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The role of women in literature
The role of women in literature
Gender and roles of women in literature
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Pilate Dead is a major character who stands out from the other characters in Song of Solomon. Pilate Dead does not represent the stereotypical weak, dependent woman that the novel depicts through the female characters that are in the story. The women in Song of Solomon were seen as subordinate to their significant other and lacking the strength to live on their own. However, Pilate demonstrates a strong, dependent women who is capable of surviving on her own without showing any inferiority to men. Her strength and independence is shown through her lifestyle, her relationship with other characters, and her death.
Pilate Dead’s lifestyle exhibits her character as a person who does not count upon individuals as a way of living. In the novel, she is seen as a single mother who is able to raise and care for her child, Reba, and her grand-daughter, Hagar. Pilate,
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compared to women such as Ruth, has no man to rely on to aid in caring for her loved ones. Pilate endures a life where she has to learn how to provide on her own and faces loneliness. Pilate loses her family at a young age and travels through a variety of places in attempt to survive. She gains professions such as “washing clothes at a hotel” (146), “a washerwoman at ten cents a day” (145), and aiding island families with agricultural work. Pilate displays the hardiness she possess that allows her to attain a life where she care for daughter and grand-daughter. In addition, Pilate is alienated from the people around her. Pilate’s missing navel pulls individuals away from her since they view her as odd. Her eccentricity causes individuals to withdraw from her because they became frightened of her- “they froze at the sight of that belly…; became limp even, or cold.” (148) Pilate lives in isolation as she was “without family…denied: partnership in marriage, confessional friendship…even a traveling show would have rejected her.” (148) Pilate furthers her seclusion since she draws away from the norm by refusing marriage, dressing differently, and acting differently than the stereotypical women. This is exemplified as she “refused to marry” (147) and she “cut her hair…gave up all interest in table manners or hygiene.”(149) Pilate’s bold choices on the way to live her life away from what is seen as normal demonstrates her strength to withstand alienation and support herself along with Reba and Hagar. In addition to Pilate’s lifestyle, her relationships with other characters in the novel shows that Pilate is strong and is the person that people actually depend on. Pilate serves as a support system and guide for characters, such as Reba and Ruth. Reba, who allows herself to be physical abused by her significant other, was saved by Pilate who removed and frightened the robust, young man from Reba. A similar situation occurred where Pilate aided Ruth in keeping Milkman alive from Ruth’s husband, who aimed to kill Milkman during Ruth’s pregnancy. Ruth was defenseless against her husband that she needed Pilate’s strength and support to stand up against her husband. Ruth mentions “Pilate helped me stand him off. I wouldn’t have been strong enough without her. (125) Pilate is powerful character whose tough and self-reliant nature provides guidance. Similar to her relationships with others, her death has a symbolic representation to Pilate’s character that gives the idea that Pilate is unique and powerful.
The way in which Pilate’s death occurs indicates that she achieved flight, which symbolizes freedom, due to her strength and independence. One major theme of the novel was the idea of voyage or liberty. Throughout the novel, it hints that many individuals, such as, Robert Smith and Solomon aim to seek a life free of oppression in a racist society. However, such actions is found difficult to achieve. Pilate is proves that having a lack of restrictions depends upon character. Milkman mentions “without ever leaving the ground, she could fly.” (336). Pilate was able to be fly and be free without lifting off into the sky as Pilate lived a life where she choose to follow herself and survive a life on her own. In addition, Pilate demonstrates that she is not the standard women shown in the novel, rather she is atypical, which is hinted when Milkman whispers to Pilate as she approaches her death “there’s got to be at least one more women like you.”
(336) Pilate’s way of living, bond with other characters, and death implied much of her character’s power and self-reliance. Pilate overcame a life of seclusion due her differences. However, she remains strong and eventually her perseverance allows her to have freedom. In addition, she even shows love and kindness to those around her. Pilate’s character brings forth a moral guide, whose circumstances never gotten in her way of loving others and living her life as she pleases. Pilate’s character expresses the idea that we define ourselves in life, and it is the way that we choose to live that makes us who we are as individuals.
One of the first things said about Pilate after she is born is a comment by the midwife, who said on the topic of her name “Christ-killing Pilate. You can’t get much worse than that for a name.”(19). The association of Pilate Dead with Pontius
In the first part of the novel, he emulates his father, by being deaf to women's wisdom and women's needs, and casually disrespecting the women he should most respect. He chooses to stray from his father's example and leaves town to obtain his inheritance and to become a self-defined man. From Circe, a witch figure, he is inspired to be reciprocal, and through his struggle for equality with men and then with women, he begins to find his inheritance, which is knowing what it is to fly, not gold. At the end, he acts with kindness and reciprocity with Pilate, learning from her wisdom and accepting his responsibilities to women at last. By accepting his true inheritance from women, he becomes a man, who loves and respects women, who knows he can fly but also knows his responsibilities.
The character Pilate in Song of Solomon is portrayed in the role of a teacher or "guide". She tends to be a spiritual leader as well as a spiritual guide for Milkman and the rest of the society. It could be argued that she is the main cause of Milkman's liberation and better being. She represents the motherly love and gives the spiritual education that Milkman needs, in order to go through the monomyth process. She teaches Milkman the necessities of life not with severity but rather by means of being her own self. Her being connected to her heritage and traditions is also involved in changing Milkman into the hero. Pilate is not the typical teacher that a reader could expect to have in his or her classroom. Pilate is to a certain extent, very mother like and caring towards Milkman. She gives Milkman what he feels he can't get at his rich home, care and affection. When Milkman is alone, it is at Pilate's house that he finds comfort, not only from the people but also from the surroundings of the house. He feels comfortable being in a neighborhood of people that are of lower class than him. Pilate takes on the role of mother to Milkman by showing how a family is supposed to be, which is not divided like his house, but rather caring and loving towards one another, like the environment at Pilate's house. As Joseph Skerrett points out, Pilate does begin teaching Milkman, starting from their very first meeting. Her whole lesson with how the word "hi" sounds like the "dumbest" word and that if someone was to be greeted with a hi, they should "get up and knock you down" seems to get Milkman to notice her. Her role as a parental guide changes to that of one of the teacher and she tries to teach him what is right and wrong. She exemplifies to Milkman how life should be led. She shows him how goals in life should be aimed for and how they should be accomplished. For example, her whole lesson on how to make the perfect egg shows Milkman how even something as little as frying an egg has consequences to it.
For the author, the fact that Perpetua is a woman strengthens her sacrifice for her faith. This is due to the societal norms and customs she disobeys and overcomes to become a martyr. In ancient Rome, they lived in a patriarchal society. This will make her disobedience of her father more noteworthy as it violates the cultural custom. In her writing, Perpetua talks of her father coming to her in the prison. She says “He came up to me to cast down my faith saying: Have pity, daughter, on my grey hairs; have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called father by you” (The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas 5). Multiple times, her father comes to her in prison, begging that she say she is not a Christian so she may live. Through this interaction with her father, we can see his fatherly love as he tries to prevent her death. We also see a sort of disgrace that comes from a daughter’s disobedience, she writes that her father says “give me not over to the reproach of men” (The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas 5). This show of direct disobedience of her father portrays Perpetua as a stronger martyr. She is not only giving her life for her faith, but going against society and customs, saying her beliefs are more important than both. This is a strong example to encourage conversion to Christianity. When Perpetua is in prison, her father tells her to “look upon your son, who will not endure to live after you” (The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas 5). This leads to another point concerning Perpetua as a woman. If she dies for her faith, she will abandon her child and give up being a mother. In ancient times, much of a women’s identity was in her ability to be a good mother. With her martyrdom, Perpetua will choose faith over this key part of her life and legacy. This, yet again, shows why, by being a woman, Perpetua is a strong example in the author’s purpose to convert
The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war.
It is said in Greek mythology that when Persephone lives with Hades in the underworld as his bride, Persephone’s mother Demeter the Goddess of Seasons, goes into mourning and the earth experiences winter. When Persephone returns to the upper world, Demeter rejoices and the earth experiences Summer.
Tragedy; it’s inevitable. In life, everyone is bound to experience a rough time. These rough times and flaws are what test a hero and build character. Someone experiencing hard times transforms an average person and his mistakes into something remarkable and heroic. What characteristics make a him a tragic hero rather than just an ordinary person? A hero is a person who is admired for courageous acts, noble qualities and outstanding achievements. Despite possessing the same qualities as an ordinary hero, a tragic hero, who is born a noble birth and usually male, has a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to his ruin. The hero 's flaws can range vastly. Tragically, however, the flaws possessed with eventually ruin the person 's reputation and also
Pericles Funeral Oration is a speech that was given by Pericles whom was the Athenian 's Strategos (military commander) and written down by the famous historian, Thucydides that was an Athenian that attended the speech. The speech is Pericles effort to rally the Athenian people and lift their spirits and moral at a funeral after losing soldiers or member of war in the first battle of the Peloponnesian war, so that they would continue the good fight and not give up. Pericles attempts this by telling the Athenian people that their way of life, their form of democracy, what their ancestors fought for, their great military and policies, their constitution are all at stake and they must standup in order to preserve the beautiful culture
As the last story of James Joyce's short story collection, The Dubliners, "The Dead" is about a young Dubliner's one day of attending his aunts' party and his emotional changes after the party ends. In the paralyzed city the young man feels the atmosphere of death everywhere. And he often has misunderstandings with people, especially women including his wife. From the main character Gabriel's experience, we can see his personal life is in a strained circumstances. This difficult situation is probably caused by his failure to deal with the relationship with the female characters. Many events happen in the story prove that he can not get a real freedom until he understands the value of woman to improve the mutual relationship.
The first major female character introduced in this epic is Penelope. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. She is portrayed as a strong-willed widow, who even after not seeing Odysseus for twenty years, keeps her trust in her husband to return home. The main tool is the rule of law, but even before laws customs could be used” (rwaag.org).
In the book Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, a character's name says a lot about the character themselves. Pilate is one of the more interesting name choices throughout this book because her name does not represent her in any literal sense. The most famous reference to this name is Pontius Pilate from the bible, the man who condemned jesus to death. If approached from this direction this significance has no connection to what she is actually like in the book. The real significance of Pilate’s name is not in the name itself but in the way the name was chosen. Her illiterate father pointed at a grouping of letters he thought looked well together and gave the letters to her as a name. Even when her father chose her name the nurse helping with
The final few stanzas continue a similar repetition but instead turn their focus more unto the severity of Adam’s and Pontius Pilate’s transgressions and guilt. For instance, she argues that women came from the rib of men biblically, so any evil that women might be characterized with originated within men [cite.] Though none of “Eve’s Apology” has let up on the fact that Adam and men are not blameless, here we see a more aggressive attitude in proving just how hypocritical men are in their thoughts about women in this sense. Lanyer here moves from the focus on Adam and Eve to the crucifixion of Christ, the character of the Wife of Pilate lording that abominable sin over man. She describes the sin of killing Christ equaling many “world’s” sins
Othello is one of the typical Shakespearean plays in that it deals with the tragic hero. Othello is convinced that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him with Cassio. Beginning with the aperture lines of the play, Othello remains at a distance from much of the action that concerns and affects him. Roderigo and Iago refer equivocally to a “he” or “him” for much of the first scene. When they commence to designate whom they are verbalizing about, especially once they stand beneath Brabanzio’s window, they do so with racial epithets, not designations. These include “the Moor” , “the thick-lips” , “an old ebony ram”, and “a Barbary horse” (Cite). Although Othello appears at the commencement of the second scene, we do not hear him called by his name until well into Act I, scene 3. Later, Othello’s will be the last of the three ships to arrive at Cyprus in Act II, scene 1; Othello will stand apart while Cassio and Iago suppositious discuss Desdemona in Act IV, scene 1; Othello will postulate that Cassio is dead without being present when the fight takes place in Act V, scene 1. Othello’s status as an outsider may be the reason he is such easy prey for Iago.
Pecola lives a hard life with a mother who is a self-centered martyr and a
Main characters and their relationship (e.g., in THE BACCHAE by Euripides, Pentheus, the king, is the main character; he is the son of Agaue. Other major characters and their relationships would be noted. Guards, butler—not in this play, of course--and others on whom relatively little plot development depends would not be mentioned.