Title: "My Mother Never Worked" by Bonnie Smith-Yackel.

Essay by dgarza229College, UndergraduateA+, November 2005

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Women in today's society have a much louder voice; meaning they have more respect, and are greatly appreciated for what they do, compared to Yackel's 1975 essay. Bonnie Smith-Yackel's essay makes a statement about how society values, and appreciates women and the way they work dating back to the 1920's. Most things having to do with women working or anybody for that matter have changed for the better since then, but sadly some things still remain the same.

Yackel begins her essay with a call to the Social Security office trying to recover a death benefit and like anyone knows, any call to federal program office will often leave you on hold for an extended period of time. During this time Yackel begins to recollect some of the faint memories of her mother and the tedious stages of life that she had endured. She uses this introduction as an open door to the story of her mother and will ultimately use this same introduction to close this entry of pain and dedication.

Marriage during those days weren't the same as we now know them. Our perception of marriage brings to mind the words love, unity, and happily-ever-after. As you tell from Yackel's essay her mother's perception of marriage differs from the minds of today. Her schemes of marriage consist of a half-dozen children to look after while she cooks, cleans, and supports the weight of the world on her shoulders. Today, no one would be caught dead with twelve uncultivated kids tugging at there sleeves. Obviously, birth control wasn't actually promoted if even offered at this time period. Yackel uses a quote from her mother to show the discouragement she has about the idea of marriage. 'It just makes me sick....."(Smith-Yackel page 97). This is a direct quote...