“Symbolism of the three selected stories”

[Date of submission]Introduction

In this essay, the analysis of the three stories has been done including the basic elements; plot of the stories, themes and characters. The three st6ories are (1) I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen, (2) Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates and (3) Araby by James Joyce . All the stories are taken from the 10th edition of a book named “An Introduction to Fiction” written by “Kennedy, X.J. & Dana Gioia”.



Symbolism

1. "I Stand Here Ironing" by” Tillie Olsen”

The main plot of the story is from a mother's point of view that is remarried. The writer narrates on account t of the remarried mother who is the main character of this story.

The iron:

The iron shows the responsibilities that dint allow the narrator to engage into the narrator's daughter: “Emily”. As the name of the story suggests, the woman thinks that she has many responsibilities that are very important for her family and she is busy doing them. In fact, this is the fact that these duties took her away from her daughter and could provide Emily with her desired care. The mother moves the iron continuously back and forth on the iron board, this represents that her life as a mother has been the same way i.e. misbalanced with many flaws. The coldness the speaker feels from Emily is personified in this simple act of ironing (Kelly & Joseph, 2001). The speaker is more busy in iron her daughter's dress than in the young man's life who will be wearing that dress.

The Convalescent Home and Emily's Balcony:

The convalescent home in which Emily recovered from her tuberculosis represents the in effectiveness of her mother in caring her. In result, Emily was provided all the missing care by a social welfare agency. The welfare agency was being run by the women of society who were worried about her health and her convalescent home.

The balcony of Emily represents the distance in the daughter and the narrator's emotions. Emily was cut from all the communication while he was recovering in the recovery center. Her mother could only visit her daughter on Sundays. The children used to come in the balconies where they used to communicate with their parents (Kelly & Joseph, 2001). Here, the narrator seems unable to make a direct contact with her daughter. According to narrator, a ...