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Reflections on gender inequality
Reflections on gender inequality
Gender inequality literature essay
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A strong maternal bond is crucial in one’s life; however in both Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, the authors portray the distant relationship between the mother and the daughter as a tool to critique the ‘inhuman’ traditions imposed upon the family members in their respective societies. Though Houng’s and Esquivel’s novels are set in Vietnam and Mexico respectively, they assert that family traditions are unjust and forbid family members to pursue their own dreams, ambitions, and desires as portrayed by the two teenage protagonists and their mothers, who are obligated to sacrifice their own lives for others. In order to gain their freedom, the protagonists have to detach themselves from their oppressive, domineering mothers to break away from the undesirable family traditions in their culture.
Early in Like Water for Chocolate, the reader is introduced to the abnormal mother-daughter relationship right away as Nacha, the family cook, “offers to take charge of feeding Tita” (Esquivel 6) after Mama Elena’s “milk dried up from the shock” (Esquivel 6) of her husband’s death. Moreover, Mama Elena arranges a marriage for Rosaura, Tita’s sister, to marry Tita’s true love Pedro, which develops Tita’s abhorrence towards her mother significantly. Tita’s hatred towards her mother is mostly due to the fact that she is prohibited from marrying under the tradition that the youngest daughter has to take care of her mother until she passes away; therefore, resulting in a widening gap between the two. Portraying Tita’s domain and realm as the kitchen underscores Esquivel’s complete condemnation of family traditions as she is ordered to cook in the kitchen at all times, preparing meals for he...
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... family traditions because they are innocent and fragile compared to men, therefore dramatizing the effects of the ‘inhuman’ traditions. A maternal bond is a very crucial component of one’s life; therefore by disrupting the usual aspect of one’s life, the authors are sending their message in a strong manner. Furthermore, the ending of both novels imply a necessity for social improvement in their societies as the protagonists have to detach themselves from their repressive mothers, who represent the authorities of the old generation with their overbearing attitudes, in order to pursue their own dreams, whether it is for education, career, or love. After the protagonists break away from their mothers, Tita chases her love for Pedro and Hang leaves the country, abandoning all the traditional traditions, to continue with her college education and occupation in Russia.
“Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, is a beautiful romantic tale of an impossible passionate love during the revolution in Mexico. The romance is followed by the sweet aroma of kitchen secrets and cooking, with a lot of imagination and creativity. The story is that of Tita De La Garza, the youngest of all daughters in Mama Elena’s house. According to the family tradition she is to watch after her mother till the day she does, and therefore cannot marry any men. Tita finds her comfort in cooking, and soon the kitchen becomes her world, affecting every emotion she experiences to the people who taste her food. Esquivel tells Titas story as she grows to be a mature, blooming women who eventually rebels against her mother, finds her true identity and reunites with her long lost love Pedro. The book became a huge success and was made to a movie directed by Alfonso Arau. Although they both share many similarities, I also found many distinct differences. The movie lost an integral part of the book, the sensual aspect of the cooking and love.
Thru-out the centuries, regardless of race or age, there has been dilemmas that identify a family’s thru union. In “Hangzhou” (1925), author Lang Samantha Chang illustrates the story of a Japanese family whose mother is trapped in her believes. While Alice Walker in her story of “Everyday Use” (1944) presents the readers with an African American family whose dilemma is mainly rotating around Dee’s ego, the narrator’s daughter. Although differing ethnicity, both families commonly share the attachment of a legacy, a tradition and the adaptation to a new generation. In desperation of surviving as a united family there are changes that they must submit to.
Write-up: Tita is the main character of the story, also the narrator, who suffers from unjust oppression from Mama Elena, her mother. She is raised to excel in the kitchen and many entertaining arts where she is expected to spend her whole life taking care of her mother. This is following the family tradition that the youngest daughter takes care of the mother until she dies. With her frivolous wants, Mama Elena denies her marriage and happiness to any man especially Pedro. She eventually breaks down and meets John Brown, the family doctor, who recovers her until she finds happiness again after Mama Elena's death with Pedro. Overall, Tita goes through a very dynamic change in the story which obviously entitles her to be a main character.
In the novel Paradise of the Blind, Doung Thu Huong explores the effect the Communist regime has had upon Vietnamese cultural gender roles. During the rule of the Communist Viet Minh, a paradigm shift occurred within which many of the old Vietnamese traditions were dismantled or altered. Dounh Thu Huong uses the three prominent female characters – Hang, Que and Aunt Tam – to represent the changing responsibilities of women in Vietnamese culture. Que, Hang’s mother, represents a conservative, orthodox Vietnamese woman, who has a proverb-driven commitment to sustaining her manipulative brother, Chinh. Aunt Tam embodies a capitalistic
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
An oppressed soul finds means to escape through the preparation of food in the novel, Like Water for Chocolate (1992). Written by Laura Esquivel, the story is set in revolutionary Mexico at the turn of the century. Tita, the young heroine, is living on her family’s ranch with her two older sisters, her overbearing mother, and Nacha, the family cook and Tita’s surrogate mother. At a very young age, Tita is instilled with a deep love for food "for Tita, the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food" (7). The sudden death of Tita's father, left Tita's mother's unable to nurse the infant Tita due to shock and grief. Therefore Nacha, "who [knows] everything about cooking" (6) offers to assume the responsibility of feeding and caring for the young Tita. "From that day on, Tita's domain was the kitchen" (7). Throughout the novel, food is used as a constant metaphor for the intense feelings and emotions Tita is forced to conceal.
To understand fully the implicit meaning and cultural challenges the film presents, a general knowledge of the film’s contents must be presented. The protagonist, Tita, suffers from typical Hispanic cultural oppression. The family rule, a common rule in this culture, was that the youngest daughter is to remain unwed for the duration of her mother’s life, and remain home to care for her. Mama Elena offers her daughter, Tita’s older sister Rosaura, to wed a man named Pedro, who is unknowingly in mutual love with Tita. Tita is forced to bake the cake for the wedding, which contains many tears that she cried during the process. Tita’s bitter tears cause all the wedding guests to become ill after consuming the cake, and Tita discovers she can influence others through her cooking. Throughout the film, Tita’s cooking plays an important role in all the events that transpire.
Based on Deconstruction theory, Lan Cao’s novel Monkey Bridge depicts the mother-daughter relationship before and after living in exile in terms of language, familial roles and deception.
Gloria Naylor’s novel, Mama Day, shows how two loving people can unite in marriage, while being from two separate worlds. The way that Naylor creates the anxiety between these two characters is by the differences in their backgrounds--including their families, traditions and their geographical origins. Cocoa and George are extremely different; however, this is what makes their marriage so strong. Raised by the two most respected women in the town, Cocoa grew up on a small southern island with a loving family, while George grew up in a boys’ home without a family in urban New York. These differences in background bring George and Cocoa together, while helping to instill traditions and values in George. In the end, George has changed his point of view of the island and the way Cocoa acts in her home so dramatically that he sacrifices his life for her. Mama Day illustrates differences that are all around us through one couple’s marriage and the two places they call home.
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.
From the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had their conflicts, tested each other’s patience, and eventually resolved their conflicts. In the story “Two Kinds,” written by Amy Tan, Jing-Mei and her mother are the typical mother-daughter duo that have their fair share of trials. Jing-Mei is an American Chinese Girl who struggles to please her mother by trying to be the “Prodigy” that her mother wishes for. Her mother has great ideas to make her daughter famous with hopes that she would become the best at everything she did. Throughout the story, the mother and daughter display distinct characteristics giving the reader insight of who they are, how they each handle conflict, and helps define how their relationship changes over time.
The author connects Antonio’s anxieties about change in his life to the culture in which he lives. Ultima’s intrusion into Antonio’s life marks a crazy time of change for Antonio. Anaya reiterates Antonio’s position on the threshold of change by showing his nerves about beginning school, moving away from his mother, and facing his unusual future. The vaquero lifestyle preferred by his father renews the values of freedom, independence and mobility, all of which are rules in the vaqueros’ love of the llano. The Luna family lifestyle preferred by Antonio’s mother, but emphasizes family and productivity,
For many of us growing up, our mothers have been a part of who we are. They have been there when our world was falling apart, when we fell ill to the flu, and most importantly, the one to love us when we needed it the most. In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, it begins with a brief introduction to one mother’s interpretation of the American Dream. Losing her family in China, she now hopes to recapture part of her loss through her daughter. However, the young girl, Ni Kan, mimics her mother’s dreams and ultimately rebels against them.
She did not demonstrate the ideal image women were suppose to portray given to us through historical readings. This authoritative character is symbolized when her milk dries up from the shock of her husband dying (Esquirel 6). Throughout the story, the image of breast feeding became a symbol of nourishment, and necessary for forming a loving bond. When Tita’s sister, Rosaura, had her son and could not breastfeed him, Tita took on the job. In the story, the narrator says, “[Tita] did a mother’s work without the official title” (Esquirel 79). This establishes the idea that a mother’s job is to nourish their child. When Roberto, the son of Rosaura had died, it broke Tita. Her bond with Roberto was created by her breastfeeding him. It was as if she were his mother, and he her child. This image of Mama Elena’s breast milk drying up, almost works as a way to show that she could no longer be the mother. With the death of the "man of the ranch," Mama Elena had to take on a new role. Her motherly role as the nourisher died with her husband. Mama Elena was concerned with how her daughters reflected the family name, not in building a loving relationship with them. This perpetuated idea of the importance of being a righteous women, put an enormous amount of pressure on families to withhold this image. This need to be a righteous woman forced these girls to live in a certain mold perpetuated by
The family seems to remain very involved within it. Much of this portrays Spanish culture. To find many generations of the same family living in one house demonstrates it not being uncommon in Spanish-speaking countries. The Buendia house always has various relatives within it. By asserting not being the only explanation, the incest of the family criticizes a theme throughout the novel and symbolizes a significant factor in the solitude of this family. The family eventually detaches and isolates because they rarely turn to others ...