Ready Reference Treatise: Tell Me a Riddle

By Raja Sharma

“Tell Me a Riddle” by Tillie Olsen is a collection of four short stories. The book was first published in 1961.

The stories in the book are” “I Stand Here Ironing,” “Hey Sailor, What Ship?” “O Yes,” and “Tell Me a Riddle.”

These stories explore the themes of social pressures, individuality, stratification, conformity, feminism, motherhood, racism, and authorship, etc.

Through this book, the author seems to be very clearly providing a voice to the voiceless. She also shows marginalized stereotypes as complex individuals.

Ready Reference Treatise: Tell Me a Riddle
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
“I Stand Here Ironing"
“Hey Sailor, What Ship?"
“O Yes”
"Tell Me a Riddle"
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jun 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311069498

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: Tell Me a Riddle

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: Tell Me a Riddle

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

Tell Me a Riddle by Tillie Olsen is a collection of four short stories. The book was first published in 1961.

The stories in the book are I Stand Here Ironing, Hey Sailor, What Ship? O Yes, and Tell Me a Riddle."

These stories explore the themes of social pressures, individuality, stratification, conformity, feminism, motherhood, racism, and authorship, etc.

Through this book, the author seems to be very clearly providing a voice to the voiceless. She also shows marginalized stereotypes as complex individuals.

Being a female writer, during the 1950s and 1960s, she worked hard to draw attention of the people to the plight of women, both as individuals and as authors.

The story I Stand Here Ironing is a kind of monologue, a one-sided conversation spoken by a mother. She happens to be at an ironing board while speaking. She tries to explain her daughter’s reticent but clownish personality.

While ironing, the mother gives a treatise on women’s lives during the Great Depression and the Second World War. She also describes the difficult relationship that happens to be there between an author and his work.

The second story Hey Sailor, What Ship? revolves around an aging, alcoholic sailor who feels lost in a world where people thinks that nuclear family is the only life option. They value it very highly.

The third story O Yes revolves around two young girls. They get separated because of racial prejudice and implicit sorting.

They find it difficult to find a supportive community. They also realize how important it is to have a supportive community.

The fourth story Tell Me a Riddle is the story of an aging immigrant couple. The story depicts the couple’s struggle to love one another, having spent a life of hardship and demands.

When the author wrote the early version of the present book, she was able to win admission into Stanford’s prestigious writing program for a two-year fellowship. While working on several stories there, four of those stories ended up in this book.

Having finished the programme, she found it difficult to complete the book because she had to meet the demands of everyday life. She eventually received a grant from the Ford Foundation. It helped her to complete Tell Me a Riddle.

The book won an O. Henry Award for Best story of the Year in 1961. Her book became an instant success.

The stories written by Olsen are so compelling. It is only because she draws on real life experiences and struggles.