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Role of the woman in literature
Role of the woman in literature
How is American culture different from Hispanic culture
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Author Junot Diaz in the writing of “The Dreamer” describes his mother as a seven year old girl in a repressed third world country, the Dominican Republic. She was forced by her very stern mother (Diaz’s grandmother) to work the farm and pick coffee beans. His mother had a thirst for knowledge, longed for education, and took drastic measures to ensure she achieved it. In 2001 “The Dreamer” was published in More a magazine primarily for women. Junot Diaz set out to inspire women with the story of his mother’s struggles to become an educated girl despite the beatings endured by her strict mother. “Your grandmother beat me almost every day,” my mother explained, “but I got my education” (Junot 130). Most of the characters mentioned in the essay are females which were very determined and strong willed despite their environment. …show more content…
The working conditions were as awful as could be imagined in a third world country, children are raised as slaves and not able to enjoy life such as they do here in the U.S.
“Her mother, my grandmother, demanded that she stay on the farm, that she stay a mule” (Junot 129). While working in the fields his mother would help care for workers that became ill, this is where her dream of becoming a nurse began. She knew she needed the education to obtain her dream, and there was no way her mother was going to allow that. The law put forth by the feared dictator of the Dominican Republic was that all children were to have an education and be in school. Parents of those children not in school were to be imprisoned. She knew that even the threat of imprisonment was not a deterrent to her mother, so she drank from a puddle making herself too ill to go work in the coffee fields with her family. That was the beginning to her educational journey. “A young idealistic woman from the capital” was the one who helped his mother with her education (Junot
129). The compassionate female teacher assisted the young girl in staying in school from that day on, by reporting Diaz’s grandmother to the authorities and having her arrested. I too had a strong woman who helped me out of a ten year, abusive situation with my ex-husband. Years of abuse can damage your psyche and become a condition known as Stockholm syndrome. I wonder what her feelings were toward her mother later in life did she love her, or hate her for how she was treated. It takes a strong will to endure so much and become more. It is unfortunate that his mother’s dream never came true. She later immigrated to America and the language barrier was too much for her to overcome. Still her determination inspired the most important person of all, her son. If not for her struggles and accomplishments her son may have never become the successful writer he is today. Diaz was so determined that he once worked on a book for five years, put it aside, and then continued to work on it for another five years before he completed “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”. Junot Diaz states his love and admiration for his mother and how she made it possible for him to become a success. “I do believe that who I am as an artist, everything that I’ve ever written, was possible because a seven-year-old girl up in the hills of Azua knelt before a puddle, found courage in herself and drank” (Junot 130). In short don’t be a victim of circumstance and fight for your dreams.
She learned to read and write at school, but that doesn't mean that other obstacles weren't thrown her way. “I am the only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons”. Being the only daughter meant that she would be spending a lot of time to herself, she needed something to keep her occupied. Who knew that writing would be the answer. When she was in fifth grade and decided to share her plans for college with her father, he had said “Que bueno, mija”. The problem is that her father had envisioned another path for her. “What I didn't realize was that my father thought college was good for girls- for finding a husband”. Just imagine how hard it was for her to go against her father's wishes and continue to follow her true calling.
In the second story of Drown by Junot Diaz, Yunior and Rafa have already been in the United States of America for about three years. In this story, their mother’s sister came to the United States. They travel to the Bronx in order to celebrate their aunts and uncles’ arrival. In Fiesta 1980, we meet their father and sister, and learn more about their mother. Through the way they all interact, we learn more about each family member’s characteristics and their family dynamic.
Junot Diaz's Drown, a compilation of short stories, exemplifies how the high standard of masculinity within the Latino community can have a detrimental effect on males. These stories are told in the first person by a narrator called Yunior. The different stories are told against the background of The Dominican Republic and the United States. The narrator highlights the different challenges that he faces throughout his childhood and into his young adult life. During this period, he struggles to find his identity which is expected by every Latino. In the Dominican Republic, a man’s manhood is closely tied to his identity, and Yunior is no exception. While in the process of finding his identity, Yunior is challenged with abuse, poverty and the lure of drugs, which leads to his addiction and his becoming violent .…
The author, Gloria Ladson-Billings, discusses in her book, "The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children," how African American students perform at lower academic levels in part due to teacher approaches and attitudes. She performed a study on eight teachers of different races and backgrounds and their approaches to teaching African American students. The purpose of the study was to identify what approaches or techniques have been most successful in helping African American students to achieve academic success. She also focuses on the idea of "culturally relevant teaching" and how it can positively impact students when teachers are aware and incorporate a student's culture and backgrounds into the classroom. Throughout the book, the
Women are not only assumed to only take care of their family, but to not have the education that they do rightfully deserve. Women can contribute to the world as plentiful and gloriously as men can, but the chances are not given to them. For example, when Minerva tells Trujillo that she dreams of attending the University to study law, he replies "'The University is no place for a woman these days'" (99). Trujillo implies that by going to school to heighten her education, it would be ...
Esperanza, a Chicano with three sisters and one brother, has had a dream of having her own things since she was ten years old. She lived in a one story flat that Esperanza thought was finally a "real house". Esperanza’s family was poor. Her father barely made enough money to make ends meet. Her mother, a homemaker, had no formal education because she had lacked the courage to rise above the shame of her poverty, and her escape was to quit school. Esperanza felt that she had the desire and courage to invent what she would become.
Junot Diaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is focused on the hyper-masculine culture of the Dominican, and many argue that his portrayal of the slew of women in the novel is misogynistic because they are often silenced by the plot and kept out of the narration (Matsui). However, Diaz crafts strong women, and it is society that views them as objects. The novel recognizes the masculine lens of the culture while still examining the lives of resilient women. In this way, the novel showcases a feminist stance and critiques the misogynist culture it is set in by showcasing the strength and depth of these women that help to shape the narrative while acknowledging that it is the limits society places on them because of their sexuality
Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
In the story, there are many examples of women who suffer from a lack of an education. One of the Mirabal sisters, Patria, has a dream of becoming a nun, but Papa does not support her. “It started with Patria wanting to be a nun. Mamá was all for having religion in the family, but Papá did not approve in the least. More than once, he said that Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl. He only said that once in front of Mamá, but he repeated it often enough to me.” (Ch. 2 pg. 11) Papa believes that a woman cannot be more than a pretty face, that they should not pursue their interests and have an equal position in society. This describes that women were not allowed to become more than they could be. When Minerva tells her family that she aspires to become a lawyer, her mother does not take her seriously: Ay, Dios mío, spare me." Mamá sighs, but playfulness has come back into her voice. "Just what we need, skirts in the law!"(Ch. 1 Pg. 10) This shows that even Mama believes that women should not have a say in certain matters because she has a notion that women were not cut out for things like politics. Sometimes, even the women agree that they should not have equal representation as men. Mama seems to imply that it may be better for woman to preserve one’s innocence and integrity by avoiding politics. Minerva again argues that women deserve equality in their society. This is because at that time, the thought of a woman studying law was unusual. No one believed that a woman would be capable of studying law, which proved that women were not considered equal. Even though women were not given equal opportunities as men, the sisters fought for equality, and
People who work hard enough become successful and build a good life for themselves and their family. Millions of Americans and others who admire America have believed this for generations. However, is this still true? Brandon King debates his interpretation of the American Dream in his published work, “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” During his essay, the speaker highlights how important the American Dream is to the economy and providing a distance from inequality. The speaker emphasizes his belief that the American Dream is still alive within America and that people must work hard to achieve it. When discussing the American Dream, King will agree that the idea is alive and thriving in the minds of Americans; yet, I argue that the idea is on hold within American society due to lack of upward social independence and economic mobility.
At almost every stage in a person’s life, they are working towards something, and this is due to the fact that everyone has a plan. Nearly every person in the world has an conception of what they want their life to develop in to, and it is for this reason that they find motivation to do many of the things that they do. Society had trained it’s people that, if a person tries hard enough, they can form our lives into what they want them to be. In her novel, Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia writes about many individuals within the Cuban del Pino family making their way in the world; furthermore, Garcia uses the theme of madness to display the consequences of not having the ability to follow the life that a person has planned as well as issues of gender in relation to this theme. She presents this theme of mental illness at multiple points throughout the novel, particularly through the experiences of the characters of Celia del Pino, who suffers after she trades the life she wants for the life she is expected to have, Felicia del Pino, whose experiences with her husbands alter her life, and Javier del Pino, who
Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, set in the late 1900’s, tells a story of Oscar Wao, an overweight Dominican “ghetto nerd”, his mother and rebellious sister who live together in Paterson, New Jersey. Throughout the novel, Diaz incorporates many different stories about each character that show acts of resistance. One of the most prominent stories of resistance in the novel is through Oscar’s mom; Beli, who is prompted by great tragedy, known as the Trujillo curse, to love atomically and thus follow a dangerous path. Beli’s family history plays a large role in her choices that eventually compel her into a different life than what her adopted mother, La Inca, had wanted
Ahead of the decision by current president Donald J. Trump to phase out the DREAM Acts’ Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, (DACA), dreamers are pursuing amnesty options the ensure their stay within the United States. The Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program, (DACA), grants two-year deferments to immigrant minors and young adults facing deportation because of illegal immigration status. In a response to the current president’s decision to phase out of the DACA program, former president Barack Obama included that, “dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper” (Obama, ). Dreamers have become model citizens, quite parallel to Americans. Dreamers attend school, go off to college, obtain degrees, and become employees, even owners of businesses, and corporations. Dreamers make contributions to the economy by working, culturally adjusting and honoring the laws put forth by the United States of America. Although dreamers do not live in the country legally, dreamers feel a part of its fabric. And with the uncertainty surrounding the ending of the DACA, dreamers are pursuing the amnesty option to
In both Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient woman, the one who has buckled and succumbed to become an empty, emotionless shell. In men’s eyes, this type of woman was a sort of “angel” perfect in that she did and acted exactly as what was expected of her. The second type of woman is the “rebel”, the woman who is willing to fight in order to keep her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silencing inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are able and willing to fight for the ability to be unique.
Education for women in the 1800s was far different from what we know today. During her life, a girl was taught more necessary skills around the home than the information out of school books. A woman’s formal education was limited because her job opportunities were limited—and vice versa. Society could not conceive of a woman entering a profession such as medicine or the law and therefore did not offer her the chance to do so. It was much more important to be considered 'accomplished' than thoroughly educated. Elizabeth Bennet indicated to her sisters that she would continue to learn through reading, describing education for herself as being unstructured but accessible. If a woman desired to further he education past what her classes would teach her, she would have to do so independently, and that is what most women did.