Minding the Generation Gap

In the first story, I really admired the little girl Hazel's honesty and genuineness. I felt like the time and place surrounding the fantastic life and obviously crazy family that she had made for an interesting portrayal of thier lives. It seemed to me that there was just such a gap in reality that the generational gap was small in comparison. Sure, the little girl was crushed by her uncle's decision to marry, but the family just seems so crazy as it is that it only figures the little girl has such a bizarre slant on life in general.

In the Everyday Use, I completely sympathized with the mother and true grit. I admired her matter-of-factness and how she was unyielding, and unwilling to compromise. I felt that her true sincerity for the value her family "here and now," as it exists in time and space, with real people and real emotions was synonomous with her struggles as an obviously single mother. The daughter Dee was overly eccentric and self centered, drawn to the romance of her "heritage" but almost so much so as to walk over everyone else to "preserve" it. she seemed vain and self righteous, where as she felt as if she was doing the world and her family a favor by taking an interest in preserving their roots, completely over looking the very family that those roots represent.

In the Girl story, it was an excellent example of the way one generation imparts wisdom to the younger generation, even though at the time it may even seem trite to the younger. It was informative and genuine. I feel that with all these stories there was that element of seriousness that out shines many of the other elements. We know that the worst thing a younger generation can do is disregard the older generation and claim they have nothing to offer.

This was a great collection of stories which clearly describes the gap between generations, the representation of differnt famlies and classes, and the over all transcendent wisdom that serves as the bread and water to every up and coming generation to come.