In the stories "I Stand here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen, and "I am Twenty-One" by Mary Robinson both main characters have suffered severe loses that have altered their lives as well as the lives around them. Although their losses are some what different, their emotions and what they feel are quite similar. It is not easy losing a family or being neglected. Such extreme situations as these can cause one to act in excessive behaviors as did these specifics characters. The character Emily in "I Stand here Ironing" and the narrator in "I am Twenty One" share many of the same problems but they both differ in the
             way they cope with their problems and interact with society.
             Responding to tragedies is not easy especially for teenagers and little kids. Because of being neglected and growing up without a father figure or someone to support her, Emily suffered and chose to punish the world. Emily was a child of troubles. Emily's mom described her as a "child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear. She has much to her and probably nothing will come of it." When her brothers and sisters came along, Emily began to experience the split attention that comes with more children. Her depression progressed and she began eating less as well as becoming more anti social to her friends and family. "The doorbell sometimes rang for her, but no one seemed to come and play in the house or be a best friend." She began having trouble in school and wondered why she looked the way that she did...thing, dark, and foreign looking.
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