Friday, October 12, 2007

Valentina's October 17 Group Work

Put your answers here.

Posted by Brad at 10/12/2007 01:58:00 PM

6 comments:

Valentina said...

Why has the author chosen First Person point of view?

Tillie Olsen has chosen First Person point of view to show the readers that the story is completely sincere and plausible. She wants to help them understand that the protagonist’s heart is really full of remorseful feelings. The narrator admits, “I was a distracted mother,” and simultaneously she tries to explain why she fails in giving the necessary love, comfort, attention, and support to her daughter. “We were poor and could not afford the soil of easy growth.” By using “I”, the author deeply reveals the main character’s soul which is constantly tormented by her guilty conscience. As the story goes to the end, Tillie Olsen probably hopes that the readers will not judge her character very hard because Emily manages to recover and overcome the time when life “sickened” her. “She is coming, and I know she is happy,” the mother says, admiring her lovely daughter with her “light graceful step.”

-152 words

October 15, 2007 at 7:10 PM
Anonymous said...

Do characters have control over their lives? Are choices made freely?

In this story, the main characters do not have control over their lives. For instance, the eldest child Emily, went through a tough time during her childhood years. She was handed to a variety of temporary caretakers.

October 16, 2007 at 8:37 PM
Lien said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
October 16, 2007 at 10:45 PM
Lien said...

Can characters be blamed for their actions?

In Tillie Olsen’s, “I Stand Here Ironing,” Emily can’t be blamed for her actions because nobody cares for her. She is lack of love when her mom abandons her, and just thinks of work and the other kids, and she is teased by people because of her appearance. Her mind is destroyed by people’s criticism, and she feels isolated, so it isn’t weird when she “rarely talks with friends”. Sometimes, she “sits silent” while closing her sisters or brothers. She doesn’t want to go to school. Also, it isn’t surprised that she doesn’t want her mom to touch her, and doesn’t share her daily life to her mom. She reacts this way because people have negative feelings about her, especially her mom. She is an innocent kid.

October 16, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Amanda said...

What problems do they have? How do they attempt to solve them?

I think the main problem the mother has is the conflicted feelings with in her (man vs. himself.) I think she is struggling to be a good mother in her mind. Not knowing what to do in certain situations and figuring out what to do to her best ability. She is definitely struggling she wants to be a good role model to her children and she is figuring out how to do that. “Only help her to know-help make it so there is cause for her to know—that she is more then this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron.” She attempts to solve this by realizing that she is human and we make mistakes and good parenting comes from yourself and what you think is right. There is no book on how to be the best parent because everybody is different.
-156 words

October 17, 2007 at 10:45 AM
Brad said...

from Amanda:

I think people are good they are loved and respected by others around them. There are so many good things people can do weather it’s giving money to charity or helping someone with their homework. There are different types of flawed people, there are people that have flaws in their personality and there are ones that have flaws in behavior. A flawed personality is people who are rude, arrogant or just plain mean (good people can also demonstrate these flaws sometimes.) Somebody with a behavior flaw I believe will do stuff like break the law. I think there are different extremes to behavior flaws like breaking the law weather it’s stealing, vandalizing or even murder. I think someone who commits murder has extreme flaws in there behavior

-Amanda

October 25, 2007 at 7:25 PM

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