The Role Of The Child Within The Family In Olsen’s I Stand Here Ironing And O’connor’s Everything That Rises Must Converge

Tillie O’Connor’s ‘I Stand Here Ironing’ and Flannery ‘Everything That Rises must Converge’ convey the theme of parent-child relationships in the family. Characters are well developed to show the impact that flawed relationships have on each member. Each story was written during Great Depression times and reflects in some way the theme loss.

Flannery O’Connor’s widely-anthologized stories use humor, paradox, and irony to convey religious themes and southern culture. Flannery o’Connor is a writer who uses humor, irony, and paradox to express religious themes. She also writes about American culture challenges like random violence, race relations, class discrimination, etc. She was born in Savannah in 1925. Her father, who suffered from systemic leukemia, died when she turned 16. Flannery’s first short story was published at the age of 21. After graduating high school she studied writing in Iowa. Flannery stayed at Yaddo for several months after graduation. Flannery O’Connor is best known for her short story collections. She has received numerous awards, including the O. Henry Award. Flannery, who died of lupus in Milledgeville Georgia, battled the autoimmune condition for over ten years. Tillie Lerner goldfarb, an American novelist and social activist whose powerful fiction focused on the lives of the poor, women and minorities inspired university programs to study women. Olsen’s work was highly regarded by scholars and academics alike. She won nine honorary PhDs and received grants and residencies with artists’ colonies. The second daughter of socialists, mostly Jewish, who formed a self defense league to combat injustices, and brutal tsarist Russian programs, Olsen lived with her parents in Minsk. Her father was arrested, after being implicated in the Russian Revolution that failed in 1905. Samuel Lerner fled Siberia to escape death or exile. He learned English and immigrated to New York City, New York, in 1906. Hashka goldberg, renamed Ida, by immigration authorities, followed him in 1907 to Omaha Nebraska where Samuel Lerner had maternal relatives. Samuel Lerner raised six kids with Ida Goldberg, who was a reformist in the Workmen’s Circle. Tillie began writing a humor piece for the Omaha Central High School’s newspaper in 1925, after enrolling in the school in January. A child of experimentation, she became pregnant unintentionally at age 16 and was forced to withdraw from school. She had an abortion before returning to class. She never graduated from Central, either because she was expelled or withdrawn. The cause of her failure to graduate is unknown. Tillie was deeply influenced by her socialist parents. However, she became independent and joined the Young Communist League. Abraham Jevons Goldfarb took Tillie to Stockton in California, where his parents lived, on her 18th birthday. In the Midwest, Tillie spent the rest of 1930 crusading on behalf of the Communist Party of the United States. She married Abraham Goldfarb in February 1931. Abraham and Tillie were reunited in the Midwest by the fall of 1930 after Tillie’s arrest for inciting workers to protest. She contracted tuberculosis in jail and was eventually released. She moved from Omaha to Minnesota once the newspaper published her picture. Tillie Goldfarb recovered from her illness and started writing while staying with Abraham Goldfarb’s daughter (Reid).

The lives of Flannery Connor and Tillie olsen were marked by significant events that shaped and changed the United States. First diesel engine car trip completed between Indianapolis, Indiana and New York City, New York. Jimmy Dewar invents Hostess Twinkies and the United Kingdom signs the London Naval Treaty to regulate submarine warfare. Thomas Shipp & Abram Smilow were hung in Marion, Indiana. It was the last known lynching in Northern United States. Herbert Hoover requested (United States’) $150 million from Congress to support the Public Works Program in order for it to create jobs and stimulate the economy. The United States has, over time, been involved in the occupation of Haiti, the fight against alcohol prohibition, the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Tillie Olsen’s and FlanneryO’Connor’s lives were greatly affected by these events, which in turn had an impact on their literary works.

The toxic relationship between a mother’s and her child is the focus of both “I Stand Here Ironing”, a work by Tillie, and Flannery’s “Everything That Rises Must Be Converged”, authored by Flannery. Emily is Tillie O’Connor’s eldest, but her mother in “I Stand Here Ironing,” who has many children, is the main character of the story. Emily’s mothers, in comparison with Julian’s in “Everything That Rises” is “anxious but not proud”, and raises Emily in a way that makes her feel “fearful, rather than proud”. Julian’s parent, however, takes every opportunity to boast about their son, regardless of his lackluster pride.

Julian and Emily are both raised by their mothers without any father figures for some, if no all, of their lives. Olsen’s mother sent Emily off to a nursing home to get the care she couldn’t provide. Then, Emily was expected to look after her younger siblings as well as accept Bill, her mother’s husband. Julian’s mother, who struggled to provide for her son and support him through his schooling and feeding, was a widow. Emily took a number of steps to reach out to her mother. Julian rejected her because of the irritation she caused. Julian is ashamed by his mother’s prejudice against people of colour.

Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand Here Ironing”, a monologue by a mom, was written to answer a request from a school counselor to speak about her eldest girl Emily. The mother reflects on the Great Depression, and how it affected Emily. Emily is the only child of a single-mother and was sent into a “nursery that’s just a parking place for children”, a caretaker who doesn’t know what to do with her. Emily’s single mother worries about Emily more than she cares for her. Instead, Emily is encouraged to look after her younger siblings as a second caregiver. Emily was still sent away from family when her mother married again. Emily’s isolation grew as a consequence of little parental contact and the disapproval of close attachments.

The story “I Stand Here Ironing”, set in the aftermath of World War II and the Great Depression, draws parallels between the two generations, Emily, a 19-year old daughter and the mother, who is not named. Tillie’s story shows the challenges faced by a single parent who works and their impact on children. The mother’s reflections on the circumstances illustrate the hardships Americans faced during the Great Depression. “We were poor, and we could not afford to give her soil for easy growth.” (Olsen, 451). The title is a reflection of how the mother’s feelings are erased and reformed by the ironing.

Flannery’s “Everything That Rises must Converge” takes place at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, when the South still practiced segregation. Flannery o’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, a short story, is set during the Civil Rights movement when the South was still segregated. Flannery’s story is set in South. It focuses primarily on two white protagonists: an older woman who views herself as superior because she has a son with a college education and due to the racial heritage. Her son Julian also believes that he is better than her mother, for his openness and lack of stereotypical racist thoughts. The story revolves about a bus ride into town for a mother to go to the YMCA and pay for a hat to be worn to her reducing classes by a black woman. Abby Werlock’s analysis concludes:

This story is a tale of self-discovery despite deception. Julian’s mother also comes to realize that their self-images are inaccurate.

Julian’s forced interactions with colored people in the bus proves that he has a superior mind to his mother. He knows his mother is superior, because she feels that Julian was being spiteful. She also believes that Julian’s actions are insensitive and careless, placing more value on the mind than the heart.

Flannery’s O’Connor uses repetitive imagery to highlight the similarities between the women. Julian proudly mentions this to his mother. Julian does not see the similarities in the two children. They both have a strong attachment to their mother in certain ways, but in Julian’s situation, he is in denial about the extent of his dependence on her. Julian’s mother offers a shiny penny to her son as they exit the bus. Her attitude is condescending and superior. Julian thinks his mother deserved to be beaten by the mother of the little boy. He only realizes the harm he has done when he realizes the impact his actions have had.

The title of each story conveys the idea that sin and wrongdoing will be erased and there will be an equal ground for everyone. Tillie olsen and Flannery oran were affected by events that occurred during the Great Depression. Their stories “I Stand Here Ironing,” “Everything That Rises,” and “Everything That Converges” reflect this.

Bibliography

Biography.com. Flannery o’Connor biography. April 2nd of 2014. A&E is a television network. May 3, 2019.

Dawahare, Anthony. ‘That Joyous Certificatety’: History, Utopia and Depression-era Literature by Tillie olsen 1998. The first of May, 2019.

Hackett, Robin. NWSA Journal, 2007: 227. The first of May, 2019.

John R. (Mary), Flannery O’Connor. 1978. The first of May, 2019.

O’Connor, Flannery. All things that ascend must eventually meet. (DiYanni, Robert) Literature : Approaches To Fiction, Drama, And Poetry New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 197-207.

Olsen, Tillie. Robert DiYanni. Literature: An Approach to Fiction, Poems, and Drama. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 446-451.

Reid, Panthea. Tillie olsen: American author n.d. Website. May 3, 2019.

Mary Ellen, Snodgrass I’m Ironing Right Here. 2013. Bloom’s Literature. May 4, 2019.

Werlock, Abby H. P. 2013. Bloom’s Literature. Four May of the year 2019.