A Loaf Of Bread And I Stand Here Ironing

Submitted By gabrielleem
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Pages: 5
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The ability to decide and choose wisely and rightly is often a matter of how the problem was posed or your current situation. Though we try to be as logical as possible in making a decision, sometimes we end up making illogical choices. So, it is important to understand how people decide things to avoid bad judgments. In the short stories “ A Loaf of Bread” and “I Stand Here Ironing,” all the characters made their decisions based on their own opinions because of their situation in life. But the people outside of their lives did not see, how they should have. Leading to different outcomes. But the decisions anyone makes will not solely be for the benefit of others, but to benefit yourself, and what you believe will benefit other people. “A Loaf of Bread” is a short story about a man, whose selfishness exceeds his good nature. Harold, the owner of three grocery stores in three different cities, is accused of selling goods at the store in the White community for less than he did in the African American community. At first Harold is determined to not lower his prices, saying, “ I will not bend” (281). His wife and two children become affected by his stubborn actions. While watching television, Harold’s children witness furious African Americans and Caucasians protesting right in front of their father’s store. Then outraged customers began to appear at the school of Harold’s children demanding that he lower prices, or they will return each day until he does. Being in the middle of the conflict hurts his children, and they now will not speak to their father, unless he resolves the problem. Harold’s wife threatens him; by saying she will leave and take the children, if he does not fix his stubborn decision. He realizes that his family comes first. Even though Harold owns three stores, he is not economically stable; he has to raise his prices just to make the little bit of profit he does make. People then realize he is a good man when he gives away all the items in the store for free. The people picketing Harold’s store are doing so because he inflated the prices, in an area that was not economically stable, they believed that he was making more money then they were, which irritated them. They believed their actions were justified because the prices were too high for their class, and could barely afford it. But they really did not know that Harold was barely making any profit because of his prices. Harold believed his actions justified because he has to make a living just like everyone else. The business of a grocery store is inevitable, he has to constantly reinvest in his stores, and that’s business. He is irritated with the picketers because he thinks that they just don’t understand his situation. Harold is just barely getting by, and with a wife and children, that is not enough. Economically raising the prices seems like the right thing to do, so that he is able to break even, but socially it is not. He has to make sure his children are safe, and that he himself will be safe. He also wants to be seen as the honest and noble man that he is. His morals outweigh his amorality, and towards the end of the story he then realizes that not being a stubborn man, was the best thing to do. “I Stand Here Ironing” takes place around the Great Depression. The mother of the main character Emily is on the phone with most likely a social worker, who asks her about her daughter, to help them understand her. The mother believes she has no way of helping out her daughter wondering what she can possibly do to change the situation. She thinks that she has no special insight on Emily’s behavior simply because she is her mother. She
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