I Stand Here Ironing And Everyday Use
Comparing the Approach to Parenting in
“I stand here ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
The short stories “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker contain many similarities, both authors stress the importance of family and the struggles involved in family dynamics. In each story a mother is showing concern in regards to their relationship with their children due to past and present life obstacles.
In the story, “I stand here ironing” the mother and narrator of the story describes her life as a single mother. She explains that she had to work many long hours, which left a small amount of time to spend with her daughter Emily. She started leaving Emily with her neighbor at a young age and then started her in daycare around the age of two. The narrator felt guilty because she didn’t feel much of a motherly connection with Emily because she always had to leave her in someone else’s care and didn’t feel joy towards Emily like she did with her other children. The narrator came to this conclusion when the neighbor explained “You should smile at Emily more when you look at her.” (Olsen) As Emily grew older she developed a wonderful sense of humor and her mother always wondered how this was possible with her upbringing.
In Walker’s “Everyday Use” the mother and narrator is described as a hard …show more content…
These authors show that although a mother can be in their daughter’s life, they can’t always control how their daughters turn out different from what they expected. For example, Dee turned out different than Mama expected all because her own experiences in life. However, in “I Stand Here Ironing” it is unclear as to why Emily turned out to be so talented with a great sense of humor, despite her childhood. Although the relationships from each story are completely different, it just shows the same point that mothers can’t control the outcome of their daughter’s
“I stand here ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
The short stories “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker contain many similarities, both authors stress the importance of family and the struggles involved in family dynamics. In each story a mother is showing concern in regards to their relationship with their children due to past and present life obstacles.
In the story, “I stand here ironing” the mother and narrator of the story describes her life as a single mother. She explains that she had to work many long hours, which left a small amount of time to spend with her daughter Emily. She started leaving Emily with her neighbor at a young age and then started her in daycare around the age of two. The narrator felt guilty because she didn’t feel much of a motherly connection with Emily because she always had to leave her in someone else’s care and didn’t feel joy towards Emily like she did with her other children. The narrator came to this conclusion when the neighbor explained “You should smile at Emily more when you look at her.” (Olsen) As Emily grew older she developed a wonderful sense of humor and her mother always wondered how this was possible with her upbringing.
In Walker’s “Everyday Use” the mother and narrator is described as a hard …show more content…
These authors show that although a mother can be in their daughter’s life, they can’t always control how their daughters turn out different from what they expected. For example, Dee turned out different than Mama expected all because her own experiences in life. However, in “I Stand Here Ironing” it is unclear as to why Emily turned out to be so talented with a great sense of humor, despite her childhood. Although the relationships from each story are completely different, it just shows the same point that mothers can’t control the outcome of their daughter’s