"Sissy" and "The Wide, Wide World" comparison

I found many similarities between Sissy and Ellen Montgomery in The Wide, Wide World. Both characters share a close relationship to their mother. Sissy “never asked to play with other boys, seeming to find in his mother all desired companionship” (Kellogg 545). He seems to be completely satisfied by his mother’s company and is always finding ways to please her. This is a very different personality trait than the other little boys we have read about. It is very reminiscent of Ellen whose “love to her mother was the strongest feeling her heart knew” (Warner 25).

I think that both characters had such a strong emotional tie to their parents because they were raised in households with absent father figures. Although Ellen’s father played a vital role in The Wide, Wide World, he certainly did not play a vital role in her life. Ellen’s complete fascination and emotional dependence on her mother reinforced the fact that her father lacked a pivotal role in the little girl’s upbringing. Sissy, on the other hand, never knew his father who died when Sissy was only three years old. His pure and eternal love for his mother was not perpetuated by his father’s cold, aloof personality like Ellen’s.

I also found similarities between the two texts with references to windows. When Sissy is trying to convince his mother to adopt Margie he describes how “she’s got to stay cooped up there in that miserable, dirty place all summer, and just look out the window” (Kellogg 562). The lonely little girl staring out of a window conjured up memories of Ellen Montgomery. “Ellen betook herself to the window and sought amusement there” when no one else would entertain her (Warner 21). Both of these passages have a very sad and forlorn feel to them.

Sissy

Sissy challenged the texts that we have read thus far about what it means to be a little boy or little girl in the nineteenth century. He occupies a unique place in society because he captivates traits of both genders. "He possessed a girl's taste and delicacy and skill… combined with a boy's physical strength and hardihood" (Kellogg 546). Because he is constantly helping others and demonstrating a wealth of compassion, one would expect him to be rich with friends. I found it very interesting that he "had no 'crony,' or intimate companion, especially outside of the school-room (Kellogg 546). It seems as though a multitude of people, young and old, would seek a friend like Sissy in this world, however he is portrayed as somewhat of a loner. I think that Kellogg was trying teach people to accept others for who they are, even if they are immensely different. She continually uses positive words throughout the text to describe him and convey him as a sweet and loving boy. Even when he cuts up his great-grandmother's dress, his own mother shows no sign of anger because she wants to "commend Sissy's kindness" (Kellogg 551).
Sissy continually breaks the mold of societal standards of what boys were to act like. His loving demeanor and will to please his mother almost mirrors that of Ellen Montgomery, while his passion for sewing and cooking is a foil to Tom Sawyer's rugged character. He is also the first boy that we have read about who longs for a friendship with a little girl. He takes Margie almost as a charity case but ends up loving this little girl and obsessing over finding her. This desire to help and transform a little girl also demonstrates characteristics of a typical girl during this time rather than a boy. Sissy's character allows readers a glimpse into the heart of a little boy who is viewed as abnormal during this time and helps people to love his personality rather than dismiss him as different.

Short Story Reading Habits

As I read The Yellow Wallpaper and Desiree’s Baby, I tried to channel my focus into specific diction used in the texts. Because the length of the text is exponentially shorter, the author must choose every word with conviction. I was much more inclined to read every word in both stories rather than skimming the page as I would normally do with larger texts. When I skim large texts, I am able to fill in the gaps of the specifics words that I bypassed. In short stories, however, the text is so brief that a line could change the entire plotline.

In Desiree’s Baby, I noticed the manner in which old Monsieur Aubingy was described and actually took the depiction of his character to mean something deeper. I did not think that Chopin would frivolously foil old Aubingy’s “easy-going and indulgent” attitude which made his slaves happy with Young Aubingy’s strict rule that stifled their gayness (Chopin 517). It seems as though every detail that is included in short stories have some meaningful significance. Chopin’s portrayal of the father’s kind demeanor to his slaves foreshadowed his love and acceptance of African Americans.

The Yellow Wallpaper was a much more complicated story that took a tremendous amount of attention and analysis. I re-read the last two pages of the story very slowly and still felt confused about what was actually taking place. Only through close reading did I discover that the narrator was suffering from post-partum depression. She briefly mentions that she “cannot be with [the baby]” because “it makes [her] so nervous” (Gilman 507). An important clue like that may have been easily missed in a longer text because it would not seem to hold the same import as it does in this ten page text.