Along with the other two stories in this unit, I believe this short story has a lot to do with settling. The main theme seems to go along the lines of a person settling for something they eventually love whether or not it is the best thing for them. The plot of the story is about a worker girl at a "farm" who is there to help the family along and be a nanny to the two children. The irony about the farm is that the meaning has changed from a working place to a place that is there merely for the name. The family does not own animals or grow crops in any way, so the farm is not a working farm. Mr. and Mrs. Peebles do not even cook food well enough to Edie's disappointment because they are very concerned with being thin. This marks the cultural shift in which Americans began to look for the glamourous, easy route in life rather than the hard working way. Edie, on the other hand, is from a true working farm family who does not know riches like the people she is working for.
The minor characters, such as Mrs. Peebles and Loretta Bird, help to advance the story along by adding tone and personality to the story. Mrs. Peebles shows how fickle society was becoming during this time period because when she found out that Edie had kissed Chris Watters, she was very cold toward her and would not speak of the "mistake." She seems to not be a very caring woman because she does not show much compassion toward her children as most mothers should, and she treats Edie less than she should be treated after a simple misjudgement. Loretta Bird is a comic relief character who comes off to be the town gossip. She seems to want everyone to wallow in her "pain and suffering" that she goes through with her seven children even though she is not even close to hardworking like Edie knows.
The minor characters, such as Mrs. Peebles and Loretta Bird, help to advance the story along by adding tone and personality to the story. Mrs. Peebles shows how fickle society was becoming during this time period because when she found out that Edie had kissed Chris Watters, she was very cold toward her and would not speak of the "mistake." She seems to not be a very caring woman because she does not show much compassion toward her children as most mothers should, and she treats Edie less than she should be treated after a simple misjudgement. Loretta Bird is a comic relief character who comes off to be the town gossip. She seems to want everyone to wallow in her "pain and suffering" that she goes through with her seven children even though she is not even close to hardworking like Edie knows.
November 7, 2011 at 11:34 AM
really like the way you talk about your feeling
you give me some inspiration =)
i'm now reading the literature