A family is a valuable and sensitive system of a group. Everyone has a role and responsibilities and even if someone took one more chip than the others the balance could be broken. In the short story “The Boat” written by Alistair MacLeod, the mother controls the decisions in the house and abuses them even if they are not for the best of the house. She refuses to accept her daughter's gifts, discourages her family from getting a better education, and marries her father, pressuring him to become a sailor. While these decisions are what he feels is right, it doesn't work for the rest of the family members. The mother's obstinacy towards change and education caused a state of desperation in the family. The mother gave birth to six daughters. All the daughters found jobs in a seafood restaurant run by a man from Boston. All the sisters "made good money on tips" (MacLeod 268) but even though they earned a respectable income the mother "was angry [her daughters] even had to conceive of working in such a place" (MacLeod 267). The mother does not judge the restaurant by the food or service but simply by the fact that it is a stranger. He didn't accept his daughter's gifts because they get the money from that restaurant. If the mother accepted financial help from her daughters, they would have a better lifestyle. The mother's six daughters later became wives of six young men in large cities such as New York or Montreal. There they are rich and "drove expensive cars" (MacLeod271), yet the mother "never accepted the young men" (MacLeod 271) because "they were not of her sea" (MacLeod271). The fact that the daughters became so rich could have been a blessing for the family. They could have taken help from the d......middle of paper......and he disapproved of any work but by fishing the father would not have died and he would have had an education.The mother is a selfish and stubborn woman. Raised a certain way and never wavers. He neglects help, oppresses education and persuades people to be what he wants, otherwise he will completely eliminate them from his life. His morals surpass the desires and choices of every other family member. His influence and discipline have seriously jeopardized the future of every family member in taking care of his wishes. She is everything a good mother is not and is blind to her own morals. His stubbornness towards change and education has caused families to feel desperate. The realization shown through the story is that the family would be better off without a mother to anchor them. Works Cited MacLoed, Allistair, "The Boat." Canada: Oxford University Press, 2001