Family, Kinship, and Land in Gloria Mehlmann's 'Pin Cherry Morning'

This essay provides an analysis of Gloria Mehlmann's short story, 'Pin Cherry Morning,' focusing on the depiction of family, kinship, and land relationships. The essay begins by identifying the various family members, including the writer, her siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, and family friends, highlighting their interconnectedness and roles within the family structure. It then explores the significance of kinship, emphasizing how different family members support each other, especially in times of need, such as the illness of Roddy. Furthermore, the essay examines the land relationship, discussing the importance of natural resources like the pin cherry bushes and the surrounding landscape, and how the family interacts with and utilizes these resources. The conclusion summarizes the key themes of the story, underscoring the balance between humans and nature as reflected through the family dynamics and their connection to the land.

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English Language and linguistics
Introduction
The short story named ‘Pin Cherry Morning’ by Gloria Mehlmann had created an
ambience of family with different family characters discussed within this short story. In this
essay, we will discuss the family of the writer with kinship and land relationship to understand
the story from these view points.
Depiction of family and kinship

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There are several characters depicted in this short story with the writer as first person.
Her brother, Tony is of seven year old and younger sister; Leta is of four years old. Her father is
a soldier fighting for the nation in the warfront. Her mother is a house wife. The writer has her
little cousin, Marcy. Uncle Earl is also a family member. Her mom’s best friend is Winnie.
Kokum is the family friend. Roddy is the second cousin of the writer. His mother is Georgina.
There are other aunts of writer’s family named Mary, Miriam and Ena. Apart from them, the
family of the writer has another member named as Gladys, the horse.
The above members related to the family of the writer have formed a real well knit
family with its size. Even if the father is physically not present due to his profession, there are
other family members, who can take care of the regular needs of the family. The kinship of these
members with the writer is important and relevant to sustain in future life of the family members.
The mom of the writer is playing the key role to run this family with all other members of the
family surrounded nearby. There are concerns about the family in the form of Roddy, the
epilepsy patient. Roddy is the second cousin of the writer and is often struck by this dangerous
illness. During that period of illness, he has no control over his activities and needs good medical
attention to ensure his normal health. The other characters like aunts named Mary, Miriam and
Ena, who help this family and Georgina, Roddy’s mother, to ensure restoration of status quo
regarding the health of Roddy. Kokum is another important character in the form of family
friend, who uses to take care of this family by his managerial ability to meet the daily needs and
look after other members of the family.
Land relationship

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Land relationship depicted in this short story emphasizes on the natural resources
available in the region of residence. There is bush of pin cherry with wonderful taste of the fruit.
The surrounded landscape is full of bushes and forests with different living objects. The
members of the family can use these resources as per their need without destroying them to
maintain environment. All these components contribute to the land relationship of the family.
Conclusion
It is evident from the above article, that this nice short story had described the man and
nature balance with different characters of family and neighbors. With their own contribution to
the story, the relevance of family, its kinship and land relationship with the family is depicted in
proper manner.