From County Belle to Cunning Businesswoman Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind, a classic that gives insight into the Confederate lifestyle before and after the Civil War, is known as one of the greatest American novels ever written. The story centers around a former Southern belle named Scarlett O’Hara who grows up in the heart of Georgia on her plantation named Tara. Scarlett doesn’t care about anything or anyone except for her lover, Ashley Wilkes, and finds herself heartbroken when he marries his plain Jane cousin, Melanie Hamilton. As the Yankees get closer and closer to her beloved home, destroying everything she’s ever known and forcing her to flee to Atlanta, Scarlett finds herself forced to fight for what she loves. Though …show more content…
The middle of this chronicle really puts our petty protagonist to the test. After the Confederates lost the Civil War, Scarlett makes her way home to her beloved plantation to find her mother dead and sisters bedridden with illnesses. Only a few of their slaves remain after formal emancipation, and after Ellen O’Hara’s death, Scarlett’s father is in no emotional state to oversee affairs. The wellbeing of her family and plantation are all left up to Scarlett. To be fair to her, she does a good job for the first few months. But soon enough, the big bad wolves come in to demand the O’Hara’s pay taxes on Tara. The consequences to not doing so are high. Scarlett doesn’t have any money to pay them, but she’d rather let Tara burn than give it to the tax collectors. When Scarlett returns to Atlanta after a grueling few seasons at Tara, she decides that she wants to get the money she so desperately needs from Rhett. She thinks, “She had very little feeling about Rhett being hanged. Her need of money was too pressing, too desperate, for her to bother about his ultimate fate...If she could somehow manage to marry him while he was in jail, all those millions would be hers and hers alone should he be executed” (565). Throughout the story, it’s made pretty clear that once Scarlett sets her eyes on something, she’ll go to any length to get it. In the beginning, it’s Ashley Wilkes in a pathetic attempt to make him jealous. Now, it is money she needs, and money she will have. Scarlett can’t even think about losing her home, much less Rhett’s feelings while she attempts to exploit him. However, her manipulation of Rhett shows a slight character shift in terms of her perspective. Earlier, Scarlett is utterly convinced in her charm and believes it’ll get her anything she wants. Now, Scarlett shows a bit more desperation in getting what she needs. Finally, Scarlett realizes that life isn’t a
Gone with the Wind is a novel that is set during the civil war. During the second part, the protagonist Scarlett reads a letter that was sent by a confederate soldier named Ashley. The letter talks about his opinion on the war and the reason he fights. Ashley joined the war with the hopes of fighting for States’ Rights and preserving the old ways. However, once the fighting started he realized that the old ways are not going to come back, “And I belong in those old times. I do not belong in this mad present of killing and I fear I will not fit into any future, try though I may.” He is not happy about fighting in the war, and he does not have confidence
The film Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott depicts women in a negative connotation. Blade Runner is considered a popular science fiction film and is seen to have shaped the genre, however, the film displays women as sex symbols and secondary characters, who are unimportant to the storyline. The film is centered around strong male leads who use their authority and power to abuse, belittle and sexualize women. The film’s misogynistic point of view gives the impression to the audience that this treatment of women is acceptable, which is offensive and completely inaccurate.
In L. Frank Baum’s second Oz novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, he includes a prominent philosophical theme of feminism. During his novel, conflicts arise among powerful male figures, such as the Scarecrow King, and oppressed females, including those in General Jurjur’s Army, that demonstrate the inequality between the two genders. However, Baum’s incorporation of a strong sense of feminism is present to illustrate independent females longing for the establishment of an equal status quo in society. The overall solution to injustice treatment of women is present in Baum’s plot twist that ended with a highly liked, powerful female ruler over the Land of Oz.
Singer Joan Jett is know as a punk pioneer for aggressive and popular music and a women’s role model. Joan once said, “People don’t want to see women doing things they don’t think women should do.” Joan was apart of the 70’s all girl teen rock group know as The Runaways. Feminists filled the 1970s with the women’s movement, Females had worked hard to make room for women in male-dominated fields ranging from medical, law, national secuirity, and even rock and roll. The main argument was that there is no reason that a women can’t do the same work as a man in any field of work. To be able to fit in with a male-dominated field, the women had to act like the men in their attitueds and approaches to do well. If the women showed any vulnrtablity or femininity at all the womens stautus might fall. Even after all this there was still an unseen boundry perventing women from suceeding in a male’s world. This bountry continues to cut of wmen from really entering the male dominated carreers. In the film Silence of the Lambs, Clarice Starling is a trainee at the FBI academy. She faces being one of the only women in the male ran field of national secierity. Although she is seen as a vunrable and is seen as having no athority around the men she has to work with, Clarice’s character is smart and has what it takes to work in a male dominated world. Clarice has to constantly prove that she can work in a male domineted world without having to rely on her feminity. Women are able to hold jobs like men and become leaders like Calrice has done while being a female in a male-dominated world.
Gender Roles and Feminism in Killing a Mockingbird. When the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written by Harper Lee, the Southern United States was still clinging tightly to traditional values. Southern societies pressured men to behave as gentlemen, and women were expected to be polite and wear dresses. These stringent gender roles were adhered to in small southern towns because they were isolated from the more progressive attitudes in other areas of the United States.
In her novel, Margaret Mitchell explains how the women's responsibilities became more important when the men left for war, even though their rights did not evolve much and how those women dealt with these changes. When the war starts most of the men leave except for the children, the seniors and the sick. The women then have to take over the control of their homes and continue the business of their husbands or fathers. In Gone with the Wind, the beginning of the war will be a huge change in Scarlett's life. She leaves for Atlanta when her husband goes to war to visit Melanie and Aunt Pittypat. There she sees wounded soldiers and is asked to do tasks that would have never occurred to her before. She has to nurse the wounded in the soldiers' hospital and is disgusted by this voluntary work. The young woman's mother, Ellen O'Hara, dies soon after the beginning of the war and her father, Gerald, falls into depression and insanity. Scarlett decides to come home to Tara when the taxes are raised on her family's property. She had been used to a carefree life, and finds herself in ch...
However, the narrative fallacy with nostalgia is that it surrounds the notion of glorifying the most positive aspects of the past, and disregarding the negatives. In the case of Gone With the Wind the film glorifies the American spirit of the plantation lifestyle without acknowledging the presence of slavery. It is within this facet of the films narrative that its racism is exposed. In order for the audience to identify with the struggle of Scarlett O’Hara, the film must first present her surroundings and lifestyle as being both elegant and in tune with the spirit of America. The film’s opening credits achieve this effect in its flowery display of southern landscapes, including the images of slaves working in the cotton fields. This imagery, which is set to an emotionally orchestrated score, prepackages the narrative as being honorable and patriotic even through the explicit portrayal of slavery. The audience’s loyalty to the characters and lifestyle is purchased though the noble portrayal of the Old
After WWII, many movements in the United States secured greater liberties such as social, political, and personal freedoms. Along with many others, the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements were very successful during this time. These movements were both significant in our society because they changed the history of the United States.
The biological differences that set apart the male and female gender throughout any culture remain eminent. Men are perceived as the stronger and dominant gender; women play the role of the weaker. In each culture the expectation of the manner in which men and women behave are influenced by the ideals and customs of that culture. In most predominant cultures, the man undertakes the role as a leader, and the woman devotes her life to the husband. Throughout history, traditions and literature provide a template to the identities of various cultures. Sleeping Beauty’s classic tale of a beautiful princess takes a central precept that previous patriarchal archetypes dominated during the 17th Century. The archetypal perceptions of women resulted from conscious and unconscious literature influenced by male-dominated perspectives and social standards.
In chapters 7, 8, and 9 of Brave New World by Anja Manuel, Manuel focuses on feminism, environmental degradation, and public protests within China and India. Both countries struggle with issues that often put certain vulnerable or weak parties at a disadvantage. However, in recent years both countries have seen a stirring of their citizens who are finding these issues more important. China went through a push for democracy while India is fully benefiting from their already democratic economy. Although China and India seem to have positive ideals in mind for their future, achieving these goals may not be so easy.
In the novel The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway writes about a woman who lives the lavish lifestyle of the 1920’s. Her opulent lifestyle isn’t particularly the same as other women’s lifestyle in this era. She is a different kind of woman and she makes that very apparent throughout the novel. Throughout the book Hemingway shows us that Brett’s actions, style, and interactions with the other characters prove that she is not average. Although she is not the main character, author Ian Crouch explains in the article “Hemingway’s Hidden Metafictions,” “It is diverting to consider how the novel would have been different if Brett were indeed the main character and the heroine—if it really were a story about a lady, rather than about the various men who loved her, or couldn’t.”
Women are crucial to society. They are our voices, and they revolutionize our people. More importantly, mothers are a big part of our society. J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan is a magic-filled story about a mischievous young boy named Peter, and his tribe, the Lost Boys, who explore and go from raising themselves to attaining a mother. This story can be studied under the lens of the Feminist Critical Theory, which focuses on women empowerment and their outstanding role in society. Literature allows society to explore this role, which J.M Barrie displays impeccably in his book. Barrie’s book definitively presents Wendy’s journey from childhood to motherhood, her role in the development of Peter and the Lost Boys, and the idealization of women. Peter
Ernest Hemingway is well known for his intense masculinity in his writing. Almost all of his stories have focused on a man being the main focus and hero at the ending. In his life, he has a view of an extremely masculine world consisting of fighting, war, and hunting which reflect in his writing. But what are readers to make of Hemingway's view on women. I would say many feminist critics would find Hemingway might be a bit aggressive and hostile toward woman in a way. Women, are sometimes portrayed as a bad influence on men, weakening their heroic masculine powers. In Ernest Hemingway's story "Hills like White Elephants" is told through the dialogue of two protagonists at a train station in Spain.
In today’s world, men and women are perceived equally by the society. In the past, authority and control define men while women are given the characteristic of helplessness. Men are able to get hold of high positions while women usually are subservient to them. In movies, we would usually see women portray roles that are degrading due to the stereotypical notions they associate with this gender group. Moulin Rouge, a movie set during the 1900s narrates the story of a courtesan woman, Satine, as she undergoes hardships to earn money, experiences love but unfortunately, due to her irrational choices, faces tragic consequences at the end. Satine is a symbol of how women are being treated by the society during the era before post-feminism, where men have superiority over women. As the plot develops, Satine transforms from a worthless prostitute to someone who is courageous and willing to face her fears in order to attain her aspirations. Psychoanalyst theory and feminist analysis are apparent throughout the film. The male gaze, fantasy and feminism are three topics that will be covered in depth in this essay through relating it to the movie.
The feeling of not being heard or not being allowed to do what you want is placed upon women in the 1930s. Harper Lee’s depiction of women, in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is they should be able to have an important voice in society, make changes they feel are important, and do certain actions without conforming to gender normalities.