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The Purest Form of Unconditional Love

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The Purest Form of Unconditional Love
Holly Holmes
English 1301
Mr. M. Haile
04-16-12

A Mother 's Love
A mother 's love is the purest form of unconditional love in the Universe, it has no equal, and knows no bounds; the lengths that a mother will go to protect her children is infinite, this can be taken to extremes, but is also seen in the simple everyday maintenance that keeps a family running smoothly. In Robert Hayden 's poem “Those Winter Sundays” we are shown the simple labors of a parent, the ones that typically go unnoticed by our offspring. The thankless chores that we do, to make sure that our children are well taken care of. It is these simple things that keep their lives moving smoothly and yet they are also the actions that are taken for granted by most children who do not see the bigger picture behind all that is done for them. To our children these are expectations in the parent and child relationship; it is the parent 's job to provide, and theirs to benefit. Most often children do not have a realization of all of the sacrifices a parent makes until they themselves experience it firsthand, parenting their own children. Hayden 's simple words illustrate perfectly how easy it is for a child to take their parents for granted : “What did I know, what did I know/ of love 's austere and lonely offices” (Hayden, line 15-16).
In the movie The Deep End we see Margaret Hall, played by Tilda Swinton, going to great lengths to protect her son, but we see also a woman who is working diligently to keep all aspects of her household running smoothly despite adversity; without really taking the time to question the morality of the decisions she is making, without considering what the consequences of her actions may be, beyond the most immediate, which is to protect her son. Tilda Swinton 's character in the movie sees a problem, and immediately starts working to find a solution, she 's goes about this in a very matter of fact way, which seems to be how she handles her household in general.



Cited: Hayden, Robert, “Those Winter Sundays” from Collected Poems of Robert Hayden, edited by Frederick Glaysher, Copyright 1966 by Robert Hayden. Liveright Publishing Corporation. The Deep End. Dir. Scott McGhee, David Siegel. Perf. Tilda Swinton, GoranVisnjic, Jonathon Tucker. i5 Films, 2001. DVD.

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