Fiction Teaches Empathy
When reading the short stories, the reader feels that fiction indeed does teach empathy. Often in a story, the reader sympathizes with a character in the story. This occurs because of how the author uses words and narrative techniques. The author uses empathy very cleverly. The characters that the author chooses to empathize are brought to life in a real form and are made more believable to the reader. All great authors and literary works use empathy, and achieve it well. One example that suggests pity is, "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen. In the story the reader can easily empathize with the mother. The story is told in the first person point of view, so we learn that she has many children but is accused of neglecting her first born, Emily. At first, the reader feels sorry for Emily, "she's a youngster who needs help," but as the story continues, we learn more about the mother. As we read into the story, more empathy is collected. The mother shares with the "counselor" that "[she] loved her," and "there were all the acts of love." The reader now feels empathy for the mother and Emily. Setting plays a big role in showing empathy. The mother explains how tough life was during the "pr
"Steinbeck uses symbolism and vivid imagery to help the reader emotionally feel for Elisa. The chrysanthemums are much more to her than just a flower or hobby. She opens her pure heart to the tinker when sharing the flowers, only to get hurt by him. When Elisa sees the run over chrysanthemums on the side of the road, it symbolizes her in the way that she has been trampled over. "She tried not to look as they passed it, but her eyes would not obey". At this point, the definitive empathy is gained for Elisa. Tillie Olsen used point of view to create empathy for the mother. The reader may not have gained so much compassion if the story was not told in first person. Because of the point of view, "I Stand Here Ironing" makes the reader gain insight from the mother's perspective. If the story was told form third person, we may not have known how truly hard it was on the mother. Many outsiders could not feel or portray her hardships, only criticize. Olsen also uses flashbacks to gain empathy for the mother. "The old man...once said in his gentle way: 'you should smile at Emily more when you look at her.'" By using flashback, the reader understands the troubles that she was going through while raising Emily. Lastly, Olsen uniquely conveys the story through Interior monologue. Interior monologue is unlike the writing of most authors. The story is not told in dialogue or description, but rather as a conversation with of the mother and herself. She asks questions to herself in this manner, not saying them out loud or to anyone in partic
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1047
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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