The four didactic interludes present in Tillie Olsen's Yonnondio: From the Thirties onward are vitally important to the rest of the text. These narrative intrusions, as Constance Coiner prefers to call them, not only change but also deepen our understanding of history. Through these didactic interludes, Olsen explains to the reader, in his own very particular way, the causes and remedies for the Holbrooks' disastrous situation. Thus, these interludes add to the intrigue of the story and are essential to grasping its impact. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Olsen uses his art as propaganda. She not only depicts the difficult story of a family living in the 1920s, but Olsen goes even further. She uses her writing to convey her political ideology. Furthermore, Olsen, in his writing, does not simply rely on Yonnondio's plot to convey to his audience that revolution is the panacea the Holbrooks seek. Instead, Olsen expects more intelligence from his readers and incorporates these four didactic passages for explanatory purposes, thus highlighting not only the necessity of the rebellion, but also making its immediacy obvious, although blatant. Perhaps Olsen chose to include these narrative intrusions because she did not "entirely trust" the novel without these instructive passages, to fully penetrate the reader's consciousness, as the Holbrooks' perspective is rather restricted, calling for a need for further explanation. the interlude begins as Andy Kvaternick is described as stumbling through the night, his thoughts shipwrecked, diving and swirling, breathing frantically, like a nearly drowned man (Olsen 4-5). The narrator of this interlude asks Andy to “breathe and breathe,” well aware of the inevitability of his fate, encouraging him, while reaffirming his futility. The narrator orders Andy to act, because he is ignorant and has no control over himself, due to the fact that the mining company, due to operating under capitalism, has already defined his future and is in complete control of his future. life. At the same time, the narrator commands the reader to act, like Andy, even if the future seems bleak, and to take control of his life, trying to escape the inevitable. Due to Andy's ignorance, he is unable to follow the narrator's orders, hence, they fall on deaf ears. However, we, the readers, are not victims like Andy. Olsen, through this interlude, allows us to grasp what poor Andy, in his glorious ignorance, will never truly understand. Olsen dramatically emphasizes: “The Earth sucks you in, to spit out coal, to grow a few big bellies. The Earth takes your dreams where a few can lie languorously on sofas and trill “How exquisite” to the paid dreamers. The narrator addresses an aspect which resurfaces in the second didactic interlude. In it, she offers social commentary about business leaders who happily lounge around, viewing their damned workers as works of art. This is the first real indicator that the poor are. exploited by the rich. Later, the narrator proposes a solution to end this pervasive social structure, stating that one day, mighty fists will strike the big bellies, and the skeletons of starving children will strike them too, indicating an insurrection that will fight for “pursuit of happiness” (Olsen 6). In the second didactic interlude, Olsen deviates from the commandsthat she used in the first one, when talking about the accident in the mine, Olsen asks, "And couldn't you make an appearance." of this and cling to your aesthetic hearts? » (Olsen 20). This time, instead of addressing a character in the story, she addresses her question to us, the readers. By using the cameo, Olsen draws on the "exquisite character" of the paid dreamers, as mentioned in the first didactic interlude. Olsen's use of sarcasm in this narrative intrusion is pervasive, commenting: "Surely it is classic enough for you the Greek marble of women, the simple, flowing lines of grief." , sculpted so rigid and eternal" (Olsen 20). She pointedly asks us if we find aesthetic pleasure in this drinking scene, telling us that if we do, then we, too, are damned like Andy Kvaternick for not understanding our oppression. If we "make an appearance", as Olsen suggests, we will illustrate our dependence on capitalism, on the "big bellies" who allowed something as horrible as this accident to happen. let us accept this cameo and carry it on our aesthetic hearts, then the difference between us and those "few who lie languidly on sofas and trill", "how exquisite" for paid dreamers will be indistinguishable In this interlude,. Olsen sarcastically urges the company to issue a statement quickly, otherwise "they begin to strike with the fists of the strike, with the pickaxe of the revolution" (Olsen 21, here, hints, as she will again, that it is “the pickaxe of the revolution). " is the key to unlocking what the residents of this industrial town are so desperately seeking. Elias Caldwell, in the third didactic interlude, although he possesses far more perspective than Andy, is just as ignorant as he is, for Caldwell n He has never looked down on the barrel of oppression himself for long; despite all his acquired wisdom, this erudite man has absolutely nothing to offer Mazie, apart from a few absurd poems. classic books, however, what good will it do, however, in contemplating the harsh realities of Elias Caldwell's own life, which the reader expects to shed great light on Mazie, ultimately, in? is incapable. Perhaps one of the most memorable truths that Mazie will come away with and remember throughout her adult life is, trivially, that the stars are not "shards of the moon", like. Caldwell rightly enlightens him Again, this “shard” of knowledge will amount to nothing in Mazie’s life. Caldwell's words are "incomprehensible" to Mazie who stares "thirstfully" into his eyes, actively searching for answers, but not receiving them. Almost immediately after Caldwell asserts that “No, there is more reason to rebel against that which does not allow life to unfold,” the didactic interlude begins (Olsen 37). Caldwell wants to tell Mazie “something of what he would like her to experience and only hears incoherent words come out (Olsen 37). Caldwell failed to make anything out of his life; However, her real failure lies in her inability to express to Mazie: which symbolizes all those who struggle, in her final moments, to find what could save her. In this didactic interlude, Olsen attempts to educate the reader that conventional wisdom, which elevates education as a saving force, is inherently flawed. Is education good for Mazie? It can certainly improve one's individual condition, but what about the human condition? Olsen guides the reader to the truth and makes it abundantly clear in the final didactic interlude. intrusion, Olsen comments on the “revolt