Imitation of Life Analysis

This results to her spending less time with her daughter which affects their relationship. Through these events, Lora is clearly brought out as the foil character while most of the ideal characters are portrayed by Annie Johnson who despite being black tries to teach her daughter how to become a good person in the society. The film uses four women to illustrate the type of society that existed during this period in America. Sirk, incorporates an image of mothers who try to raise daughters and the struggles they have to go through so as to achieve this. When trying to be parents, Lora and Annie are forced to choose between parenting their daughters and following their life careers. This representation of men in the film is uniquely chosen to help bring out the strength of women Lora and Annie who despite the presence of a man in their life are able to bring up their children.

Despite the challenges that they face bringing up the children, it is clearly seen that the mother is also important and plays the most important role in the family. Annie seems to embrace her role as a mother and is able to have more time with Lora’s daughter Suzie. She is also created as an ideal woman one that stays at home and attends to her womanly roles just as the society then expects. Lora on the other hand is the exact opposite as she chooses her career over motherhood. The fact that she is not able to interact with the people especially those who know about her background makes her a punching bag to her white boyfriend when she tries to argue that she is a white girl.

Annie’s role in the household is of a housewife who is always at home helping in house chores and also being available to help the children and support the husband emotionally, to motivate them on the different projects that they are working on. Lora on the other hand plays the role of the father who is always concern about success and personal wellbeing. However, at this particular time in America, the character of Annie is acceptable while that of Lora is seen as misplaced as women are expected to be at home and under someone mostly a man. When Sarah Jane is beaten up by her boyfriend, the author uses this incidence as a form of punishment for her ill character.

This is a very low ambition for Susie considering the fact that she is a white girl while Sarah the one who should be getting this low expectation only tries to be elite. During Annie’s funeral, she is seen to have been the ideal mother who has tried her best to create a relationship with her daughter Sarah Jane. She has worked tirelessly to become the best mother by raising her child who eventually disappoints her after she has run away and triggered her mother’s death. Her death makes her the center of attraction where even Sarah Jane has come back to mourn her mother’s death as she wishes she had been there to say goodbye and ask for forgiveness.