The Constant Struggle :: English Literature

The Constant StruggleTo be or not to be, that is the question. Indeed, this is thequestion Barbara constantly asks herself, whether or not she has to bea responsible mom to Jodie, or to try and have a life of her own. Inthe short story Over the Hill by Lynne Schwartz, Barbara is a singlemformer(a) struggling between the difficult tasks of being a mom and ofbeing a single adult. Barbara faces a dilemma that many other singleparents also faces, and that is their desire to date other peoplebecause they dont want to be a single parent for the rest of theirlives. However, her indebtedness as a single mom doesnt alwaysallow her to do that. As a result, Barbara is a responsible, funloving mother snap between her duty to her daughter and her need foradult companionship.Like many other single parents around the world, the income Barbaramakes is not always enough to take caution of her family. Consequently,being the responsible mom that she is, Barbara is taking a shortcourse, one night a w eek on bartending along with her friend Pat inhopes of having a supplementary source of money (pg 208). They thinkthat they could make a lot of money on the side doing bartending atfancy parties (pg 208). Barbara hopes that her income working as adraftsperson in an architects office in addition to the bartendingmoney she hopes on making will be enough to concur her family (pg208). Although Barbara thinks that under certain circumstancesabortion might be a good idea, she did not get an abortion when shewas pregnant with Jodie (pg 209). Why didnt she get an abortion?Barbara didnt get an abortion because she is a dependable person thattakes responsibilities for her own actions, even though she knows thather life would be utterly change when she becomes a singlemother. Although Barbara feels depressed at the end of the night whenshe thinks that James isnt coming over, she still plays her role asthe responsible mother and reminds Jodie that she should be going tobed, because she has a tooth doctor appointment tomorrow (pg 217). Bytrying to make more money, not getting an abortion when she waspregnant with Jodie, and reminding Jodie that she has a dentistappointment the next day even though shes depressed about James showsjust how dedicated and responsible Barbara is to being a mother.In addition to being a responsible mother, Barbara is also very funloving. She enjoys fooling around with shakers and glasses like kids