Maggie would be ignored by her mother just like Emily (Hoffman, 118). She would face the bitter reality of rejection. Mothers in the stories are responsible for their daughter’s personality. Rivalry between daughters as a result of poor parenting is depicted in the stories. In Alice Walkers’ story, both daughters are treated differently and their relationship is based on emotional separation (Hoffman, 119). Mother dreams of Dee becoming a great person but ignores Maggie as being insignificant. Tillie Olsen’s story looks at poverty as a theme, the narrator toils for long hours and is not able to provide for her daughter. In Amy Tan’s story, theme of cultural differences is evidenced by June struggling against her mother’s expectations because their cultural backgrounds differ. Cultural differences theme is also seen in Alice Walkers’ story where Dees’ mother sees her within the setup of her immediate family traditions contrary to Dees’ expectations (Bloom, 164). Dee chose to change her name and ties with her African roots.
“A rose for Emily” and “What we talk about when we talk about love”
Definition of love and how it complicates my definition
Both stories depict mysteries and elusive nature of love. In Raymond Carver’s story, characters define love but their actions rather reinforce its mystery (Carver, 56). Mel tries to explain the meaning of love but his examples do not draw any meaningful conclusion. Laura and Nick demonstrate their affection by holding hands and blushing but these actions do not reveal the meaning of love (Carver, 88). Terri’s examples of Ed’s weird behavior do not translate her certainty into any kind of clear explanation of the nature of love (Carver, 76). According to William Faulkner (97) Emily and Homer conduct their relationship in a strange way with Homer being portrayed an eternal bachelor or a homosexual. Both characters are victims of love because of circumstances that surround them. Emily poisons Homer when she is unable to possess him in order to assume total power over him. Relationships in the two stories complicate the definition of love since love is characterized with threats, abuse and murder.
Works cited
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily and Other Stories. S.I.: Random House Publishing Group, 2012. Internet resource.
Gale, Cengage L. Study Guide for Tillie Olsen's "i Stand Here Ironing.". Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, n.d.. Print.
Hoffman, Dejan J. Dejan: The Twisted Fist Of Fate. Xlibris Corporation, 2007. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Alice Walker. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2007. New York : Bloom's Literary Criticism.
Carver, Raymond. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. , 2016. London : Vintage Digital
