Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Birdsong” explored the life of a young, single, Nigerian woman in a love affair with a married businessman. The young woman who is the narrator invariably portrayed herself as the victim in the story. However, a closer look at the situation reflected that the opposite in fact seems to be truer. She was the culprit.
Although the narrator never mentioned that she was under the impression that her lover would forsake his wife for her, her constant complains however suggested that she deeply desired so. “He said “I wish I could” as though some great and ineluctable act of nature made it impossible for him to be seen publicly with me”. Earlier in the story, the narrator acknowledges her awareness that her lover is a married man. She also subtly mentioned how extra marital affairs are highly frowned upon in their culture. These should have been reason enough for her to understand why it is not acceptable on her lover’s perspective for them to be seen together in public. Yet, she finds it surprising and nags her lover about not wanting to go with her to a play or try a different restaurant. She felt like she’s been treated unfairly while in reality she is the one who’s being unfair by not understanding the lover’s situation.
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“The waiter glanced at my lover, as though seeking guidance, and this infuriated me even more” From complaining that her lover deletes her text messages instantly after reading them, to complaining that her lover’s driver insulted her, to complaining that the waiters at the restaurant treats her like she’s invisible, shines more light into the mind of a woman who knowing fully well the condition at which she puts herself into chose to ignore the obvious that she will be nothing more than just the other woman. Instead of accepting the situation or better still detaching herself from the relationship, she made it a priority to harass him and everyone around
It was not only her fault, but Dev as well, since he led her on into falling in love with him. She could try to get to know him and ask him questions. The main character is not trying to get to know his wife at all. Even if he does not have any feelings for her, he could try to learn to love her. It feels like he does not want to try to and needs someone to show him that his wife is very important to him.
In “My Brother Bailey and Kay Francis,” a snippet from autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, author Maya Angelou and her brother Bailey face the challenges of segregation and the abandonment of their parents while growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. Their sense of identity is tarnished through incidents of racial discrimination and the historical conditions of this time period and location further depict the tone of this story. Throughout their lives, racism towards blacks during this time period is evermore present and is the main cause of Angelou and Bailey’s struggle to find security in their identity.
knew that she didn't love him, but still proceeded to commit the rest of his life to her. Consequently, a story of forbidden passion, hatred, and jealousy unfolds.
...omething serious. Difalco says that “she wanted a man who did not mind to hang around the house.” Meaning that she want somebody who wants a monogamous relationship and could wanted to know more about her personality and skills rather than having sex. However, they only wanted to have fun and sex, but I think that she wanted to forget about her husband and move one.
According to the Louisiana society, Edna Pontellier has the ideal life, complete with two children and the best husband in the world. However, Edna disagrees, constantly crying over her feelings of oppression. Finally, Edna is through settling for her predetermined role in society as man’s possession, and she begins to defy this. Edna has the chance to change this stereotype, the chance to be “[t]he bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice” (112). The use of a metaphor comparing Edna to a bird proves her potential to rise above society’s standards and pave the pathway for future women. However, Edna does not have “strong [enough] wings” (112). After Robert, the love of her life and the man she has an affair with, leaves, Edna becomes despondent and lacks an...
Throughout history, the story of womankind has evolved from struggles to achievements, while some aspects of the lives of women have never changed. Poet Dorianne Laux writes about the female condition, and women’s desire to be married and to have a home and children. She also seems to identify through her poetry with the idea that women tend to idealize the concept of marriage and settling down and she uses her poetry to reach out to the reader who may have similar idyllic views of marriage or the married lifestyle. Though Dorianne Laux’s poem “Bird” reads very simply, it is actually a metaphor for an aspect of this female condition.
She then moves on to be a gracious host to all of these men, again showing success in her womanly duties. Later that night one of the visitors, Sextus Tarquinis, comes into her room, and forces himself upon her, telling her that if she does not comply he will make it look like she had an affair with one of the servants (Livy, 101). She yields to him because she does not want it to seem as if she had an affair and is not able to explain what occurred.... ... middle of paper ...
She proclaims her husbands love throughout the story, I feel, in an attempt to bind the disconnection she feels with her husband.
wants to marry Robert, but he will not because it will disgrace her to leave her
In the short story “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz, the author pinpoints on the Yunior’s life as a writer and college professor who is also struggling with his romantic relationships. The short story is filled with his experiences of using women for his beneficial needs and how it negatively affects him. It focuses on Yunior’s downfall through life after the destruction of his relationship with his fiance. The diction includes the narrator’s hateful consideration of women and a paradox of his own endeavors which prevent him from pursuing a meaningful relationship, but he grows to realize that he treats women awfully and his ex did the right thing by leaving him due to his untruthfulness.
quote displays the woman’s incoherence to her own submissive condition in her marriage, since she is not allowed to write...
Bird usually portrays an image of bad luck that follows afterwards and in this novel, that is. the beginning of all the bad events that occur in the rest of the novel. It all started when Margaret Laurence introduced the life of Vanessa MacLeod. protagonist of the story, also known as the granddaughter of a calm and intelligent woman. I am a woman.
Maya Angelou’s excerpt from her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals the challenges facing a young black girl in the south. The prologue of the book tells of a young Angelou in church trying to recite a poem she has forgotten. She describes the dress her grandmother has made her and imagines a day where she wakes up out of her black nightmare. Angelou was raised in a time where segregation and racism were prevalent in society. She uses repetition, diction, and themes to explore the struggle of a black girl while growing up. Angelou produces a feeling of compassion and poignancy within the reader by revealing racial stereotypes, appearance-related insecurities, and negative connotations associated with being a black girl. By doing this she forces the
When she is asked for her reasoning of marrying Sullen, she replies “To support the weakness of my sex by the strength of his, and to enjoy the pleasures of an agreeable society” (5.4.460). She wants someone to support her. Mrs. Sullen does not want to have a country life, she wants to live in a city and have a busy social life. Her anticipations were not answered.... ...
The book thus explores a lot of important issues, such as: sexuality and race relations, and shows us how society violated her as a young African American female. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou clearly expresses the physical pain of sexual assault, the mental anguish of not daring to tell, and her guilt and shame for having been raped. Her timidity and fear of telling magnify the brutality of the rape. For more than a year after the rape she lives in self-imposed silence, speaking only very rarely. This childhood rape reveals the pain that African American women suffered as victims not only of racism but also sexism.