Similarly, Lairds sister also felt her mother was not trustworthy: “ My mother I felt was not to be trusted.”(Munro 50) Lairds sister was unwillingly forced by her mother, to stay in the house all day and fill countless jars with various fruits, instead of being outside in the fields with her father doing the work she loved. Narrators having trouble with their mother is one of the three comparable conflicts which appear in both short stories. Secondly, in both short stories the narrators are unwilling to pursue their given career. In the story
This is exactly what the little girls mother is afraid of, this is why she will not let her go to the march. It also seems weird that her mother is so sure that going to church, instead of going to the march, will be the best thing for her. Typically, a church is a very safe and sacred place. No one could have guessed that a bombing or any other type of violence would happen there. The irony is that going to church turns out to be the worst place for the mothers child to be.
In addition, there was also racial discrimination in “The Welcome Table” written by Walker. This short too tells a story of an old African American woman who just wants to be closer to the Lord. She doesn’t see anything wrong with going to church, but when she steps in the wrong church, the same church with all the babies and people she helped raise and take care of, they throw her out because of the color of her skin. It was pretty sad when we read these stories. Although each had a different tone and setting to how each one ended.
But Layla Jay is overwhelmed by temptation and rebels against her grandmother and approaches Bobby to perhaps kiss him again. Layla Jay is greatly influenced by a magazine known as True Confessions that tells stories of younger girls experiencing lust and the feelings that come with it. “Saturday Confessions” by Bev Marshall is a successful short story because she creates a character that rebels against society to make the story entertaining, she uses conflict between two characters to make the plot interesting, and the main character undergoes emotional change involving her feelings of lust. Layla Jay rebels against her grandmother and society by kissing Bobby on the floor of the church. She was given this temptation by a magazine titled True Confessions and her feelings about purity perhaps changed because of this.
On the other hand during the first meeting between the protagonist’s mothers, it is Roberta’s mother who acts in a racist’s way; instead of shaking Twyla’s mother’s hand she looks down at both Twyla and her mother then grabs Roberta and walks away. Furthermore Roberta’s mother are described as very religious and it could be for that reason Roberta’s mother acts the way she does, because Twyla’s mother are described as the opposite of religious. However if a person is religious or not are something one cannot know about another person from the first sight consequently the
My mother spoke in normal Trini dialogue, so I would constantly hear phrases such as “Do not cut you nose to patch you bottom” and “If you see you neighbor house catch fire wet yours”. To some of my friend my mother had no idea what she was talking about and should maybe work on her English, but to me she spoke clear and understandable English. I can relate to Tan in this way, because many people did not understand her mother and assumed her grasp on English was very weak, when it was actually the opposite. Over the years, I have noticed how my mother’s dialogue has rubbed off on me. I constantly find myself speaking in the island dialogue while at home, but the second someone calls or visits, I am able to switch into a more proper English dialogue with my American friends.
“A Sorrowful Woman” by Gail Godwin, opened with once upon a time, but this short story is far from a fairy tale. The woman is never named throughout the story, leading the reader to believe she feels she has no identity, and the fact that her family is never named either could lead one to believe there is no connection to them. In the very beginning, the husband is described as “durable, receptive, gentle; the child a tender golden three” (39), but the sight of them makes her “sad and sick” (39). As a reader, I want to know how these feelings of despise and disgust came to be. As the story unfolds, the unnamed wife becomes increasingly distant from the love of her husband and son.
I felt as if she had missed out on the carols so decided to ask the care workers how they communicated with her, so that I could explain to her what carols we had sang and have a conversation with her. I was amazed by their answer. They would write each letter with their finger on the palm of her hand. As they did this she would say the word they had spelt, sometimes before they had finished writing this. Due to this I was able to ask her what her favourite carols were, tell her what we had sang and ask her name.
Maggie selflessly insists that her sister can have the quilts (128). Maggie is also not a very strong character; instead she stays in the background most every situation that she can. For example, Dee and her friend rapidly approached the house in their car. “Maggie attempts to make a dash for the house…” but her mother quickly takes hold of her, making sure that she does not escape. Maggie was very uneasy around her sister; her mother tells her anxiousness in regard to Dee’s visitation: “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (119).
When Annabelle is in the Head’s office, she seems insensitive towards the Head and the issue. The Head sends a letter to Annabelle’s mother, where she tells about the incident, her mother just laughs – not the reaction Annabelle expected. That clearly shows that she doesn’t care about her daughter’s feelings. Annabelle doesn’t like to admit that her life has changed a lot since her parents got separated. Now she feels unsecure talking to her mother and their conversations have become a routine.