Janisse Ray was not your typical southern girl; “feminism came early and naturally to me” (Ray 203). In her book Ecology of a Cracker Childhood Ray takes us into her childhood and way of life. Ray talks about the land she grew up on, and shows us that through her childhood she became a “tomboy” as her mother stated (Ray 203). In the South in the 1960’s this was not smiled upon, women were supposed to fit a certain role. Janisse Ray’s book is influenced by her gender and she also looks not only at the stereotypes of men and women, but conflicts that arise from these stereotypes.
The form of this work is influenced by the fact that Janisse is a woman. She feels a deep connection with the land where she was raised. “The landscape that I was born to, that owns my body” (Ray 13). She definitely expresses her feelings of injustice for the environment much differently than a man would. She also focuses on her desire to not accept her role as a typical woman. Not only as a child did she refuse to act like a little, sweet, innocent girl, but when she grew up, she defied the norm and attended college – and she had a passion for science which is also uncommon in most girls. “When I was eighteen and away from my town, I dived recklessly and surely into the world, not because it was a form of rebellion, as people might think, but as a form of healing and revival.” By this we can see Ray’s desire to go off by herself and take a risk. She took the plunge and control of her life becoming independent.
The lives of men and women are portrayed definitively in this novel. The setting of the story is in southern Georgia in the 1960’s, a time when women were expected to fit a certain role in society. When she was younger she would rather be playing ...
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...ore vocal and strived for equality among all people.” Ray feels these injustices towards women early in her life and continues to fight for them. When she was young she “raved at her [mother] about the injustice of women’s work” (Ray 203). She was raised by her mother to be a girly-girl, but influenced by the land, her brothers, and her dad, and choose to be who she wanted to be.
Works Cited
Haslanger, Sally, Tuana, Nancy and O'Connor, Peg, "Topics in Feminism", The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .
Ray, Janisse . Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. Canada: Milkweed Editions, 1999. 1-272. Print.
Sink, Nancy. "1960's - 1980's Women's Liberation Movement." Women's Liberation Movement.
C. T. Evans and N. Sink., 27 Dec 2011. Web. 7 Mar 2012.
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In the short story, “Girl,” the narrator describes certain tasks a woman should be responsible for based on the narrator’s culture, time period, and social standing. This story also reflects the coming of age of this girl, her transition into a lady, and shows the age gap between the mother and the daughter. The mother has certain beliefs that she is trying to pass to her daughter for her well-being, but the daughter is confused by this regimented life style. The author, Jamaica Kincaid, uses various tones to show a second person point of view and repetition to demonstrate what these responsibilities felt like, how she had to behave based on her social standing, and how to follow traditional customs.
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Mandell, Nancy (5th ed.). Feminist Issues: Race, Class, and Sexuality (87-109). Toronto: Pearson Canada, Inc. Rice, Carla. The Species of a Species.
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Many women in modern society make life altering decisions on a daily basis. Women today have prestigious and powerful careers unlike in earlier eras. It is more common for women to be full time employees than homemakers. In 1879, when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, there was great controversy over the out come of the play. Nora’s walking out on her husband and children was appalling to many audiences centuries ago. Divorce was unspoken, and a very uncommon occurrence. As years go by, society’s opinions on family situations change. No longer do women have a “housewife” reputation to live by and there are all types of family situations. After many years of emotional neglect, and overwhelming control, Nora finds herself leaving her family. Today, it could be said that Nora’s decision is very rational and well overdue.