Uzi’s Comments (group member since Oct 01, 2015)

Uzi’s comments from the Forms of Literature (Keating's Goodreads Discussion forum) group.

Mary Helen Washington paints a picture of isolation by describing the setting.  She does so by first describing the Wright's home: "It had always been a lonesome looking-place. It was down in a hollow, and the poplar trees were lonesome -looking trees." It is also mentioned that the house is located in a lonesome stretch of road and that it's half a days travel on a buggy.  The author also mentions that Ms. Wright had no children so the only company came from her bird.  The author also mentions that it was a cold March morning. Ms. Hale says that the place was never cheerful looking yet she still regrets never visiting Ms. Wright. The author also makes a connection with the bird and Ms. Wright. The caged bird symbolises Ms. Wright's lonesome life and when the bird was killed it's as if a part of her died.

Emily's character in "I Stand Here Ironing" is flat. The only details of her characteristic are given by her mother. A mother who was not always there for her therefore Emily shows little to no emotion towards her. If Emily's character was described by others or by Emily herself we would see a more rounded character. We cannot assume that Emily is always sad because this may only happen when she is around her mother. Her personality may be different depending on her surroundings. This is shown when Emily acts. Her mother said that Emily was unrecognizable to her after a few minutes into her acting.