change in gender roles and expectations. 

(Notice I examine a character and extend the meaning.  I include a link to a Wall Street Journal article about Sheryl Sandberg.  When I quoted this article, I include a citation at the end of the quote.)