Conflict and Reconciliation in Familial Relationships

Introduction

One of the burning concerns in the familial relationships of today's busy and demanding life is the rising occurrence of conflicts between the parents and children faced during the process of brought up. Another interesting part pertaining to this issue is how they arrive to a stage of reconciliation and resolve the matters of conflicts amongst each other. In this regard, a number of short stories can be found in the English literature that is worth reading. However, this report will be precisely focusing on the matter of three stories i.e. “I stand here ironing” written by Tillie Olson, Amy Tan's “Two Kinds”, and finally Alice Walker's “Everyday Use”. All of these short stories are analyzed from the perspective of familial relationships, the conflicts that arise in them and how the family members reach to a stage of consensus and agreement to achieve physical and spiritual contentment.

Discussion

I Stand Here Ironing

Tillie Olson's “As I Stand Here Ironing” is a short story that tells of a woman recounting the childhood of her daughter named Emily. The mother seems to feel regret when she talks of the mistakes made by her while raising her baby “Emily”. This short story was told in narrative form and was a little hard to follow at first as the reader tries to figure out the speaker. The mother in this story felt as if she didn't spend enough time with her daughter Emily. She felt that Emily was perfect when she was born. She even thought that baby Emily was the most beautiful of all her children. The mother character was described in such a way as if she wished she could go back in time to those days and rectify the loopholes left in the up-bringing of her first child. Regret was the main feeling that the mother felt in this short story. Since Emily's father died when she was born, her mother had to go to work. So, Emily had to go live with his family. This really bothered the mother. She felt Emily had changed so much when she returned to get her. That seems like it would be a nightmare for a mother.

Many mothers have a hard time going to work when their babies are little. That time in the story seemed to be when the regret started. The mother had to also let Emily go live at a house when she was sick for treatment. Since her mother was so busy with the new baby, people felt this would be best for Emily. It didn't seem like the mother cared as much about Emily at that time. Emily was just put aside again. Emily's mother felt like many mistakes had been made. She knew that the time away from Emily had affected the person she had become (Olson, 35-42).

One important aspect of the plot is the mother and her ironing of the dress. The narrator is a middle aged mother of five Olson makes her out ...