"The Chrysanthemums"

The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa Allen; beautiful, strong, earthbound. The story occurs at a time where a woman’s place was well defined. They are to embody feminism, do menial household tasks, and leave the serious work to men. When the man in the wagon showed up she secretly envied him, he represented all she could not be. He was free, independent, in charge of his own destiny. His hands were cracked and unwashed, her own protected by gloves. Knowing she could never live that kind of life, the idea of something she grew and that which represented her, the chrysanthemums, “escaping” her garden was the next best thing. After the man leaves she prepares for her night out. Despite yearning to break the convention she is expected to adhere to, she makes herself attractive in the typical feminine style. She scrubbed the soil and rough spots off her body, put on a fancy dress, and put on rouge. On the way to town for a typical night out of dinner and a movie, something her husband mentioned jokingly earlier suddenly intrigued her. Going to see men fight, witnessing the violence, something a proper woman should have no interest in, sparked her curiosity. After casually inquiring about the fight she relents and tearfully relinquished into her place as a proper woman. At least the potted chrysanthemum was on its way to an unknown destiny.

Doe Season

Andy compared the distance of the woods and the ocean and the moon. I see this compare and contrast as how small or young that she views herself. She states in the first paragraph that the woods are always the same, but yet when they arrived to hunt in them, they were then different. Four hunters making noise and tracks in these quiet woods. They were small compared to the mile and miles of woods, just like the ocean in paragraph 45. "The ocean was huge and empty, yet always moving". The woods are huge and appear to be empty when you want them to be full of deer during deer season. But the animals are always moving.
In her memory, she is afraid of what is under the water, but admires her mom for going out past the break point. Her mother was very brave, and I think she is very brave for going on a hunting trip with all men, trying to impress them.
She shot the first doe, which I think proves how quick she is growing up in this story. Along with her not wanting to be called Andy anymore. She wanted to be called by her grown woman name from now on.

"Doe Season"

Andy first states that the woods were “always the same.”(paragraph 1). Andy finds out by going on her first hunting trip that they are not always the same. This time she would have to do something that she thought she was ready to do; which was to shoot a deer. She was afraid of this. Andy recalled another time when she was afraid. This was a new experience for Andy and it brought her back to a previous experience that she encountered. It was when she first saw the ocean water, which scared her. Andy recalled that the ocean water did not scare her mother. “Her mother had floated beyond the breakers, calling her to come in, but Andy wouldn’t go farther than a few feet into the surf.” (paragraph 45). David Michael Kaplan wanted to compare the innocence and fearfulness of a child to the bravery and courageousness of an adult. In paragraph 1, “always the same woods” symbolizes childhood because someone is always going to be there to protect you. Later in the story when Andy recalls the ocean as being “huge and empty, yet always moving,” on paragraph 45, symbolizes that how life changes when you become an adult. Andy’s life changed and she grew up when she realized that the woods were not always the same. The hunting trip also made Andy realize that sometimes you do things that you don’t want to do. It also made her realize that things are not always what they seem to be.

"Doe Season"

Throughout David Kaplan's "Doe Season," Andy mentally compares and contrasts the woods that she resides in with the ocean she once visited. This contrast symbolizes the similarities and differences between childhood and the adult world which Andy is exploring.

Andy is comforted by the woods because "they were always the same". She thinks to herself, "They stretch [...] longer than I could walk in a day [...], but they are still the same woods" (456). These woods are like her life as a child--safe, comforting, predictable. "There was no place she would rather be" (458).

However, Andy's recollections of the ocean are just the opposite. The ocean "frightened her." "It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden" (459). While both the ocean and woods were quite expansive (possibly signifying the vast array of experiences in both childhood and adulthood), the ocean was everything the woods were not. It was scary, unnerving, and unpredictable.

As Andy follows her father through a majority of the hunt, she remains comfortably within her role as a child. Her father is nearby, and life is simple. He tells her what to do, and she does it. He is around to protect her, guide her, and ensure her welfare, just as the woods are always around her as a security blanket.

The moment Andy is handed the gun, however, she momentarily enters the world of adulthood. The status quo has suddenly changed, and she must make her own decision: shoot the doe to please the hunting party, or let the doe run off to safety. No one can choose for her. Her situation is much like the ocean she recalls, which was "always moving" and in which "Everything lay hidden." She has yet to discover what the consequences of either decision may entail. Later, as Andrea flees the scene while her father guts the deer, she realizes that the "sea" of adulthood is "now inevitable" (467).

Thus, the contrast between the woods and the ocean effectively signifies the contrast between childhood and adulthood. Children must eventually become adults by learning to make their own decisions, even when unsure of the consequences.

Doe Season

The woods suggests that Andy's childhood was "always the same" for miles and miles. As she transitions into her adulthood her life would become huge and empty, yet always moving. As stated in paragraph 45 "She and her parents had gone last summer to stay for a week at a motel on the New Jersey shore. That was the first time she'd seen the ocean, and it frightened her." This is also brought up after she shoots the deer. As a child begins to grow, life starts to throw you different things and many different "hurddles" arise. The blood supports the story's initial theme of being scared. Growing up as a child there are many things that scare different people. After Andy shoot's the deer, she is scared initially. She has a nightmare that night but the next day they find the deer and she is no longer scared. Another theme that they may be suggesting is menstration.

Doe Season

Andy and her father and her fathers friend are on a hunting trip far from the ocean and far from
Canada. Andy wants to impress her father and her fathers friend that she can be as good as them even though she is much younger and is of the opposite sex. When Andy first went to the ocean in New Jersey she was frightened of it and she did not like it. When her father asked her if she wanted to shoot the deer even though she didnt have a licence and was not of age she did it anyways and that became her new thing that she was scared of. At the end of the story she decides she does not care if she is of opposite sex or that she is much younger because she likes it just the way she is.

Doe Season

The contrast between the woods and the ocean suggests the transition Andy must make from childhood to adulthood because in paragragh 1 the narrator states, "They were always the same woods...They were the same woods that lay behind her house, and they stretch all the way to here, she thought, for miles and miles, longer than I could walk in a day, or a week even, but they are still the same woods." This shows that Andy indeed finds comfort and reassurance in the fact that the woods are still the same. Children like anything that comforts them or reassures them that they are safe. In Andy's case, it's the woods. In paragraph 45 where the narrator says, "She and her parents had gone last summer to stay for a week at a motel on the New Jersey shore. That was the first time she'd seen the ocean, and it frightened her. It was huge and empty, yet always moving. Everything lay hidden. If you walked in it, you couldn't see how deep it was or what might be below; if you swam, something could pull you under and you'd never be seen again." This is the way that Andy thinks of the ocean and it's described from a child's point of view. A person who has made the transition into adulthood would most likely describe the ocean in a different way, signifying that they are indeed an adult. There are adults that are scared of everything that isn't soft, fuzzy, or even safe, but an adult who had never seen the ocean before would probably think it's simply amazing. An adult might describe it as beautiful, glistening sun over the water, etc. An adult would probably just walk right in, not thinking about how deep it was or the fact that something could pull you under and you'd never be seen again.

Doe Season

In David Kaplan’s “Doe Season”, Andy is a girl who is torn between trying to impress her father and finding out what that means. While out on a hunting trip, she embarks out with three men to prove her worthiness and discovers that the world is often a frightening place. She recalls a trip to the ocean and states “that it frightened her, it was huge and empty” (par. 45) this implies that she is afraid of the unknown and feels more comfortable and safe in the woods where “they were always the same… and they stretch all the way to here” (par. 1). These woods make Andy feel protected in that they will not change; they will remain the same no matter what. She is about to do something that will push her forward towards adulthood, towards that ocean she is so afraid of. As soon as she shoots that doe she is changed, and that frightens her.
Kaplan managed to capture an extremely difficult period in the young girls’ life, making this story relatable to everybody. In the end, Andy realizes that she does not want to grow up but instead stay a child.

"I Stand Here Ironing"

I do think the narrator feels guilty about who her daughter has grown to be, but she feels helpless with how to change this. Emily's mother was left with no other choice but to leave her daughter here and there in order to work or look for work, since her husband had left them. When she could not afford to take care of Emily, she would leave her with family until she could afford to come get her. Soon, she felt like she barely knew her daughter. The narrator also felt bad for leaving Emily with the "evil" lady at nursery school. In her mind she knew emily did not want to be there, but it was the "only way they could be together" (page 284 paragraph 6). After she married again, the narrator and her husband would leave Emily home alone "telling ourselves she was old enough", even though Emily asked them not to go or go another time (page 285 paragraph 3). Then after her second child, Susan, was born Emily became ill with the measles and could not be with her mother or around her new sister. The narrator felt bad that she could not comfort Emily during this time. Eventually the narrator noticed Emily's resentment of her sister. How Susan seemed so perfect and smart. Emily seemed almost like she was an outcast next to her sister. Her mother felt guilty for all of these things, but felt that there was nothing she could do now. She felt like she had tried her best to raise Emily right at the time, but I think now she feels like she should have done more for her.
I think that the choices that the narrator made to keep her daughter healthy may have seemed like good ones at the time but later showed how growing up the way she (Emily) had, impacted her negatively. I did not have to experience living in this era, but I have heard stories about it from my grandmother. I felt sorry for both the narrator and for Emily because neither one of them deserved the tough life they were handed. I do not think that the narrator did anything purposefully to harm or neglect her daughter, it just happened because of how things were at the time.
I would not necessarily say the narrator was a good mother, at least not to Emily. I would not say she was a bad one either. She did the best she could, considering jobs were scarce and finances were limited. Being left a single mother during those times would definately be difficult. It is even difficult in this day and age. Some choices she made, like having more children, was not the best thing for a mother who could barely take care of her first born. Or even leaving Emily home by herself, I think she could have tried to work something out so she wasn't left alone. But she was a young new mother and did not really know any better. Knowing how things turned out for Emily did affect the narrator and how she felt about herself as a mother. As a mother myself, I know if I were in her shoes I would be quite upset with myself if this had been my daughter.

I Stand Here Ironing

The narrator of Tillie Olsen's story "I Stand Here Ironing", voices the guilt that can be found in the heart of many parents. She explains that her daughter's insecurities and conflicts may have come from her being "a young mother" and "a distracted mother" (p.288). She felt that her "wisdom came too late." (p.289). She replays the situations that left Emily alone or in the care of others, away from love and security, several times in her young life. She says she didn't smile at her enough, wasn't able to be there for Emily when she was sick and needed her. She wonders, "What in me demanded that goodness in her? And what was the cost, the cost to her of such goodness?" The impact of all these things is apparent in the actions and emotions of Emily, but it seems each situation that neglected Emily was unavoidable. The narrator had to raise Emily without the help of a father and was forced to rely on the help of others to care for her, while she worked to survive. When Emily's becomes ill, there are great risks involved with a new baby, that forces Emily to suffer alone.
The mother of Emily truly loves and cares for her daughter, even describes her loveliness, and mourns the things that hurt her child. Perhaps Emily would have benefited from an easier, secure environment, but her mother could only give her what she did, and it simply was all she could. Ultimately, there will always be something lacking and more that could've been given, but Emily's mother truly wouldn't be a good mother or fully care about her child if she did not feel this way.

"The Lottery"

Central to the plot, and equally symbolically significant, “The Lottery” takes place in the innocent and happy setting of a village square on a “clear and sunny” June day. The village square, in the center of town, is where activities most central and important to a town often occur. The bright sunny day on which the lottery takes place ironically symbolizing life and happiness is in stark contrast to the inevitable cruelty that is to conclude the days activity.

All villagers from the youngest children to the eldest seniors gather in casual Sunday attire, Mrs. Hutchinson even in her apron, pointing to the seeming mundane normalcy of the day’s proceedings. Of these villagers is Old Man Warner, symbolizing a testament to tradition and also perhaps also survival, “Seventy seventh year I been in the lottery”, he says while on his way to select his slip of paper from the aptly colored black box. “Pack of crazy fools”, Old Man Warner says of young people suggesting they give up the lottery, “There’s always been a lottery” he states as if because something always has been, that it always should be, adding close-mindedness the list he symbolizes. A seemingly close-knit community, together on a pleasant morning to choose who will die that day is representative that society can be cold as cruel.

The Lottery

The village square had a lot of significance in this story because it is where most of the story took place. One thing beyond the meaning of this would be that it is where they had been doing the lottery for many years. This could also mean that it is the square in which the "looser" is boxed in to get rocks thrown at. Mrs. Hutchinson's apron was what she had dried her hands off on could have signified bad luck for the up coming lottery. As Mrs. Hutchinson stated on page 407, "Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?" also shows that she felt as though her husband didn't want to tell her about the lottery because she was finishing dishes. Old Man Warner was just a negative old man that continuously was saying that it wasn't like it used to be and that he had been doing the lottery for 77 years. This shows how important the lottery is and that unlike other villages he believes it should continue. The slips of paper just go to show how the lottery is changing slowly and will probably one day be done in this village too. But as stated on page 406, "The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born." The black spot could also show that the person who gets it will get rocks thrown at them. This could be a signal of death.

"I Stand Here Ironing"

The mother believes, that she has not given her daughter a good upbringing. That she was not a good mother. I believe, that back in the Great Depression, that it was hard to raise a family. When Emily's father left her, she became a only parent for awhile, so she needed to be the sole provider for the family. Even in today's society, a single parent can't make a decent living on one income.
I think she thought she did what was for the best at that time for Emily, by sending her off to live with relatives and to convalescent home. In my opinion, I can't see sending your own child away for any amount of time. Throughout the whole story, Emily has been put on a back burner, as her mother has other children and attends to them. I think she could of been a better mother, a mother that was more caring, one that paid more attention to her. A mother through tough times, does not send your child away. It does state in the story that she did love her though, "I loved her. There were all the acts of love" (284). Is sending your child away an act of love?
But even after all she had been through, at the end of the story she turned out ok. Others seen her as a bright and talented person. "You ought to do something about her, with a gift like that" (288). Even after all she had been through growing up, she turns out to be a happy, talented, smart girl.

"Doe Season" - Question 3

Doe Season may be called a "coming of age" story. Andy goes through the hunting trip at first so excited to be there and then realizing that she does not want anything to do with the doe once she is put face-to-face with it.

Andy's thoughts, "They were always the same woods," may lead one to think that she is not ready for things in life to change. (456) "The thought made her feel good," when she thought of them stretching from her home to the hunting spot. (456)Nothing changes, life is still going on beyond the woods.

At the beginning of the trip Andy is faced with the fact that others on the trip do not believe she should be there. They feel that because she is a girl and should not like hunting or be a part of it. At lunch that first day her father let her have a cup of coffee stating they wouldn't tell momma. This would be one of the coming of age comparisons. Much more happens during the trip to add to this. The conversation with Mac in the tent the first night. Asking her questions she did not want to answer.

Then she finds the doe and brings the others. While coming up on it she wishes that it would run away. When her father asks her if she will take the shot she does not want to. She thinks of it all in a dream.

We can reflect back to earlier as they were walking that first day and Andy thought of the wind "blowing through the treetops, it sounded like the ocean, and once Andy thought she could smell salt in the air." Her thoughts on the ocean as scary and not knowing come back to the reader. She was unaware of how she would feel and what would happen. Just as growing up does to all.

"The Storm"

The story "The Storm" by Kate Chopin was based in a time when adultery was not not looked upon as lightly as it is now days. As the storm begins and Calixta knows that Bobinot and Bibi are out to the store, "Calixta, at home, felt no uneasiness for their safety." (pg.256, p.6) Calixta is completely unaware of the storm that is coming. Being a housewife in the nineteenth century she seems quite dedicated to her chores; as she is supposed to be. "She had hung Bobinot's Sunday clothes to air and she hastened out to gather them before the rain fell." When an old friend, Alcee, rides up on his horse Calixta invites him in to get out of the rain. This in time turns out to be the turn of event that leads us to wonder why she would invite him into her house when they obviously still had attraction towards each other. As Calixta's worries about Bibi, Alcee becomes her comfort. "Calixta, don't be frightened. Nothing can happen." (pg.257, p.22) Though speaking about the storm, Alcee wants Calixta to know she is safe with him. Soon their passion for each other takes over. In no way does a storm excuse any act of adultery but in this case it makes you wonder why. Why was Calixta married to Bobinot and not Alcee, what happened between the two of them five years ago, and why was everyone so unaware and happy in the end. After their sexual encounter Calixta and Alcee feel renewed and shows no signs of guilt. Something was obviously missing from her relationship with her husband. They move on with their lives as though this is exactly what they needed to help them deal with their marriage. "So the storm passed and everyone was happy." (pg.259, p.39)

A Worn Path

In the short story written by Eudora Welty the main theme seems to be the the trials and hardships of life as we grow and get older.
Phoenix Jackson although an old women starts out this story very determined. She is seen walking down the path fighting with the thickets and attempting to scare away any animals that may be lurking nearby.
Like in life Phoenix has her mind set on what she is set out to accomplish and does not let anything stand in her way although every little part of her trip seems to be another obstacle trying to block her path. "Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far", (449) for even the hill she is climbing is another bump in the road that is trying to drag her down.
Her trip to town seems to take a very long time even though the story is broken up into events that happen along the way. I think Eudora Welty does this to tie the story into everyday life events. Almost as each event is some memory that one would have late in life.
You get the feeling that Phoenix has lived a long life and is not surprised or startled by anything or anyone she comes across. At one point she is attacked by a dog and has a gun pointed in her face. Even still Phoenix remains calm and unfazed by each of these events.
At some point Phoenix seems to forget why she has set out on her trip. This is of course towards the end of the story and parallel with the age of Phoenix in her old age she seems a little lost and confused but eventually remembers why she is there.
The reason she is in town, for some medicine for her grandson who drank some lye.
One of the questions seems to be if her grandson is still alive or if he has been dead for some time. Phoenix can't remember how long its been since her grandson became ill, a few months or a few years. The feeling here is that he probably had died from drinking the lye some time ago.

I Stand Here Ironing

The narrator is overwhelmed by guily because she has believed that she has become a bad mother. Personally, I do not believe she has not done anything wrong. I do not think there is such thing as a bad mother, there is such things as not a good mother but I do not think there is such things as a plain out bad mother. She cannot be that harrible if she is worried about the situation because "Bad Mothers" would not be worried about there children because they would not care. She has done all she could to be there for her daughter but simply she could not afford her after her fathers death. She did what was best and sent her away for love and what would take the best care for her so she could have food and shelter.

"I Stand Here Ironing"

Robert Coles, in his psychological evaluations of the relationships within Tillie Olsen's short story "I Stand Here Ironing," states that Emily "did not grow to be a mere victim [...] a hopeless tangle of psychopathology" as evidenced by the fact that "The hurt child could summon her intelligence, exercise her will, smile and make others smile" (289). Coles's evaluation of Emily is essentially correct, as he recognizes that Emily rises above her cold, hurtful past to become independent and find her own ways to pursue happiness. However, Emily may not have received enough nurturing as a chid to reach her fullest potential as an adult.
Toward the end of "I Stand Here Ironing," Emily's mother believes Emily has made major strides toward self-fulfillment. "Why were you concerned?" she asks her visitor. "She will find her way" (288). She wants Emily to know "that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron" (289). Emily has the ability and drive to decide her future for herself.
Nevertheless, Emily's mother doubts that Emily will ever become all that she can be, due to the fact that Emily remained withdrawn for so long. "She kept too much in herself, her life was such that she had to keep too much in herself." She says of her daughter, "She has much to her and probably little will come of it," and concludes, "So all that is in her will not bloom [...] There is still enough to live by" (289). Emily's troubled childhood may keep her from becoming a truly happy adult.
Thus, while Coles is correct in his judgment that Emily can and likely will take charge of her future as an independent adult, he does not recognize that Emily's tendency to withdraw during tense times may hinder her from reaching her fullest potential. The end of this story is bittersweet, as it acknowledges that the absence of proper care during childhood can adversely affect the rest of a person's life, but that even the most severely troubled child can take charge of his/her life and make it whatever they so choose.

Doe Season

Blood and Initiation

    There's a contrast in this story between her inner dialogue and that of the rest of the hunting party. This is where we see an initial distinction between her as a young woman, and the others speaking the same language, male. This being said, there is a distinction between male and female. We see even in the way that her father addresses her as "honeybun" (page 457). Though this is a coming-of-age story, this story is more than a rite of passage into adulthood. This is story about a rite of passage into womanhood. What is interesting is the way in which she finds her identity. She seems a little gender confused in the beginning because she refers to herself as Andy, as opposed to Andrea. This may be her father's doing, but she is desperate for his approval. We see this when Mac is tasked with rounding up firewood and Andrea cuts in and says, "I'll do it" (page 460). We also know that she doesn't want to shoot the deer, but she does, for her father's approval. At this point, the wound is made. The wound may be symbolic of the wound in her heart that has been created in this rite of passage. The deer's wound and heart mimics her own in that she feels alive, yet wounded: "...she had found the does heart warm and beating. She cupped it gently in her hand . Alive, she marveled. Alive (page 466)." This is where the blood is mentioned, "...her hand pulled free, followed by a steaming rush of blood, more blood than she ever could have imagined."The symbolism of the blood can be interpreted both as a parallel to menstruation, a girl becoming a woman; and to the bleeding associated with intercourse, a symbol of the loss of innocence all-so-common in a coming-of-age story. Although not age appropriate in the physical sense, it is important to understand that this is a parallel to her emotional coming-of-age. When the deer dies, she was re-birthed in the sense that the very event that could have initiated Mac, initiated her, just in a separate way. A sign of this separation is her running: "Andy was running from them, back to the field and across, scattering the crows who cawed and circled angrily (page 467)." The initiation is definitive when "she will no longer be called Andy (page 467)."

A Worn Path

Themes

 

"A Worn Path" is a story about determination and resolution. From the introduction, the reader is made aware of the fact that the protagonist – Phoenix Jackson – is either of strange circumstance or stoic resolution: "It was December... far out in the country... she was old and small and she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows." The story explains that "she looked straight ahead (449),"even with the knowledge that there be "wild animals (449)." Despite some degree of isolation, she persisted "past cabins silver from weather, with the doors and windows boarded shut... (451)." She also knew that she was ailing from some degree of delirium: "when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air (450). In these examples we see that Phoenix is braving weather conditions, despite the fact that she is physically helpless against wild animals and is of no great physical strength. Because of this contrast, her mental strength is more pronounced in the story. Even while having a gun in her face miles from any help, she stands unimpressed by her assailant: "he lifted his gun and pointed it at Phoenix... 'Doesn't the gun scare you? (452)'" She then responds, "No, sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less than what I done... (452)."In this same encounter, we see that Phoenix endures racism in comments like, "I know you old colored people (452), but Phoenix is undeterred. She endures ageism inherent in the elder-speak of nurse: "'that's just old Aunt Phoenix'... 'Aunt Phoenix, don't you hear me? (452)'"This being said, the story can be interpreted as a message of persistence and rising above circumstance. An equal theme, being dignity, and lesser themes: prejudice and civic duty. The latter is not elicit in any singular passage, but rather, a need that is developed and demonstrated throughout the story as a whole. We see a deficiency in the civic duty of charity when the hunter tells Phoenix, "I'd give you a dime if I had any money with me," immediately after money falls from his pocket.