Amy's Mother example essay topic

WELFARE STATE- A social system whereby the state assumes primary responsibility for the welfare of its citizens. It was created by FDR during the New Deal. TRADITIONAL ECONOMY-It's a characteristic of society. Societies that produce tradition in the old fashioned way where the son inherits the job that the father had.

It's harder for that economy to modernize when people are fixed in certain roles and traditional occupations. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT-In 1935, guaranteed workers the right to organize unions an forbade employers to adopt unfair labor practices. This marked the beginning of the rise of the unionization in the US. JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES-British economist who proposed that high unemployment, being a result of insufficient consumer spending, could be relieved by government-sponsored programs. WAR ON POVERTY-It was a program of Linden Johnson where in 1964, in kans ian style he sought to spend a lot of money to end the problem of poverty in the US. OPEC- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

It was an organization of primarily Middle Eastern oil producing countries that virtually crippled the economy for many nations when they raised the price of oil. Cap. i. talk. ism-An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation of profits gained in a free market. Dust Bowl-this was th e phenomenon during the depression in 1932 on were large area of the Middle West in the US due to drought the top soil became so dry that the winds came and blew this dust all over the place. Agriculture was just strangled and people had to move out of mid-west. Bretton Woods-In 1946, this agreement established tart the value of the US dollar in terms of gold would be fixed at $35 per ours, and other curacies would be valued at fixed ate in relations to the dollar indirectly to gold. It established the US as the leader in world trade and it really defines the beginning of the golden age capitalism.

De industrialization-the decline in production due to the change in the economy. It refers to the end of heavy industry of steel production, factory work. It is replacing it with McDonalds, Banks, etc. STAGFLATION-slow economic growth coupled with a high rate of inflation and unemployment. It is the end of the Golden Age in 1973. CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS- it was part of the first new deal.

It was when the gov't put millions of young men to work in conservation projects throughout the country ex: replanting forests. It was one of the more successful first new deal projects of putting the country back to work. Federal Reserve System-it was established in 1913, and was able to control the quantity of money in the banking system. It raised and lowered interest rates that the federal charged the bank members. By raising and lowering the interest rates it was able to regulate the economy in a very powerful way. Downsizing-began in the 1980's mass termination of employment by firms to reduce labor costs and raise e productivity and profit.

It was part of the end of the Golden Era of Capitalism when profits were maintained at the expence of Labor Svetlana Khanimova Prof. Gordon Di. Paolo MKT 211 - Advertising September 5, 2000 Sometimes producers of certain advertisements feel that by having infants on their commercial means that people will say 'oh, how cute!', and then they try to see if that item is suitable for them. But I feel that this advertisement portrays a negative feeling because it say's that 'You don't need cosmetic surgery to feel young. Spending time with the ones you love does the trick. ' Meaning that if you will drive the Le Sabre by Buick you will feel like a kid again. In my opinion, I think that if a person wants to place an add he or she does not have to use an infant in order for their product to be sold or to be known.

I see this to be a bribery, because this advertisement portrays that if you like spending time with who you love then just buy this car and you will have the love that you deserve. Moreover, I believe that this advertisement portrays this image of egoism. I think that some people do need a facelift to feel young and beautiful again but this advertisement proves otherwise. It shows that you can look and feel like a kid again if you will drive the Le Sabre by Buick. Furthermore, I believe that this advertisement is missing something like the price and quality of the car. Without having the knowledge of how much the car costs a customer doesnt know if he or she is able to buy the car.

Why is the mother so intent on making her daughter a prodigy? Do you think the mother would be happy with her daughter if she just tried, or would she always demand perfection? Why does the daughter rebel against the mother's demands? How does this hurt the mother? How does it hurt the daughter? Are the mother and the daughter ever reconciled?

What is the symbolism behind the titles of the two musical pieces at the end of the story? I Stand Here Ironing,' Tillie Olsen A painfully exact depiction of the conflict between the idea mothers are supposed to care for and support and value children in all the ways children need, and the reality that mothers are too often uncared for and unsupported and unvalued themselves, much less able to care for their (our) children. In Tillie Olsen (T wayne, 1991), Mickey Pearlman and Abby H. Wedlock review critical reactions to 'I Stand Here ironing': In the story, a mother who was young and inexperienced recounts with 'almost painful' honesty her forced neglect of her oldest child in a depression era when poverty was unrelieved by the now much maligned welfare state. in the story, the mother is called a child 'of depression, of war, of fear. ' The mother is haunted by her memories of Emily's cries and weeping; she has wrenching memories of Emily's unhappiness in loveless institutions. The critics note the cost to Emily, as we observe 'her stiffness, her quietness, her trouble at school.

' We see her suffering nightmares and 'long periods of silent solitude,' feeling unloved during the dark days. The mother-daughter relationship even now has an element of coldness; it 'even now lacks overt involvement and warmth. ' However, some critics see a silver lining: Emily has discovered her gift for bringing happiness 'to strangers who need the humor, the entertainment, the warmth she is able to provide them. ' In some ways, 'the mother's strength has been handed down to her daughter.

' Emily 'illustrates the enigma of human life: it contains poverty and tragedy and pain but also some fulfilling of potential, a desire to survive. ' The 'feminine image' of the dress 'coupled with that of the iron's ugg ests 'the harsh oppressive molding reality of society and circumstance and its effect on women. Yet neither the mother nor Emily has succumbed. '". I Stand Here Ironing' by Tillie Olsen No matter what stories are read in the implementation of this unit, no matter what deletions or substitutions of stories find their way to my students, this particular story wilL culminate our study. Olsen's story is told from a mother's point of view regarding her child.

It is a warm and sometimes frightening portrayal of the hardships a family may have to face in the day today existence of living. It remains a favorite tale of many that needs to be read by students and adults whenever possible, With Olsen's story we come to the culmination of this unit. This is the time at which we can wrap up our discussion of the various elements of the short story and how they contribute to the theme, Because this story is written so differently from the rest, we can reflect upon what has developed throughout the course of the unit ad what each of the stories mean to each of us. Since this story concerns the remembrances of a mother, it may be more purposeful to allow the teacher to read the story to the class and then reflect upon its meaning. In Amy Tan's story about growing up, I found a classic example of a mother's obsession. Wanting a child to be their best can sometimes be in conflict with whose perception of best.

The mother may have been attempting to succeed at her own inner dreams by forcing her daughter to live out what she could not achieve. Perhaps another view could include the mother's desperate search for financial security. If the child becomes famous, she will most likely be rich. In any case this story has shown the meaning of personal achievement and the importance of guidance while remembering contentment for all involved. Amy Tan's parents had high hopes for their daughter when she was born in Oakland, California.

Amy reflects, 'My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. ' (Tan p. 107) Amy's mother was convinced of this and told the young Amy, 'you can be a prodigy, too. ' (Tan p. 107) Her parents came to America from China in 1949, two and a half years before she was born. Her mother explored many ways to bring out this prodigy that was trapped inside Amy.

Amy says, 'We didn't immediately pick the right kind of prodigy. ' (Tan p. 107) Her mother at first thought Amy could be an Asian Shirley Temple. Amy herself dreamed of being a ballerina or Cinderella. Seeking to find her daughter's area of talent, Amy's mother would nightly test her memory or mathematical prowess. Finally Amy was crushed beneath this torrent of failures. She remembers, 'I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations.

' (Tan p. 109) She felt guilty because she could not please her mother, and reacted by rebelling, thinking, 'I won't be what I'm not. ' (Tan p. 109) Eventually Amy's mother settled on the piano as the instrument that would bring out the prodigy within Amy. By this time Amy was so afraid of failure she was unable to even try. 'Why don't you like me the way I am's he would cry to her mother.

(Tan p. 110) Amy refused to practice and of course again failed to please her mother. Years later, after the death of her mother, Amy returned to their home to get things in order for her father. Approaching the piano and lifting the lid of the bench, she discovered the piece of sheet music she had failed so miserably to master for the recital years before. The piece was entitled 'Pleading Child'.

For the first time she noticed the piece on the other side of the paper. It was called 'Perfectly Contented' and Amy experienced an epiphany, thinking, 'I realized they were two halves of the same song. ' (Tan p. 115) Ironically, her mother was the 'pleading child', transferring all her unfulfilled hopes onto Amy, not realizing Amy was already 'perfectly contented' to be simply Amy Tan..