"I Stand Here Ironing"

In the Olsen's "I Stand Here Ironing," I think the passage about Emily's mom going out and leaving Emily by herself, in my opinion was kind of mean. ""Can't you go some other time, Mommy, like tomorrow?" she would ask."Will it be just a little while you'll be gone? Do you promise?" The time we came back, the front door open, the clock on the floor in the hall. She rigid awake. "It wasn't just a little while. I didn't cry. Three times I called you, just three times, and then I ran downstairs to open the door so you could come faster. The clock talked loud. I threw it away, it scared me what it talked (Olsen)."" She could have at least got her a babysitter because Emily seemed to be so scared. Also the passage about where Emily has a nightmare and her mother just talks “You’re all right, darling, go to sleep, it’s just a dream (Olsen),” to Emily, she didn’t even go into her room; even though, Emily had the fever that comes before the measles Emily’s mother could’ve sent some one else to check on her.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

My first impression of this story was great. I was really interested in starting to read it. It made me remember my past and trips my family would take and how my sister and I fought in the back seat most of the way.
Little John seems to be very bright for an eight year old boy. I say this because of some of the comments he makes throughout the story. While they are in the car he says, "Lets go through Georgia fast so we won't have to look at it much." "Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground, and Georgia is a lousy state too." Some strong opinions for such a young boy. I seemed to get a kick out of June Star. She seemed to back up whatever her brother said. Whether he was bashing a state or arguing with grandma.
While reading the story I asked myself a few times why it was called A Good Man Is Hard to Find? It wasn't until the end of the story that I figured it out. While they were at Red Sammy's Red made that first comment and then at the end of the story it all made sense. Grandma seemed to have so much trust for others and wanted to believe in them and to find out she got killed was a huge turning point for me. I never thought that was how the story would end. I really thought at the end of the story they would make it back home and the new mileage would be talked about and how long it took them on their trip. On the other hand this story kept me on my toes and I wanted to keep reading. It goes to show that every story can have different endings.