May 2014 Paper 1 Example

It is said that being a parent is the toughest job in the world, so it is no surprise that it is a topic that often crops up in the media.  Two texts, an article from the UK newspaper “The Guardian” and an online blog post from the National Fatherhood Initiative touch on the difficulties of being a father, especially when it comes to daughters.  Whilst “The Guardian’s” ultimate aim is to attract readers and entertain them, the National Fatherhood Initiative hopes to help fathers do well in raising their children.  The portrayal of strained father-daughter relationships in both texts acts as a warning for their respective audiences.

The relationship between fathers and daughters in both texts are extremely similar, despite differences in their situations.  The texts convey a father estranged from their daughter(s), and this is done through the idea of money.  The NFI’s website uses money as a metaphor for the effort put into the relationship by the father, but has a similar effect to Text C.  The word choice portrays the father as irresponsible and makes it seems as though he lacks knowledge of the situation.  The phrases he uses throughout, such as “I don’t remember,” “I guess, “ “stuff like that,” and “can’t I just” highlight this.  In response, the daughter (who is playing the role of the bank teller of her heart) responds in an extremely dry, unemotional tone due to the fact that the father has not made an effort in their relationship. 

“The Guardian” article focuses on a local billionaire who has reached celebrity status and paints the patriarch, Bernie Ecclestone, as well meaning, but overall makes his parenting methods appear questionable.  The casual mention of absurd multi-million dollar homes and weddings is perhaps the best indicator of the sheer wealth the Ecclestones possess, even more so when the ridiculousness of these prices are described as an afterthought in parentheses as “a typical Bernie deal.”  The result of him spoiling his daughters is reflected in the choice in diction used to describe Bernie’s demeanor and Bernie’s description of his daughters: Bernie “frowns,” says things with “an air of mild exasperation” and “a despairing sigh.”  He is “ignored” and his daughters’ spending habits are “unnecessary. Completely unnecessary.”  This is obviously not the ideal relationship between a father and his daughters.  The focus of the text is highlighted by the accompanying image on the top right, next to the title where Bernie sits morosely, leaning his head on his hand looking down.  He appears passive and a bit upset.  Interestingly, the placement of his daughter’s image makes it so that they are in what would be his line of sight, giving the text the appearance that Bernie’s look is aimed at his daughters, implying that he has given up on them.  The relationships shown in both texts are situations that all fathers hope to avoid, and serve as a warning for spoiling or not paying enough attention to your children.

However, these situations are filtered through the opinions of the newspaper, and the situation of the NFI’s post on their website is entirely fictional.  “The Guardian” is a newspaper known for titles meant to draw readers and columnists are often vocal about their personal opinions.  Richard Williams uses a slightly snarky tone commenting on the Ecclestones, adding “(oh dear)” following the mention of Tamara Ecclestone’s reality television show and sarcastically states that Bernie’s comments on money are in fact describing “the art of spending money wisely.”  This is followed later on in the article with him questioning Bernie’s statements regarding his daughters – “Hang on a minute.”  Williams pauses the conversation before making a jab at Tamara Ecclestone for owning “200 Hermes handbags” and suggesting she is too lazy to make “a three-point turn in her Ferrari.”  The mention of expensive luxury brands highlights their wealth and contrasts the earlier idea of “spending money wisely.”

While we see that the Ecclestone Family essentially spends too much money, the father on the NFI website is not spending enough, although the money is metaphorical.  The title reflects this, and grabs the attention of potential readers by asking “Are You Trying to Rob Your Kids?”  The focus on the situation at hand in the title, as opposed to the vague and uninformative “My girls and me” makes clear the purpose of the website.  It also clearly establishes the audience by referring to the parents as “you.”  The “NFI Mission & Strategy” is clearly displayed above the headline, with its title fully capitalized in bold letters to stand out.  This website wastes no time in making its intentions clear – helping by “equipping and educating fathers” to be “involved, responsible and committed.”  The legitimacy of the website is aided by the banner above.  It appears professional, with a logo, showing an adult holding a child’s hand, a title with a registered symbol, and links stating, “donate,” “get involved,” “about,” “statistics,” and “subscribe.”  The increased legitimacy of the website makes it so that the readers will trust what the website is saying and take note of its warnings.  They will be more likely to trust the warnings and take action if they see the source as a knowledgeable authoritative figure. 

The end result of these texts is that the father lacks control due to the lack of a healthy relationship with their daughters.  The National Fatherhood Initiative’s fictional situation ends quite dramatically with the daughter accusing the father of trying to rob the “bank of her heart” and asking him to leave or else be escorted out by security.  Bernie Ecclestone’s lack of control shows through his lack of control of the money his daughter’s have access to.  His plans for them and their spending of the trust fund he had set out for them simply “Didn’t happen.”  As a father, most people will want to have some semblance of control over their family and be able to have a say in their children’s lives – especially when the children have the spending habits of Petra and Tamara Ecclestone.  This less than ideal scenario can motivate fathers to avoid this by scaring them, as they do not want to be in this scenario themselves.

The warnings provided by both texts, intentional of not, will be able to help father to avoid the same mistakes made by Bernie Ecclestone and the fictional father created by the NFI.  Healthy human relationships are ideal for all, and “The Guardian” and the NFI provide a stepping stone to achieve this by explicitly showing what not to do as a father.