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The portrayal of women in literature
The portrayal of women in literature
The portrayal of women in literature
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The Empowerment of Women
For years, females have used their sexuality for empowerment. In the fairy tale “The company of Wolves” by Angela Carter uses her sexuality to keep her alive. Then in the story “Yellow Woman” by Leslie Silko her sexuality is her excuse for disappearing. Both story talks about sexuality, but how they empower the situation is different. Which story shows sexuality for empowerment better?
In the story “The Company of Wolves” little red riding hood (LRRH) sexuality empowerment was short lived. LRRH is raised in a time where “Children do not stay young for long in this savage country” because they had to help out the family and did not have time to play. Since LRRH was “so pretty and the youngest of her family” she was not as wise and maybe a little naive. So when it as a
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She thought about her husband for the first time and if he went to the tribal police to report her missing. The Yellow Woman did not think about her husband when she woke up next to another man or when she decided to go home with another man. She did not want to think about reality, but just for that brief moment when hunger strike did she think about her family. Once the man spoke to her, she went back to her fairy tale and went inside the man house and made him dinner. As they were eating she asked “Have you brought women here before” because she wanted to know who was playing who. The entire thing was here idea so she thought. For a moment her fairy tale was not a fairy tale because she questions if he knew of the story of the Yellow Woman. If Silva did not know the story she felt like her fairy tale could not happen. Silva was on his game because he said “someday they will talk about us and they will say, “Those two lived long ago when things like that happened”. That line would make any woman go back into a fairy tale mode and that is what Yellow Woman
In a world where the vast majority of cultures are patriarchal, in response to traditional structures, women often find themselves at war in their minds, hearts and in their own actions. 'Yellow woman' and 'The story of an hour' are examples of how women struggle in a male domintaed society. In these two stories, the women fnd themselves wrestling with thoughts and emotions that our society consider unacceptable. The following statements ,ay be asked and considered of these women:
The novel, The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela is a great perception of the Mexican Revolution. The stories of exploits and wartime experiences during the Mexican Revolution was fundamentally driven by the men. The war was between the people and the government. Throughout the novel, these men had to isolate themselves from their families and battle for a cause they greatly believed in. Even with not enough resources, the people were able to fight aggressively in order to overthrow the government. Regardless of the men who were at war, there were two females who played a significant role in the Mexican Revolution, Camila and War Paint. While the representation Mariano Azuela captures these ladies and their role in society are accurate, he neglects
In the Naked Citadel by Susan Faludi, we are taken into the notorious Citadel were the halls are lined with depictions of stern-faced generals, and where young boys are merely unrecognizable as college students. Where they appear as mere boys dressed in professional cadet attire. Men that have been ruthlessly broken down, and stripped of their egos, by not only their upper class mates, but by faculty. In a relentless manner that was sought by generations of citadel loyalist and alumni in order to shape them into their man hood. However, in the year 1994 not a single female was allowed to attend at least not as a Citadel in uniform. And it would take a strong willed woman to break the long standing traditions and join in an all-male military-type
Today, women are not typically seen in higher levels of position in the work force than men. In Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, she uses her own experience to convey why it is not possible for a woman to work in a higher position, due to women being more emotional than men. People still believe it’s a women’s place to stay at home to cook, clean and take care of the children, while the men go to work to pay the bills. And it’s considered odd if the man is a stay at home father and the woman is working 24/7 and is never home. Even though it is rewarding to be able to always be there to see your child’s milestones in their life. It is always nice to get away from that life for even a moment. I don’t mean going out with the girls or guys, while you hire a babysitter, but helping your husband or wife pay the bills, so you have two rather than one income coming in at the end of the month. In Richard Dorment’s article, “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” he states that both men and women can’t have it all. I agree with both Slaughter and Dorment, but not entirely. I believe if you want to be a good
When they were in their mother's presence, they were happy, but still resent their mothers. Resenting their mothers for not being able to take care of them, they both ended up in an opposite appearance compared to their mothers. Roberta’s mother being religious and conservative led her to being freer about her sexuality. While Twyla’s mother was more open, she was more conservative, working a regular job, and having a normal family. Problems for women or anyone being able to express their sexuality can come from their upbringing.
Women in America have been described as “domestic household slaves” referring to their status in society. Do the documents support this assertion? If so what is the evidence?
The contentious little book titled Women, Power, Politics maintains politics to be devalued, acknowledging the fact that only few people do vote, and women are unable to achieve within the realm of Canadian politics. Sylvia Bashevkin, the author of the book argues that Canadians have a profound unease with women in positions of political authority, what she calls the "women plus power equals discomfort" equation. She evaluates a range of barriers faced by women who enter politics, including the media's biased role of representing the private lives of women in politics, and she wonders why citizens find politics is underrepresented in Canada compared to Belgium. In clear, accessible terms, Bashevkin explains her ideas on how to eliminate “low voters turn-out,” “devaluation of politics,” "gender schemas," and "media framing.” She outlines some compelling solutions to address the stalemate facing women in Canadian politics which are; contesting media portrayals, changing the rule of the game, improving legislative quotas, electoral reform, movement renewals, and so on. This response paper would addresses the reality of a political mainstream, actions which should be taken against the oppressive elements of reality, and the awareness it brings through economic, social, and political environment.
“I've told her and I've told her: daughter, you have to teach that child the facts of life before it's too late” (Hopkinson 1). These are the first three lines of Nalo Hopkinson's short story “Riding the Red”, a modern adaptation of Charles Perrault's “Little Red Riding Hood”. In his fairy tale Perrault prevents girls from men's nature. In Hopkinson's adaptation, the goal remains the same: through the grandmother biographic narration, the author elaborates a slightly revisited plot without altering the moral: young girls should beware of men; especially when they seem innocent.
Throughout history society has been controlled by men, and because of this women were exposed to some very demanding expectations. A woman was expected to be a wife, a mother, a cook, a maid, and sexually obedient to men. As a form of patriarchal silencing any woman who deviated from these expectations was often a victim of physical, emotional, and social beatings. Creativity and individuality were dirty, sinful and very inappropriate for a respectful woman. By taking away women’s voices, men were able to remove any power that they might have had. 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 women, 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.
The paper is on " The Approaching Obsolescence of Housework: A working-class perspective. From the piece "Women, Race, and Class" written by Angela Y Davis, housework plays a central role in this Angela Y. Davis essay. She explores the idea of capitalist critique and feminism, and she argues that housework is annoying as much as it is disempowering women in the society and women need to be released and discharged from these duties (Angela, 2011). Liberation from this chores and responsibilities can only happen if it is socialized. Black women face a double burden of doing domestic and out of household labor, unlike white women. Angela argues that the stereotype of weaknesses that is substantially associated with women does not apply to black women as they work hard to support both their communities and families. She associates weakness to white women who worked at homes only and never labored for their communities. As a fact some of this house works done by black women was
The story can be analyzed using feminist criticism perspective. Feminist criticism is “" the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women"” (Brizee & Tompkins). When reading a text one can find how women were treated in contemporary times. It can be expressed in many areas listed by Brizee & Tompkins. Moreover, Delahoyde also gave more details on the subject when he said “Feminist criticism concern itself with stereotypical representations of genders. It also may trace the history of relatively unknown or undervalued women writers, potentially earning them their rightful place within the literary canon, and helps create a climate in which women's creativity may be fully realized and appreciate.” Women had been undervalued and taken for granted. Many things they do are not as...
It seems that more often when a group of people or a nation encounters calamity, some great “act of God,” or even just change, collectively, we begin to seek answers from a higher power. We tend to either blame or seek solace in this higher power or we seek what it is we can change to please this higher power. Without realizing we begin to adjust laws, limit freedoms, and become despotic fascist, all in the name of God. This fear of conforming and reverting back to the “dark ages,” constraining women to “know their role or place” is what seems to have driven Margaret Atwood to write her satirical novel “The Handmaids Tale.”
The book was first published in 1812 hence, these tales were previously transferred orally and among adults through the long nights. It is also possible that fairy tales were used to warn the children of particular ideas such as in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’. The integration of explicit ideas into these tales suggests that their disruptive nature could reflect the reality of the 19th century. In ‘Little Red Cap’ the most evident sexual symbol is the use of the colour red as this is associated with sensuality, love and passion. Through this realisation, the image of the wolf becomes an even darker and dominant figure: ‘Once the wolf had satisfied his desires’ (1812:15). Not only does he commit an act of violence but he also craves the consumption and therefore sexual gratification of an adolescent (Little Red Cap) by challenging her innocence. In ‘Hansel and Gretel’ a similar scenario is presented through the witch’s cannibalistic desire to cook and consume the children. The witch explains: “He’s staying outside in a shed, waiting to be fattened up. When he’s put on enough weight, I’ll eat him”. (1812:189) This clearly shows her intentions and the wish-fulfilment that she would obtain from it. Sexual innuendos in these fairy tales occur regularly and are distinctly visible in ‘Little Red Cap’. The wolf is said to think “That tender young woman will make a dainty
Both stories show feminism of the woman trying to become free of the male dominance. Unfortunately, the woman are not successful at becoming free. In the end, the two women’s lives are drastically
Through the entire history we saw how human beings were fighting for power and their rights. Men or women, they were looking for power. Some people wanted that power to use it in a wrong way, for example, slaving others or steal people’s belongings. Other wanted that power so they can be equal. People of color wanted that power to be equal with white people, in most cases, and women wanted that power so they can be equal to men. It was not an easy journey and as we can still see it today all the problems are not fix yet and so there’s still women out there, fighting constantly, so we can all be equal.