I Stand Here Ironing

Emily, the protagonist, is a lonely- unappreciated child. Her life and childhood is told by the nameless mother. Emily faces many conflicts but a major conflict she has is her self-esteem. Emily and her mother have always been poor and that makes the social setting. The story is told by the protagonist’s mother making the story into a first person point of view. Susan is a foil character. She is the complete opposite of Emily; therefore they do not get along. When Susan is born Emily becomes very sick and is not allowed to see her mother. This is a great use of irony by the author. It sets motion for the rivalry between the two sisters. No one should underestimate a person. This is the theme of I Stand Here Ironing, by Tillie Olsen.

            Overall it seemed to be a little depressing story. It seems sad how people do not value themselves. Everyone is beautiful and special in their own way. People should learn to appreciate differences.

Everyday Use

Everyday Use is a short story by Alice Walker. Maggie, the protagonist is a shy fearful girl who is always overshadowed by Dee, the antagonist. Maggie is a developing character. She was a fearful little girl who was insecure of herself especially when compared to her sister, but soon was able to look fear in the face a smile a fearless smile. Dee would be a static character. Dee was always seen as beautiful, fearless, and arrogant, and she stays the same throughout the story. Maggie lives in a very rural area and this is the setting of the story. The mother another protagonist faces many conflicts in the story. She struggles with the idea that she is not good enough for her daughter Dee. Being proud of whom you are and where you are from is the theme of the story. Walker uses many metaphors. On page 44 for Maggie is compared to a lame dog. These kind of metaphors enrich the story.

I really enjoyed the story. I was horrified how Dee is ashamed of her family and where she came from. I really enjoyed how the mother stood up for Maggie and realized she was a beautiful girl also. Walker used very powerful language and it took you to their lives. It’s impressive how much knowledge can be seen in such a short story. Maggie will be in my mind for a long time.

The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is written in first person by the protagonist.  The protagonist faces a conflict with her life in particular with her husband and health. Gilman uses great symbolism with the wallpaper. It is similar to the protagonist’s life.  The nameless protagonist is many times dismissed by her husband a great metaphor with this is on page 64 when he shuts the window and dismisses her worries at the same time. Another great metaphor is when the protagonist describes the garden as a delicious garden. The story was full of sensory elements like when the protagonist elaborately describes the wallpaper. A recurring theme would be the unimportance the protagonist’s husband shows to her. Horror seems to be the type of short story Gilman wrote.

I was very shocked when I reached the end of the story. As it got closer to the end I would get Goosebumps. I felt like screaming for someone to help the poor woman. I would have liked to have seen the wall in person even though it was very well described.