“I came to a clear conclusion, and it is a universal one: To live, to struggle, to be in love with life--in love with all life holds, joyful or sorrowful--is fulfillment. The fullness of life is open to all of us” (Betty Smith). Betty Smith, born as Elizabeth Lillian Wehner, grew up in Brooklyn, New York as the daughter of poor first-generation German-Americans. At the time, child labor was legal and Smith began work at the young age of fourteen to help support her family. Smith’s life in the slums and her experiences during the Great Depression greatly influenced her writing. Most of her novels depict families struggling to survive on a low income. Another idea Smith explores in her novels is what part women should take in the world. In Smith’s …show more content…
As mentioned in the article, “Biography of Betty Smith, Author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” Smith was “encouraged to use material from her past.” Smith’s novels pulled memories from her life to effectively tell her heart warming yet heartbreaking stories. Smith focused on the “brutality of childhood and youth” mostly seen in her novels A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Joy in the Morning. Most of Smith’s books focused on individuals or families facing poverty in Brooklyn. In the article, “Biography of Betty Smith, Author of a Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” Smith stated, “I realized that he [Thomas Wolfe] had caught the lost feeling of Brooklyn, but his stories weren’t authentic. This challenged me to write what I know about Brooklyn, to show it as it really is.” Smith also wrote in a manner that was easy to read and understand. As mentioned in the article, “Biography of Betty Smith, Author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” a factor contributing to her book’s popularity was the fact that Smith wrote the “first American novel about the lives of ordinary working-class people that was written in a style that ordinary working-class people could understand.” In the book, “Literature and Its Times,” it states that “Smith’s novel found high favor among the general public, and praise as a faithful and almost poetic portrayal of the twentieth- century Brooklyn slums.” Although Smith’s novels …show more content…
Francie lives in Brooklyn, New York with her father, Johnny, her mother, Katie, and her brother, Neeley. The family lives in poverty as Johnny and Katie struggle to bring home enough money to support their family. Francie and Neeley help out by selling junk for pennies. The Nolans buy stale bread and beef tongue for a nickel in order to survive. It is a meager living and yet the children are full of joy, in awe of the world around them. Living in poverty helps Francie understand sympathy and compassion. At a point in the book, Francie and Neeley have to get vaccinations in order to attend school. The doctor looks at Francie in disgust as she holds up her muddy arms for the shot. He speaks down upon her stating, “Filth, filth, filth, from morning to night. I know they're poor but they could wash. Water is free and soap is cheap” (Smith, 1943). The nurse, who had herself grown up in poverty, agrees with the doctor. After that incident, Francie vows that if she ever gets out of the slums she will never forget where she comes from, like the nurse had, and always “keep compassion” towards the people she will leave behind (Smith, 1943). When Francie leaves the doctor, she tells him not to tell her brother he is dirty, as to spare his feelings, and leaves in tears. As she leaves the doctor says “I had no idea she'd understand what I was saying,” showing his ignorance towards the
The social, cultural and political history of America as it affects the life course of American citizens became very real to us as the Delany sisters, Sadie and Bessie, recounted their life course spanning a century of living in their book "Having Our Say." The Delany sisters’ lives covered the period of their childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the "Surrender" to their adult lives in Harlem, New York City during the roaring twenties, to a quiet retirement in suburban, New York City, as self-styled "maiden ladies." At the ages of 102 and 104, these ladies have lived long enough to look back over a century of their existence and appreciate the value of a good family life and companionship, also to have the last laugh that in spite of all their struggles with racism, sexism, political and economic changes they triumphed (Having Our Say).
The two works of literature nudging at the idea of women and their roles as domestic laborers were the works of Zora Neale Hurston in her short story “Sweat”, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Whatever the setting may be, whether it is the 1920’s with a woman putting her blood, sweat and tears into her job to provide for herself and her husband, or the 1890’s where a new mother is forced to stay at home and not express herself to her full potential, women have been forced into these boxes of what is and is not acceptable to do as a woman working or living at home. “Sweat” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” draw attention to suppressing a woman’s freedom to work along with suppressing a woman’s freedom to act upon her
Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, written in 1984, and Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers, published in 1925, are both aimed at adolescent and adult audiences that deal with deep disturbing themes about serious social conditions and their effects on children as adults. Both books are told in the first person; both narrators are young girls living in destitute neighborhoods; and both young girls witness the harsh realities of life for those who are poor, abused, and hopeless. Although the narrators face these overwhelming obstacles, they manage to survive their tough environments with their wits and strength remaining intact.
The short story, “Astronomer’s Wife,” by Kay Boyle is one of perseverance and change. Mrs. Ames, because of neglect from her husband, becomes an emotionless and almost childlike woman. As a result, Mrs. Ames, much like John Milton in his poem, “When I consider how my light is spent” (974), is in darkness, unaware of the reality and truth of the outside world. However, the plumber who is trying to repair leaking pipes in her house, starts by repairing the leaking pipes in her heart. He helps her realize that the life she is living is not a fulfilling one. In short, to Mrs. Ames, “[…] life is an open sea, she sought to explain in sorrow, and to survive women cling to the floating debris on the tide” (Boyle 59). Similarly, in Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” the mother is also “cling[ing] to floating debris” (Boyle 59). She is trying to hold on to her old life, the one in which she is socially better than blacks and other women. But, like Milton and Mrs. Ames, she is soon forced to see the world in a new perspective. Thus, a new life is created for Mrs. Ames and the mother after their epiphanies, with the realization of a new world, one in which hard work and understanding can lead to change in one’s life and of one’s identity.
Although the author, Betty Smith, denied ever writing a novel with socially political motives, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn abounds with references to class issues. Nearly every scene, every character illustrates or deals with the problem of poverty in early twentieth-century America. For the Nolan’s, being poor means they must always think about being poor – how they will buy the next load of coal, where their food will come from, their insurance, rent, medicine, all the necessities of raising a family. The novel also shows that poverty is not just the absence of food or comfort, it is the direct cause for Uncle Flittman to leave, Johnny’s utter nothingness and Francie’s inability to go to a high school. Every action in the novel is based around a limited amount of resources, as not only the Nolan’s but also the entire community suffers. Exploitation abounds, whether in the overpriced sale of candy, child labour in metal collection, dishonest grocers and butchers and employers with impunity to set their own rules. Katie does her best with the household money, and we find that for the poor sometimes a luxury isn’t in getting something, but in being able to waste it.
“I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man-working hands” Mama describes of herself in the short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. Mama, who additionally takes the role of narrator, is a lady who comes from a wealth of heritage and tough roots. She is never vain, never boastful and most certainly never selfish. She speaks only of her two daughters who she cares deeply for. She analyzes the way she has raised them and how much she has cared too much or too little for them, yet most of all how much they value their family. Mama never speaks of herself, other than one paragraph where she describes what she does. “My fat keeps me hot in zero weather. I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing” (Walker, 60). She does not need to tell readers who she is, for her descriptions of what she does and how her family interacts, denotes all the reader needs to know. Although Mama narrates this story rather bleakly, she gives readers a sense of love and sense of her inner strength to continue heritage through “Everyday Use”.
...ocuments and quotes about people’s feelings during this time and because of that they don’t often get considered. Even today it is hard for us to imagine these women being real people with families and busy lives. These women were working around the clock in other people’s houses. Many of them mentioned that they didn’t have set hours. People in the house would call for them during all hours of the day and they never had time for themselves. One women shared just this in her interview when she said, “I had a good room and everything nice, and she gave me a great many things, but I’d have spared them all if only I have had a little time to myself.” Life was extremely difficult for these women even though they weren 't doing strenuous labor. They were forced into the lives of other families with unpredictable hours while still trying to maintain a life of their own.
Rappaport, Doreen. American Women, Their Lives in Their Words: Thomas Y. Crowell, New York 1990
African American women were identified as the 'Mule of the world because they have been handed burden everyone else refused to carry and never had any intention of giving up. Men saw black women as a weak soul,a housewife who are there to bear children. Black women had no moment to sit down to feed her creative spirit because she was busy been a mother, a provider and a slave in the face of the society. It was the time in America where black people were forbidden to write; many untold stories and talents was never revealed due to the fear engraves in the heart of the African American women. Alice was born in this time and she saw the emptiness and enduring faces of the women who had a lot to share in the society but they were overshadowed by the slavery of
Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston are similar to having the same concept about black women to have a voice. Both are political, controversial, and talented experiencing negative and positive reviews in their own communities. These two influential African-American female authors describe the southern hospitality roots. Hurston was an influential writer in the Harlem Renaissance, who died from mysterious death in the sixties. Walker who is an activist and author in the early seventies confronts sexually progression in the south through the Great Depression period (Howard 200). Their theories point out feminism of encountering survival through fiction stories. As a result, Walker embraced the values of Hurston’s work that allowed a larger
Growing up, Gloria traveled extensively because of her father’s line of work. Her mother become mentally ill, so Gloria’s father divorced her mother. Gloria continued to live with her mother in Toledo although her mother couldn’t hold a job. Gloria thought this was because people were close-minded toward working women. The doctors that treated her mother’s illness were indifferent towards her, leading Steinem to believe that it was because of their hostility toward women. During this time, women who worked were the exception and not the norm.
Joyce Carol Oates was a true change in American Literature. She associated many novels that revealed political stances along with physical and psychological pain. (1) Joyce grew up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It was not uncommon for her to behold mistreatment, abuse, and gang violence; especially towards women. Detroit was a major political city were women’s rights were being fought. (2) Physical brawls broke out all over the city due to the uprising of women who wanted the same rights as men. (2) This uprising was called the Feminist Rights Movement. Women were mistreated and held unequal to men, they were not even allowed to be apart of any work force or vote. (7) organizations for women started to emerge all of the united States. (4) Joyce took experiences that she undertook and witnessed first hand and used them cleverly in her novels. (3) She accumulated her experiences in one of her most famous novels We Were the Mulvaney’s. (5) This novel refers to both physical and psychological pain among all the characters. Rape, death, abuse and how women were treated were all presented in this book. (5) Mrs. Mulvaney, the mother, always tended to her husbands needs, even if she disagreed with them. Mrs. Mulvaney had no say in any of the matters that arose. She even sent away her own daughter for the better of her husband.
Each one of these writers is a reflection naturally of their times but what causes their work to continue to resonate is the absolutely honest way the hardships of womanhood and colonial life inform our national demeanor. All three in their writing are trying to cope with the conditions in front of them, the perils of being a woman of their times. The heartbreak of watching their children and grandchildren die in front of them, starvation, the loss of livelihood and the ever evolving definition of having a homeland. For all three women death was a constant companion, as was God and a sense of duty to their ventures in their new lands, mostly though I see a deep kind of resilient love in their bodies of work. It is that resilient love and optimism that makes American writing, American writing.
When people think of the American Dream, they usually picture a wealthy family who lives in a big house with a white picket fence. They see the husband being the breadwinner for the wife and kids, by supporting and providing the best way that he can. They also picture the wife catering to her husband 's every need. The protagonist Janie Crawford lives this American Dream but soon comes to a realization that this life isn’t her destiny. Crawford learns that love does not involve money but rather being joyful. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie breaks the American Dream myth by living a non-traditional life through belief, happiness, and freedom.
Wives had the jobs of housekeeping, childcare, and spending an average of 55 hours a week on domestic chores. This lifestyle however was completely contrasted by the main character in “I Stand Here Ironing”, a short story written by Tillie Olsen. The narrator is a single, working class mother during the Great Depression and during a time where women were expected to stay home and care for their children. The story follows the mother’s economic hardships and struggle to be a good mother for her daughter while facing the difficulties of inequality. This short story highlights the challenges of working-class women and represents the struggle of American women during this