The mother in the short story “I Stand Here Ironing” and the mother in the poem “Daystar” are very important characters. The mother in “I stand Here Ironing” has a negative personality. She is very powerless. On page 80‚ the mother says‚ “You think because I am her mother I have a key‚ or that in some way you could use me as a key?” This shows just because she is the mother that doesn’t mean she has this magic to help. She has a very negative attitude instead of being happy. Her place in society
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The short stories‚ Eveline by James Joyce and I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen show the struggle of raising children with little to no money at all while also being single parents. Eveline’s story is different compared to Emily’s‚ the child being raised in I Stand Here Ironing‚ because she grows up with a father whereas Emily grows up with a mother. Also Eveline’s mother did not leave her family behind purposely; she died because of some sort of illness that is not stated in the story. Emily’s
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Santiago 5 4 Oct 2015 The Iron (Fist) of the Circumstance “I Stand Here Ironing”‚ by Tillie Olsen‚ is a story told by an unnamed mother who struggles to balance family and financial stability. The mother retells her experience raising Emily‚ the oldest daughter of the family‚ who faces both emotional and physical hardships such as depression‚ separation from her family‚ and illness. Throughout the story‚ the mother is constantly ironing clothes‚ symbolising her maternal duties that ironically keep
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I Stand Here Ironing- Exploring the Text Some of the main themes that are exemplified in the work include ideals of family connections‚ stifling beauty expectations‚ the daily life of motherhood‚ etc. The ironing board represents the life of a housewife‚ and the repetitive chores that ensue. It shows the mother is the responsible head of the house during the war‚ and thus the caretaker. The act of ironing may symbolize the mother’s attempt to iron through‚ work through‚ or smooth out what is happening
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“I Stand Here Ironing” Responses to questions: 1. The narrator is not a good mother because she does not care about Emily’s future. The narrator is the mother of Emily‚ Susan‚ and Ronnie. She says that the father of Emily left her “[…] before [Emily] was a year old” (paragraph 55). She had to get a job and work during Emily’s “[…] first six years” (55). The narrator went to Nursery School because she believed that it was the only way “[…] [she] could hold a job” (13) during the Great Depression
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I Stand Here Ironing Tillie Olsen’s short story‚ “I Stand here Ironing”‚ records the critical thoughts of a mother‚ as she reflects on her daughter’s life. Although the mother in the story feels disappointing and deficient because she feels as though she has not done much good in her life‚ the author is very empathetic toward her as you can see in the author’s narrative techniques and other resources of language. After hearing of another person’s concern for her daughter‚ the mother
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success there are several different kinds of people. Some who take all the credit and some who give it to the others that help them get there. In “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen and “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff there is a constant theme of the meaning of success‚ who to thank for it and the importance of family. In “I Stand Here Ironing’‚ Olsen talks about a girl who lived a rough childhood but in the end still made something of herself. Told from the point of view of her mother‚ it is
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In "I Stand Here Ironing"‚ by Tillie Olsen‚ Olsen uses the symbolism of the iron‚ specific historical allusions‚ and condemning emotional tone to characterize the mother and her doubtful attitude towards her daughter. Olsen uses how and what the mother is Ironing need to symbolize her feelings for her daughter. When someone irons a piece of clothing‚ it is usually to get out the wrinkles and to make it look almost perfect to wear into the world. This idea is similar to what the mother is doing to
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In the short story “I Stand Here Ironing‚” by Tillie Olsen‚ the characterization of the mother and the mother’s attitudes toward her daughter are made apparent through the use of narrative techniques and other resources of language. The narrator uses symbolism‚ flashback‚ and repetition to show a bereft mother who feels helpless in the decisions regarding her daughter and her hopefully bright future. The first sentence of the excerpt “I stand here ironing‚ and what you asked me moves tormented
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The central character within “I Stand Here Ironing” is not the unnamed mother‚ it is the child that the mother is distraught over due to the mother’s negligence. We only learn of Emily through her mother’s monologue. From what readers can gather from her mother’s monologue is that Emily is a nineteen year old young lady who is having trouble with school. The counselor called because of her concern of Emily’s development and to speak to her mother one-on-one‚ but the mother doesn’t see what good she
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