Female empowerment is fairly easy to come by on a daily basis now. Yet, despite the improvements that society has made in women’s rights in the last century, women have still not found equality. Through Ann Petry’s “Like a Winding Sheet” and Lucille Clifton’s “Homage to My Hips” readers are given a glimpse into the life of a woman. With the use of voice, Petry and Clifton are able to present the identity and empowerment of women in entirely different perspectives.
While written by a woman, it is interesting that “Like a Winding Sheet” is not significantly empowering for women, but rather focuses on the targeting and destruction of women by men. Johnson, the main character, has a very clear attitude toward women with a belief that women are
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/ they need space to / move around in” (Clifton 1-3). While of course a human needs space to move, these lines can be interpreted as women’s need to grow. As men have been allowed to do everything under the sun, except bare children, women need to be allowed to expand, to develop themselves into whatever they choose, rather than fit into “little petty places”, society’s version of who they should be.
Clifton speaks of the confinement of gender stereotypes and expectations of women. The voice of the poem claims that her hips are free, “they don’t like to be held back” (Clifton 7). She is a woman with drive like abolitionists, prohibitionists, suffragettes, and civil rights activists.
There is a connection between Mae in “Like a Winding Sheet” and the speaker in “Homage to My Hips” through their confidence. Mae finds her confidence through her perfecting her appearance and the speaker of the poem is confident with her hips and her ability. Where Mae takes pride in keeping her overalls as tidy as possible, it ultimately ends up being her downfall, the tipping point that leads to her abuse.
As females, gender has given Petry and Clifton a voice to share different perspectives of female empowerment and identity. Using the mediums of poetry and prose, allows for an easily accessible, direct source, of life as a
The readers are apt to feel confused in the contrasting ways the woman in this poem has been depicted. The lady described in the poem leads to contrasting lives during the day and night. She is a normal girl in her Cadillac in the day while in her pink Mustang she is a prostitute driving on highways in the night. In the poem the imagery of body recurs frequently as “moving in the dust” and “every time she is touched”. The reference to woman’s body could possibly be the metaphor for the derogatory ways women’s labor, especially the physical labor is represented. The contrast between day and night possibly highlights the two contrasting ways the women are represented in society.
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
Within every story or poem, there is always an interpretation made by the reader, whether right or wrong. In doing so, one must thoughtfully analyze all aspects of the story in order to make the most accurate assessment based on the literary elements the author has used. Compared and contrasted within the two short stories, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and John Updike’s “A&P,” the literary elements character and theme are made evident. These two elements are prominent in each of the differing stories yet similarities are found through each by studying the elements. The girls’ innocence and naivety as characters act as passages to show something superior, oppression in society shown towards women that is not equally shown towards men.
Many different depictions of gender roles exist in all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes of opposition, the portrayal of the aspects and common traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal manner. However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the results and demand more, things can shift from normal to extreme fairly quickly. This demand is more commonly attributed by the men within literary works. Examples of this can be seen in Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where Stella is constantly being pushed around and being abused by her drunken husband Stanley, and also in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper”, where the female narrator is claimed unfit by her husband as she suffers from a sort of depression, and is generally looked down on for other reasons.
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
In struggling against the brutal dynamics of a system that simultaneously set before her ideals of a true woman, but refused to acknowledge her as a human being, Jacobs emerges scarred but victorious. Her rational powers and will to action facilitate her efforts to find strategies for dealing with sexual harassment from her master, for maintaining family unity, and in estab...
As an illustrious poet, writer, activist, and educator, Nikki Giovanni conjoins her life experiences and tenacity for a brighter future and intertwines them to create her astonishing work. Giovanni is an African American proponent for civil rights and equality which is illuminated in her poem “Woman.” The girl in the poem possesses pertinacious qualities that are similar to Giovanni’s. The piece itself highlights the worth of women and their equality to men since women are not required to be submissive to them, the process of searching for true identity, and the power one has to make a difference in oneself.
In the opening scene it is Mae who makes the comparison saying that Johnson looks “like a huckleberry—in a winding sheet.” (1498) A winding sheet being the sheet that is wrapped around a corpse. This image comes back at the end of the story when Johnson is abusing his wife. As he is hitting her, the narrator says that “he thought with horror that something inside him was holding him, binding him to this act… it was like being enmeshed in a winding sheet.” (1504) This repetition makes the imagery quite striking. Here it serves to represent that feeling of disconnect her feels from his body in this manic state of anger. It could also describe how the women in the story are trapped in their lives and in that cycle of violence with no way out. The reader can also observe that Johnson’s descriptions of women throughout the work are constantly negative, which would align with the misogynistic view that most men had during the time in which the story is set. Through these descriptions we can begin to question his views on and treatment of women. During the scene in the factory he encounters the foreman who he describes as “sore about something”,
One of the most fascinating elements that female authors bring to light is their use of perspective—something that’s most commonly illustrated through the eyes of a man, a male author, or, more often than not, both. Women writers offer a different voice than their male counterparts, even if it’s simply by the subtle inclusion of their own experiences within the narrative of the central character. With that in mind, the question must be asked—how do these female authors present their male characters? It’s common for male authors to stick to stereotypes and caricatures of the women they include in their works; but do female authors choose to follow this style as well? How do they represent the “modern man” within their texts? Through Woolf’s
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
Over time, a women’s identity has been seen as powerless and incompetent to achieve anything. This image of women is being created at a young age at young age. For instance, little
The poem Women by Alice Walker was written to praise the women that had fought to make schools stop the segregation of students and make it a more productive environment for them, the poem's theme was focused on honoring and praising women for their hard work and it took a tone of empowerment which could be seen in metaphors and repetition throughout the poem. The metaphors seen in the poem helped portray the women as determined and hardworking, for the children's education, an example of this can be found from the lines 14 to 20 (Headragged Generals across mined fields, booby-trapped Kitchens to discover books, desks.) this metaphor contributed to the authors tone because it gives those who read it the same sense of courage and power as
Society has redefined the role of woman by their works thru poetry that has changed their life
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...