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Gender and roles of women in literature
Gender and roles of women in literature
Gender and roles of women in literature
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Charlie meets two women that are complete opposites. Fay Lilman, an artistic woman that lives next door to Charlie, she is spontaneous and lives day by day. Then there is Alice Kinnian, an intelligent and responsible woman, she is the complete opposite of Fay. Alice was Charlie’s teacher when he was mentally retarded, but then becomes his lover. Charlie Gordon encounters sexual affairs with his neighbor Fay. Charlie feels intrigued by Fay’s spontaneous attitude towards life, her careless and spontaneous ways attract him; Charlie wants to make love to her. Charlie refuses to have sex with Alice Kinnian because the old Charlie forbids. Charlie deals with obstacles that come his way; the right moments to make love with Alice occur, but he rejects it. Charlie cannot decide if he loves her or not. His true feelings for Alice is present, but he cannot not comprehend love. Charlie Gordon’s affair with Fay makes him capable of distinguishing sexual flings from true love.
Fay Lilman, attracts Charlie Gordon as soon as they meet. They are complete opposites of each other. When Charlie meets Fay for the first time, she sits half naked and talks to Charlie upside down. Charlie feels uncomfortable when he sees Fay’s messy apartment. Fay has no shame wearing her undergarments in front of a person stranger. She does not care about the mess in her apartment because of her personality. Charlie grows attracted to Fay’s spontaneous lifestyle. In all aspects, Charlie likes Fay’s unorganized lifestyle, and he becomes unorganized. Charlie wants to stay faithful to Alice, but he cannot control it, and he cheats on her. Charlie continues to have sexual affairs with Fay Lillman. Charlie has to satisfy his and her needs. Alice cares for Charlie and truly l...
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...s been there for Charlie emotionally, physically and even financially. Charlie opposes to losing Alice, but he knows that he has to let go, “just leave me alone. I’m not myself. I’m falling apart, and I don’t want you here” (Keyes 300). Charlie is forced to go to the Warren State Home. As Charlie deteriorates, he finds himself entering Alice’s class, where he originally went to school at Beekman University. She sees him walk into class; Alice cries immediately after seeing Charlie sitting in the back of her class. Charlie over thinks the situation and comes to his senses. He realizes that he no longer belongs in Beekman University and immediately goes to the Warren State Home for the mentally retarded. Charlie settles down in Warren State Home and realizes that Alice Kinnian has and always will be his true love, “I don’t deserve someone as good as her” (Keyes 297).
They are already in a compromising situation in celebrating her eighteenth birthday at a gas station having coffee which was already established as being not the norm earlier with Marie recounting her own large party where her “mother made a large party” (154). There reality is broken when the teenagers arrive and “One of the girls went to the juke box and put money in” and they are forced to leave because of Carol condition which causes her to have a breakdown from the noise (157). The arrival of the kids forced them to come into contact with their own reality which can never coincide with the one they have fabricated. This small reminder of what the norm is supposed to be is often brought to their attention through others such as when they “could see, in the light shaft of light, a boy, two girls and a dog” (155). In this instance, they are walking on the way to their weekly picnic, which is in itself repetitive, when they are shown the norm of other having fun “the boy splashing in the water with the dog” while they are forced to go through the motions without much emotion. This depiction of the norm unsettles their reality and, even though they don’t stop trying to alter reality to shelter Carol, shows how dysfunctional their own situation is as it can be seen as a potential version of themselves without Carol’s
...stly, Whenever Charlie got intimate with women, he suddenly panics and feels extremely agitated. Alice Kinnian is the first women he ever tried to get intimate with, but failed due to panic attack. But he did recall a unpleasant memory, he mentions in the end of his eleventh progress report, Rose screeches "He's got no business to think that way about girls... I'll teach him so he never forgets. Do you hear? If you ever touch a girl, I'll put you away in a cage, like an animal, for the rest of your life. Do you hear me?" (112). Rose Gordon's words have left him truly horrified. The fear of being put away in a cage still haunts him and it has an huge impact on his sex life. After the operation, the emotional stress and trauma which Charlie goes through when he recalls his childhood memories prove that his childhood have truly been unpleasant for the most part of it.
The night Laura Wishart was found dead, Charlie changed as a person: he started to see everything in a different light, even his home life. He comes to terms with his mother; he realises that her personal issues are being taken out on him and dominating their family life. Ruth Buc...
Helen comes from a very low class family and community. Helen’s family is known as what is called “the ghetto”, although they may not have riches they have a great heart that unites them happily. Helen depended so much on a believed love who failed her. Helen never really came far on her education due to having everything with Charles. Charles lost interest on Helen, but she was blindfolded to see that her happiness didn’t exist. Charles has had an affair during their matrimony with a light complected woman who is mother of his two children. The woman had more power over Helen’s feelings because Charles realized his children needed him. Charles left Helen without much to do, kicking her out o...
Jim’s feeling of loneliness has a big impact on his view of Alena. If Jim met another girl that day on the beach, and who was not as attractive he would have acted very different. Jim was very vulnerable at that moment and needed som...
When Clarisse introduces herself, her individuality become obvious. While Guy and Mildred are caught up in following society’s unspoken rules Clarisse is unapologetically herself. While the only other female character is absorbed with the “parlor walls”, Clarisse is fascinated by the dew on the grass (7). She is eccentric, quirky, both idealistic and imaginative. She asks unusual questions such as, “may I make you angry again?” (21). She contrasts the other characters and her peer group. How many people would introduce themselves as “seventeen and crazy” (5)? In fact, many are convinced she is indeed crazy. The school makes her attend therapy sessions because they believe she is antisocial (20). She prefers wandering and watching people to driving fast cars and spending time at fun parks (7). She enjoys meaningful conversation not idle chatter. Clarisse’s unique and contrasting personality makes her a powerful character. These differences enable her to leave a lasting
The stunted growth and lack of maturity demonstrated by Charlie’s character is also evidenced in the way that he loves. Charlie has difficulty achieving true intimacy with his wife, leading one to wonder if he ever truly loved Linda.
The main idea of the book was a girl learning to cope with her past and and trying to grow from it. Charlie starts of in a mental institution for self-harm. She is then taken out of the place because of her mother’s lack of money. She goes to Arizona to be helped out by her friend Mikey, which is gone most of the time. Charlie gets a job at a weird coffee place and meets a guy named Riley, where they instantly get a connection. The rest of the book is Charlie trying to learn how to deal with all of her past hardships and find a better way to deal with the memories and pain. The only two coping methods she seemed
As a result of Charlie’s relationship with his aunt Helen, he develops companionship issues after her death. Having had such a close relationship with her, her passing greatly affects his relationships with other people. A shy, timid, and somewhat anti-social Charlie fears getting close to somebody again after his closest friend has passed. His inability to make friends shows when he t...
Each John, the narrator's husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Brently Mallard, Mrs. Mallard’s husband in “The Story of an Hour” and Henry Allen, Elisa Allen’s husband in “The Chrysanthemums” unknowingly lead their wives to a state of mental confinement through their actions taken that are meant to help them. John tells his wife to rest and not to think of her condition for the sake of him and the children which drove her mad because
Curley’s wife, Mae, is married to a man that gives her little attention and none of his time. Mae dresses and acts like a “tart” to gain attention on the ranch in order to soothe her loneliness. Because she is the only woman on the ranch, her flirting causes the men on the ranch to want to avoid her. “Wha’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” The men don’t want any trouble from her husband. Mae struggles to find someone in her society to consult with. She finally seeks out someone who doesn’t know any better than to talk to her. Once she found that person, Lennie, her lonliness is sotthed permanently.
Susan, the protagonist in “To Room Nineteen” feels trapped by her life and her family, and afflicted by her husband’s infidelity. Everyone assumes Susan and her husband are the perfect couple who have made all the right choices in life, but when Susan packs her youngest children off to school and discovers that her husband has been having an affair, she begins to question the life decisions she has made. Susan chooses to isolate herself from her own family by embarking on a journey of self-discovery in a hotel room that ultimately becomes a descend into madness. Unlike Susan, the woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” initially wants contact and interaction with people, but is
Relationships between people are important to maintain. During one’s lifetime, these relationships will change for the better or worse. In the novel, Flowers for Algernon, the author, Daniel Keyes, presents a change in the main character’s relationship with many people. Charlie Gordon, a 32 years old man who is mentally disabled takes the risk of undergoing a surgery that will make him intelligent. As Charlie’s intelligence increases, he finds out a lot about himself and becomes a different person. He learns the meaning of love, and experiences this newfound feeling with Alice Kinnian. Charlie’s teacher at Beekman College for Retarded Adults, Miss Kinnian, is one of the only people who is concerned and genuinely cares about him. When they part
In the short story, “Adventure”, Alice Hindman lives a life full of illusions and loneliness. Alice is a very quiet person on the exterior while a passion boils underneath. Alice Hindman is limited by life denying truths and guilty of allowing them to run her life. She believes in love and tradition absolutely. Alice’s blindness to the changing social mores limits her capacity to progress forward in life. She become consumed instead by the idea of herself and her memories. “It is not going to come to me. I will never find happiness. Why do I tell myself lies?” (Anderson 117). If she cannot have Ned, she will have no other.
She is marginalize from society by her partner and she has to live in the shadows of him. She is unbelievably happy when she found out about the death of her husband. She expresses her feelings of freedom in her room where she realize she will live by herself. This illustrates that Louise has been living in an inner-deep life disconnected form the outside world where only on her room away from family and friends she discovers her feelings. It is important to mention that even though Louise has a sister, she does not feel the trust to communicate her sentiments towards her. We discover a marginalization from family members and more surprising from a women, Louise’s sister. The narrator strictly described Louise’s outside world but vividly reveals what is in her mind. At the same time she feels guilty of her emotional state by recognizing that she loved Brently mallard sometimes, her husband. Louise contradict herself but this demonstrates her emotional feelings about her husband disregarding her marriage. The situation of this woman represents the unhappiness and disgraceful life that women had to suffer from their