This course will explore the unique experience of the woman writer. Studying works written by women from a variety of cultures, races and classes will reveal how being a woman has influenced the woman writer's creative interpretation of the human condition.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Blog #4 "I Stand Here Ironing" and "Everyday Use"
Our theme for this coming week's stories is parenting. What is the major conflict each parent faces in these two stories? Find a quote that examines this conflict and discuss it.
For both these short stories, the parents face the conflict of trying to be the ideal mother society would like them to be. This is so because they are expected to be these selfless individuals who can do anything without the realization that motherhood is hard and when there is so much you can do for your children, that is all you have. In both " I Stand Here Ironing" and "Everyday Use" the mothers are faced with opposite daughters, in the sense that they both have daughters where in one is the ideal acceptance of society and the other is the odd one out. Of course, the mothers are poor and try their very best to make ends meet and do the best they can for their children, but at the same time they themselves are learning more "idealistic" ways of raising their children. For both stories, the daughters are always at some sort of competition and the one that is accepted socially is favored by the family and the outside world. With that being said, the mothers do notice the difference between the daughters and the different potentials they may possess, while at the same time is grateful they are not seen as socially accepted because that would be another burden upon the ones they have to face everyday not only within themselves but those around them as well. Within the story "I Stand Here Ironing", the mother says, "I will never total it all now. I will never come in and say: She was a child seldom smiled at. Her father left me before she was a year old. I worked her first six years when there was work, or I sent her home to his relatives.... " and in "Everyday Use", the mother says, "I am the way my daughter would want me to be; a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancakes. My hair glistens in the hot sun bright lights." Both these quotes shows the contrast within how these women are seen in society and what they should be. They are looked down upon if their child isn't 'normal' and therefore is seen as not doing what they need to do. When their daughters are deemed acceptable in society, they start wishing their mother wasn't the way they were, or trying to hide who they really are. In the end, society expresses the way motherhood should be and what is expected of a woman without realizing that there are more factors to motherhood than most think, and these mothers do the best they can with the little knowledge they had before hand and while doing the job.
In both short stories, the parents face the conflict of trying to be the best mother they can be and be what society excepts them to be. Being a mother hard especially when you have children to care for. Both mothers are poor but at same time learn more about motherhood as well as accepting there daughter how they are. In both stories they have opposite daughter were one is odd and the other one is more like society would want. “ I stand here ironing” the mother says “she was a child seldom smiled at. Her father left me before she was a year old. I worked six years when there was work, or I sent her home to his relatives.” The mother here is alone and only wants the best for her daughter and in times like this you do what you have to do for the good of your child. At the end of both stories both mothers realize that there is more to motherhood than they thought they knew.
In both the short stories “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “Every Day Use” by Alice Walker, the mothers are poor and try their best to raise their children despite the many obstacles they face. Both women try to be the best mother they can be despite society’s expectations that they should be perfect. But despite all of this both mothers want what is best for their child and at the end realize that there is more to motherhood than they initially believed and that no matter how old your child is, they are never too old to receive support. For example, in “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, “Only help her believe -----help make it so there is cause for her to believe that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” This quote also proves as evidence to the fact that the mothers want more for their children than they, themselves were able to achieve.
I agree with this because you can tell the mothers wanted more for their children in "I Stand Here Ironing" she may not have made the best decisions in the eyes of society but she had to do what she had to do in order to provide for her daughter. I agree with your post 100%
In "i Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, the mother is overwhelmed by sadness over how the natural course of things, (due to her husbands departure and the need to work), has distanced her from her first child,Emily, and how the instability of their situation has led to Emily having emotional problems along with depression. " I was a young mother , i was a distracted mother,There was the other children pushing up, demanding. Her younger sister was all that she was not...My wisdom came too late...She is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear." And as depicted above in the quote, the mother was torn over how she was unknowingly or otherwise, partial with her maternal love. Similar to that in "Everyday Use" , Alice Walker depicts a mother who is partial with her maternal love, brought about by situation caused by the natural course of things. When Dee tries to take the voltage quilt that was namely maggie's, the mother reacts in a way that clearly depicts her favor. "hugged maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilt out of Miss Wangero's hand /Dee and dumped them into Maggie's lap."
In both of these stories I saw two mothers who were trying to be good mothers to their children while also struggling to make ends meet. I think that both of these mothers were both in a place where they were trying to figure out their children's behavior. In "I stand here ironing" the mother is looking back on the way she raised one of her children and how she had something to do with the way that Emily secludes herself from people, while reading this I felt like in some way she was trying to justify the decisions that she made when it came to her daughter. One thing that was common in both of these stories was that there was a conflict between sisters where one sister felt inferior to the other, in "I stand here ironing" it was between Emily and Susan and in "Everyday use" we see this conflict between Maggie and Dee, where Maggie felt very insecure about herself in comparison to the beautiful outgoing Dee "Maggie would be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe". I think that both of these mothers felt really bad for their daughters having these issues and tried to figure out where they went wrong while trying to be good mothers.
Strange, but daughters have a harder time connecting with their mothers than sons. In these short stories "I stand here ironing" by Tillie Olsen and "Everyday Use"by Alice Walker, we take a look at mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships and how society characterize "good mothers". In Olsen's work, the mother don't know where she went wrong since she did what the books said. Olsen wrote, "I did like the books said." The mother thought by following the books and by doing what society thinks "good mothers" are she was a good mother, "There were all the acts of love". She was a single poor mother who was trying to do the best for her daughter but what she was forgetting and what she didn't read in the books is that you have to be there physical for her. When Emily needed her the most, in her young years, her mother wasn't there for her because she was working trying to make ends meet. When Emily needed a shoulder to cry on her mother wasn't there so she was left to cry on her own which unfortunely led to her depression. This text is very similar to the other text "Everyday Use" because we have another poor mother srtuggling to raise her daughters, Maggie and Dee. She too is tramatized by society's views of being this ideal mother. Her daughters Maggie and Dee who are very different and feel the need as being in competition with one another. One daughter feels this sense of feeling as the other being superior and favored more by the mother. The mother not intentionally but show more favoritism towards one daughter because that daughter is what society thinks is correct.
" My wisdom came too late." The conflict that the mother has in "I stand here ironing" is that she feels bad about how her oldest daughter has grown up. She wanted to be a good mother, but she didn't know how to. Also she struggled with a job so she couldn't take care of her as often as she wanted. Then when she had a another baby, she couldn't care for her oldest as often so she was sent away to boarding school. When she returned she could see the difference in the two children and felt bad that they didn't grow up the same and she couldn't have done more for her. She had other children and they had a better upbringing, so she says her wisdom came too late to help her oldest.
In the two stories, the mothers express a sense of concern for what society will ultimately do to their daughters. Being a mother is not an easy task, specially when you are so harshly judged by the society, the people who stand on the outside of what you are living and having to struggle. I think that the mother is so deeply concerned to how her daughter turns out to be because she will become the physical and living representation of the mother's principles and "work". Then, if a daughter is "well-behaved" in terms that accommodate to how their society functions then the mother obtains a sense of relief. On the other hand, if the daughter posses traits that are not praised in that society, she wouldn't be the only one to be put to shame, but her mother as well. This creates, the false illusion of the mother, that thinks that she needs to better her method of raising her children. It is a never ending cycle of self-shaming and a desire to shrink one's self in order to fit into the standards of the society.
Both stories, "I Stand Here Ironing" and "Everyday Use" are stories of poor mothers raising children. One family is white and one family is black. The white mother had her first child young and the father abandoned her. The daughter was often sickly as a child and as she grew older, she wasn't the ideal girl the society liked and there was often comparisons. For example the book says " but only between Emily and Susan, no Emily toward Susan that corroding resentment...Susan, the second child, Susan, golden and curly haired and chubby, quick and articulate...Emily was not." The black mother was also poor and raising 2 girls. In the story there was a fire and I think the youngest daughter was hurt. The oldest daughter always dreamed of bigger things and left home. When she returned home she had a man and a new name. She was trying to take her mothers things and went to take a quilt. The mother's mother and sister made it an the mother was saving it for the youngest daughter. The oldest daughter tried to take it anyway and the mother adamantly said no, The oldest got upset and said "You ought to try and make something of yourself, too, Maggie. Its really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it."
In the story "I stand here Ironing" The mother tells the story how raising her daughter Emily is becoming a burden and how hard it can be because of sad, and draining it can be. The father of Emily left them to fen for themselves. The mother says how when she was a baby she was full of life and was a happy baby. But when she went away, her attitude changed. Then Susan came along and she became the center of attention. The jokes and riddles Emily would tell her, Susan would go and preform the jokes as if it was her. Then Emily would tell her mom that it was those was her jokes. In "Everyday Use" The oldest is sent to college. when she returns she is back with a new name. Her changing her name was her way of shedding her past and creating a new life. The oldest have a hard time connecting with her younger sister Maggie. Maggie is shy and has low self esteem. Unlike her sister who out there and in your face. Deja-ne' Gordon
In the short stories, Tillie Olsen's “I Stand Here Ironing”, and Alice Walker's “Everyday Use”, both speak about the issue of a mother's guilt on how their children turned out to be. Both mothers blamed themselves for their daughter's problems. In “I Stand Here Ironing” the mother tells us she feels guilty for the lack of love and affection that was given to her daughter. The mother's neighbor tells her she should "smile at Emily more when you look at her." Towards the end of the short story Emily's mother admits "my wisdom came too late." In “Everyday Use”, it was obvious that Dee turned out different than her mother expected, due to an education and experiencing life in different times. Dee was independent and left her mother to live the city life. Dee acts as if she better than her mother and sister because she is educated and left the lifestyle she grew up in. I think in the end both of the mothers realize their daughters are okay the way they are. They come to accept their daughter’s success and their independence . Not everyone can be improved and be successful, growing up the way they did.
In both stories Everyday Use by Alice Walker and I stand here ironing by Tillie Olsen parenting is difficult especially with struggle financially and parents wanting what’s best for their children better than what the parent is. But with society interfering with how parenting should be it can be more difficult for the parent. Despite what the parents go through with their child they still manage to work things out together because they know that’s all they have is each other. This quote proves it “Your heritage.. “ you ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie it’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still lived you’d never know it.” The quote explains on matter what they go through as long as they still have their heritage and something going for themselves, they can get through anything they encounter.
The major conflict that the mother faces in “I Stand Here Ironing” explains, “Let her be. So all that is in her will not bloom—but in how many does it? There is still enough left to live by. Only help her to believe – help make it so there is cause for her to believe that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” (39) She was a single parent while raising her first daughter Susan she did not have the experience of being a mother first hand due to this being her first child she had to find work in order to provide for her daughter Emily, she was so busy working she did not have enough time to spend with her daughter but she wanted to help her daughter out in every ways possible in order for her to be stable. She sent her away in order for her to gain weight again due to Emily being sick. The mother also had other children for another man who became her husband. Her daughter found her own path she felt that she wants to be in control on her life from now on due to the many experiences she learned in life and by also using her talent of comedy as her craft. Her mother believed that in this point in her life she should become whatever she would like so she doesn’t end up not happy not accomplishing her dream and staying helpless. The major conflict that the mother faces in “Everyday Use” states, “In real life I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man.” (40) I think this is a major conflict simply because its rare that woman could play the role of both man and woman in the labor and butchering areas. I find this to be significant actually because this showed her daughters how to be liberated and take on roles which expresses their belief and the value and their culture in the ending result.
In both these short stories, "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen and "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, involve a similar conflict of trying to be the best mother they can possibly be and be what society excepts them to be. A mother is a hard duty especially when you have children to care for. In these short stories the mothers are in bad financial terms but don't give up on learning about motherhood as well as accepting their daughter the way they are. In “ I stand here ironing” the mother tells us a story of how hard, depressing and sad it was to raise her daughter Emily. To her it was a burden because the mother states how Emily's father left them to care for themselves. To the mother it was sad because when she was a baby, she was a happy one, she lived a great happy life. And she feels guilt because of not enough affection given to her daughter Emily rather than Susan who received all the attention.Things weren't the same for her. In "Everyday Use", Dee was an independent girl who left her mother to live the life she wanted which to her was the city. Dee felt she was better than both her mother and sister which is the reason she left and enjoyed her time. In the end of both stories, the mothers I believe in a way accepted their daughters the way they are and that their okay with the behavior.
a clear story that raising a child or children is not an easy battle. in "Everyday use" one can clearly see how the mother understood she could have been a better parent to her children if she would have had the skills to do so. She didn't have less love for her different daughters she just couldn't do for one like she did for the other.
In both short stories "Every Day Use" by Alice Walker and "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, I think both of the mothers are trying to be the best mother they can be and they are trying their best to raise their children better than they were brought up. The part where she says "help make it so there is cause for her to believe that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” this quote shows that she wishes she can give more to her daughter and she is just trying to be the best mother she can possibly be.
" Everyday use" and "I stand here Ironing" share a financial common struggle to help their children succeed. In "every day use " by Alice Walker after loosing their home Maggie and her mother manage to raise money to send Dee to school. She has always been different from her sister and unhappy with where they live and the things they own. She was also embarrassed of the place where she lived. The day she returned to visit her mother she is a new person that now seems to strikingly appreciate the things she once felt embarrass with. Dee also prefers to be called "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo".Parenting becomes an issue when her mother recognize an air of superiority in wangero against her family. Even thou she now appreciate her roots Wangero sees her sister with inferiority when she ask if she could keep a quilt that has been in the family for a few generations and that have emotional significance to the family. The quilt was promised to Wangero's sister, Maggie. Wangero puts down her sister by assuming she will use the quilt for everyday use rather than hang it as a piece of art as she would. Maggie with fear saids she could have it but her mother with courage and and deception in Wangero's personality says: "When i looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down the soles of my feet.Just like when I Am in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout. I did something I never done before : hugged Maggie to me ,then dragged her onto the room, snatched the quilts out f Miss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap.Maggie just sat there in my bed with her mouth open." Alice walker in this paragraph describes a lamented decision against Wangero. Parenting has been a challenge and continues to test her with life struggles and the development of the personalities of both of her daughters. she wishes her daughter Wangero someday could be brought together and appreciate her family and the sacrifices her and her sister Maggie have overcome to educate Wangero, rather than been seeing with inferiority. At the same time she wishes she could help Maggie gain self confidence after the accident she suffered. In "I stand here ironing " a similar case occurred in a girl named Emily who lived during the times of depression , while her mother struggled to make money and also keep her by her side in a very crucial stage of Emily's childhood. Her mother was not able to influence her daughter's with psychological and physical bonds, because of the financial struggles she had to face as a single mother. "I was a young mother , I was a distracted mother, There was the other children pushing up, demanding. Her younger sister was all that she was not. My wisdom came too late. She has much in her and probably nothing will come of it. She is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear." Emily's mother faces a sentiment of pain and guilt and also accepts her daughter for whom she is and hopes that she self-heals herself with the help of her love ones ,so that she dont continue to feel helpless against the world that had shaped her personality. The struggle of these two parents is that they could not avoid the end results of their children's personalities because of their financial circumstances.
For both these short stories, the parents face the conflict of trying to be the ideal mother society would like them to be. This is so because they are expected to be these selfless individuals who can do anything without the realization that motherhood is hard and when there is so much you can do for your children, that is all you have. In both " I Stand Here Ironing" and "Everyday Use" the mothers are faced with opposite daughters, in the sense that they both have daughters where in one is the ideal acceptance of society and the other is the odd one out. Of course, the mothers are poor and try their very best to make ends meet and do the best they can for their children, but at the same time they themselves are learning more "idealistic" ways of raising their children. For both stories, the daughters are always at some sort of competition and the one that is accepted socially is favored by the family and the outside world. With that being said, the mothers do notice the difference between the daughters and the different potentials they may possess, while at the same time is grateful they are not seen as socially accepted because that would be another burden upon the ones they have to face everyday not only within themselves but those around them as well. Within the story "I Stand Here Ironing", the mother says, "I will never total it all now. I will never come in and say: She was a child seldom smiled at. Her father left me before she was a year old. I worked her first six years when there was work, or I sent her home to his relatives.... " and in "Everyday Use", the mother says, "I am the way my daughter would want me to be; a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancakes. My hair glistens in the hot sun bright lights." Both these quotes shows the contrast within how these women are seen in society and what they should be. They are looked down upon if their child isn't 'normal' and therefore is seen as not doing what they need to do. When their daughters are deemed acceptable in society, they start wishing their mother wasn't the way they were, or trying to hide who they really are. In the end, society expresses the way motherhood should be and what is expected of a woman without realizing that there are more factors to motherhood than most think, and these mothers do the best they can with the little knowledge they had before hand and while doing the job.
ReplyDeleteIn both short stories, the parents face the conflict of trying to be the best mother they can be and be what society excepts them to be. Being a mother hard especially when you have children to care for. Both mothers are poor but at same time learn more about motherhood as well as accepting there daughter how they are. In both stories they have opposite daughter were one is odd and the other one is more like society would want. “ I stand here ironing” the mother says “she was a child seldom smiled at. Her father left me before she was a year old. I worked six years when there was work, or I sent her home to his relatives.” The mother here is alone and only wants the best for her daughter and in times like this you do what you have to do for the good of your child. At the end of both stories both mothers realize that there is more to motherhood than they thought they knew.
ReplyDeleteIn both the short stories “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “Every Day Use” by Alice Walker, the mothers are poor and try their best to raise their children despite the many obstacles they face. Both women try to be the best mother they can be despite society’s expectations that they should be perfect. But despite all of this both mothers want what is best for their child and at the end realize that there is more to motherhood than they initially believed and that no matter how old your child is, they are never too old to receive support. For example, in “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, “Only help her believe -----help make it so there is cause for her to believe that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” This quote also proves as evidence to the fact that the mothers want more for their children than they, themselves were able to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this because you can tell the mothers wanted more for their children in "I Stand Here Ironing" she may not have made the best decisions in the eyes of society but she had to do what she had to do in order to provide for her daughter. I agree with your post 100%
DeleteIn "i Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, the mother is overwhelmed by sadness over how the natural course of things, (due to her husbands departure and the need to work), has distanced her from her first child,Emily, and how the instability of their situation has led to Emily having emotional problems along with depression. " I was a young mother , i was a distracted mother,There was the other children pushing up, demanding. Her younger sister was all that she was not...My wisdom came too late...She is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear." And as depicted above in the quote, the mother was torn over how she was unknowingly or otherwise, partial with her maternal love.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to that in "Everyday Use" , Alice Walker depicts a mother who is partial with her maternal love, brought about by situation caused by the natural course of things. When Dee tries to take the voltage quilt that was namely maggie's, the mother reacts in a way that clearly depicts her favor. "hugged maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilt out of Miss Wangero's hand /Dee and dumped them into Maggie's lap."
In both of these stories I saw two mothers who were trying to be good mothers to their children while also struggling to make ends meet. I think that both of these mothers were both in a place where they were trying to figure out their children's behavior. In "I stand here ironing" the mother is looking back on the way she raised one of her children and how she had something to do with the way that Emily secludes herself from people, while reading this I felt like in some way she was trying to justify the decisions that she made when it came to her daughter. One thing that was common in both of these stories was that there was a conflict between sisters where one sister felt inferior to the other, in "I stand here ironing" it was between Emily and Susan and in "Everyday use" we see this conflict between Maggie and Dee, where Maggie felt very insecure about herself in comparison to the beautiful outgoing Dee "Maggie would be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe". I think that both of these mothers felt really bad for their daughters having these issues and tried to figure out where they went wrong while trying to be good mothers.
ReplyDeleteStrange, but daughters have a harder time connecting with their mothers than sons. In these short stories "I stand here ironing" by Tillie Olsen and "Everyday Use"by Alice Walker, we take a look at mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships and how society characterize "good mothers". In Olsen's work, the mother don't know where she went wrong since she did what the books said. Olsen wrote, "I did like the books said." The mother thought by following the books and by doing what society thinks "good mothers" are she was a good mother, "There were all the acts of love". She was a single poor mother who was trying to do the best for her daughter but what she was forgetting and what she didn't read in the books is that you have to be there physical for her. When Emily needed her the most, in her young years, her mother wasn't there for her because she was working trying to make ends meet. When Emily needed a shoulder to cry on her mother wasn't there so she was left to cry on her own which unfortunely led to her depression. This text is very similar to the other text "Everyday Use" because we have another poor mother srtuggling to raise her daughters, Maggie and Dee. She too is tramatized by society's views of being this ideal mother. Her daughters Maggie and Dee who are very different and feel the need as being in competition with one another. One daughter feels this sense of feeling as the other being superior and favored more by the mother. The mother not intentionally but show more favoritism towards one daughter because that daughter is what society thinks is correct.
ReplyDelete" My wisdom came too late." The conflict that the mother has in "I stand here ironing" is that she feels bad about how her oldest daughter has grown up. She wanted to be a good mother, but she didn't know how to. Also she struggled with a job so she couldn't take care of her as often as she wanted. Then when she had a another baby, she couldn't care for her oldest as often so she was sent away to boarding school. When she returned she could see the difference in the two children and felt bad that they didn't grow up the same and she couldn't have done more for her. She had other children and they had a better upbringing, so she says her wisdom came too late to help her oldest.
ReplyDeleteIn the two stories, the mothers express a sense of concern for what society will ultimately do to their daughters. Being a mother is not an easy task, specially when you are so harshly judged by the society, the people who stand on the outside of what you are living and having to struggle. I think that the mother is so deeply concerned to how her daughter turns out to be because she will become the physical and living representation of the mother's principles and "work". Then, if a daughter is "well-behaved" in terms that accommodate to how their society functions then the mother obtains a sense of relief. On the other hand, if the daughter posses traits that are not praised in that society, she wouldn't be the only one to be put to shame, but her mother as well. This creates, the false illusion of the mother, that thinks that she needs to better her method of raising her children. It is a never ending cycle of self-shaming and a desire to shrink one's self in order to fit into the standards of the society.
ReplyDeleteBoth stories, "I Stand Here Ironing" and "Everyday Use" are stories of poor mothers raising children. One family is white and one family is black. The white mother had her first child young and the father abandoned her. The daughter was often sickly as a child and as she grew older, she wasn't the ideal girl the society liked and there was often comparisons. For example the book says " but only between Emily and Susan, no Emily toward Susan that corroding resentment...Susan, the second child, Susan, golden and curly haired and chubby, quick and articulate...Emily was not." The black mother was also poor and raising 2 girls. In the story there was a fire and I think the youngest daughter was hurt. The oldest daughter always dreamed of bigger things and left home. When she returned home she had a man and a new name. She was trying to take her mothers things and went to take a quilt. The mother's mother and sister made it an the mother was saving it for the youngest daughter. The oldest daughter tried to take it anyway and the mother adamantly said no, The oldest got upset and said "You ought to try and make something of yourself, too, Maggie. Its really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it."
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThese are great comments. I'm looking forward to discussing these stories in class this week.
ReplyDelete-Professor Berke
In the story "I stand here Ironing" The mother tells the story how raising her daughter Emily is becoming a burden and how hard it can be because of sad, and draining it can be. The father of Emily left them to fen for themselves. The mother says how when she was a baby she was full of life and was a happy baby. But when she went away, her attitude changed. Then Susan came along and she became the center of attention. The jokes and riddles Emily would tell her, Susan would go and preform the jokes as if it was her. Then Emily would tell her mom that it was those was her jokes. In "Everyday Use" The oldest is sent to college. when she returns she is back with a new name. Her changing her name was her way of shedding her past and creating a new life. The oldest have a hard time connecting with her younger sister Maggie. Maggie is shy and has low self esteem. Unlike her sister who out there and in your face.
ReplyDeleteDeja-ne' Gordon
In the short stories, Tillie Olsen's “I Stand Here Ironing”, and Alice Walker's “Everyday Use”, both speak about the issue of a mother's guilt on how their children turned out to be. Both mothers blamed themselves for their daughter's problems. In “I Stand Here Ironing” the mother tells us she feels guilty for the lack of love and affection that was given to her daughter. The mother's neighbor tells her she should "smile at Emily more when you look at her." Towards the end of the short story Emily's mother admits "my wisdom came too late." In “Everyday Use”, it was obvious that Dee turned out different than her mother expected, due to an education and experiencing life in different times. Dee was independent and left her mother to live the city life. Dee acts as if she better than her mother and sister because she is educated and left the lifestyle she grew up in. I think in the end both of the mothers realize their daughters are okay the way they are. They come to accept their daughter’s success and their independence . Not everyone can be improved and be successful, growing up the way they did.
ReplyDeleteIn both stories Everyday Use by Alice Walker and I stand here ironing by Tillie Olsen parenting is difficult especially with struggle financially and parents wanting what’s best for their children better than what the parent is. But with society interfering with how parenting should be it can be more difficult for the parent. Despite what the parents go through with their child they still manage to work things out together because they know that’s all they have is each other. This quote proves it “Your heritage.. “ you ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie it’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still lived you’d never know it.” The quote explains on matter what they go through as long as they still have their heritage and something going for themselves, they can get through anything they encounter.
ReplyDeleteThe major conflict that the mother faces in “I Stand Here Ironing” explains, “Let her be. So all that is in her will not bloom—but in how many does it? There is still enough left to live by. Only help her to believe – help make it so there is cause for her to believe that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” (39) She was a single parent while raising her first daughter Susan she did not have the experience of being a mother first hand due to this being her first child she had to find work in order to provide for her daughter Emily, she was so busy working she did not have enough time to spend with her daughter but she wanted to help her daughter out in every ways possible in order for her to be stable. She sent her away in order for her to gain weight again due to Emily being sick. The mother also had other children for another man who became her husband. Her daughter found her own path she felt that she wants to be in control on her life from now on due to the many experiences she learned in life and by also using her talent of comedy as her craft. Her mother believed that in this point in her life she should become whatever she would like so she doesn’t end up not happy not accomplishing her dream and staying helpless.
ReplyDeleteThe major conflict that the mother faces in “Everyday Use” states, “In real life I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man.” (40) I think this is a major conflict simply because its rare that woman could play the role of both man and woman in the labor and butchering areas. I find this to be significant actually because this showed her daughters how to be liberated and take on roles which expresses their belief and the value and their culture in the ending result.
-- Shanelle Hunter
In both these short stories, "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen and "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, involve a similar conflict of trying to be the best mother they can possibly be and be what society excepts them to be. A mother is a hard duty especially when you have children to care for. In these short stories the mothers are in bad financial terms but don't give up on learning about motherhood as well as accepting their daughter the way they are. In “ I stand here ironing” the mother tells us a story of how hard, depressing and sad it was to raise her daughter Emily. To her it was a burden because the mother states how Emily's father left them to care for themselves. To the mother it was sad because when she was a baby, she was a happy one, she lived a great happy life. And she feels guilt because of not enough affection given to her daughter Emily rather than Susan who received all the attention.Things weren't the same for her. In "Everyday Use", Dee was an independent girl who left her mother to live the life she wanted which to her was the city. Dee felt she was better than both her mother and sister which is the reason she left and enjoyed her time. In the end of both stories, the mothers I believe in a way accepted their daughters the way they are and that their okay with the behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree and I also think the mothers accepted their daughters the way they were, too.
Deletea clear story that raising a child or children is not an easy battle. in "Everyday use" one can clearly see how the mother understood she could have been a better parent to her children if she would have had the skills to do so. She didn't have less love for her different daughters she just couldn't do for one like she did for the other.
ReplyDeleteIn both short stories "Every Day Use" by Alice Walker and "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, I think both of the mothers are trying to be the best mother they can be and they are trying their best to raise their children better than they were brought up. The part where she says "help make it so there is cause for her to believe that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” this quote shows that she wishes she can give more to her daughter and she is just trying to be the best mother she can possibly be.
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ReplyDelete" Everyday use" and "I stand here Ironing" share a financial common struggle to help their children succeed. In "every day use " by Alice Walker after loosing their home Maggie and her mother manage to raise money to send Dee to school. She has always been different from her sister and unhappy with where they live and the things they own. She was also embarrassed of the place where she lived. The day she returned to visit her mother she is a new person that now seems to strikingly appreciate the things she once felt embarrass with. Dee also prefers to be called "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo".Parenting becomes an issue when her mother recognize an air of superiority in wangero against her family. Even thou she now appreciate her roots Wangero sees her sister with inferiority when she ask if she could keep a quilt that has been in the family for a few generations and that have emotional significance to the family. The quilt was promised to Wangero's sister, Maggie. Wangero puts down her sister by assuming she will use the quilt for everyday use rather than hang it as a piece of art as she would. Maggie with fear saids she could have it but her mother with courage and and deception in Wangero's personality says: "When i looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down the soles of my feet.Just like when I Am in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout. I did something I never done before : hugged Maggie to me ,then dragged her onto the room, snatched the quilts out f Miss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap.Maggie just sat there in my bed with her mouth open." Alice walker in this paragraph describes a lamented decision against Wangero. Parenting has been a challenge and continues to test her with life struggles and the development of the personalities of both of her daughters. she wishes her daughter Wangero someday could be brought together and appreciate her family and the sacrifices her and her sister Maggie have overcome to educate Wangero, rather than been seeing with inferiority. At the same time she wishes she could help Maggie gain self confidence after the accident she suffered.
In "I stand here ironing " a similar case occurred in a girl named Emily who lived during the times of depression , while her mother struggled to make money and also keep her by her side in a very crucial stage of Emily's childhood. Her mother was not able to influence her daughter's with psychological and physical bonds, because of the financial struggles she had to face as a single mother. "I was a young mother , I was a distracted mother, There was the other children pushing up, demanding. Her younger sister was all that she was not. My wisdom came too late. She has much in her and probably nothing will come of it. She is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear." Emily's mother faces a sentiment of pain and guilt and also accepts her daughter for whom she is and hopes that she self-heals herself with the help of her love ones ,so that she dont continue to feel helpless against the world that had shaped her personality. The struggle of these two parents is that they could not avoid the end results of their children's personalities because of their financial circumstances.
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