Character+analyses

__ Character analyses __  ** The author, Tillie Olsen, has written about Anna Holbrook based on her own experience. True Anna's eyes you can experience how difficult and though the life was in the 1920/30’s. It's a realistic drama where Anna's emotions sometimes can be a bit overwhelming. Her physical signs of bruises are obvious, but she keeps on living as nothing has happened. The violence has left its marks and it makes Anna weaker and weaker for each day that goes by. Without Anna the family would simply collapse. Anna Holbrook is the hard-working mother of the family. She is a small woman with rather short hair. Anna was once pretty, but her though life has changed a lot. Anna doesn't have any education, so she probably isn't among the smart ones either. She is also pretty strong due to all the housework. During the period when Anna is sick you can also easily tell how important she is for the family. With no one to take care of the children or the house everything in the family almost collapses. The reason is that Anna is the only one who is working in the house, and when she gets sick the family need the help of a neighbor to “survive”. Unfortunately the housework just doesn't make her strong enough. Anna's much stronger and more powerful husband is beating her when he is drunk. Anna has bruises all over her body, but tries to hide them as best as she can. This makes you, as a reader, feel sympathy and sorrow for her. But you soon discover that she isn't so much better herself when she beats up her own innocent children.
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Anna's mood can change from time to time. At the most of the time she is acting like a good housewife. She is then often busy cooking food or doing laundry. But she has also her bad moments. At one point in the book, after a miscarriage, she gets very sick. She spends all her time in the bed. She doesn't pay any attention to the house or the children. This is very unusual because normally the children are Anna's life. She cares about them so much that she wants them to take an education (Anna thinks an education is the only way they can work they way up in the society and out of the life in poor and bad conditions). In spite of all the problems the family have, Anna sticks with them and helps everyone like a loyal servant.

All the beatings and violence Anna has suffered from her husband have changed her mentally and affected her a lot. Her attitude when it comes to violent has dramatically changed. She has reflected all the violent she has received from her husband to her children. She constantly shouts and beats them up. Her life, with no rights or fairness, is miserable. Anna doesn't know about a better life so she has to deal with it. Over time she loses confident in herself and obey everyone, just like a slave. Anna is loyal, but unhappy. The book doesn't really have an end so you just have to imagine yourself how it might end. My guess is that Anna one day will lose it completely.

Anna is the poor hard-working mother of the Holbrook family. She has suffered a lot of violence from her husband, and although she loves her children more than anything she ironically beat them. Anna hopes that the children one day can get a proper education so they can come out of the poor life she has experienced. She is loyal to her family and without her the family would simply collapse. 

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