In the short story THE WHITE UMBRELLA, the narrator and her sister Mona are part of a Chinese family that moved to America. Since their mother is working, unlike all the other mothers in American households, the narrator is embarrassed and keeps Mona from saying anything. One day, it was pouring, but the siblings had to walk to Miss Crosman’s piano lessons. When they got there, they were soaking wet, but the narrator tries to keep the fact that her mother is working, and so lies that they couldn’t get the car roof to close. Eugene Roberts was having her lesson, and the narrator wanted to be like her: graceful, beautiful, friendly and had a mother that wasn’t working. After the siblings’ lessons, they waited long in the rain as their mother was working, and Miss Crosman gave the narrator a white umbrella. All the other American girls had one, and her mother wouldn’t buy her one. The narrator sneaks the umbrella into the car, but during a car accident, her mother nearly faints from all the commotion. After going out to see the damage, she throws the umbrella down the sewer.
Each and every one of our families has a great impact on our lives and is extremely important in our process of development and success. Family is a lot more important than minor objects we need and is the key support to an upward slope in our lives. In the story, the narrator’s family is shown not only to be extremely caring and loving but also to create a great impact on the narrator’s life and behavior. The narrator’s mother works hard all day to provide basic needs and desires for the family and is also understanding and caring for her children; meanwhile, Mona acts as a great companion who also helps the narrator to finally realize how she should appreciate her family more than an umbrella. Just like the complex formation of life, a mountain leading to success creates an upward rise, and as we grow, we either continue the hard journey of climbing or get pushed down back to the start again. However, our family acts as one of the main supports at the foot of the mountain, pushing it upwards for us to climb. At a small age, our parents care for us in different ways that they think would be best for us and our future. Some parents may be more strict, and others might be less strict, but either way, our family holds us up every time we fall back down. Family is one of the key and main supports and leads us upward to success; our family members greatly influence our lives.
When people find themselves in a different environment, they have the desire to fit in and belong within a social group or community. Humans have a natural want to be like everyone else besides them, which can change one’s behavior and personality. In the story, the narrator is shown to become selfish and paranoid about hiding the fact that her mother is working, unlike all the other American households. The narrator’s thoughts and conversations emphasize how much she wants to belong and fit in: she wants her mother not to work anymore because no American mother does; she wants an umbrella because all the American girls have one; she wants to play the piano as well as Eugenie Roberts and get complimented by Miss Crosman. The difference in race, tradition, and personality between Americans and the narrator’s Chinese family affects her thoughts and belonging. When people want to fit in or belong in a certain community, most times, they can experience a positive change, but being too paranoid about it can impact their behavior in a negative way. The narrator in the story, for example, tries so hard to fit in with the other American girls that she is blinded by that desire and doesn’t pay attention to how it has affected her. All humans have the want to belong, and that desire could affect and influence one’s behavior and personality.
People tend to naturally pay more attention to minor desires that they don’t have, yet don’t pay enough attention to the major needs they already have. Many people are distracted by the thoughts of wanting something that they think will make them happy but don’t exactly need; yet don’t appreciate the great and more important things they already have. In the short story, the narrator is incredibly attentive to the graceful and stunning white umbrella, yet doesn’t pay much attention to how much hard work her mother does while working and the importance of her family, such as her sister Mona. The thoughts of the umbrella make the narrator unaware of her personality and behaviors because of it: she becomes selfish and materialistic and keeps arguing with Mona. As human civilization advances, people’s wants and desires grow more and more, as much as our needs. Before technology was discovered, no one used electricity in their daily life, and several thousand years from now, people didn’t need strong and nicely built houses full of furniture, but rather, lived in random and wild caves or shelters. The more advanced civilization becomes and the more we discover, the more things we need and want; therefore, even more important things get forgotten, though we need them daily. When we get distracted by wants and desires we think will make us happy, we don’t appreciate all the nice and important things we already have as much.
THE WHITE UMBRELLA narrates how the author, part of a Chinese-American family, is first embarrassed that her mother has to work, then realizes the importance of more major things, and throws away the white umbrella she has once longed for. Family is one of the most important factors in our life and is the key support in leading us to a happy future. In a different environment and surroundings, people have a natural desire to fit in, which can impact one’s behavior and personality, such as the narrator. People also tend to get disturbed by minor desires they think will make them happy, yet don’t fully appreciate the nice and more important things they already have.
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