"Seventeen Syllables" by Hisaye Yamamoto

"Rosie, covering her face, began at last to cry, and the embrace and consoling hand came much later than she expected."

This story paints an interesting picture of the effect that parents have on their children. The story starts off showing the disconnect between Rosie and her mother; their speaking different native languages is representative of their differing lifestyles and views. Throughout the story, Rosie witnesses trouble between her parents; her father does not very much approve of her mother's deep interest in haiku. What makes this conflict more interesting, though, is the fact that during all of this, Jesus reveals feelings for Rosie.

Rosie is very unclear and probably unsure as to whether or not she reciprocates Jesus' feelings. She runs away after he kisses her, and hides from him the next day when they are working. At first glance, this seems like a basic reaction to the girl's first romantic encounter, but the unsureness could also be representative of confusion caused by her parents' rocky relationship. 

Then, at the end, Rosie's mother tells her the unhappy story of how she ended up with her husband, and tells her never to marry, leading into the quote at the top of this post. Upon seeing that Rosie didn't quite agree with her mother's views, the mother comforts her daughter, but reluctantly. She had hoped she could pass on her wisdom as well as her language, but neither seemed to get through to Rosie, and that disappoints her.

Rosie's unsureness in her potential relationship with Jesus could have been caused by her parents' less-than-perfect relationship, exemplifying and somewhat serving as an allegory for the way the lives of the parents can influence those of their children.

The story also raises a question of art versus productivity, and different viewpoints of the world. Rosie's father shows strongly work-oriented opinions and values, while her mother places a strong value on the art of haikus. The two cannot seem to agree to disagree on the subject, and so allow it to become a rift between them. This is representative of how we as a society can't always seem to balance art with objective work, and must consider them separate things. There is often, in the modern world, a conflict between what we love to do and what we have to do. Many people struggle to balance or combine the two, much in the way Rosie's parents can't seem to come to a middle.