My presentation at the 2010 Streamlines Literary Conference at the University of Dubuque.

1. MOTHERHOOD, MULTICULTURALISM
& THE SHORT STORY
Jessica Haight-Angelo
Grand Canyon University
Streamlines Literary Conference
13 November 2010
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2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Conclusion
The Mother-Daughter Relationship:
Internal Factors
External
Factors
Introduction: From five to two
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3. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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 Original paper titled,
“Mamma Mia! Maternal
Relationships in Five
Short Stories.”
 Focused on:
 Internal Factors:
 Child development
stages
 Gender roles
 Familial relationships
 External Factors:
 Author intent
 Cultural factors
Story list:
• Tillie Olsen’s “I Stand
Here Ironing”;
• Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds”;
• Alice Walker’s
“Everyday Use”;
• Flannery O’Connor,
“Everything That Rises
Must Converge”;
• Grace Paley’s “A
Conversation With My
Father”.

4. MULTICULTURALISM & THE SHORT STORY
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Left: A
screenshot from
the film version of
Alice Walker’s
short story,
“Everyday Use”;
right: Amy Tan’s
short story, “Two
Kinds” is part of a
larger novel, The
Joy Luck Club;
the poster for the
movie version is
shown here.

5. MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
Part of Erik Erikson’s eight stages of development
towards “selfhood” (Frye): “Infants who have a deep
bonding with their mothers become very independent
at a young age. This bond also boosts their self-
esteem. It is the most important part of a child’s life.
Even when their lives are unstable, the bonding
process enables them to be self-reliant and enjoy
relationships with peers. These children are also more
successful in school, especially in mathematics.
Bonding creates within the child a sense of confidence
and a positive attitude. This influences both attendance
and achievement” (Alward).
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6. MAGGIE, JUNE AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
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Maggie, Everyday Use”:
• Maggie “knows she is not
bright. Like good looks and
money, quickness passed
her by” (Olsen 1307).
• Mama characterizes Maggie
as “homely and ashamed”
(Olsen 1306) when
confronted with her older
sister, observing her
movements as those of a
“lame animal” who “sidle[s]
up to someone who is
ignorant enough to be kind to
him” (Olsen 1307).
June, “Two Kinds”:
• June is painfully average in
terms of physical or academic
abilities, and resents her
mother trying to turn her into a
piano prodigy, aka the next
Chinese Shirley Temple: “I was
so determined not to try, not to
be anybody different that I
learned to play only the most
ear-splitting preludes, the most
discordant hymns” (Tan 1225-
6).
• June is angry at herself for not
being a “remarkable child”
(Tan 1223).

7. FROM SELF-SEEKING TEENAGER TO ADULT
Stage 5 of Erikson’s
developmental theory: The
self-seeking teenager
grapples with “‘identity
versus role confusion,’”
which can result in
alienation from others due
to “immature behavior and
reasoning.” Identity is
based on developing “likes
and dislikes, talents and
natural inclinations” and
trying new things (Internet
FAQ Archives).
Stage 6: The young adult
begins to seek “deep,
meaningful, intimate
relationships.
Stage 7: The now-adult
will begin to feel the
effects of stagnation (“not
changing or growing”) if
s/he has not made positive
connections or choices
(Internet FAQ Archives).
Stage 8: The adult
evaluates “whether they
have accomplished
something with their lives
and choices and whether
they have contributed to
the betterment of society”
(Internet FAQ Archives).
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8. DEE’S TRANSFORMATION INTO WANGERO
It is unlikely that Dee
has moved beyond
Erikson’s sixth stage
of development. She
does not yet show a
maturity or
awareness of her
own stagnation.
Dee’s self-identity is
strong, though it is
devoid of respect for
her mother and
younger sister.
Though Dee rejects
her family, Mama
does not reject her;
at the same time,
she will not wait for
“Miss Wangero”
(Walker 1311) to
come around
anymore.
Dee will need to
“negotiate the old by
casting [her] lot with
the new” (Tornsey
1559) in order to
grow as a person.
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9. MOTHER VS. DAUGHTER
Carruthers: “A mother may say that she wishes
her daughters happiness, yet from a daughter’s
point of view – she acts quite opposite. A
daughter may feel criticized for her choices, for
example in education, career, boyfriends and
partners.” Conversely, the mother “may feel
blamed by her daughter for everything that
happens with the daughter’s education, career,
boyfriends and partners,” leading the two to
potentially regard the same incident in opposite
ways.
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10. MOTHER VS. DAUGHTER, CONT.
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Carruthers on maternal
abandonment: “Few
parents intend to
abandon, abuse, or
neglect their children.
Most mothers have good
intentions and nurture
and protect their children
through childhood.” At
the same time, “Mothers
may advise their
daughters to be realistic
by preparing for
unfulfilling lives.”
Carruthers on identity:
“The daughter may fight to
establish and protect her
own identity – or the
daughter may lose identity
and identify with her mother
… Most daughters want
assurance that they are
loved for who they are – not
for what they may do, who
they may become or who
they may marry. A mother
may try to motivate her
daughter to fulfill her own
unaccomplished goals, and
she may immerse herself
into her daughter’s life.”

11. OTHER FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS
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“Everyday Use”:
• Fatherhood: Dee’s
and/or Maggie’s father
is never mentioned in
the story.
• Sibling Rivalry: Maggie
serves as a placeholder
for all of the things that
Dee can’t, or won’t, be
for her mother; Maggie
regards Dee “with a
mixture of envy and
awe” (Walker 1306).
“Two Kinds”:
• Fatherhood: Though
hardly a primary caregiver
in the story, June’s father is
a notable presence.
• Sibling Rivalry: While
June is an only child, she is
forced into interaction with
Waverly, the daughter of
one of the members of her
mother’s Joy Luck Club;
the two “shared all the
closeness of two sisters
squabbling over crayons
and dolls” (Tan 1226).

12. CHINESE-AMERICAN CULTURE & “TWO KINDS”
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Amy Tan, on being
placed in classroom
literary canon “for all
the wrong reasons”: “I
don’t write to dig a hole
and fill it with symbols. I
don’t write stories as
ethnic themes. I don’t
want to represent life in
general. And I certainly
don’t write because I
have answers.”
Valerie Miner: “Tan’s
special gifts are her
storytelling ability and
her ‘remarkable ear for
dialogue and dialect,
representing the
choppy English of the
mother and the sloppy
California vernacular
of a daughter with a
sensitive authenticity”
(Charters 1221).

13. AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE & “EVERYDAY
USE”
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Alice Walker, on how she
is a “womanist,” or a
Black feminist: “When I
look at the people in Iran
they look like kinfolk”
(Charters 1305).
Cowart: Dee seeks
“deracination in [her]
quest for personal
authenticity … In her
name, her clothes, her
hair, her sunglasses,
her patronizing speech,
and her black Muslim
companion, Wangero
proclaims a deplorable
degree of alienation
from her rural origins
and family” (172; 183).

14. CONCLUSION
Both Walker and Tan present a
realistic portrayal of motherhood,
with all of its imperfections in-tact
and on full display. In spite of their
flaws, however, the mothers
portrayed in each story are
noticeably maternal; though not
strictly defined by the maternal role
to which they often adhere, it is
difficult to imagine either woman
does not love her daughter(s) in the
complicated and heartbreaking and
wonderful way that only a mother
can love her own child. 14
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