ipl-logo

I Stand Here Ironing By Tillie Olson

1785 Words8 Pages

The Perspective of time through different stories. Perspective can change everything. Looking at something from a different perspective or from a different lens can impact how someone interprets it. Using a story as a lens to further understand another story is a prime example of how we can use the theories from one text and connect them to another. “I stand here ironing” by Tillie Olson is about a mother who lives during the time of the Great Depression. We can see the struggles she had to go through when it comes to money, especially when caring for and being there for her children. The story “In search of our mother’s garden” by Alice Walker is about many black women who lived through the time of slavery and the Jim Crow laws. We can …show more content…

Emily had to deal with her mother leaving every day to go to work and not returning for hours on end. She had to get used to this sensation of loneliness and potential abandonment from her mother because her mother really needed the money, especially during this time. The Great Depression was an immense struggle, and it was due to the extremely high rates of unemployment. This made being a mother during this time extremely hard as she had to put in extra work to be able to provide for her family. Emily ended up growing up more reserved when it came to her mother and family due to the immense amount of pressure and stress, she had been having to endure from such an early age. Olson mentions, "She kept too much in herself, her life was such she had to keep too much in herself. My wisdom came too late.” (Olson). Since Emily had grown up in such a challenging time globally, it impacted the type of person she had grown up to be. What if she had not grown up during the Great Depression? How different would her life have been? Through this text we only really get to see one point of view and perspective on how difficult the Great Depression was and

Show More
Related
956 Words | 4 Pages

Beatrice said the Great Depression taught the family how to get by with what they

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Mr. Grierson, Emily’s father, prohibited her from socializing with men because, in Mr. Grierson’s eyes, there was no man suitable for Emily. After being tired of being alone for so long, Emily decided to date Homer Barron. Homer Barron was a Northerner and worked as a foreman for a construction company. The older folks of the town were excited for Emily, there was even talk about marriage between the couple. However, the younger crowd did not believe Homer was that of Ms. Griersons high status.

Read More
1093 Words | 5 Pages

UPS AND DOWNS. The nature of Emily's journey is in a . Emily's pain is caused by the lack of her mother's attention. At the beginning of the mother's reflection over Emily's life she is remembered as chubby cheeked joyful little baby. When Emily was little she had to stay with other people because her mom had to work.

Read More
3158 Words | 13 Pages

At that moment, things didn't seem so bad, and it was because of a government funded project. Then there is the other side of the coin. For example suppose there was a man or a woman, and all their life they had been a concert piano player, or maybe a stage actor, perhaps a novelist, or even a portrait painter. It is the height of the Great Depression, they

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

Women were often seen as secondary earners or homemakers, and their participation in the workforce was undervalued. African Americans faced racial discrimination, which limited their access to employment opportunities and government assistance. While the Great Depression ended, the racial discrimination and perspectives that women were less than men

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

Emily’s Mental Deterioration After getting over the initial shock of finding out that the mysterious woman that everyone was talking about was going to sleep each night with a decaying body next to her, it makes sense for the reader to question her mental state. If the reader took a closer look at the town’s description of her, they will realize that as time went on, Emily’s will power began to deteriorate. When she was young, she was the topic of everybody’s conversation, however, she did not let that bother her and walked down the streets with her head held high. Emily took over the old house after her father’s death and kept a few servants around to keep the house tidy, nonetheless, the outside of the house was not kept in the best of conditions.

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

The teenage years are an important time for growth and independence into young adulthood. During the depression, Emily’s mother was struggling to care for herself and her baby. Based on the conversation at the beginning of the story between the narrator and the unnamed individual, Emily seems to be heading down a similar path of

Read More
1742 Words | 7 Pages

In the book "Hard Times" Stud Terkel, summarized a woman's feelings. She described, "The Depression affected people in two different ways. The great majority reacted by thinking money is the most important thing in the world. Get yours. And get it for your children.

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

Eleanor was the first lady married to president Franklin Roosevelt, she worked tirelessly to understand the effects of the Great Depression. “With boundless energy, she traveled throughout the country, observing conditions firsthand and reporting back to her husband” (166). Eleanor was very important to the people suffering because they counted on her to speak for them and get the word out about their conditions. Eleanor received thousands upon thousands of letters describing their situations and asking for some sort of help. One of the letters coming from Wachapreague, Virginia was from a young girl reaching out for help because she had to miss years of school so she could help support her family.

Read More
594 Words | 3 Pages

Emily was isolated by her father, isolated her from men and let Homer Barron isolated her permanently. Emily was sick for a long time, her hair was cut short and looks like a girl, she had grown fat also and her hair was turning grey. Emily's love story is not a traditional romance because their relationship is shrouded in mystery. And they met but are not destined to be together. The relationship ends abruptly, instead of spending more time with Emily, but what Emily perceives as romantic interest is merely platonic from his

Read More
1093 Words | 5 Pages

Finally, having their whole childhood revolved around work, the kids never got to enjoy the time they had as kids. Ann Marie, a young girl who worked on her family farm during the Great Depression, suggests “Maybe next year we won’t have to work so hard” (Ruth 7-8). These children suffered for 11 years working as hard as they could just so that they could have food on the table, and many times it was not enough. They matured much too quickly, which eventually led to many problems in their futures, such as addictions to drugs or alcohol. In the book Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman, a nine-year-old wrote to First Lady Elenor Roosevelt “I’m always sorry because I’m still very young and can’t help out” (Freedman 4).

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

Because her family was prominent in the town of Jefferson, Emily Grierson was watched her entire life and wondered about by everyone. The townspeople had a lot to do with Emily’s changing mental condition because they constantly gossiped about everything that happened in her life. It generally

Read More
663 Words | 3 Pages

The great depression made a major impact on the lives of the people that lived through it. One group of people that is often overlooked are children that lived during that time period. When the parents lost their jobs the responsibility the parent once held was put on the children of the families to contribute to the income of the home. Because of this in the great depression “two-fifths of children were employed in part time jobs” (Elder 65). In Glen Elder’s book Children of the Great Depression: Social Change in Life Experience he discusses how the depression affected those children in their later lives.

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

This type of dependency, can affect someone’s mental state. After his death, she has a rather difficult time coming to terms with his demise, refusing to believe that one person she connected to most, was gone. This continued for three days, and while the community saw her denial of her father’s death as a normal part of the grieving process, it certainly was something deeper than what it was. After she finally accepts her father’s passing, she meets a Northern laborer who comes into town as a contractor, Homer Barron. Normally, someone of Emily’s status wouldn’t normally associate

Read More
1277 Words | 6 Pages

The winter season was upon us. Snow fell, christmas decorations were up, and our spirits were high. My brother, Milan, and I loved the holiday season. Spending time with our family, opening gifts, playing in the snow; it was all like a dream come true. Every year we made our own wish lists, decorating them in green and red stickers.

Read More

More about I Stand Here Ironing By Tillie Olson

Open Document