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Feminist theory examples essay
Gender Roles in Literature
Gender Roles in Literature
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Gender roles in society are very prevalent and impacting in our current society, good or bad. In the poem, “Respect”, by Melissa Studdard she tackles this subject head-on with her own take on the life of a women. In her writing she uses multiple poetic devices to convey her messages, two included being personification and imagery. She first starts the poem using imagery when she compares a woman's body to a cave, saying that there is a fire inside that somebody forgot to put out (Studdard 1-3). These lines are a great way to convey the message of what I believe is that a women has a fire inside of her like a burning passion, and Studdard’s use of imagery makes this very easy to understand for the reader. I believe that this use of imagery can
help show that even if it is hidden deep inside, every woman has a passion and drive in life. Another literary devices used in this poem repetitively is personification. Studdard uses personification when she says that stuffed rabbits are better at keeping secrets than stopping hands (Studdard 16-18). Obviously a stuffed toy would not be able to listen but in her head that is better to think that they care and keep what she tells them to herself. This is pretty hard hitting when it comes to a woman’s life that she has to deal with physical harm such as sexual harassment and it is overlooked or the women is too scared to tell anybody besides her stuffed rabbit for example. The mind of a woman can be very overwhelmed and they go through much more trouble than they really show.
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.
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.
The use of imagery is very commonly used in fictional literary work, especially poems. Imagery according to Crowder Collage Introduction to Literature’s glossary, “The collective set of images in a poem or other literary work,” (1991). The definition of imagery is rather vague by itself. It is very enlightening on the other hand when the term image is defined, “A word or series of words that refers to any sensory experience (usually sight, although also sound smell, touch or taste). An image is a direct or literal recreation of physical experience and adds immediacy to literary language,” (Gioia 1991).The imagery in Chana Bloch’s “Tired Sex” is a wonderfully helpful in communicating the poem’s general theme.
Throughout history women have learned to find a voice against men through writing. Writing has been a medium where women have learned to speak their minds and allow their ideas to be broadcasted to the world. Women have used writing to discuss issues, such as discrimination, inequality, sexual frustrations, and many more that they have dealt with. In the poem, “A Loyal Woman’s No”, written by Lucy Larcom. She gives power to women to say no to men. Her poem discusses the issues that many women face. They face issues of men taking advantage of them, men objectifying them and using them. However, Larcom’s poem shows a clear progress of women standing up against men, and being firm in saying no to them. Larcom has given women the ability to stand up to man and show the true power that women have over men. Many women fear standing up to men due to the repercussions of their actions, however, Lucy Larcom uses the symbolism of nature and her rhetoric to show a woman’s true power against men and say no and to free themselves of the rigid grasp that so many men have over women.
One of the key components of literature is the usage of elements, these elements of literature provides readers underlying themes that authors put into their story. Without these elements of literature, the author would have no way to convey their true messages into their works. In Zora Neale Hurston’s story “Sweat”, Hurston uses many elements of literature to convey the seriousness and true relationship of couples that have a history of domestic violence. However, a specific element of literature that Hurston uses are symbols which give readers a clearer understanding of domestic abuse and most importantly, the characteristics of the victim and perpetrator of an abusive relationship. The symbols that Hurston uses in her story are what fortifies her plot and characters in “Sweat”. The symbols that Hurston uses are necessary because it destroys the typical gender role stereotypes between men and women. This is necessary because there is such a difference between the portrayal of men and women, men often being superior to women. Hurston uses through her symbol to show some equality between men and women or at points women can also be superior against men.
The submission of women is demonstrated in the text through the symbolic colors of the couple’s bedroom. Indeed, as the young woman’s husband is asleep, the wife remains wide-awake, trying her best to provide the man with comfort, while enjoying her newlywed life. As she opens her eyes to contemplate “the blue of the brand-new curtains, instead of the apricot-pink through which the first light of day [filters] into the room where she [has]
Some examples of metaphor within the piece are when it says “your laughter’s so melodic it’s a song” and “your creativity’s a compass that leads you to what you love”. An example of evocative language in the piece is “you don’t need any miracle cream to keep your passions smooth, hair free or diet pills to slim your kindness down.” These metaphors and instances of evocative language help emphasise the message that it doesn’t matter what you look like, the most important thing you can love about yourself is ____. Metaphors, evocative language, and repetition are also used to describe the expectations laid upon women by society. One particular phrase that uses both metaphor and evocative language “because the only place we'll ever truly feel safe is curled up inside skin we've been taught to hate by a society that shuns our awful confidence and feeds us our flaws”. Other examples of evocative language include “a reminder that the mirror is meant to be a curse so I confine her in my mind, but when he or she shouts ‘let me out!’ we're allowed to listen.” and “Don't you shatter the illusion you could ever be anything beyond paper fine flesh and flashy teeth and fingernails.” One instance of repetition includes “echoic accusations of not good enough, never good enough”. Another phrase that uses both evocative language and repetition
Imagery is a common literary element many authors use to get their message across to us in a vivid way. In Richard Blanco’s poem “Queer Theory”, the grandmother is listing the things that the young boy can and can not do, such as “never fly a kite or roller skate, but light/ all the firecrackers you want,/ kill all the lizards you can, cut up worms-/feed them to that cat of yours,” (Blanco 27-30). The grandmother is describing the types of things that she believes only gay people do. She considers flying a kite and roller skating to be a feminine action and warns him to stay away from them. However, she wants him to take part in all of the masculine activities he possibly can. The author uses imagery to describe in detail what exactly the grandmother classifies as
For centuries women suffered being seen as the lesser gender and it was not until the 1920s that they earned headway. The twenties was a decade for partiers, free-spirits, and strong-willed women. People were more focused more on what brought them enjoyment rather than the day to day responsibilities. Women, while fighting for their rights, were dancing, painting, and writing novels. It was often that the struggles of the time were expressed in their works. The strive for women’s rights and equality was at the forefront of many hearts and minds in the early 20th century; this can be seen in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem “Philosopher.”
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.
Published in 1863, “She Rose to His Requirement” by Emily Dickinson is the voice exclusively for women. The poem expresses the values and aspirations women have to give up to devote their lives to marriage. This is an unequal exchange for marriage when women have to sacrifice many precious things to fit into the role of a wife. Throughout the poem, the theme of feminism rises remarkably, and it leaves a hallmark for Dickinson’s philosophy of gender equality.
A primary example of this is the poem ‘War Girls’ written by Jessie Pope. Contemporary poetic devices featured within this text includes an ABABCC rhythm sequence, repetition, and imagery. This empowering piece of poetry describes the hardships that women bore as a result of men not being present. A description of women’s resilience is fiercely denoted throughout with a range of adjectives used in assistance to convey this message, “Strong, sensible, and fit, | They’re out to show their grit, | And tackle jobs with energy and knack”. What can be extracted from Pope’s powerful poem ‘War Girls’ is women’s strength and intelligence is highlighted, but so too are their traditionally feminine qualities, “Beneath their uniform | Beats a heart that’s soft and warm”. Conclusively, the provided poetic texts of ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen, ‘Pluck’ by Eva Dobell, and ‘War Girls’ by Jessie Pope support my position in arguing that texts that have universal appeal aren’t disconnected from context, their quality, rather, lies in the way they reflect universal themes through the lense of the time and place that they are
Emily Dickinson can be described as a hermit, living within the walls of her family home for great lengths of time (Young 76). Though this may have been seen as insanity, it has also been described as “an uncompromising commitment to artistic expression” and “as an attempt to undermine the restrictive masculine culture of her time” (Gale 49). This along with her failure to conform to poetic styles of her time, demonstrate Dickinson’s “desire to defy social and gender conventions of her day” (Gale 49). During the nineteenth century, women were predominantly depicted by males as either “the angel [or] the monsters” (Lipscomb 1). Dickinson, like many female writers sought to, “combat the patriarchal stereotypes and give an authentic picture of the female experience” (Lipscomb 1). Dickinson seeks this through her poetic works, “I’m “wife”-I’ve finished that” and “She rose to His Requirement” in which she portrays females under the scrutiny of their husbands as well as, as independents. She describes the independence and strength women lose once becoming “wives” and the freedom they would have if they were not required, by society, to conform to this role [as wives] solely. Her poem “The Bustle in a House” seems to focus on the mourning of a loved one; however, Dickinson ingeniously uses this theme to describe the social depravation women faced. This method also depicts women in a more natural setting rather than the unrealistic depictions demonstrated by male writers. Through her poetry, Dickinson instills power in women. Dickinson “searched for models among the famous women writers of her day” and “was scarcely influenced by literary men” (Bloom, Homans 17). She herself therefore, understood the difficulty of living in a male-dominat...
Marge Piercy immediately sets the tone for her poem, “A Work of Artifice,” through her clever use of diction in the title. Instead of naming the poem “A Work of Art,” Piercy creates a play on words using “Artifice” in order to give the poem a deceitful context as opposed to the more positive context that would have been garnered from the connotation associated with simply “A Work of Art.” The tone, thus, established by Piercy in the title of the work is one that calls attention to something that is disingenuous. In this case, the subject of disingenuity is what men encourage to be the “ideal” woman. Utilizing poignant symbolism and terse syntax, Piercy furthers the theme of the poem, which is that of the subservience of women to men, or more
The theme of femininity is shown in great respects, in Adrienne Rich's poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers". Rich's poem holds a similar theme to Tillie Olson's "I stand here Ironing". These two writings both represent how society was critical on woman's roles. Although they are both based on the same societal theme, Rich's poem has a much stronger impact on its readers. Rich's poem is easier to relate to because it explains the struggle of women and the want for success and freedom. Rich explains the "weight" of Aunt Jennifer's wedding ring, which represents her bad marriage. This is easier for readers to relate to because it is a common problem in society. Women are often thought of as lower and weaker than men and Rich represents this in many forms. Aunt Jennifer's wedding band is "heavy" on her hand, which holds her back from being able to do her craft. This was represented by showing how men often held women back from showing their talents. Olson's poem also represents a lack of feminism, but it is based in the older days and takes a different path. Olson's poem represents a man's ability to leave the women and children to fend for herself. This is harder for readers to understand because there could be a lot of criticism about why the man left and how the wife could have better taken care of her family. Olson's poem not only shows the weakness of the mother but also shows the effect on her daughter.