Celebration by W.D Valgardson

In the story Celebration by W.D Valgardson, Mabel and Eric left the children in the cabin alone, and there are not enough woods for children to keep the cabin warm in winter. Mabel and Eric should be charged manslaughter.

Mabel and Eric loved their children, they would not hurt their children intentionally under any circumstance. “’Feed them kids,’ Eric said. They both spoiled the children but they were his particular pets.”(Valgardson 66) Eric was drunk at that moment, and he had quarreled with Mabel, but he still think of his children whether they were hungry. And author mentioned that they spoiled children which mean they love their children and do not want them to get any hurt. “When he drank, he was different. He sat and brooded about how little he had, listing a life’ s accumulation of grievances. It was then that they fought.”(Valgardson 66) This shows he had a bad temper when he was drunk. “He never denied them anything. He fed them jawbreakers and raspberry drops and potato chips and bought them plastic dolls with pink cheeks. Even when he was drunk, he did no more than brush them out of his way.”(Valgardson 66) This quotation proves that he was really good to his children although he was drunk, he would fight with Mabel, but would not hurt children. Although the relationship between Mabel and Eric was not good, they tried to not hurt them physically.

The situation was urgent so that they ignored their children. “ ‘My wife got lost in the storm and got herself frozen.’” (Valgardson 67) Mabel was lost of her mind, for her, she was even unable to protect herself and she may forget her children at that time. “Eric plunged into the storm, wrenched a shovel from the side of the truck and attacked the snow in a frenzy.”(Valgarson 68) Eric was such a lazy man, he even did now want to pick some woods, but he did these things to make the wheels clear so that truck can move. This shows that it was really urgent, and also shows that although Eric and Mabel always fought and quarreled, he did not want Mabel to die, moreover, he was so loved his children.

Children’ s habit may also be the one cause of their death. “Whenever their parents fought, the children hid under the Toronto couch, lying absolutely still, making no sound for hours on end. They were like two small animals hiding in a cave; only their large, dark eyes moved. A stranger might have spent an hour or more in the room and never known they