"I Stand Here Ironing", by Tillie Olsen is a short story portraying the life and regret of a young mother struggling to raise her oldest daughter. The mother- daughter relationship is the major part of the story and the attitude of the mother toward her daughter, Emily, and the actual character of the mother are two very important elements. The character of the mother can be said to be strong and persevering, and along with her age and experience came her wisdom. At first her attitude toward her daughter seemed more of resigned and regretful, but as Emily grew up and became a beautiful and talented young women, the mother knows to let her be and leave her to live her own life. The character of the mother is crucial to the entire story, for it is this that will determine her attitudes toward her daughter. She at first, seemed very naïve and weak in a big scary world, with society constantly nipping at her heels, but, as she lives, she learns to take life as it comes and try her hardest to do her best. Which at that time was no easy thing to do. The strength and love that the mother exhibits constantly keeps the idea of hope with the reader. The character of the mother is a determining factor in her attitude towards her daughter. As her character changed, so did her feelings about Emily. In the beginning of the story, the mother talks of how sorry and regretful she is of her daughter’s childhood. She looks at her unfortunate daughter, Emily, with pi...
...ther is losing her daughter to time and circumstance. The mother can no longer apply the word “my” when referring to the daughter for the daughter has become her own person. This realization is a frightening one to the mother who then quickly dives back into her surreal vision of the daughter now being a new enemy in a world already filled with evils. In this way it is easier for the mother to acknowledge the daughter as a threat rather than a loss. However, this is an issue that Olds has carefully layered beneath images of war, weapons, and haircuts.
Tillie Olsen, and many other mothers going through an important stage in their lives. The stage in life that the mother in the story is going through is called child development, and within this complicated stage arise many new worlds of imagination, emotional journeys, and soothing memories. The whole story is based around a mother's view, and joy, of her child growing up in a world filled with barriers and hurdles that she must overcome. The entire point of view is that of the narrator, as a mother concerned with the way her child is being raised and the hardships she must overcome. She also witnesses her daughter?s happiness and the colorful meanings of life that she discovers herself.
Emily’s mother is just a teenager when she had Emily. She did not have the money or resources to take care of her, so she had to let Emily live with her grandparents for a couple of years before she could get Emily back. When Emily was two, her mother finally got her custody of her, but Emily is not the little girl she remembered. When the mother first had Emily, she described her as a beautiful baby (302), but it changed when Emily became sickly and got scars from chicken pox. The mother said, “When she finally came, I hardly knew her, walking quick and nervous like her father, looking like her father, thin, and dressed in a shoddy red that yellowed her skin and glared at the pockmarks. All the baby loveliness gone. (302)” Nevertheless, the mother is never there for Emily as she grew up. Emily tried to show her mother in different ways that she needed her, but she never seemed to catch the hint. For example, when Emily was two her mother sent her to a nursery school. The teacher of the nursery school was mistreating the children, and instead of telling her mother directly like the other kids told their parents, she told her in different ways. She always had a reason why we should stay home. Momma, you look sick. Momma, I feel sick. Momma, the teachers aren’t there today, they’re sick. Momma, we can’t go, there was a fire there last night. Momma, it’s a holiday
The daughter alludes to an idea that her mother was also judged harshly and made to feel ashamed. By the daughters ability to see through her mothers flaws and recognize that she was as wounded as the child was, there is sense of freedom for both when the daughter find her true self. Line such as “your nightmare of weakness,” and I learned from you to define myself through your denials,” present the idea that the mother was never able to defeat those that held her captive or she denied her chance to break free. The daughter moments of personal epiphany is a victory with the mother because it breaks a chain of self-loathing or hatred. There is pride and love for the women they truly were and is to be celebrated for mother and daughter.
In the short story "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, the reader is introduced to a mother living in the midst of the Great Depression dealing with angst and anxiety towards her daughter Emily. Because this story looks back during the Great Depression when Emily was born the mother's trauma is coming between the both of them. The mother wants her daughter to live a beautiful life, however, poverty, depression and dislocation has built a wall between the two women.
Torture and ill-treatment remain widespread and systemic in China…these violations occur in police stations, detention centers, labor camps, and prisons across the country, sometimes resulting in the death of victims. Many acts which constitute torture or ill-treatment-notably the use of torture to punish, coerce, or intimidate a person-are not offenses under the law. (Kent, 222)
The motivation to torture is guided by gut feelings and “what if” stories. Using torture to gain information involves a tremendous amount of assumptions. The Torturer is assuming that there is an actual danger, they are assuming that they have the correct person as well as assuming their level of their involvement and guilt in the situation, and lastly by using torture they are assuming that there is no alternative way to extract the information.
Although, a mother’s determination in the short story “I Stand Here Ironing” mother face with an intense internal conflict involving her oldest daughter Emily. As a single mother struggle, narrator need to work long hours every day in order to support her family. Despite these criticisms, narrator leaves Emily frequently in daycare close to her neighbor, where Emily missing the lack of a family support and loves. According to the neighbor states, “You should smile at Emily more when you look at her” (Olsen 225). On the other hand, neighbor gives the reader a sense that the narrator didn’t show much affection toward Emily as a child. The narrator even comments, “I loved her. There were all the acts of love” (Olsen 225). At the same time, narrator expresses her feeling that she love her daughter. Until, she was not be able to give Emily as much care as she desire and that gives her a sense of guilt, because she ends up remarrying again. Meanwhile narrator having another child named Susan, and life gets more compli...
Torture is commonly practiced all over the world, but most notably in the Guantánamo bay detention center in Cuba. It is most commonly used on prisoners of war to obtain useful enemy information, but it is not limited to that as it is practiced in normal prisons and jails. After experiencing torture, people don’t possess the same mindset. These sessions of torment can give victims mental scarring, which often leads to damaging psychological disorders. It can also disable people’s ability to act and think on their own.
To begin, one has to consider what torture is. Torture is defined as “the act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force someone to do or say something” (Torture, 2014). While this definition is accurate in its description of physical torture, does mental torture fall under the same definition? To answer the question mental torture need not bring about pain but only subject a person to mental anguish, as a means of lowering a person’s resistance to questioning. First, what are some of the types of physical torture. Physical torture can take any number of different manifestations. Be it from beating a person with fists or an object, cutting off parts of the body, electrocution, branding, or dislocation of joints. Basically physical torture is anything that brings about pain to garner the desired result i.e. answers to questions. Next, what are some of the mental tortures. Like physical torture mental torture manifests in a number of different ways and does not have to be suffered by the person being tortured. Some of the mental tortures used include sensory deprivation, sexual degradation, and the threat or use of torture on a loved one (Luban & Shue, 2011). Once again the result of this type of torture is to bring about a desired result. To conclude, torture whether physical, mental, or a combination of each...
Every since I was a child I have had a passion for doing other people’s hair. When I was little I would use my baby dolls as clients and work on their hair until it was perfect and neat. I have chosen to be in the cosmetology field because I like to help other people with their needs and wants as well as mine. I am aware that while working in this industry I will work with many different ethnic groups and many different hair types. I feel I can do anything as long as I have the determination to do so. Many people go to cosmetology school to work for someone else, but I would like to open up a mini-salon out of my own home someday.
The second person point of view helps the reader to connect with the girl in this story. It shows the reader a better understanding of this character and how she is being raised to be a respectable woman. This point of view also gives us an insight on the life of women and shows us how they fit into their society. Through this point of view, the reader can also identify the important aspects of the social class and culture. The daughter tries to assert a sense of selfhood by replying to the mother but it is visible that the mother is being over whelming and constraining her daughter to prepare her for
The persuasive attempts in both literary works produce different results. The effectiveness of the mother’s guidance to her daughter is questioned since the girl cannot recognize the essence of her mother’s lesson. Despite that, the mother’s beneficial instruction serves as a standard for the daughter to reflect her future behaviors in order to live up to the community’s expectations. On the other hand, Anne’s value of candid expression and lasting relationship dissuades her from obliging to her family’s meaningless duty to place her love and interest above to experience fulfillment in life.
One of the main emotions that Elizabeth feels is anger. Elizabeth is angry with herself for sending her daughter away to a different school. She is angry that she is not the best equipped to take care of her daughter. Elizabeth is also very upset that her daughter was born this way. Elizabeth is part of a distinguished crowd, and during one of her functions Carla has an outburst. Elizabeth gets so upset by Carla’s outburst because “it was so embarrassing”. Elizabeth is embarrassed that her daughter does not behave like everyone else’s daughters. She is upset at the attention that Carla draws to her and for how everyone laughs at her and judges her because she cannot control her daughter’s actions. Along with the anger Elizabeth also feels disappointed, powerless, and also acceptance at times. Elizabeth is disappointed in herself, but also in Carla. The disappointment that Elizabeth feels also makes her feel powerless. Carla’s mother feels disappointed and powerless because she sent her daughter away. Elizabeth claims that “I’m gonna make it up to that girl”, she feels disappointed in herself because she could not take care of her daughter so she had to send her away from her family in order for her to be taken care of. Along with this, Elizabeth feels powerless when Carla returns to her family. Elizabeth says “there are mothers out
Torture is the act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force someone to do or say something” (Merriam Webster). Torture is a very controversial topic in today's’ society. In some ways torture can be looked upon as evil and satanic. On the other hand, torture can be look upon as beneficial and favorable. In United States of America, torturing for your own self pleasure is inhumane and shunned by many Americans, but is torture effective? Depending on the situation it can be. Let us say a very sadistic person tells you that he has your best friend in one of two buildings and in sixty seconds both buildings will collapse. Would torturing this sadistic person be effective in helping obtain information on which building your loved one was in? Torture should only be used on the war on terror, life or death situation and important issues involving our country.