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Comparing and Contrasting Imperative Symbols in I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen and Everyday Use by Alice Walker

The short stories, I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen and Everyday Use by Alice Walker reveal the importance of family by exploring their hardships and heritage. The authors supply various symbols to support their ideas of family; however, Walker and Olsen convey the meaning of family using different symbols, which as a result, produce different meanings. They incorporate and connect symbols in their stories to perpetuate the emotions of its characters. The iron, quilt, clock, and house all represent symbolic articles, which draw parallels and distinctions between the two short stories. In I Stand Here Ironing, Olsen illustrates the symbolic meaning of an iron, which corresponds to Walkers symbolic quilt in Everyday Use. These symbols reflect a feminist nature; however, they both symbolize the essential qualities of a mother in general. As a result, the iron represents a mothers ability to smooth out the wrinkles in her daughters life. The mother explains, I stand here ironing, and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron (Olsen 671). Her painful emotions and sacrifices of being a single mother pour into the iron and in return the iron attempts to diminish these conflicts in her life. Literally, the mothers duty conveys the chore of ironing clothes, while metaphorically; it reveals her desire to iron out the wrinkles in her life and her children. Similarly, Olsen demonstrates the importance of a quilt in comparison to mother-like qualities. Like the iron, the quilt symbolizes a way to mend and eliminate conflict. The quilt consists of several patches of material sewn together, which creates a beautiful array of colors in a unique design. A mother tries to cure conflict by picking up damaged, yet valuable pieces of her heritage to preserve its meaning. The mother describes, In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years

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ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrells Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezras uniform that he wore in the Civil War (Walker 793). Having slave ancestors, these quilts possess a priceless value to the family because it consists of pieces of their family heritage. The mothers mother in Everyday Use created these quilts, which contain historical artifacts, but most of all it symbolizes the ability to patch pieces of history together despite its unforgivable destruction. The iron and quilt represent the abilities of mothers to mend conflict, persevere through hardships, and demonstrate strength in the midst of darkness. While the iron and quilt contain similarities, they also remain ambiguously different. Physically, the iron and quilt represent two different objects in weight and appearance. The heaviness of an iron compares to the idea of the burdens a single-mother must carry. It fails to generate emotions and serves as a grueling task. Although the mother in I Stand Here Ironing has the ability to alter her difficult life, it fails to alleviate the burdensome stress she carries with her, as she attempts to smooth out the conflict. On the other hand, a quilt appears much lighter, and more colorful and beautiful than an iron. Although time consuming, a quilt symbolizes delicate hard-work, not as arduous as ironing. It symbolizes a mothers passion in fashioning a quilt; however, more importantly it signifies comfort, warmth, and love for a mothers children. Furthermore, it reveals the familys cherished heritage by those who choose to embrace it. Unlike the iron, a quilt creates an affectionate sensation, rather than a burning emotional pain. In addition to the iron and quilt, Olsen employs another symbol, a clock, while Walker explores the symbolism of a house. Although the clock appears insignificant in the story as a whole, it highlights the damaging effects of time. Emily, in I Stand Here Ironing describes, The clock talked loud. I threw it away, it scared me what it talked (Olsen 672). Emilys mother

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left her alone for a night; however, to Emily this night seems like an eternity, which causes her to wait by the door with the clock on the floor until her mother returns (Olsen 672-673). As a result, Olsen illuminates her heightened sense of sound by giving the clock human-like attributes. This clock on the floor symbolizes the emotional damage Emily encounters because of her mothers inability to spend time with her. Furthermore, it reveals the relationship between Emily and her mother. While Emilys mother struggles to make ends meet, she fails to provide the true qualities of security, comfort, and nurture, which remain absent in Emilys childhood. Likewise, Walker uses the house to reveal the detrimental effects of time weakening family connections. A house represents a figure of family unity; however, in Everyday Use the family stands as a barrier between Maggie and her mother, and Maggies sister Dee. Upon arriving to visit her sister and mother, Dee peeks next with a Polaroid. She stoops down quickly and lines up picture after picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me. She never takes a shot without making sure the house is included. When a cow comes nibbling around the edge of the yard she snaps it and me and the house (Walker 792). This reveals the values of Dee in comparison to her family. The house, to Dee represents an insignificant house which captures her past, yet separated it from her present, while to her family, it exists as a home. She takes pictures of the house as a reminder of where she came from and where she is today (Walker 792). However, it reveals a condescending attitude towards her past as a result of time apart from her family. Over time, society introduced Dee to new ideas and values, which inevitably cause her to abandon the spiritual part of her African American heritage by engaging in a white dominated society. As a result, the clock and the house represent lost time between family members, which causes everlasting damage on family relationships and unity.

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While the clock and house reveal the effects of time on family, they function as two separate identities in Olsens and Walkers short stories. The clock in I Stand Here Ironing represents an unresolved burden on the mother and her daughter Emily. Due to the mothers inability to spend time with her daughter in her childhood, it later causes an inevitable, yet permanent emotional burden in her life (Olsen 676). Olsen emphasizes the mothers recognition of the unavoidable mistakes she made in the early part of Emilys childhood. She made sacrifices to avoid poverty; however, her sacrifices construct her absence as a mother, in Emilys childhood. In contrast, Walker explores the symbolism of the House as an embarrassment in Dees life, rather than a burden. Dee fails to understand the value of her familys heritage as she criticizes the house, which parallels her criticisms towards her family and relatives. Dee feels ashamed of her past and embarrassed of her heritage, which remains a constant reminder in her present. As a result, she emphasizes that her mother and sister remain locked in the past, failing to understand their heritage; however, Dee fails to recognize the value of her heritage, unfit for a price tag (Walker 795). Olsen and Walkers short stories reveal the importance of family and the conflicts that life creates through vivid symbols. The iron, quilt, clock, and house create similar, yet different perspectives in the two stories by enhancing their meaning and illuminating their value. These symbols function in developing the figurative meaning of the story, while the readers interpretation adds to the overall experience.

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Works Cited Olsen, Tillie. I Stand Here Ironing. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. 7th ed. Boston: Bedforth/St. Martins, 2007. 671-676. Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. 7th ed. Boston: Bedforth/St. Martins, 2007. 789-795.