The Imagery of Mazie at the Candy shop - “Mazie’s Diary, November 7, 1916”
Mazie writes, “ I have to work in the candy shop again today. Boring. Only little kids coming in there all day along, dirty change, sticky paws. The bell rings on the front door and I look up and it’s the same thing over and over. I feel like a dog when that bell rings. Waiting for someone to feed me with something interesting to look at.” Unmistakably, the candy shop is unexciting due to the repetitious routines which Mazie partakes. The street is the ideal location where Mazie would aspire to be, instead of the shop, because the experiences at the streets are assorted. The comparison to a dog infers that she feels that the bell is a conditioning agent that demands her to respond to each ring. The conditioning is detrimental to her freedom. Mazie’s cynical tone while labeling the candy shop emphasizes her ubiquitous dullness.
The Imagery of Rosie’s Mourning - “Mazie’s Diary, January 3, 1917”
Mazie records, “Last night Rosie and I split a bottle of whiskey. This was after I came home, on time for once. I came to say good night and the bottle was next to her bed. I couldn’t tell how long she’d been drinking. All I knew was she was already knee-deep in it. She was mourning something.” Rosie uses whiskey as a medium for eliminating the pain she feels as a result of their parents and their lives at Topsfield. Rosie’s mourning infers that she misses the life and it would be impossible to revive it. Mazie explains, “ Topsfield, that was right before she left us behind. We were all out together, a real, happy family for the day. Papa holding me with one hand, Jeanie in his other arm, Rosie wedged between him and Mama.” Reminiscences of a vanished happiness and family are adequate to provoke Rosie’s mourning. The imagery of a contented family, which they no longer are, makes Rosie dejected to the degree that she is not petrified of the ramifications of disproportionate drinking.
