In the narrative essay Envy, Campbell recalls a fatherless childhood filled with anger and frustration. Campbell hates the fact that his family is not traditional, and Envy recounts the emotional cataclysm that anticipates his boiling point. Although Campbell receives support and encouragement from a loving mother and grandmother, "those Bosoms," Campbell still longs for the absent part of his family: his father (Moore Campbell 119). Because she attends a school with a very diverse student body, Campbell is reminded that her family does not fit the traditional image. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Campbell is pushed closer and closer to her breaking point by the constant agony and frustration she feels towards her absent father. One day in class, she lashes out at another classmate – “a dollhouse girl” – about her teacher, Miss Bradley. “I don’t care about Miss Bradley. If she bothers me, I will, I will. . . I'm going to take my butcher knife and stab her until she bleeds. (123). Campbell was so flooded with emotion that she broke down. Other students are shocked, as is Miss Bradley. His “gray eyes” penetrated Campbell. (123). Miss Bradley calls Campbell's mother and tells her what happened. All the women in Campbell's family berate her and condemn her actions. His grandmother was particularly angry. They tell Campbell's estranged father about the incident, and he writes Campbell a letter telling him to stay out of trouble, signed with "much love." (130). Campbell doesn't want a letter signed "Much love," instead she wanted her father to "come and slap her butt or shake his finger in her face, or tell her that what she did was wrong." isn't so bad after all. No matter what, [she] just wanted him to come. (130). Campbell faces a lot of personal issues in Envy, so I wasn't surprised when she lashed out at her classmate and teacher. It is extremely difficult for a child to grow up without a significant male presence in their life. This can harm their social development in several ways. Campbell resents his lack of masculinity in his life and dwells on things that will never exist in his family; “In my house, there was no morning stubble, no long johns or Fruit of the Loom on the clothesline, no baritone shouting for keys that were sitting on the table. » (119). Instead, Campbell highlights authoritarian femininity; “I could have died from overexposure to femininity.” (119). “After dark, the snores that emanated from the bedroom were small, subtle moans, worthy of a lady. » (119). Campbell's sudden outburst was foreshadowed in Envy. Classmate Sandra's drawing of "a white house with smoke coming out of the chimney" introduced recognition of racial differences into the essay. (122). Additionally, portraying Sandra as Miss America reinforced feelings of inadequacy and made Campbell feel inferior to her classmates from normal, traditional families. It is evident that the ideal family image was something important, even in Campbell's school setting. Her family was so loving and supportive, pushing her to succeed in everything she did, but Campbell was only just noticing what was missing in her life. Without his absent father, nothing else in his family could make up for it. She overanalyzes what her classmates say and..