Dorthy Parker

There are many ways to express one's self, including art, writing, and the music one listens to. All of these things help people become in sync with others and it helps people show their feelings through the things they enjoy. Dorothy Parker used poetry to describe and let out her feelings about the major events in her life. The poems that best reflect Dorothy Parker’s depressing life include, “A Whistling Girl”, “A Certain Lady”, and “Resume.” The poem “A Whistling Girl” deals with Parker’s childhood. On August 22, 1893 in West End New Jersey, Dorothy Rothschild was born. She was the daughter of Annie Elize and Jacob Rothschild. “Her relative privileged and happy beginnings were brutally cut short by the death of her mother when Parker was only four years old” (Parker 2). The passing of her mother made Parker feel as if she needed to become a more independent person (Parker 1). Her feelings toward her mother’s death made Parker take a new outlook on life. However, the relationship with Parkers stepmother and father was marked by hatred and fear. Dorothy’s father was very hypocritical of the actions Dorothy made and was a very self opinionated man (Spartacus 1). Parker’s stepmother was crazy and treated Dorothy worse than her own children (Parker 3). While being raised by her stepmother and father Dorothy came to realize this was not the life she wanted or the people she wanted to spend life with. Parker’s childhood made her resort to bad decisions as an adult, and her stepmother made many decisions for Parker that she didn’t approve of.
Parker’s stepmother forced her to attend a catholic grammar school (Gale 1). Later, Parker attended Miss Dana’s, an exclusive New Jersey girl’s school, where she received an excellent classical education. At Miss Dana’s she read “La Roche” poetry, wrote poetry, and also became interested in social issues (Gale 2). As her feelings about school and her family changed so did her attitude. Parker began to abruptly act