The Mother Case

In most cultures abortion is a very sensitive and controversial subject to settle whether it is morally wrong. In some religions, such as Catholicism, abortion is looked down upon and is considered a mortal sin. Others would just simply agree that they don't think it should be done. On the other hand, some see abortion as something that is strictly the mother's choice and if she should want it, it should be allowed. Some even believe that there should be certain requirements mothers have to meet before having an abortion, such as they had to have been raped or the baby has to be the product of incest.

"The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks is a significant poem because it is an allusion to the current topic of abortion. Is the poem referring to a murder of an unborn child, that is how some would take it. As Toks Pearse in "A Mothers Responsibility" says " A murder has been committed, a child is killed, human blood has been spilled and leaves a trail of quilt "abortions will never let you forget". (Pearse, 1987). Children are a precious gift that know one can take from you however as written in this Monologue Criticism "Murder is bad enough, but what manner of woman would poison the umbilical cord of her own children". (Pearse, 1987). And then going on to say " I have heard the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed children". (Pearse, 1987). 'The Mother' is specifically about female experience because it is based on a woman's experience of aborting a child and then personally feeling guilty about it, as a mother. The images, the death and the feelings are also so real.

The reading of the criticism by "Toks Pearse" a lot of wonder comes into mind " What type of woman is " The Mother" who will not mother her children, but would rather murder them". (Pearse, 1987). The poem The Mother , is a story of a woman who has many abortions It is not known why she has the abortions . She is confused whether she is right or wrong in aborting her children . It is a very expressive poem where the tension that the mother feels is very much evident.

" A Mother's Memory" by B.J. Bolden, speaks of the heartache of a mother who aborts her child, but " understands the responsibilities of her life and meets them head on even in the face of her own grief." (Bolden, 1999). The criticism " A Mother's Memory" is a dramatic monologue, that conveys the feelings of a mothers grief. The shame and despair of a woman who lives in a ghetto area, struggling to survive decides to abort her unborn child due to fear of not being able to support the new life. " And once the flood gate opens, mother memories gush through as she considers that if she has "sinned," her " crime" was not intentional as it was