A Memoir by Antwone Queton Fisher

Finding Fish: An Exploration of Family Violence and Child Abuse

Finding Fish, Antwone Fisher's memoir, is heavily replete with instances of family violence and child abuse. In fact, he used the book to detail the abuse that he and other kids suffered while in the care of different foster families and the government. There was a long history of violence in the Antwone family. Eddie Elkins' father was murdered by a former girlfriend. Antwone experienced family violence and other sorts of cruelty when he moved in with the several families who had chosen to take care of him. Nevertheless, he picked some positive qualities that helped him in his adult life.

The Negative Portrayal of Families in the Book

Most of the families in the book portray negative qualities that weaken their characters. However, there are some strengths associated with these families that could have provided positive upbringing for Antwone had they outweighed the weaknesses. First, the book introduces the Elkins family, his grandparents. His grandfather was a doctor who had two jobs while the grandmother was a housewife. The family held a prestigious position in the community, and Antwone's grandmother did everything she could to guarantee that her family was fed and received proper care. The family was tight-knit and enjoyed a good life, so the care Antwone's grandmother showed for her family was vital for catering to the physical needs of a child.

The Strengths of the Fisher Family

Second, the Fisher family, which is his mother's side, also had some strengths. Although Antwone's mother was incarcerated, she wanted her son to get the right upbringing. It was important to her that her son live a better life than she did that shows her strength. In fact, she visited Antwone several times when he was removed from her custody to ensure she got the right treatment. In this instance, Antwone's mother applies Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory of development. According to this theory, children who get caregivers who are able to provide their basic needs grow to become trusting adults while those who lack such caregivers develop mistrust in their future relations (Harmening, 2010). The strengths of the family were important in ensuring Antwone went to caregivers who could provide for his needs.

The Weaknesses of the Pickett Family

Third, the Pickett family is mostly characterized by weaknesses that affect a child's development. In fact, the only strength that the family shows is a strong religious belief. Antwone went to live with this family when he was two years old. Apart from exercising religion, this family was a major problem for Antwone and other children who lived there. Mrs. Pickett was verbally abusive to the children hence the family had no love, protection, or safety for the children. Antwone was constantly seeking these three components and never found them in the Pickett household making it an unsuitable environment to raise a child.

The Impact of Social Welfare and Cultural Aspects

The social welfare system that cared for Antwone had minimal strengths as it allowed the children to experience abuse. The only strength it displayed was the attention it gave to satisfying the physical needs of the children. The families that got the foster children had to prove the ability to care for them. As a result, it protected their physical requirements, especially their nutritional necessities. Access to adequate food and a balanced diet are vital to the proper development of a child. Enabling the children who passed through the system to get such provisions secured their future health and mental status by reducing the possibility that they would become sick.

Cultural Aspects that Influence the Families' Strengths

Carter (2002) asserts the significant effect of religion on the lives of African Americans that motivates their decisions, including their health choices. Spirituality plays a major role in the strengths shown by the Pickett family. Her husband is a preacher in the community, and it is the need to uphold their status in the community that drives them to attempt to instill a strong religious foundation in their children. They attend church services regularly. During the services, the children are expected to stand in the church and give testimony. Despite the nature of the treatment the children experience in the Pickett family, it tried to give them a strong religious foundation that is common in the African American culture.

Another aspect of the culture that could have influenced the strengths exhibited by these families is a strong parental authority. Among African American families parents command significant influence over their children's lives. They control the majority of the choices they make in life. The control children exercise over their children is the reason that Antwone's mother takes part in the choice of the person or family that will care for him in the initial stages of his life. Antwone's mother decides that it is best for him to stay with her mother. Although she later neglects him, the strong parental authority introduces him to his grandparents providing a secure environment for him to stay in the first part of his life.

Types of Child Maltreatment

In the Elkins, Fisher, and Pickett families, various forms of child maltreatment occur. First, the Pickett family exposes Antwone and the other children to verbal abuse. Mrs. Pickett constantly calls the children names, for example, nigga, that trigger feelings of inadequacy in them. Antwone begins to envy the light-skinned children assuming they are better than him. Additionally, the lack of choice is a form of maltreatment the children encounter in the household. Antwone writes, "Church can be every evening on weekdays and on Sundays, it's all day" (Fisher, 2003 p.64). Sexual abuse is also a part of his life in this homestead.

In the Elkins and Fisher's homes, there is little child maltreatment except for the lack of parental love. In the two homes, Antwone lived with his grandparents, the Elkins being his father's parents and the Fisher's his mother's parents. In both homes, he receives proper care but lacks his mother's love and father's attention. As a result, Antwone only experiences the lack of parental love as the biggest form of child maltreatment. Fortunately, his grandparents give him the other needs until they can no longer do so, forcing him to move to another foster home that exposes him to the Pickett family.

Antwone's Placement with the Pickett Family

Some of the indicators of maltreatment that Antwone indicated in the Pickett household include withdrawal, neglect, and a lack of self-esteem. Due to the sexual abuse he undergoes in the hands of the babysitter, Antwone becomes withdrawn, refusing to engage her. Mrs. Pickett also constantly beats him, driving Antwone to prefer staying away from her. Antwone also faces neglect in the homestead. The Pickett family refuses to provide for his basic needs. He goes to school in shoes that are completely worn out on a rainy and freezing day. He also has low self-esteem. From the abuse and beatings Mrs. Pickett metes on him, Antwone loses his confidence. He is jealous of lighter-skinned children whom he assumes have a better life than his by virtue of their skin color.

In the Pickett family, the dynamics that make it possible for maltreatment to occur are neglect, physical abuse parents, and the failure to assess visitors' characters. Mr. and Mrs. Pickett have little time for their children, preferring to focus on other things in their lives. As a result, they disregard the needs of the children, especially the physical needs. In addition, the parents have no time to examine the qualities of the people they allow to interact with the children. Such disregard creates an opportunity for Willenda to sexually abuse Antwone. Finally, physical abuse also permits maltreatment. Mrs. Pickett resorts to physical abuse as a way to teach discipline to the children. Her way of disciplining children permits maltreatment as it normalizes the physical abuse that they undergo.

The maltreatment in the household raises three problems in Antwone's future development: low self-esteem, aggression, and physical health problems. Due to the emotional abuse Mrs. Pickett exposes the foster children to in the home, Antwone feels inadequate, constantly comparing himself to others, especially the light-skinned individuals, leading to problems in adulthood. The abuse also makes him defensive to the point of using physical aggression. He beats up a fellow sailor who calls him gay during his service in the navy, leading to more problems. Finally, the physical and emotional abuse makes him refuse associations with the opposite sex. It is the withdrawal that makes a fellow sailor consider him gay, which puts Antwone into more problems.

Parental authority and religion may have increased the likelihood of abuse in the family. The two allocate great emphasis on the need for children to obey their parents and respect them. The parental authority may have increased the maltreatment as it gives the Pickett's power to control the children. In this case, the Pickett's chose to exercise that control in the wrong way by abusing them. Religious beliefs that children should obey their parents also increased the risk of the maltreatment by subjugating the children. Incessant religious practices may have contributed to the behavior by discouraging the children from speaking about the abuse as they considered it as going against the religious practices.

Implications and Recommendations

In Antwone's story, it is evident that foster homes can present challenges to the children who have to stay there. It also reveals that there is a need for greater assessment of the parents who accept foster children into their homes. Culturally competent social work would have aimed to comprehend the cultural influences that make the parents behave the way they did. Issues such as religion and the relationship between children and their parents would be a major consideration in this case. After knowing the cultural motivations, the next step is to create interventions that target the improvement of behaviors and attitudes of both the parents and children. In the story, the impact of professional practice is the need to engage both parents and children, acknowledging the relevance of culture in the way the two sides behave and think when providing social services.

References

Anthwone, F. (2003). Finding fish: A memoir. New York, NY: Harper Collins

Carter, H. J. (2002). Religion/spirituality in African-American culture: An essential aspect of psychiatric care. Journal of the National Medical Association, 94 (5): 371-375.

Harmenig, W. M. (2010). The criminal triad: Psychosocial development of the criminal personality type. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.