Comparing 'All The Years Of Her Life And A New Perspective'

Theme analysis of “All the Years of Her Life” and “A New Perspective”

The essay "A New Perspective" by Janice E. Fein and the short story "All the Years of Her Life" by Morley Callaghan have some similarities and differences with mother and child relationships. Both authors show a shift of attitude in the end of the written pieces.

In the essay “A New Perspective" and the short story "All the Years of Her Life" have similarities. The situation in both written pieces is related to mother and child relationship, and with caring mothers in each piece of writing. In the short story Alfred realized how he has put his mother through abundance of stress ever sense he has been getting in trouble. As Alfred watched his mother’s hand tremble he realized

The mother and daughter have a very distant relationship because her mother is ill and not capable to be there, the mother wishes she could be but is physically unable. “I only remember my mother walking one time. She walked me to kindergarten." (Fein). The daughter’s point of view of her mother changes by having a child herself. In the short story the son has a mother that is willing to be helpful and there for him, but he does not take the time to care and listen to his mother, and the mother begins to get fed up with how Alfred behaves. "Be quiet don't speak to me, you've disgraced me again and again."(Callaghan). Another difference is the maturity level the son is a teenager that left school and is a trouble maker. The daughter is an adult who is reflecting back on her childhood by the feeling of being cheated in life, but sees in the end her mother was the one who was truly being cheated. “I may never understand why some of us are cheated in life. I only know, from this perspective, that I am not the one who was.” (Fein). The differences in the essay and short story show how the children do not realize how much their mothers care and love

Fein show a shift in attitude in the end of the short story and the essay by the authors guiding their readers by feeling different emotions. This is very effective because it shows the reader how the children and mother both feel and what they go through. In the short story the shift is shown by the son observing his mother while she is drinking he cup of tea and realizes she has been putting up with this all her life, and how much his mother cares for him. In the essay the daughter realizes and becomes more aware when she has her own child that her mother was ill and always wanted to be there for her but could not be there. “It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever looked upon his mother." (Callaghan). “I only know, from this perspective, that I am not the one who was." (Fein). The author shows how the characters grow and mature and realize their mothers love and do care for