A Sacrificial Love December 26th, 2014. One of the most heartbreaking days that Clara and her husband Tuck would ever endure. On the morning of that horrific day, Tuck would wake up to the ringing of the worst Christmas gift he would ever receive. He had woken up very early that morning, and he’d sat down on the couch for a few minutes to watch the old television that they had picked up in a thrift store, in the only room where they had one, and he fell asleep. He heard the ringing and reached for the phone. He recognized the number, it was a co worker and a buddy of both him and his brother. He had figured that maybe it was a call about work, or a belated “Merry Christmas,” but the call was nothing of the sort. His buddy …show more content…
Bailey had a rather large collection of Harley t-shirts, and they had been passed on to Tuck, who was his younger brother, but Tuck claimed that he fit into the shirts like a “stuffed sausage.” Clara had been saving every penny she could, and she decided that she wanted to get Tuck a quilt made from his brother’s Harley t-shirts. Last year, she had not had nearly enough money to have the quilt made. This year, money was even tighter, and she still did not have enough money to have the quilt made, especially because she wanted it made by the best in town. The quilt would cost about $400.000, and she had to come up with the money quickly, due to Christmas being just two months away, and the quilt-maker needing time to make the quilt.
Clara took her most prized item, her precious necklace that had been passed down to her by her mother, to a pawn shop to sell it. Her father had bought it for her mother in Vietnam, and gave it to her when he got back from the war. The necklace had given her $200, even though the chain on it was broken, and by the end of November, she had saved enough money that when she added it to the money from the necklace, she had enough for the quilt. Knowing that she had very limited time, Clara called the quilt-maker and told her that she would be on her way with the money and the t-shirts. She went over to Tuck’s closet where the t-shirts were kept, and discovered that there was only one shirt in the box. Clara took the
Once inside the store, Sylvia can no longer ignore the blinding imparity between the rich and the poor. Her discovery of an overly priced toy clown prompts her to consider what could be bought for its price: "Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Granddaddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too" (605). Sylvia is forced to finally address the socioeconomic inequality that works against her while simultaneously conferring certain luxuries on the rich: "Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it?" (605).
The next interesting item that the kids find is a very expensive paperweight. While discussing it, Miss Moore is sure to convey that while the object is very expensive, it’s purpose is very trivial. “”This here costs $480 dollars,” say Rosie Giraffe. So we pile up all over her to see what she pointing out. My eyes tell me it’s a chunk of glass cracked with something heavy, and different-color inks dripped into the splits,
The quilts are intended to form the value of heritage. An item that is valuable is seen as something of great worth and something that has meaning. In the story the daughter Dee accuses her mother and sister as being “backward enough to put them to everyday use” (153). Sam Whitsitt goes on to say that Dee herself doe not know they system of values herself and does not understand the value behind the quilts as the mother and daughter Maggie does (456). The quilt is meant to be a representation of value through things that do not get sold or wander of, they are meant to stay in the house to hold their value, but the daughter Dee saw the quilts as a commodity rather than what they should really be seen for (Whitsitt, 455). David Cowart, who sees the same concept as Whitsitt states the quits represent a heritage the daughter Dee cannot understand because she already discarded it (179). The overall tradition of quilting is meant to be a preservation of the true heritage (Cowart, 183). The quilts are seen as things
On Friday night, the family had a special birthday party for both Carol and her 92 year old father. LaLani, Carol’s caregiver, decorated the private dining room and the Dreamweaver Foundation sent gifts for everyone. Interestingly enough, dad’s gift was a Dreamweaver Money Clip and that was exactly what he needed! As for Carol she had been wishing for months that she could have a snuggly fleece blanket but, felt that the luxury was one she couldn’t afford. Guess what her gift was, a beautiful blue Dreamweaver fleece
It was December 25, supposedly the happiest day of the year. People joined together with happiness, Families began to open their presents, copious amounts of Christmas cards were received, and it seemed that everyone had their holiday spirit. As George sat at home, playing games on his azure Playstation, his mood was the complete opposite. Both of his parents were out on business, and wouldn’t return till after New years.
Loisel felt as though she deserved to be rich so her husband tried to help by getting her invited to a ball but she wouldn’t go without a fancy dress and expensive jewelry so Mine. Loisel borrowed what she thought was a diamond necklace from her friend and accidentally lost it at the ball. Mine. loisel had to pay off her debt so she and her husband gave up all their belongings, moved into an attic, and worked for 10 years to pay the debt.
In A Pair of Silk Stockings, written by Kate Choplin, main character Mrs. Sommers comes across 15 dollars. With finding the 15 dollars, the short story tells a vast tale of female stereotypes of the late 1800’s. From the start, the story goes to show how Mrs. Sommers in almost in a trance over this 15 dollars, intoxicating herself with the thought of spending it. Soon she becomes infatuated with a pair of silk stockings she had found. Without much hesitation, she bought the stockings and was enamored with how the silk felt against her skin. Soon after she had bought the stockings, she was overcome with the feeling to spend more money. This was out of character for Mrs. Sommers, who just earlier in the story was budgeting for her children’s
I understood that the title of the story is related to Mama's epiphany on how the items were met to be use. I believe Mama’s epiphany was; that mama’s understands that Maggie should have the quilts; because Maggie will admire and use them in the way they were intended to be used and will keep the tradition going. Knowing the quilts are pieces of living history, between the various family generations this quilts serve as a testament to a family’s history of pride and struggle.
December 25, 2012. Red garland is strewn across every available surface in the household. Andy William’s voice croons out of an old radio, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” and my mother twirls around and laughs merrily, dancing and singing along as she checks the turkey in the oven. My father and I are sat at the kitchen table, tediously working a Christmas crossword, occasionally mumbling letters and answers to each other. As my mother checks the oven for quite literally the fifteenth time this hour, the phone shrills a loud and interrupting tone. The muffled Christmas tunes are immediately silenced and my mother picks up the phone with a cheery “Hello!” Her face darkens after a few seconds and I hear mumbled words and half shouts coming from the receiver. Words such as “labor”, “baby”, and most importantly “NOW!” pierce the quiet room and my eyes go as wide as saucers. My mother immediately begins to untie her apron with clumsy fingers and my father is standing next to her now, trying to make sense of what is going on. Within minutes, I am bustled into a winter coat and some boots as my family rushes out to the car.
Dana was in the 7th or 8th grade and her parents were going through a tough financial period. She had gotten used to having name brand items, but for school that year her mom had to buy her clothes at Wal-Mart and K-Mart or got hand me downs from friends and relatives. Dana was extremely ashamed of this fact. Every time her mom brought her new clothes, Dana would find her old smaller clothes and carefully remove the tags. She would then sew the name brand tags into the new “cheaper” clothes
Throughout the novel “The House of the Spirits” the reader has followed the life of Clara, a beautiful woman with supernatural powers and an essence of innocence. With Clara being a primary character in the novel, her recent death was a very important scene. While the death of Clara was undoubtedly a sad scene, Clara brought a sense of joy to the event. It was said in the novel that Clara decided it was her time to die, it is assumed that this is why Clara did not cry, nor di she behave as though she was suffering. Instead, Clara put her affairs in order, slowly weaned herself off food, and wrote letters to her loved ones. This was a strong symbol of fate in the novel, as Clara was aware that she could not merely put off the time that
Chemping looked at napkins meanwhile Cyprian, the youngest nephew observed and was not pleased with the different types of napkins. Chemping wanted to purchase many items at the store including seven chrysanthemum vases, “Two sunshades that were marked down to a price that Mrs. Chemping considered absurdly cheap were added to her purchases.”. Cyprian could tell his aunt enjoyed every minute of shopping.
She claimed she needed the clothes, they made her feel better, like she was needed, wanted, and loved. Her parents assured her that she was already loved, and that she had plenty of clothes, but the reassurance was not enough.
"But not being able to spend as much as she would have liked, to have a swing-bassinette with rose silk curtains, and embroidered caps, in a fit of bitterness she gave up looking after the trousseau, and ordered the whole of it from a village needlewoman, without
“A Pair of Silk Stockings” is the story of “little” Miss Sommers who unexpectedly finds fifteen dollars. Initially, Miss Sommers did not want to act prematurely, so she sat and pondered the many ways she could spend the money. She finally came to the conclusion to spend the money on her children, who needed new shoes, stockings, and hats. When she made it to the store, however, her desires became too much to bear. Upon the feeling of a pair of silk stockings, Miss Sommers impulsively decides to buy them. After purchasing the stockings, Miss Sommers gets fitted for a new pair of gloves; before she knows it, she spends a substantial amount of money on a new pair of boots, a meal, accompanied by wine and