I Stand Here Ironing

"I Stand Here Ironing" was written in the pre-relief of the depression. People are not living in the depression today but they do experience certain events taht the people experienced then. In this story a character, Emily, had a child at the age on 19. Still today people have children at such a young age as Emily did. Emily also had to leave her child with someone else to watch her because she had to work (284). People now days still have to leave their young children in the hands of others so they can work, many people do not want to leave there children with others when they are young but in order to work that is what they have to do. Some poeple have to leave there children at nurseries that don't care for there children, so to speak, because they can't afford better and so that they can keep there jobs, just as Emily's mother had to do. Emily was sent to a convalescent home where she could be take care of but when she got there she felt that they didn't want anybody to love anybody there (286). Today, some kids who are really sick due to illness may have to be sent to the hospital and be put in an isolation room. The nurses and doctors have to put a limit on the number of visitors to visit the child so the child does not become sicker by what the visitors bring in or so that they child does not make someone else sick. The child may not understand that it is for his/her safety that the visitors are limited and that the doctors don't want anyone to love anybody, just like Emily felt. Mothers have to work and the oldest child has to the be mother model just like Emily had to be for her mother. People also were poor during the depression and "couldn't afford for eash growth" (288), namy people are poor now and can't afford for "easy growth". It may not be as bad as it was during the depression but it could become that way easily.

"The Lottery"

The possible significance I find in the story are as follows: The village square symbolizes the central meeting place of the rituals or traditions, almost like in medieval movies where the king always addresses the people from the balcony of this castle. I think Mrs. Hutchinson's apron symbolizes her hard work as a mother and wife. Old Man Warner symbolizes one who has been involved in this ritual for a long time: "Seventy-seventh year I've been in the lottery" (409). Also, he is kind of the bad guy, he is against changing the tradition and thinks the idea of doing so is foolish: "Pack of crazy fools", "Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back and live in caves" (408). The slips of paper represent the process of the sacrifice, kind of like the grim reaper. The black spot symbolizes the choosing of who will be sacrificed.
The fact that it's summer symbolizes freedom for the kids from school, freedom for the cold of winter and just the plain understanding of 'summer romance.' The fact that the lottery is drawn in the summer is almost like it's the right time to do a sacrifice so that the rest of the people can enjoy their summer.
I think the names do have significance to the story, Summers, the fact that it's summer. graves, because you dig a grave for person to bury them. Adams, maybe because of Adam and Eve and the punishment for the sins. Delacroix, is a French originated name, could have something to do with the french/Indians and some rituals they did?
Really the only significant symbolic role I found for the kids in the story, is when they were playing around before the lottery started; they weren't apprehensive about it, it was just something they had grown up with and weren't upset by the thought of it.
I found that with Mr. Summers dressed in a clean white shirt and blue jeans, but I didn't find any significance to the way the people as a whole dressed. I found that the people were joking with each other and kind of making light of the situation. Such as when (when their name was called): "'Get up here, Bill,' Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed" (408).

I Stand Here Ironing

In the story "I Stand Here Ironing" I think that the mother believes that she has neglected to care for her daughter the way that she had cared for her other children. At the end of the story the mother says, "I was a young mother, I was a distracted mother. There were other children pushing up, demanding. Her younger sister seemed all that she was not. " (288-289) When I first read this story I did not like the mother because of the way that I felt she treated Emily, it seemed that she treated her different from the other children. When I look at the story closer I see that the mother did all that she could for Emily considering her circumstances when she had her. When Emily was born her father left her mother and the mother was forced to do any work she could find during the first six years of Emily's life (288). So now I would say that I do not think that Emily's mother did anything wrong considering her circumstances. I think that she has been as good of a mother that she could be. She was trying to raise Emily on her own during the Depression Era there were of course sacrifices that would need to be made. She took Emily to a daycare that she knew was bad but that was the only way that she could work and be with Emily at the same time (284). I realize that throughout the story the mother did not always seem to make the right decision regarding Emily's care but I think that she realized that at the end of the story and felt guilty for it.

I Stand Here Ironing

"I Stand Here Ironing" is a story that portrays a time in the depression era. When men and women got married back then and had kids it seems to be as if it was forced, or as if that is what the right thing to do was. The narrator or Emily's mom feels fuilt throughout most of the story. I believe the reason for this is because when Emily was a baby she was such a happy baby and as Emily grows, she becomes more of a isolated, sad child who rarely eats and has no good friends. I feel as if the mom thinks that she has never really been able to show Emily that she cares and that she does love her just the way she is. At one point in the story an old man gently states," You should smile at Emily more when you look at her." What was in my face when I looked at her? I loved her." (Olsen, p. 284) She seems to be very confused by this statement and almost apalled. I believe that she has been as best of a mom as she could be at the time. I think maybe she could have been a bit more supportive of her daughter instead of sending her off to some school to try to help her. You can tell though that she cares for her deeply and that as time goes on she tries to be a better mom. My favorite passage of this story is "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 know---help make it so there is cause for her to know---that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron." (Olsen, p. 289) I believe what she meant by this is there is still time to grow and learn and sometimes children must do it on their own, but is Emily were to ever need help that she is there for her. She will not be ironing her dress on the board for her forever, she will let her be. ----Krista Eide

M State -

"The Storm" question 9

I really don't believe that anything, including a storm, justifies adultery. We are not sure why they do this, but you really can't believe that the storm caused it. The storm however does play a part with the emotions and the climax of the tale of the story.

I Stand Here Ironing

In the story "I Stand Here Ironing", written by Tillie Olsen, i feel the narrator believes somehow it is her fault that her daughter has problems. I'm sure she feels guilty because maybe if she had spent more time with her, hugging her, talking with her things may have turned out differently for her daughter.
I do feel that if the mother had spent time with her daughter she wouldn't have turned into herself, and so cold. The daughter was sent away, when if felt if the family had just given her the attention and love she so longed for she would have been fine. For example in the story it says, "There was a tiny girl who always stood hand in hand with Emily. Her parents never came. One visit she was gone. "They moved her to Rose Cottage," Emily shouted in explanation. "They don't like you to love anybody here." To me this little girl was craving love and affection.
Was Emily's mother a good mother? Yes, she did her best trying to raise her children without having much to give them. She never turned her back on them, devoted. She only did what other's told her, that her daughter needed help. There is no correct way of parenting, but we need to accept our children for who they are. We all have talent, maybe hidden just as Emily's mother saw in this story. She realizes this when she says, " She is so lovely". "She will find her way".(288).

The Storm

“The Storm,” written by Kate Chopin, is a clever title to express both the weather condition outside and the adultery taking place inside. The severe weather may play a part in why Calixta and Alcee choose to act out of character, but it certainly does not excuse their behavior. Calixta and Alcee have not seen each other since she married another man, but their passionate feelings towards one another can be seen instantly. They may blame the severe weather for their affair, but it does not make what they have done any less wrong. It is seeing each other after such a long time apart that rekindles their feelings, not the weather outside. Had Calixta’s husband and son been gone from home for any other reason they would have acted in the same way. What I find most disturbing about their behavior is how life goes back to normal as quickly as the storm passes. “He turned and smiled at her with a beaming face; and she lifted her pretty chin in the air and laughed aloud” (258). If the storm were the sole cause of the affair both Calixta and Alcee would have feelings of regret by the time the storm had passed, but this clearly is not the case.

The Storm

I think the two characters, Calixta and Alcee, who committed adultery have more feelings for each other then they realize. The storm could have brought the feelings to the surface but after there indiscretion they go back to their lives and loved ones as usual. I know sometimes when I look into my boyfriends eyes I melt but it only works with him. Being scared is no reason to betray your significant other; no reason is. I found her hypocritical of herself. She was so scared and worried about her husband Bobinot and son Bibi but she had sex with Alcee, who is not her husband.

I stand here Ironing

The events in the story “I Stand Here Ironing” could easily happen in today’s society. When the story started it was said that the mother had Emily during the depression. Today we are not in a depression but we are in a recession with many parents having to go to work and leave their child in day care services. Emily’s father had even walked out on her and her mother which happens a lot in society today. A lot of families do not have money which would help to prevent diseases just like in the story. In the story Emily was described as being “delirious with the fever that comes before red measles” (285). If the parent has more than one child at the time when one child gets sick with a disease she may have to depart herself from her sick child to take care of the others. If she exposed herself and her other children to the disease they could get it too. The mother in the story was very young when she had Emily as are a lot of mothers now-a-days. Parenting is a learning experience and it takes a while to figure out what you are doing. Many parents look back at their first child’s childhood and think that things could have been different if they only knew then what they know now. An example of this in the story was when the mother at the end of the story stated “I was a young mother, I was a distracted mother” (299) and “My wisdom came too late” (289). As teachers of students will tell you that your children need interaction with their parents. They need bonding time with their parents to help them to bloom. If a parent doesn’t have time for this because of having several children and having to work a child may lack developmentally and think less of themselves. Children still to this day get jealous of a sibling who they think gets more attention than they do. It is something that I think will always happen. An example of why Emily was jealous of Susan her younger sister in the text was “Susan, golden, and curly-haired and chubby, quick and articulate and assured, everything in appearance and manner” (287). There will always be poverty, jealousy, and inexperience in the world.