In Eudora Welty’s “Why I live at P.O.”, Sister, the narrator, tries to alter the viewpoints of the reader to shape their interpretations to match the bias and the animosity towards the family. People often allow their perceptions to be influenced by a self-serving bias that can jade the depth of reality. In her reality, Sister is the victim that gets ridiculed by her family especially her sister Stella-Rondo whom she harbors a jealousy. Sister claims her life was “fine” before Stella-Rondo shows up and interrupts everything. She describes Stella-Rondo be inconsistent and unstable based on her being spoiled when they were children.
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a story about a young girl named Connie who starts out being superficial and selfish and ends up in a horrifying situation she must accept unless she wants her family to be in the same horrifying situation. It is a terrible decision for a teenage girl to make, but she does, and she leaves with the mysterious Arnold Friend. There are many different explanations and theories as to why she left with Arnold, what happened when he was at her house, and who Arnold Friend truly was. Joyce Carol Oates left “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” with countless ideas about countless parts of the story. There are very heavy biblical theories about the nature of this story, and many thoughts on Connie’s teenage promiscuity and her assumed rape at the end of the story.
With people tormenting her about her cousins who were teen moms, or her father who made a fool of his drunken self in public, the poor girl felt like nothing more than dirt, and she wanted to be thought of as flawless and beautiful. Edith dreamed of being a celebrity, she wished to be a perfect girl, and to live in a perfect world "in which only married women had babies, and in which men and women stayed married forever." The shacks in which Eddie grew up were less than desirable, and supposedly thought of as contemptible, by people of a higher social class. When Edith moved to the boarding house, with set meal times, she was quite ashamed to think of how people living in the shacks didn't have meal times, they simply found any food they could and ate by themselves when they were hungry. The potato-chip plant that Eddie worked at
In contrast to Cindy’s new found self esteem, her mother seemed to uphold a strong lack of confidence in her daughter and in herself as well. By the same token, in the second article “The Thrill of Victory … The Agony of Parents”, the author presents the opposition through her mother. Jennifer Schwind’s mother appeared as an embarrassment to her publicly and emotionally. “In a voice so screeching that it rivaled fingernails on a blackboard, she told him that he was a disgraceful coach and that he should be ashamed of himself” (Pawlak 3). While in her mother’s eyes, she only supported her daughter and craved the absolute best for her child.
She prefers to spend more time with herself than with her family because of this she has a weak relationship with her parents. The story discusses how she has two sides: one for home and one for not being home. Her abduction was solely due to her fault for her appearance that she presented in public, to the relationship that she had with her family and lastly her naiveness. The antagonist Arnold Friend somehow knew about Connie. He saw a great opportunity the moment he set his eyes on her.
Maggie is envious of her sisters looks and feels overshadow by her. She displays this by acting like a wallflower the whole time her sister Dee is present. However, it is Dee who does not know the meaning of the word "no" that really exhibits her sentiments of jealousy and frustration when their mother prohibits her from taking Maggie's quilt. Dee insults her sister by saying that she'd be "backwards enough to put them to every day use." That gives you a glimpse as to what Dee thinks of her sister and how she handles herself when she feels
She may feel as if her birth was a curse to her mother, and that it’s all her fault she lived with such disgrace. Pearl was a reminder of the very day her mother stood on trial, named Pearl for this symbolic reason. See the name Pearl stands for great price, one of which Hester had to pay. I’m sure Pearl was grateful that her mother was cleared of all her charges due to Governors Dimmesdale admission of guilt. Once cleared of all charges Hester didn’t leave because she said ‘’here was the scene of her guilt, therefore it must be the scene of her earthly punishment ‘’.
When Dee finds out that the quilts were already given to her sister, Dee gets furious and believes that she deserves the quilts more than Maggie and that Maggie would not take care of them as well as she would. Poor Maggie says to her mother "She can have them Mama...I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts". Maggie is used to never getting anything. Throughout the entire story, it says that Maggie gives up many things so Dee can have what she needs or wants. Dee is quite ungrateful.
Stella is willing to look past everything Stanley does because she loves him and that makes her the fool of the play. After finding out Stanley raped her sister she still chooses Stanley though she asks herself “what have I done to my sister?” Stella is so stuck on her life as it is that she’s not willing to accept that Stanley is not the man she once deceived herself he was and that internal conflict is what makes her a huge
Connie fails to realize the great danger she takes on while over exaggerating her appearance and attitude. Her sister on the other hand conducts herself as a more modest girl and is the ideal vision of a “good” girl. Connie was in constant discord with her family because they did not approve of her actions but she cared less for she continued on with her conceited, selfish ways. "Why don't you keep your room clean like your sister? How've you got your hair fixed—what the hell stinks?