Parents are among the most important individuals in the lives of young children. From birth, children learn and depend on their mothers and fathers to protect and care for them. Becoming a parent is generally a welcome event, but sometimes parents' lives are fraught with problems and uncertainties regarding their ability to ensure the prosperity of their children. Furthermore, some parents are not meant to be parents and, in turn, mistreat the child. Junot Diaz's "Fiesta 1980" and Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" are comparative as they both talk about the oppressive bond between a father and son. On the other hand, the works contrast because in 'Fiesta 1980' the father's activities arouse a feeling of hatred in the child towards his father, while in 'My Papa's Waltz' the child still has a certain adoration for his father despite the mistreatment . The story "Fiesta 1980" by Junot Diaz is the story of a man who has an unauthorized love affair and involves his children in it. Yunior, the youngest child, seems to be the most affected by this. He has seen his father at several events with a Puerto Rican woman and is faced with the conflict of whether to tell his mother or remain silent. He doesn't want to see his father angry and see his family fall apart, however, he doesn't like what his mother is going through either. His father is mentally abusing him by putting him in such a helpless circumstance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke is about a drunken father and son who dance their way into bed every night. The speaker of this poem is a man who recalls his adolescence through a waltz. The waltz in the poem causes pain to the child, as mentioned in the poem, "my right ear has scratched a buckle" (Roethke, line 12). They are dancing roughly due to his father's inebriation and clumsiness. The son realizes everything that is happening but still continues to cling to his father's shirt, symbolizing a sign of hope he has in his father. Furthermore, 'Fiesta 1980' and 'My Papa's Waltz' are similar in the relationships between a father and son. The two works revolve around traumatizing and abusive events that affect children. In "Fiesta 1980" the youngest child Yunior is mentally battered by his father when he is taken to the lover's place and forced to sit outside and wait for his father to complete his dirty activities. As mentioned in the story, “The two of them went up the stairs and I was too scared of what was happening to look around. I sat there in shame, expecting something big and fiery to fall on our heads” (Diaz). The father is selfish and doesn't care much about his family. The father emotionally blackmails Yunior. To avoid hurting his mother and making his father angry, Yunior remains silent. The child in “My Daddy's Waltz” is also abused. When father and son waltz, the boy is affected by the whiskey on his father's breath, "The whiskey on your breath / could make a little boy dizzy" (Roethke lines 1-2). Not only does he feel dizzy, but later he also gets hit by his father's belt which scrapes his ear. However, the outcomes of the two stories are different. In "Fiesta 1980" the boy ends up having practically zero love for his father. Dad is a traitor and Yunior can't stand it. Every time Yunior gets into the van he feels like throwing, because of the repugnance he feels towards his father. He can no longer hold back, as we read in the story: "I finally said, Mami, and they both looked back, already knowing what was happening" (Diaz). The two parents.