Final: In Relations By Mayli Vang

Final: In Relations by Mayli Vang, uses contrasts in desires of the family members in order to show how divided the family is. The father of the family is dead, absent from the speaker's life, yet he lives on in the “wallet-size picture” (5) which she still has of him. In his absence, he is still present through inanimate objects. This being put at the very beginning of the passage sets a tone over the rest of the characters, portraying an idea of brokenness and search for meaning in other outlets. The mother’s contrasts are shown through her fear of the outside world, yet she sows patches with meanings such as, “Make New Friends and Keep the Old as Silver, the New Ones Gold” (13-14). Either from her husband’s death or some other conflict,