Gender and identity in Marilyn Schiel's "Levis"

¶ … wear her brother's hand-me-down old blue jeans was a turning point for both the mother-daughter relationship and the freedom and spirit of the daughter. She is able to grow up freely and does not give up her femininity (Schiel, pg. 57). As she grows she helps her brother work on cars, and she gets her own.22 (Schiel, pg. 57-58). There are fishing expeditions and bicycle riding and chemistry sets and wood tools along with 'girlie' presents for Christmas (Schiel, pg. 58). In the last segment of the story the mother is also wearing blue jeans. The world overall, and the world of the mother and daughter, have both changed.

Her father beat her mother because of his own failings and the way that he felt so insignificant, and the way that he thought he was intellectually so far above the people who he was 'boxed in' by (Njeri, pg. 74). He took it out on people who were weaker than he was and could not defend themselves, but only where his family was concerned. Outsiders loved him. The author, though, presents only what happened in a very factual way and does not dwell on whether what her father did was 'good' or 'bad. It seems as though she is withholding judgment so that people who read what she has to say can pay clear attention to the actual details, allowing them to draw their own conclusions and make their own judgments.