Hi,
For this week's blog assignment, please post your thoughts about the similarities and differences that you see between:
the story "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen and the photo "Mom Ironing" by Tracy Baran, or
the similarities and differences that you find between the three readings we discussed in class this evening,Thursday 2/4 (see the syllabus for the titles). Be sure to post before noon, Tuesday.
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Throughout the different short stories of " Ode to an Orange," "Seeing", and "A matter of Scale," I found some similarities and differences between them. I felt that in Dillards writing and Woiwodes, they both tried to make a point of looking deeper into the ordinary. In " Ode to an Orange," the writer writes about two boys who an orange meant so much to them. They didn’t just look at the Orange as an Orange, but rather as a luxury that they were able to get. People can just take an Orange and eat it, but they tried to figure out the best method on how to get the most amounts of juice and benefit out of it. Dillard also wrote about what a person sees can be very amazing if he stops and thinks. First there are two types of people, one who picks up a penny and says its nothing, and another who picks it up and it makes his day no matter how much it is worth to him. Dillard also wrote a person can go on a trip with a camera or without one. By bringing a camera a person can remember the ordinary picture he took, which had a much bigger meaning. A difference that I noticed between two of the writings was that " Matter of a Scale," was written in a much more organized way, unlike "Seeing," which was more of a bunch of ideas which popped into her head and she wrote them down like that. "Seeing" needed many more pages to discuss her story and life, but in " Matter of a Scale" K.C. Cole was able to discuss all her writing in very few pages, and still get her point said about how a life would be so different if we were smaller, and how there is so much to see out there. The line that I felt hit me the most was " We miss a great deal because we perceive only things on our own scale." There is so much more out there to see, but we just got to look for it.
ReplyDeleteI think the photo descrobes relationship in which the daughter even in her older years, it appears mid-20's is sitllsearching and craving for her mother's attention. From the story itself it seems that if Emily were to be at that age, at that point she would no longer spend time searching for her mom's warmth. She has already moved on with her life after her quite unfair upbringing. The similarities between them are that the relationships appear and seem to be the same, in the sense that these relationships seem to be insalvageable.
ReplyDeleteIn these three readings I found some similarities and differences.All these writers are interested in writing about details and looking in to the ordinaries diffently from usual. In "Ode to an Orange" two boys look at the orange as a valuable material, very differently to the others.They compare orange to the sun."Matter of Scale" is more scientific discusion; it discusses different scales from different world. "Seeing" is less direct; it is based on her experience in her life. It is more specific and more detailed.
ReplyDeleteIn the photograph Mom Ironing by Tracey Baran, I first observe an older, Caucasian woman standing up behind an ironing board, looking down at the shirt which she is ironing. I do not detect any noticeable sense of expression on her face; she seems to be solely concentrating on her ironing. There is also a younger Caucasian woman with dark brown hair, most likely a teenager or young adult, sitting down in a chair to the right of the older woman. Possibly she is the older woman’s daughter. This younger woman is sitting in a chair with her legs spread apart, her right hand over her chin and mouth, her gaze lifted upwards, though it does not seem she is looking at anything in particular. She appears to be thinking about something, and not fully aware of what is going on around her. The 2 women in the picture give the impression that they are disconnected from one another, and do not seem to notice or acknowledge each other’s presence.
ReplyDeleteThe short story I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olson begins with a description of a mother ironing, thinking about her daughter whom an outsider wishes to help. I can not help but think of the photograph Mom Ironing, and that image plays in my mind as I begin to read the short story.
I think the similarity between the photograph Mom Ironing and the short story I Stand Here Ironing; the absence of a father figure. There is obviously no father figure portrayed in the photograph. In the short story, Emily’s father left her and her mother when Emily was a baby.
In conclusion, the short story I Stand Here Ironing provides a detailed account of how the mother raised her daughter Emily, and how very unhappy and miserable Emily was during her childhood. The photograph Mom Ironing only portrays a moment in time of the relationship between 2 women, most likely mother and daughter. One can not determine from the photograph how the mother raised the daughter, or how happy or unhappy the daughter’s upbringing was. However, the effect of the photograph and the short story is the same. Both seem to convey the same sense of disconnection between mother and daughter, although one’s sympathies lie with the mother in the photograph, and with the daughter in the short story.
Luis Comori:
ReplyDeleteI found several similarities between the photograph displayed on page 64 and the Tillie Olsen story. First, the setting of the room showed a modest house which is also mentioned in Tillie short story. Second, all the clothes piled up on the table and the mother ironing represented a metaphor which means that she is always busy. Sometimes, single mothers unconsciously abandoned their kids because they have to work, cannot manage their time and have more than one kid.
Single mothers are forced to get a job to bring money to the house to nurture the kids. Mothers become to be the bread winner after, the father abandoned the family. Sometimes, they need to have a full time job plus a part time job and this part time job could be done at home. In addition, Mothers have two jobs because neither one are well paid.
Mothers are tremendously absorbed by their work that unconsciously neglected the kids. They rely on family members specially brother and sister to momentarily help her to rise the kids. These are crucial times were kids began identifying who the parents are. This isolation among parents kids could cause the kids irreversible and irreparable damaged that could be shown throughout their life.
Single mother have more than one kid. It is very hard for a single mother to raise more than one kid. Sometimes, they are left in a daycare center or with a reliable neighbor also mothers asked the oldest for his/her cooperation. They are not even grown up to personify either a father or a mother and substantially altered the normal growing and developing. This alteration could be expressed in behavior, inferiority complex and lack of confidence.
In conclusion, Single Mothers have the arduous task of feeding the kids and raise them but they should wisely manage the time to share quality time with them. Especially the early years where they are so vulnerable and where they learn from own experiences and what you teach them.
"Mom Ironing" and "I Stand Here Ironing" are both great artwork. The photo "Mom Ironing" gives me a first impression of disorderliness. The story "I Stand Here Ironing" fills me sorrowful emotions for the mother and the daughter.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to compare a photo and a story of the same idea. The similarity between these two artwork is that they both tell us the enormous barrier between the mother and the daughter. A photo is worth a thousand words. But after reading the story, I can better understand and relate it with the photo that gives me an explanation besides my imagination. It is difficult to discuss the difference between these two because they are two different kinds of artwork and they both have limitations. I can only feel the laziness of the daughter but not her illness from watching the photo. While I can feel how sorrowful the mother is from the story but not from the photo.
The photo and the story both have a good educational idea is that we should try to prevent being a young and distracted mother. Instead, we should have a better educational level not only for us but for raising children and also for serving the society.
The picture in the book and the Tillie Olsen story is quite similar. The old lady who is ironing and a feet away from the young lady shows that there is something gap between them. They might be mother and daughter whose relationship is not so good.In the story also as it is written that "a mother ironing her daughter's dress as she mentally attempts to "iron" out her uneasy relationship with her daughter through a stream-of-consciousness monologue". So both picture and story shows the gap between the mother-daughter realtionship.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, the picture show the cluttered room, looking that we can think that the family has low income and similary in the story also the mother is working women who has work and take care of her childresn at the same time.The cluttered room has also become metaphor that the woman is busy or working woman, and from low income family.
Thus, from the picture and story we can make a conclusion that in both situtaion there is a gap between mother and daughter and this is because they have to work and take care of their family also, so that they can't give enough time to their children(daughter according to the story and picture), so this result some kind of gap.
I think the three stories were different in that "Seeing" is less straight-foward than "Ode to an Orange" and "A Matter of Scale". In the other two a main idea is expressed early on in the story and is followed throughout the story, with little deviation from that idea. While "Seeing" may seem random at first, I realized it is actually very organized, as all the ideas come together at the end. You realize what the point of the story is, which is taking in the moment and always observing closely so as to not miss something.The stories were also in a way similar, in their use of metaphors and descriptive language, and the theme of color which appeared in both "Ode to an Orange" and "Seeing".
ReplyDeleteThese stories were both similar and different. One aspect that they all shared was that they observed matters from a different point of view. In "Ode to an orange"the writer delved into the texture, the appearence, and various ways that you can eat an orange, all of which we norrmally don't look into. To us, an orange is an ornage, nothing more. We tend to take in everything at face value..."we miss a great deal because we percieve only things on our own scale."
ReplyDeleteThey also used various metaphors to get their point across. For example, Woiwode compared oranges to a warm sun and simultaneously a detonator."The green nib at the top, like a detonator, can be bitten off , as if disarming the orange."
The picture of "Mom ironing" and the story by Tillie Olsen are well connected in a sense of how they were emotionally distant.
ReplyDeleteNot acknowledging her own daughter's interests, talents, or goals, the mother seems much occupied with doing what's in front of her. The picture clearly shows the daughter's isolation from the ground of piled clothes and disorganized floor as well as the mother's attention. The image of laid back and biting her nails, gives us a feeling that she is anxious with her life and yet not concerned with her mother's.
Also, the photographer seems to give us a message of unbreakable bond as a family like the story ends with understanding each other and finding compromise. The two who are very apart emotionally, still remain in a close distance. The picture does not only portray mother's hectic and lonely life. With the daughter sitting next to her, gives us a hope of unity.
After reading the three stories i realized many similarities between "Ode to an Orange" and "Seeing". The theme of "Ode to an Orange" was to realize the beauty of an everyday item such as an orange. The theme of "Seeing" was also to stop and notice seemingly simple things. Another similarity is in the structure.In both "Ode to an Orange" and "Seeing" the author seems to arbitrarily make observations, while in "A Matter of Scale" there is a clear structure.
ReplyDeletethe three readings Ode to an orange, A matter of scale and, Seeing, were different in their length, format and design. However their messages are similar. As the title of the textbook implies, seeing is an important part of the writting process. Then putting the message from what you see into writting. For example in Ode to an Orange, Woiwode chose a concise anecdote from his momemory and wrote about his reverance to the oranges in the cold winter months that marked the arrival of the oranges and how he saw them as much more than some piece of fruit but something unrivaled by any other delight. something perfect.
ReplyDeleteIn A matter of scale, K.C. Cole Had a slighty longer work, with more fact that shows the reader how much she though about the actually of how it is impossible to become larger or smaller, and what miracles go on in the smaller work and larger world and how if someone were to look hard enough, the world in different magnifications is complex, then simple then back again. FInally in Seeing by Annie Dillard, seeing is something hard for her that takes much time to develope. Nature is not revealed to her right away and see must learn to,"forget the naturally obvious and construct an artificial obvious." which is a vague message. In fact her entire work is vague in its messages and teachings of how to see the world, drawn out in a long piece leaving the reader wandering and confused, as Dillard felt after an experience at the lake. There are many ways to see the world, in these readings we discover many types, shown to us in different context and varieties, leaving us with our own questions about how to see the world and how to show what we think we know.