Alternative Title for "Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying"

              If I were to change the title of a short story I would change the title of Alice Sola Kim’s “Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying” to “Daughters Lock Up Your Mothers Because They Are Terrifying”.

             

              Kim’s story revolves around the journey of three girls Mini, Caroline, and Ronnie and how a supernatural being named Mom effected their lives. We learned the three best friends were longing for individual attention, a support system, and a relationship more than their friendship. When I first read this story, I never understood the purpose of the title as it made the daughters seem like terrible children. I deciphered the story as three girls who were struggling with family, school, and simply managing stress. The girls weren’t terrifying rather they were acting out because their parents weren’t fulfilling the position they needed.

            

             I switched the title to “Daughters Lock Up Your Mothers Because They Are Terrifying” because the supernatural being Mom was terrifying and should’ve remained locked up. Mom impacted the girls negatively almost causing a car crash and pitting the girls against one another. There life got “better” with Mom as it provided them a sense of importance. They had someone who almost aggressively but openly loved them. The girls enjoyed this until Mom made it a competition of who she loved most. When Mom was locked up again the girls finally realized how fortunate they were to have each other. Mom was the problem and the daughters were her solution. Mom was locked up for a terrifying reason and Mini Caroline, and Ronnie discovered that. She had the power of control and manipulation and held it over the girl’s heads. Even Ronnie who didn’t fall into the trap was forced to live with Mom in the end. The daughters should’ve never freed Mom and Mom shouldn’t have locked them up.