Summary Of Sexism In When She Woke

1085 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Abortion expository essay

When She Woke by hillary Jordan shows the inequality of women in a society run by males. Throughout the novel Hannah goes through society dyed the color red by the government because she had an abortion. She had an affair with a married famous church reverend and only aborted her child because of the shame and her love for the Reverend. Society shames mothers with children out of wedlock, and Hannah didn’t want to shame her lover Aiden. Women in society are being shamed and objectified through the book. Hannah challenges the sexist ideology in society, however she became more cognizant of sexism after she was chromed because her family suppressed her thoughts before. Hannah develops through into a feminist activist during her transition from …show more content…

When Hannah was first released as a chrome she was exposed to the reality of society that her parents shielded her from. Being a chrome made her more susceptible to be raped or beaten because the police don’t protect chromes. Two young boys came up to Hannah saying “Yeah, baby, with you in the middle and us on either side, we’d make us a nice roast beef sandwich” (Jordan 150). Hannah was afraid because she knew the police wouldn’t do anything. Hannah was afraid because being a woman and a chrome men see her as an easy target to sexually assault. Hannah was seen as an object and not a person by the teen boys and also by society. Hannah didn’t truly realize this until the end when she said “Hannah had been objectified by men ever since she was chromed, treated as a thing to be used and disposed of” (Jordan 327). Hannah finally realized to the full extent that men objectified women and especially women chromes. Based upon her gender and appearance men sought her as an easy target. Men like the Fist believed in biological essentialism. After living out in the world Hannah saw how vulgar and sexist men like the Fist actually were. Hannah develops into a feminist throughout the novel by being chromed and leaving her

Show More
Related

  • Sexism: Nia Rhoney, By Destinee Green

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although many women have internalized the sexism of the world they live in, not many realize that it may impact their lives in some way or form. Nia Rhoney is a fellow classmate and great friend who now attends Clemson University. I selected Nia because she was not your average girl. Her views on the world are nonchalant and she does not take on the conformities that are expected of a regular teenage girl. Destinee Green is my first cousin. She is a very educated individual who is involved tremendously in the community which has allowed her to become a lively, well-rounded person. Cynthia Stewart is my dear mother and was a great candidate to me because she has been through so much in her short life. From being very sick at a young age, to

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the nineteen thirties, women were raised with a strict criteria for the way they were required to live their lives. Regardless of love, women only strived to marry men who owned great deals of land. In their eyes, the more land their husbands owned, the more stability they were offered. They lived at their husband’s beck and call, and did not openly oppose to their thoughts. Women rarely strayed away from what was socially acceptable, and ignored what the main character, Janie, from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston, could not. Although Janie is raised with this requirement as well, certain events throughout her life triggers a change in the way she views the way she lives her life. Merriam Webster defines awaken as to become conscious or aware of something. Throughout the oscillating process of her awakening, Janie gains self-realization as she seeks her horizons.

    Read More

  • How Does Edna's Domesticated Role In The Society?

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Awakening by Kate Chopin was published during the turn of the century which heavily influenced the themes of the novel. The plot takes place in the late nineteenth century Southern American Society with a woman named Edna Pontellier as the main character. The novel narrates Edna’s struggles as she lives in this society. The ending is very controversial as Edna takes her own life by swimming out into the ocean. Though it may seem like Edna’s suicide is liberating herself from society, it is really the author criticizing the society that oppresses women into domesticated roles. To understand Edna’s reasons for her suicide, women’s domesticated role in the society must be analyzed by not only looking at Edna’s relationship with other characters,

    Read More

  • Sexism In Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    “[T]he cage may or may not be specifically developed for the purpose of trapping the bird, yet it still operates (together with the other wires) to restrict its freedom” (Alexander, 184). This metaphor used by Michelle Alexander gives a good basis on the idea of intersectionality within feminist theory. What Alexander has stressed hugely in ‘The New Jim Crow’ is the idea of racial hierarchy, which bell hooks also stresses in her chapter Men: Comrades in Struggle in her book ‘Feminist Theory: from margin to center.’ She discusses the hierarchy of men and women while also discussing race. She claims that the history of the feminist movement has not wanted to “acknowledge that bourgeois white women, though often victimized by sexism, have more

    Read More

  • Society's Restrictive Roles for Women Exposed in The Awakening

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the late 1800's, as well as the early 1900's, women felt discriminated against by men and by society in general. Men generally held discriminatory and stereotypical views of women. Women had no control over themselves and were perceived to be nothing more than property to men. They were expected to live up to a perfect image that society had created, while trying to comply with their husbands' desires. While many women felt dissatisfied with their lives, they would not come out and say it. However, in 1899, Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening, which showed women that they were not alone. This novel showed the discriminatory views and treatment towards women. It also distinctly indicates the dissatisfaction that women felt in their lives. Because of the roles that society has given them, women are not able to seek and fulfill their own psychological and sexual drives. In The Awakening, Chopin uses Edna Pontellier to show that women do not want to be restricted by the roles that society has placed on them.

    Read More

  • Edna's Transformation in The Awakening by Kate Chopin

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Awakening by Kate Chopin, is a story of a woman who breaks free from the restraints put on her by society. During the first part of the story, Edna was a normal wife and mother; she was restricted to her stereotype and expected to stay at home, be loyal to her husband, and care for her children. As the story progresses and Edna redefines herself, we eventually are reading about a new character entirely. She ignores the internalized concept of being a mother and wife and becomes a new woman. She cheats on her husband, disregards her children, and defies her societal expectations. At the end of the story, Edna Pontellier commits suicide to free herself from her confusing and scandalous life.

    Read More

  • 1984 Sexism Analysis

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1930s and 40s, Adolf Hitler used the Jewish people as a scapegoat on which to blame Germany’s problems. This fear of what the Jewish people had apparently created granted the German people free reign to discriminate and detest. This hatred allowed the Nazi Regime to subsist and thrive. The same is true for The Party in 1984. The Party takes away the opportunity to expand one’s mind and freely use one’s body to one’s own pleasure, essentially taking away the humanity from human beings. In George Orwell’s 1984, The Party uses racism, sexism, and anti-semitism as a way to control the masses and quell rebellion.

    Read More

  • Sula And Everyday Use Character Analysis

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hannah husband died and so she allows herself to be use as a sex object by other men. “Sula came home from school and found her mother in bed curled spoon in the arm of a man.” pg.44 Sula had no male figure in her life so she turned to Nel who gave her the closeness she been searching for. Sula shape her identity in that she was determine to prove her point when put in a situation that questioned her character. “She slashed off only the tip of her finger. The four boys stared open mouthed at the at the wounded and the scrap of flesh, like a button mushroom, curling in the cherry blood that ran into the corners of the slate." Pg. 54 Sula choose the path of exploration when she left the Bottom after Nel’s wedding, her experience was of trying to discover herself. Sula’s return to medallion brought about hatred towards her by the town people because Sula had changed. She would sleep with the men in the town and discard them. She also put Eva in a nursing home because she said Eva was mean to her and that she was scared of Eva burning her like she did Plum. The town people despised Sula for her action. They even when as for as accusing her of pushing Teapot down the steps when in truth he fell down the steps and Sula was only trying to help. She didn’t care what they say about her because she didn’t have conversations with the town people with the exception of Nel upon till their

    Read More

  • Sexism In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many themes throughout the story. One of them is the theme of deception. An example of deception is when Mr. Dolphus Raymond drank Coca-Cola from a brown paper bag, which people would infer to be alcohol. Another theme is the role of parenting and how Atticus has a different view of parenting. The children call him Atticus, not dad. A major theme is the role of sexism and how it works with the characters Jem, Aunt Alexandra, and Dill.

    Read More

  • Sexism In Kimberle Crenshaw's 'Black Girls Matter'

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sexism is still a prevailing problem in the world today. Unfortunately, this contributes to other forms of discrimination. In the article, Black Girls Matter, the author, Kimberlé Crenshaw, brings this to light. Young girls of color are often ignored by national initiatives in regards to both racism and sexism combined. The author supports her criticism with the use of personal stories of young girls of color, namely, Salecia, Pleajhai, Mikia, and Tanisha along with numerical data as examples.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In 'The Awakening' By Kate Chopin

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 19th and 20th centuries were a time period of change. The world saw many changes from gender roles to racial treatment. Many books written during these time periods reflect these changes. Some caused mass outrage while others helped to bring about change. In the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, gender roles can be seen throughout the novel. Some of the characters follow society’s “rules” on what a gender is suppose to do while others challenge it. Feminist Lens can be used to help infer and interpret the gender roles that the characters follow or rebel against. Madame Ratignolle and Leonce Pontellier follow eaches respective gender, while Alcee Arobin follows and rebels the male gender expectations during the time period.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple, by Alice Walker and Push, by Sapphire

    3221 Words  | 7 Pages

    In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the heroine, Precious, is towards society. She is an African-American teenage girl who struggles with accepting herself and her past, but the cruel “unwritten laws” of her time constantly prevent her rise until she becomes the part of a community that will empower her to triumph over her barriers. “The Color Purple” is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker which tells the story of a black woman’s, Celie’s, striving for emancipation. (Whitted, 2004) These novels share a similar focus, the self-actualization of a multi-disadvantaged character who with the help of her surrounding will be able to triumph over her original status. In both “The Color Purple” and “Push”, the main characters are exposed to the desire of the men surrounding them, and are doubly vulnerable in society because not only are they women but they also belong to the African-American race, which embodies another barrier for them to emancipate in a world where the white race is still superior to, and more desired as theirs.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In The Movie The Ugly Truth

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender stereotypes are ideas simplified, but strongly assumed, on the characteristics of men and women, that translates into a series of tasks and activities that are assign in each culture. Along life, family, school, and environment, Society thought us what is right and what is not in being men or women. Starting with the form we dress, talk, express, behave, to what we can play or what sport to participate. The margin of the biological endowment differences males and females; the fact of being women or men implies a long process of learning and adaptation to the rules established starting with work, personality, love and desires. In the movie "The Ugly Truth." you can see different situations that reflect what society is teaching us for

    Read More

  • Feminism in "The Awakening"

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin the critical approach feminism is a major aspect of the novel. According to dictionary.reference.com the word feminism means, “The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The Awakening takes place during the late eighteen hundreds to early nineteen hundreds, in New Orleans. The novel is about Edna Pontellier and her family on a summer vacation. Edna, who is a wife and mother, is inferior to her husband, Leonce, and must live by her husband’s desires. While on vacation Edna becomes close friends with Adele Ratignolle, who helps Edna discover she must be “awakened”. Adele is a character who represents the ideal woman. She is loving, compassionate, and motherly. Throughout the novel Edna seeks something more from life than what she has been living. Also, she is unhappy with her marriage, and all through the summer falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Furthermore, Edna attempts to become independent, free, and in control of her own destiny. During this time period the Feminist movement was taking place. The Feminist movement was a time when women fought to prove themselves equal to men. Women fought for the rights to vote, have jobs, and go to school. The late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds showcased the power the women had to prove their equality. According to the excerpt, “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “… The Awakening is its heroine’s break for freedom.” Ultimately, this shows how most women, especially Edna Pontellier, try to break free from the burden of society. Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, showcases the feminist critical approach through women’s roles, women characters, influences, and in...

    Read More

More about Summary Of Sexism In When She Woke

Open Document