The Crazy, Spoiled, and Selfish

One thing I noticed was that the first few stories seemed to present characters in a demeaning light. In “A Rose for Emily,” the character Emily Grierson appears to be (and probably is) crazy especially after the “O. Henry ending.” At first I felt revulsion towards Emily for her sick actions; however, after the in class discussion I tried to examine her character beyond a shallow level. Her upbringing by her father inspires a sense of pity because it seems as if she never got a chance to find a man on her own. Therefore, even though Homer Barron seems like an especially poor choice for her because he seems to be the exact opposite of what her father would have liked, it can be inferred that she liked Homer to spite her father’s memory. With her background in mind, it seems as if she wanted to hang on to Homer no matter what it took (in this case killing him). Her arrogance compelled her to believe she was above everyone else and that the killing was justified. Nevertheless, I find her actions disgusting. She has no excuse for what she did. Upon reflecting on the title of the story, I believe the “rose” symbolizes the visits of the townspeople to Emily’s house. By mourning for her in which cases flowers could be brought, they finally come to terms with the true depths of Emily’s sufferings and are able to view her in a different perspective.

The short story “Everyday use” does not evoke any sense of pity for Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee). Being family orientated, it is disappointing to me that she never fully found a way to understand her family. When she was younger, it was still understandable for her to not fully accept her family as every child has something to be ashamed of. After her education, she should have a deeper appreciation for what her mother and sister have done for them. Instead she comes to their house, and expects them to go out of their way to please her. The love she shows for her family and heritage is on a superficial level. I particularly dislike how she just feels she is entitled to anything she wants from the house such as when she simply informs her mom that she is taking the churn and dasher. I hope she eventually comes to her senses and repents for the way she has acted. I am glad the narrator of the story finally stood up for her daughter Maggie though it seems a bit disappointing it took so long for her to realize her daughter’s struggles. In addition, Maggie deserves some of the blame for not being a strong enough character though the way she has been treated her whole life makes her a somewhat sympathetic character.

In “Teenage Wasteland,” the character Donny is as lazy and spoiled as they come. I fully credit the parents for trying their level best to help their son though maybe they should not have yielded as much control to Cal as they did. It is easy to criticize the parents looking back in time, but the tutor did tell the parents not to interfere and Donny showed positive results in the beginning. I am disgusted by the way Cal duped the parents. It seems as if he just used the kids to hang out with and to forget about his own misery but charged exorbitant amounts of money to render this service. One character who did not get the attention she deserved in the story (or in the class discussion) is Donny’s sister. If the parents did make a mistake, it was by not giving their daughter enough attention just to deal with their son’s problem. In the end, the parents lose both of their children. Ironically enough they lose one child because they gave him too much attention, and they lose their other child by not giving her enough attention.

Mina Das is presented in such a selfish light that is difficult to find any good in her. Even I have a hard time understanding how she can act this way towards her family, particularly her children. One thing that should not be overlooked is Mina’s childhood. She never received love, and it seems that because of this she is not able to properly love her family. While I am not saying her actions, particularly her selfishness, are inexcusable, I believe the it is important that the author includes this information. It helps to put Mina’s woes and feelings into perspective and show how important family bonds can be.

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