JohnnabelleAlinaR.Mondejar
MelwinCortes
VinceFernandez
Quarter3CriticalAnalysisPaper
March15,2022
Belittled
Most children whose parents belittle them and compare themtoothersaremorelikelyto have low self-esteem. The sonnet, Belittled, by Jeanille C. Cogtas written years ago, is enlighteningbecauseitrevealshowbelittledchildrenfeelandwhattheyhavetobattle.
People nowadays presume that their generation, or Generation Z, is muchmoretroubled than earlier generations. As a part of Generation Z, she had first-hand experience being compared to and belittled by those around her. Being compared to her peers who are accomplishing more than she is, and being told that she is not working hard enough, as if her efforts are insignificant; That no matter how hard she tries, she will never be good enough for them. It has, without a doubt, messed with her head countless times. It made herdoubtherown potentialanderodedherself-esteem.
I’d like to quote a song by Em Beihold, entitled Numb Little Bug. “Like you’re hanging by a thread but you gotta survive. ‘Cause you gotta survive.” We may be facing a difficult journey that makes us want to give up, yet we continue on our path through life to achieve our goals.
To summarize, the sonnet is about how belittled children feel and how psychological abuse can jeopardize a child's emotional development and self-esteem. The poemhasanABAB rhymeschemeandaniambicpentameter
The poet argues that children who grew up with parents that belittle them tend to have lower self-esteem compared to children with supportive parents. The speaker is calm and clear with a relaxing tone. The poet concludes that some children havemorechallengesbroughtforth bytheirownparentswithminimalsupport.
In conclusion, this sonnet tells us that belittling children can cause both psychological and emotional damageandcanleadtolowself-esteemandself-doubt,Thespeakerinthissonnet has a calm and clear tone and isreadingthesonnetataproperpaceinawayyoucanunderstand every line from this sonnet. The poet made the sonnet in such a simple yetmeaningfulway,the wayeverylineisn’tthatlongyetithasaverydeepmeaningaboutbelittledchildren.
Line 1 and 2, the child is expressing how it aches to have done everything, whereas his/her mother still isn’t seeing howdiligentherchildisworkingandthatinhereyesherchildis stillamess.
Psychological maltreatment is deeply rooted in child abuse. It’s a pattern of negative interactions between the parent/s and the child that keeps repeating itself and becomes the relationship’s habit that jeopardizes a child’s emotional development and self-esteem. A toxic parent is moreconcernedwiththeirownpersonaldemandsthanwithwhetherornottheiractions are destructive. They’re unlikely to apologize or even apologize or even admit they’re doing something wrong. Abuse may not necessarily be striking, threatening, or even something very obvious either. More subtle forms of abuse, suchasgaslighting,humiliation,andtoxiccriticism, may be observed. In certain circumstances, parents who were raised in this manner by their parentscarrythetorchandraisetheirchildreninthesamemanner.
We as children have observed how our parents treat us differently. Our fathers are inclinedtobelaid-backwhilstourmothersarelikelytobecontrolfreaks. That is probably one
of the reasons why the author has only mentioned themother.Giventhattheauthorisawoman, we are living in asocietywherewomenareexpectedtohavetheirlivestogetheratalltimes.Her mothermusthaveputalotofpressureonherbecauseofthis.
Line 3 and 4, the mother compares the child to the individuals in their life who are accomplishing more than her child is. ”it began” implies having no probability of doing anything; it seemed as though the child had lost hope when one’s mother indicated their neighbor’s child was doing better; one has already believed that no matter how hard one tries, onewouldneverbeabletocatchuptotheirneighbor’schild’saccomplishments.
Though we aren’t certain if the child is being compared to people who have accomplished morethanhim/her,there’sstillachanceonehasaccomplishedsomethingthatisn’t on par withone’speers.Themajorityofoverachieversaretheresultofparentalpressure.Parents who continue to pressure their children to achieve more than they already havebecauseitnever is enough for them. The school has already put enough pressure on us students plus added pressure from the parents we most likely suffer from a lot of fatigue causing more serious illnesses.
Line 5, likealittleanimalborninthewildleftbyitsparent,itwillalwaysremaininabad circumstance unless its mother changes her ways and properly takescareofit.Similarly,achild whowasnurturedbyunappreciativeparentswillbescarredforlife.
Parents, like everyone else, are human beings. As aresult,theymayunconsciouslyharm their children, toxic parenting, ontheotherhand,entailsparentswhoprofesstoloveandcarefor their children while mistreating them. Abusive parents create a traumatic environment for their children, which they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Interfering, overbearing, abusive,andmanipulativebehaviorcansuffocatetheirchild’slife.
Line 6 and 7, tells us that every step we take in life is an important step, it tells us that every step we take can define our future and that every step has its own importance in our life. “When every befalling dissolves in far sight” thislinesomehowtellsusthateachstepcanleadus toourperfectandsuccessfullifeoritcanleadustoourbefalling.
Line 8 and 9, tells us that no matter how hard our life might get and that no matterhow much we get beaten down we must always find a way togetbackupandmoveonwithourlife, “A bird is a bird. He who yearned to see” speakstousandtellsusthatwearelikebirdsthatare destined to explore the world. We may get beaten down or we may reach a certain point where wethinkallhopeislostyetwealwaysneedtogetbackupandcontinuetoflyandlivelife.
Line 10, “To journey diverse realms to chose esteem;”
We need to explore what we canexplorewiththetimewehave.Thislinetellsusthatit’s our destiny to explore the world, see what is meant to be seen, our dreams may get shut down sometimesbutallweneedtodoistogetbackupandcontinuetoexplore.
This sonnet is for everyone, children, adults, etc. This is for everyone who experienced belittling, people who had dreams but were told that their dreams were impossible to achieve, this sonnet is for everyone who never got to accomplish their dream because they were always discouraged by people and made them believe that maybe their dreams are impossible and that they should give up. This sonnet reminds you that no matter how many timespeoplemaybring youdownallyouneedtodoisgetbackup.
Line 11 and 12, tellustoslowdownandthatwedon'tneedtorushourlife.Ittellsusthat we can achieve our dreams even at a reasonable pace and that weshouldenjoythefruitsoflife. According to an article, being fastallowsustodomore,but“doingmore”doesnotequal“doing what’s best”. Doing things slower means we can increase the quality of the output, and even sometimes of the experience itself. This is good, it reminds us toenjoythesimplerthingsinlife andnottooveranalyzeorrushanything.
Line 13 and 14, discuss the stresses of our youth and how little children are expected to fight their own problems with no prior experience. Instead of support from their elders, they receive optimistic expectations which can be unhealthy for their mental health. According toan article from 2015, when parents had high aspirations for their children’s achievement in math, the kids in this study performed well in math. But if the parents’ hopes were unrealistic, their children’s math performance suffered. These lines are good, it validates the child's feelings and setsexpectationstoberealisticandnotstressedtoachieve.
This sonnet is for every child who has been subjected to psychological maltreatment, as well as anyone else who has gone through similar. It narrates the difficulties experienced by our youth due to unsupportive parents and strong expectations. This sonnet educates parents that children are still young and that they should acceptthatchildrencanmake mistakes.
Parenting has a significant impact on a child’s health. You can assist your child in overcoming obstacles and leading a more fulfilling life. As a result,reassureyourchildthatyou will always be there for them. Theplausiblereasonparentscomparetheirchildrentoothersisto instill an eager spirit in them. They may believe that this is the best method to bring out their children’s potential and abilities so that they can dominate others. However, parents must
recognize thatcomparisonisnottheprimarymotivatorforchildrentoperformattheirbest.Each child is distinct and bestowed with diverse abilities. The interests and talents of children can develop at different rates. If parents continuously express their disgust or dissatisfaction with theirchildren’spoorperformance,theirconfidencewillbebrokenratherthanbuilt.
WorksCited
Anne-Laure Le Cunff, "An ode to slowness: the benefits of slowing down." Ness Labs, https://nesslabs.com/the-benefits-of-slowing-down,Accessed16Mar 2022
Cary, Elea. “Child Emotional and Psychological Abuse.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 29May2018, https://www.healthline.com/health/child-neglect-and-psychological-abuse
Cogtas, Jeanille, “Belittled: A Shakespearean Sonnet.” Youtube, 4 Mar. 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smOJtVLDlgM
Hart, Stuart, et al. “Psychological Maltreatment.” APA PsycNet, Sage Publications, Inc.,
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Hibbard, Roberta, Jane Barlow, “Psychological Maltreatment.” AAP Publications, AmericanAcademyofPediatrics,Aug.2012,https://cutt.ly/CDmZgtg
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