Written by Elise Dvorak
Discussing the “social gap” that existed during the early 1900's
“Each time Joanna passed, her cheeks got pinker, her head went higher and her skirt flipped behind her more defiantly. She seemed to grow prettier and prouder as she walked. She stopped oftener than needed to adjust the baby’s coverlet. She maddened the woman by touching the baby's cheek and smiling tenderly at it. How dare she! How dare she, they thought, act as though she had a right to all that?” (192).
Joanna refuses to act ashamed of being a single mother. The married woman are infuriated that she can act so shameless and be so content. Having a child before one is married was viewed as shameful and socially unacceptable in the early 1900s.
“Obviously the teacher hated her and others like her for no other reason than that they were what they were. Teacher acted as if they had no right to be in the school but that she was forced to accept them and was doing so with as little grace as possible”(128).
The poor children in the classroom weren’t treated the same as the rich, polished ones. The rich of the early 1900’s were treated with a greater amount of respect compared to the poor.
“As she walked down the aisle, the girls leaned toward her and whispered hissingly, ‘Beggar beggar, beggar.’ It was beggar, beggar, beggar, all the way down the aisle. Those girls felt richer than Francie They were as poor as she but they had something she lacked- pride” (177).
When a woman announces to a crowd of children that a little rich girl named Mary was willing to give her doll away to another poor girl named Mary, Francie seized the opportunity. The other girls in the audience taunted her for taking the charity; Francie had submerged her pride just to attain that doll. Being poor and taking charities was a shameful act, while being rich was something to be proud and boastful about.
Discussing what makes Francie unique from other children and how she deals with her isolation.
“The youngsters avoided her because she talked funny. Owing to Katie’s nightly reading, Francie had a queer way of saying things” (93)
After spending night after night reading the bible and Shakespeare, Francie had taken to some of the odd language. Other children found Francie’s vocabulary odd and viewed her as weird. She was avoided.
“Francie, of course, became an outsider shunned by all because of her stench. But she had become accustomed to being lonely. She was used to walking home alone and being considered ‘different’(135).
Katie, determined to keep her children from sickness and lice, would send Francie to school with kerosene oil in her air and garlic cloves hanging around her neck. Francie would be avoided by other children because of her stench.
“She could read! From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her companionship” (138).
As a replacement of her lack of companionship, Francie turned to the word of reading to fill her lonely hours. Her love of reading smothered her desire of friends.
Discussing the contrast of Katie’s and Johnny's parenting styles and what accounts for the difference.
“‘Why baby, that’s nothing at all. Just nothing at all. You should have seen my arm when I was vaccinated. It was twice as swollen and red, white, and blue instead of green and yellow, and now look how hard and strong it is.’ He lied gallantly, as he had never been vaccinated”(126).
When Francie’s arm began to swell from an infection, Johnny caringly soothed the frightened child by telling her that there was nothing to worry about. In contrast, Katie had attempted to frighten the child to safety, telling her that if she scratched her arm, her entire arm would “... swell up and turn black and drop right off”(125).
“Johnny and the children can’t see how pitiful it is that our neighbors have to make happiness out of this filth and dirt… Education! That was it! It was education that made the difference! Education would pull them out of the grime and dirt”(171-172).
Katie was more practical in her parenting, always minding about the future, and how she could make it better for her children. Johnny finds happiness in such things; when the children lugged home a large christmas tree, Johnny was filled with excitement.
“Katie had a fierce desire for survival, which made her a fighter. Johnny had a hankering after immortality, which made him a useless dreamer” (84).
Katie was stricter with her children, because she naturally wanted to harden and prepare them for a better future.
Johnny was more laid back with his children and not as strict, as he was an easy going drinker who loved his family dearly.
Elise Dvorak is a 18-year-old writer from Czechia. She has won several writing residencies and has appeared at regional and national writers’ conventions and festivals. She dabbles in both creative and nonfiction writing.
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