Growing Up in I Stand Here Ironing Essay -- American Literature Tillie

Growing upThe oppression of women by society has never been a secret. Many times it has been documented in works of literature, and atomic number 53 classical example of this occurrence is I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen. This story illustrates the consequences of oppression in womens lives.The story leads the lector on an alpha journey to witness the neglect by Emilys extremely guilty mother. This is described by the childrens cry when they are left with strangers, lacking attention and love out-of-pocket to the fact she is a single parent at a time where this was not commonly accepted in the community, causing a lot of stirred distress. The mothers pain and torment is apparent from the very beginning of the story. Her realization that she could have been a better mother, had it not been for the circumstances and life events which occurred following Emilys birth, such as the father who dealt with his parental responsibility by leaving - Her father left me before she was a year old. I had to work her first six geezerhood when there was work, or I sent her home and to his relatives (Olsen, 373). The mother does, however, continually shift cover and forth, as the metaphor of ironing implies, to invoke pity from the reader and explain that there were other people, and factors which played a significant role in Emilys upbringing. Purposely organized in a non chronological way, it illustrates the shifting, which is the passing back and forth of Emily emotionally (allowing the nursery, school teacher, and hospital staff play the primary care giver) and physically (the baby-sitter, the fathers family, etc) distress. Emilys mother seems to be constantly blaming her troubles and circumstances for the less than decorous ... ...one or more of the five senses of the reader. In this short story, the author uses literal language to call up a mental picture in the readers mind. In the last line of Emilys story her mother says, Only help Emily to know... that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron (Olsen, 373). The image, ironing a dress, compares to actually raising a child. The dress represents the child, the iron is the childs parents and society, and the ironing board is their expectations. The theme this image conveys is that children grow up to become individuals as a exit of their interaction with their parents and society, their experiences, and their own insight, not simply being ironed in to societys preconceived model.Work CitedOlsen, Tillie. I Stand Here Ironing. The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. capital of Massachusetts Bedford, 1999.