Bates wino essay

The Kool-Aid Wino
An Essay by Rena Bates

   In my opinion the boy who makes the Kool-Aid in the story "The Kool Aid Wino " is a negative and positive character. This is a boy who despite a disability is able to function like everyone else but is treated like he is useless to society. While everyone else in his household is out at work he is left in a household with several other siblings to do nothing. I feel his parents are to blame for his negative behavior, but I commend his positive behavior of simply drinking Kool-Aid everyday as opposed to robbing and stealing.

   Three things that I found to be negative were the following: first, he slept in his clothing from the previous day and didn't wash-up or brush his teeth the next morning. Second, his friend mentioned how his younger siblings walked around in soiled diapers. Third, when his mother asked when he was going to do the dishes he said "soon" and continued what he was doing. Although it doesn't say if the boy takes his bath and brushes his teeth during the day or not, while sleeping your body sweats and your mouth is closed. This causes perspiration and bad breath and that makes it necessary to at least wash-up and brush your teeth the next morning. In addition the fact that his siblings walk around with soiled diapers is a sign of poor hygiene in the household. When his mother asked him "When are you going to do the dishes? " he replied, "Soon" and continued with the second part of his ceremony.

   I found fault on both the mother's and the boy's part. I found this to be a sign of who's in control in the household. Her mistake was asking him instead of telling him when he was going to do the dishes. Responsibilities shouldn't be left as a choice for a child but a condition that must be met. His attitude is more or less I'll do it when I'm ready to. I think the parents are to blame for the boy’s behavior. Children learn by example and, unfortunately, this boy hasn’t been shown the values of cleanliness, respect, and responsibility.