In China we have an old saying: A dutiful son is made by a stick to 
hit him. I still remember after my mom went to the school parents 
meeting. My sister and I would always hide some place in our house, or 
go to sleep early, because we knew that if we waited for her to come home, 
she will use the coat hanger to beat us and we will be covered with 
scars, big and small. Sometimes even when I am already asleep, she will still yell 
at me to wake up, to ask me why I didn’t do some homework, and she will start to 
beat me. Sometimes she will take my textbooks from my school bag and 
put it into the trashcan. I just cry and cry, again and again. 
What else can I do? In my heart, I feel that my mom 
cares more about my grades than she does about me. When I read the poem "The 
Whipping" written by Robert Hayden, it evoked memories of my childhood. Every word of the poem attacked my heart.  A kind of sadness or terror 
came over my heart and spread through my body. Every 
word in this poem is very clear and easy for me to understand. 
 
     The reason I was interested in this poem is because I enjoyed the 
vocabulary. "The Whipping” uses easy words to describe things, and 
the meaning is very clear. In the opening of the poem "The old woman across the 
way is whipping the boy again…” It may have some words that I will find in the SAT test, and I can get help from the dictionary. This poem taught me some new words. 
 
      I feel very sad when I read this "Words could bring, the 
face that I no longer know or loved…” After the parents beat the child, 
they may relax, and not be angry any more, but how about the child?  Parents 
not only hurt their body, they also hurt the child's feelings!  The child may not 
smile anymore, or be happy everyday. Some of them may hate their 
parents. After they grow up, they may leave the parents alone, and never 
come back! How does the child think of the parents? The parents will leave a gloom 
over the child’s life for all time. 
 
    "The Whipping" really shows the childhood of some children and how 
family violence has been so commonplace in society. I still remember 
my mother telling me that one time after she beat me. I kept crying and later 
fell asleep, and she sat next to my bed. When she saw the scars on my body, she began to cry. I know the parents love their children, but why did they choose 
this way to solve those problems? This is a problem in many families. The parents always think that if the kids do anything bad, they need to get a beating so they won't do it again. Yes – the kids may not do it again, to avoid getting a beating, but how does a child then think of the parent? Perhaps the parents are right, but when you beat the children, it is wrong. The children may not do it again because they are afraid of getting a beating, even when they think what they did was not wrong! 
 
    Would you like to have a happy family and nice parents, or would you like 
your family to always have violence? This poem has the same problem too. 
Why don't the parents think about sitting down with the kids and talk to them about behavior and rules? A family is made up of all members, so we should all have a say in what goes on. Try to talk to the children and become 
involved in their life and their thinking! Be their friends, not just a demanding parent with no sympathy! "The Whipping" is an excellent poem. There are some words I think will be on the SAT test, and can help me learn some new words. Some parts of the poem make me feel sad and about to cry. It shows how many families have problems in our society.