Behind Closed Doors
From the outside looking in, most people look to have normal lives. Normal as in what society dictates as normal. But if you really knew what went on behind closed doors, you might be appalled. Shirley Jackson, writer, wife, and mother, knew just that. Jackson lived a life with many experiences from childhood to adulthood that would influence her writing style and the content of which she wrote. From an early age, Jackson learned that things are not always as they appear. And as her life moved forward into college, marriage, and children, life would still reinforce what Jackson learned from her own parents. People are born into their family and community. You have no say in who your parents are or the way that they raise you. And being a part of a family, also puts you in a certain community. Depending on the community you are a part of, your appearances and actions must fit the mold. People are so afraid of going against the grain. You should stick with tradition and the way things …show more content…
Tess Hutchinson was in many ways much like Jackson. She stays in her house finishing up the dishes until she absolutely must come out and face the town and their ceremony of tradition. This was Tess’s way of rebelling against the village. And when she gets to the ceremony she states to Mrs. Delacroix, “Clean forgot what day it was," and even goes on to say to an authoritative figure "Wouldn 't have me leave m 'dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?," (Jackson, 9) This was a mocking tone as well. It was leaving her place of comfort that would lead Tess Hutchinson to her violent death. But Tess Hutchinson also goes along with tradition in the public eye. It is only when it affects her personally that she chooses to fight the system and talk about the tradition as if it is
From the outside looking in, most people look to have normal lives. Normal as in what society dictates as normal. But if you really knew what went on behind closed doors, you might be appalled. Shirley Jackson, writer, wife, and mother, knew just that. Jackson lived a life with many experiences from childhood to adulthood that would influence her writing style and the content of which she wrote. From an early age, Jackson learned that things are not always as they appear. And as her life moved forward into college, marriage, and children, life would still reinforce what Jackson learned from her own parents. People are born into their family and community. You have no say in who your parents are or the way that they raise you. And being a part of a family, also puts you in a certain community. Depending on the community you are a part of, your appearances and actions must fit the mold. People are so afraid of going against the grain. You should stick with tradition and the way things …show more content…
Tess Hutchinson was in many ways much like Jackson. She stays in her house finishing up the dishes until she absolutely must come out and face the town and their ceremony of tradition. This was Tess’s way of rebelling against the village. And when she gets to the ceremony she states to Mrs. Delacroix, “Clean forgot what day it was," and even goes on to say to an authoritative figure "Wouldn 't have me leave m 'dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?," (Jackson, 9) This was a mocking tone as well. It was leaving her place of comfort that would lead Tess Hutchinson to her violent death. But Tess Hutchinson also goes along with tradition in the public eye. It is only when it affects her personally that she chooses to fight the system and talk about the tradition as if it is