Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover

When I first picked up Olive Kitteridge I questioned whether or not I would enjoy it. The cover did not appeal immediately to me, therefore I assumed that I would have to suffer through reading and painfully annotating a book that I disliked. However, as I finish the second third of Olive Kitteridge I can say that I truly enjoy this book. The same applies to my feelings towards the main character, Olive's, actions. At the beginning of the book I could not stand Olive and found her a pretentious and overbearing woman. Now, after further reading and understanding more about her, I find that I judged Olive too strongly and now judge her actions as defensive and hurt rather than outright mean. Pulitzer Prize winning author Elizabeth Strout sets her book in a modern era with events such as 9/11 occurring. During this time, racial stereotyping and judgement of all kinds became prominent in our society. Olive Kitteridge faces this judgement from me while reading about her odd parenting style as she often yelled at her son, Chris. In the midst of my judgement she cries out inside as she recognizes that "she had loved him" (145). The somber almost defeated tone indirectly characterizes Olive as exhausted from trying to love her son the best she could. I realize that Olive had grown up without very much love and support from her own parents and therefore had no model to base her parenting off of. Strout implies that Parents love their children as best as they can in the way that their parents loved them. While not always right and kind towards Chris, I now understand that her constant pressure and over bearing attitude only means that she loves him. For instance, her want for Chris's full attention and presence at home. Initially, I took this as selfish and over protective however when she states that Chris's fiancé acts "as mean as a bat" I understood the deeper meaning (113). This simile shows Olive's true emotions through an almost child-like tone. This indirectly characterizes her as sensitive under her hard exterior as she feels victimized by the woman Chris will marry. This hidden softness comes up once again when Julie Harwood explains to her little sister, Winnie, that Mrs. Kitteridge, her future math teacher, says "weird things…very powerfully" (195). Through Julie's reassuring tone she calms Winnie by indirectly characterizing Mrs. Kitteridge as wise and knowing. Julie Harwood broke the judgement in my mind about Olive's sternness in the classroom from mean math teacher to insightful woman trying to improve children's lives. Olive's actions, while undoubtedly questionable at times, always have a deeper rooted motive or past experience that gives her her personality. I judge Olive's actions as commendable as she tries to deal with the pressures of modern life as best as she can.