Family Pressure in "Tin Man"

Using heavy irony, Judy Budnitz, author of Tin Man, critiques the unrealistic expectations that families place on eachother. Throughout the story, Arnie’s aunts, Fran and Nina, repeatedly guilt-trip him into giving up his heart for his mother. They claim, "She’d do anything for you, anything in the world" (Budnitz, p. 85). This statement is supposed to reflect Arnie’s mother’s deep love, but the aunts use it manipulatively to pressure Arnie into sacrificing his heart, ignoring the flaws and absurdities in their demand. The dramatic irony here highlights the absurdity of their expectations…