I Stand Here Ironing (Tillie Olsen)
...ess me". The writer also examines how Maggie experiences a revelation or realization, considering how the story prepares the readers for this enlightenment, the nature of the revelation and its effect on the character. Maggie did not have a good child hood, she was unhappy. She's not bright or beautiful, she wasn't given anything in life and her sister always puts her down. The mother tells us that "Dee is lighter than Maggie with nicer hair and a fuller figure". She describes the war Maggie walks by saying,"Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a ged run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way Maggie walks". Comparing her with Dee whose "feet were always neat looking, as if Gos himself had shaped them with a certain style".Maggie showed resentment towards her sister. The sister who God rewarded with good looks and poise. Maggie"eving her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister had held life in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word never learned to say to her. Maggie's mother seems to reinforced this by being unable to say no to Dee. This is what makes the turning point in the story when she finally does say no (regarding the quilts) at such an important moment in Maggie's life. The writer touches upon the symbolic significance of the quilt. " these are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand. The mother ...