A Private Experience: Minimizing Differences During situations of need, differences in social class are often overlooked. The short story written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is called “A Private Experience”. It is about two women, with unique backgrounds, who are seeking a connection throughout their time together. The women, one referred to as “the woman” and the other, Chika are from two distinct social classes, Chika being wealthier than the woman. In the story, the characters are placed in a situation of political conflict in which they have just escaped a local market that is being raided. Both the women have lost loved ones and discover that they have become dependent on one another. The author shows that despite being from two different …show more content…
After sharing background stories about each other’s families, Chika is asked by the woman to evaluate an injury the woman had. The woman asked Chika if she studied medicine in school. Chika responded positively although thinking to herself how she felt attacks of uncertainty in medicinal school. As the woman pulls out her breast from her blouse, she tells Chika to take a look at her dry, bruised nipple. She explains to her that she feels a burning sensation. Chika apprehensively steps closer to the woman and takes a look at it and responds, “Your nipple is dry, but it does not look infected. After you feed the baby, you have to use some lotion.” (Pg.7). Here, the author shows that despite her knowing where she stands in terms of social status, Chika still supports the woman’s needs. By noticing the woman’s worried reaction, Chika realizes that despite having five children, the woman has never experienced this kind of infection before. So, Chika tries to comfort her with a made up background story of her mother. “It was the same with my mother. Her nipples cracked when the sixth child came, and she didn’t know what caused it, until a friend told her she should moisturize it.” (Pg.7). Chika’s mother only had two children. In these lines, Chika lies for a purpose. She draws a fictional past similar to the woman’s situation in order to make a connection between her and the woman. This effort to find a connection between the characters occurs because their backgrounds are completely different showing there is no real connection between them. Essentially, the author illustrates a growing relation between the two characters and shows that even though Chika is wealthier than the woman, she is still willing to help her. Towards the end of the story, we see a similar situation in which Chika is hurt and the woman helps her in
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston and “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros have common themes of spousal abuse and gender power struggles. The female characters roles within their household are very different. Cleofilas is forced to stay home alone with no car while her husband works. Delia on the other hand makes the living for her household while her husband Sykes lives off of her wages and does as he pleases, including cheating on her. The female characters in both stories find freedom from their abuse and struggles with their husbands, but they find freedom in very different ways. Another woman aids Cleofilas in her escape, and she has somewhere to go, back to her family. Delia has to put up with her abuse for 15 years of marriage, far
On the surface, the protagonists of Silko's "Yellow Woman" and Chopin's "Story of an Hour" seem to have little in common. Yet upon closer inspection, both stories relate tales of women who are repressed by the social tenets that define their roles as wives.
Whenever Sira, Aminata’s mother went to help women deliver their babies, Aminata would go along too. She would watch and help her mother, eventually le...
Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
Intertwined in allusions to women of Mexican history and folklore, making it clear that women across the centuries have suffered the same alienation and victimization, Cisneros presents a woman who struggles to prevail over romantic notions of domestic bliss by leaving her husband. In the story Woman Hollering Creek, Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleófilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally. Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. In Woman Hollering Creek, we see a young Mexican woman, who suddenly moves across the border and gets married. The protagonist, Cleófilas’ character is based on a family of a six brothers and a dad and without a mom, and the story reveals around her inner feelings and secrets.
Due to a perpetual paucity of sex education and healthcare resources, the Malian women suffered from several complications with their bodies. Childbearing, being a major health determination factor, was an issue in the village of Nampossela. The repetitive pregnancy of village women in short intervals of time led to an increase in the number of deaths due to childbirth. Among the women who survived it, a large fraction of them had adverse post-delivery effects. According to Holloway, "It was common for a woman to put in a full day's work soon after giving birth— pounding millet, washing clothes, hauling water, cooking over a hot fire, and sweeping out the compound." (49) An example of this is seen in the account of Natou, wife of the treasurer of the village, who suffered from heavy breathing, bleeding and fainting while carrying out domestic chores just after giving birth. (49) In addition to that, the women also suffered from malaria, anemia, and sexually transmitted diseases. Although Monique had professional training in midwifery and healthcare, she herself died during childbirth. As noted in the book, " Monique had a high temperature, a sign of infection or malaria, and no strength." (193) This conclusively suggests that societal pressure of childbearing, lack of sex education, and a severe dearth of healthcare resources played a key role in determining the health status of women in
And readers are thus exposed to the exploitation and extortion that goes on in this cycle of sympathizers. While the gathering of the women is supposed to be a period of preparing the widows for their confinement, it turns to a period of financial exploitation of the widows. Ramatoulaye succinctly expresses her displeasure,
In “The Yellow Wall-paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the unnamed female protagonist is going through a rough time in her life. (For now on, this paper will refer to this unnamed character as the “the narrator in ‘Wall-paper,’” short for “The Yellow Wall-paper. The narrator is confined to room to a room with strange wall-paper. This odd wall-paper seems to symbolize the complexity and confusion in her life. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard must also deal with conflict as she must deal with the death of her spouse. At first there is grief, but then there is the recognition that she will be free. The institute of marriage ties the two heroines of these two short stories together. Like typical young women of the late 19th century, they were married, and during the course of their lives, they were expected to stay married. Unlike today where divorce is commonplace, marriage was a very holy bond and divorce was taboo. This tight bond of marriage caused tension in these two characters.
“All over the world there exists in every society a small group of women who feel themselves strongly attracted to give care to other women during pregnancy and childbirth. Failure to make use of this group of highly motivated people is regrettable and a sin against the principle of subsidiarity.”
When Sandra Cisneros wrote “Women of Hollering Creek” she reflected back on her own life experiences. This is a story that is told from the female perspective from start to finish. Like the lead character, Cleofilas, Cisneros is Mexican-American and the only daughter in a family that has seven children. Cisneros studied creative writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in 1978, (238). Growing up she traveled back and forth to Mexico to visit her father’s family and Cleofilas flees to arms of her father later in the story. She has a blended cultural identity that is relevant in the story by how she uses Mexican and English words together. For example when describing soap operas she calls them by the Spanish name telenovela. This story made me reflect on my own life experiences while I was reading it. I thought about my parents divorce, my aunt’s extremely abusive marriage of eleven years and why women, like me, tend to seek that silver lining when it comes to broken relationships.
In “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin writes about the life of a young lady and her new family. In this short story, the fond couple lived in Louisiana before the American Civil War. Chopin illustrates the romantic atmosphere between Armand and Desiree. Chopin also describes the emotion of the parents for their new born. When the baby was born, Armand’s heart had softened on behalf of others. One afternoon, Desiree and the baby were relaxing in a room with a young boy fanning them with peacock feathers. As they were relaxing, Desiree had sniffed a threatening scent. Desiree desired Armand’s assistance as she felt faint from the odor that she could not comprehend. Armand had denied the request his wife sent. Therefore, he cried out that she nor the baby were white. Thus, Desiree took the baby and herself and walked into the bayou and they were never seen again. In this short story, Chopin illustrates the psychological abuse Desiree faces from her husband.
I sympathise with each woman at different times in the tales, especially as their suffering was through no fault of their own, and partly because of the cultural standards of the era. Although each woman is very different, they are all united in their failure to find love and friendship.
sympathy and provoked thinking. The reader is invited to form his/her own. opinion on the issues discussed. The main themes of the stories, as intended by the authors, portray the difference in gender roles. social standing and the influence and pressure of the family.
Although we may not share many attributes of life with others, such as height, culture, educational background and etcetera, there is defiantly someone out there you share an experience with. As creatures of life we go through many ups and downs, trails and tribulations, lessons and learning experiences. At times it could be easy to think that you are the only person going through an event in life. But the truth is you are not the only one going through your experience. You are also not the only one thinking you are the only one experiencing a mishap. Day to day and worldwide people share similar experiences with each other. We can relate to one another more than you think. Especially when it comes to learning and language.
In every culture there are differences and similarities between them. The two young women are from poverty stricken rural communities, one an Indian and the other an African village, the culture and traditions in both countries have moulded the expectations of the male and female roles which dominate the women in these countries. I found these stories extremely interesting to read, especially because I hear stories like these on the news, I find it incredible that even though these stories were written many years ago, they still reflect many women’s lives in India and Africa. The fact that these traditions and cultural ways have not changed shows a lack of outside influences, and how much the people of Africa and India respect these traditions.