Tymeirah Hayes
Being Open Minded
In the story “Tell Me A Riddle”I was grabbed immediately by the very beginning passage. Specifically, the second sentence in the first passage for me was not only relatable but refreshing . The text states “ I wish you would manage the time to come in and talk with me about your daughter. I’m sure you can help me understand her. She’s a youngster who needs help and whom I’m deeply interested in helping” (Olsen 1913-2007). The reason why I found myself drawn to this quote was because I appreciated the tone and intent of the character that was asking for help in helping someone else. In life sometimes it seems people find it hard to reach out for help when trying to help someone else, and I thought it was a good thing to see a character taking a leap of faith, and asking for help in better understanding someone that they care about. Also, I appreciated the honesty in defeat in such a small statement. The statement was very loaded although very short. In this quote it is very clear that someone is eager to utilize all their options in trying to fix an obstacle in they face. That obstacle being understanding this teenager who they care for and feel that they are not able to understand without the help of the person they’re asking for help from, being that teenager’s mother.
The mother responds saying “…Even if I came what good would it do? You think because I am her mother I have a key, or that in some way you could use me as a key? She has lived for 19 years there is all that life that has happened outside of me beyond me.”,Which to me is a very respectful response. I thought it was interesting for the girl’s mother to keep in mind the fact that in all of her 19 years she has lived a life of her own, and that just being her mother doesn’t mean that she can fully understand her. In my opinion this is very relative to life outside of the story because many times parents assume that because their parents they automatically have an understanding of their children, which is not always the case, so it was nice to see a parent admit and acknowledge that being a parent isn’t always enough and understanding your child. Lastly, I respected the Mother character for immediately acknowledging the life that her child has lived outside of her and keeping in mind that-that is just as important in understanding her child as simply being her parent.
Coming to Age 