In the two case studies examined, I found many similarities as well as differences between Fannie Lawrence and Sylvia Ashley. In this paper, I will first address the distinct emotions felt by Fannie and Sylvia and the situations that caused these emotions. Second, I will identify the sources of stress for the individual members of each family and the effects of those stresses. Let’s start with Fannie. Fannie Lawrence seems to have it all together from an outside point of view.…
Jeannette Walls wrote a book, The Glass Castle, about her own life. In her book, she talks about her “adventurous” life moving from place to place. Her father was a drunken man who could not hold a steady job; therefore, he could not pay the bills. That is where the “adventures” came in. They would run away from the authorities so they would not have to pay the bills.…
In the discombobulation of day to day life, all types of people are going to try to knock you down. This hardship was experienced personally by Brenda Roza as she realized that “there may not be that person next to you that's going to speak up for you”. There is no reason for strangers being malicious, to try to knock other people down when they’re not even known to you. Regardless, it is imperative that you are able to defend yourself- just as Brenda Roza did. Having been told throughout her entire life that she couldn’t do certain things, Brenda thought that that being a successful person might be beyond reach to her - impossible.…
Correspondingly, the women in The House on Mango Street are unsatisfied with their lives and seek ways to find purpose and equality. In Esperanza’s community, women are treated as if their worth is far less than a man’s and the likelihood of breaking away from the poor treatment and little roles are quite slim. Esperanza decides to go against the odds and refuse to succumb to the discrimination placed upon women. Esperanza learns first hand from what she has heard about her great-grandmother that ‘a place by the window’ is not a life worth living.…
Meeting parental expectations and completing all of the “requirements” to be a successful son or daughter has always been part of the main goal and developing process for everyone, no matter how old the “child” is. Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan, authors of two unique essays - "Only Daughter" and "Mother Tongue" - with the similar theme, are sharing their experiences and thought processes regarding that question. They have something in common – both women immigrated to the United States with their families and both decided to major in English to become writers. However, these are the only few similarities that authors have. Everything else is different and almost antithetical – mother that had her own “broken” English for Amy Tan and…
In the book, Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Child (2003) Julie Gregory courageously writes about her childhood. The memoir describes the abuse that she went through from both her mother and father. She faced both neglect and physical abuse throughout her childhood. The abuse that Julie got came in many different forms throughout the book, however, the abuse that seemed to be most prominent was the medical abuse coming from her mother.…
As if the world is not already difficult on its own, the hand of poverty can slap you in the face and knock you to the ground every single time you begin to stand on your feet. Poverty arrives easily and like an unwanted pest; it is challenging to get rid of. One has to be open to living a completely different lifestyle than what they are used to or what they wish. The novel, “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls is a perfect example of a child’s development through poverty. In fact, it is a memoir of Jeannette Walls’ life.…
Just a Girl The essay Only Daughter is a about a writer who grew up the only girl of six brothers. This story is based on the author, Sandra Cisneros life growing up. She talks about how isolated she felt being the only girl. Her brothers would only play amongst themselves.…
In Jeannette Walls’ life, moving from place to place was no big deal. At least not until her family packed up and moved across the country to a little town called Welch. Jeannette often had to adjust to a new town and a new home, but not an entirely new environment. In her memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette recalls doing the “skedaddle” several times. The most adventurous “skedaddle” was moving from the deserts of Arizona to the Appalachian hollows of West Virginia.…
Another social factor that is impacting many individuals around the world and characters in Nickel and Dimed is food insecurity. According to the article, “Annually, 39 million persons experience food insecurity, Food insecurity is defined as having limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or ability to acquire foods in a acceptable way” (pg 71). This quote exhibits that large number of people face food instability meaning that they don’t have or have enough safe and healthy food to intake. An individual might believe that people who have a job should be able to feed themselves. In reality many face difficulties choosing whether to feed themselves or paying the rent in which choosing to pay the rent becomes…
Sometimes, individuals arrive at a particular stage in their lives where they get a chance to benefit socially and academically. This is due to assistance from persons who care. Young people especially, are introduced to situations which help their development. On reading Toni Cade Bambara’s, “The Lesson”, it is clear that characters in the story need to be exposed to various aspects of life. Miss Moore makes this possible.…
Introduction Mrs. Carla Washburn’s a 76-year-old African- American women, widowed for 15 years, Son and daughter-in-law died in a car accident 14 years ago, and recently her grandson whom she raised since he was eight years old was recently killed in Afghanistan. Carla struggles at this point are medication needs and financial means. The struggle pins the drug cost to the funds available to purchase them, and this deepens the medical irregularity of her diabetes. Mrs. Washburn also has significant amount grief and loss due to the deaths of her family spanning 15 years, along with economic instability in the town from the major employer have increased layoff in the police department in return crime has increased. Mrs. Washburn is a church goer in need of spiritual guidance.…
Smith’s A Dead Man Laughing discusses the life of her father’s infatuation with comedy, and how it became a vehicle for discussing deeper issues and its associated impacts. Smith’s usage of personal observations and irony along with strong imagery and her unique style of description allowed for the development of insights and maintenance of a cohesive flow of ideas. Thus, allowing her to craft a compelling masterpiece.…
Unusual But Common The American model family myth has shaped the way people view their own family. The model family myth interprets that a family should have a father figure, a mother figure, two children, a dog, and a beautiful house. Everyone wants their families to imitate the model family. The Mexican American boy in Gary Soto’s article sees the perfect family on television and he wishes his family would be just that.…
A women’s role in society and family has extremely changed throughout the years. “A Rose for Emily” and “Eveline” was two short stories that showed two characters playing roles that showed negative impacts. Rose and Eveline had similar but different lives, they both had very strict fathers, but they could never neglect their families. Emily’s father was very well known in her community, she was the only child and grew up in a beautiful home. Eveline lived in a small apartment with her father and her siblings, her father was known as the alcoholic.…