Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The portrayal of women in literature
Depiction of women in literature
Depiction of women in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The portrayal of women in literature
She Bangs
Women are defined by what they bring to the table. The girl with the friendly smile brings happiness and energy, the lady with the long legs brings lust, and the girl with the teary eyes brings sorrow, but what about the girl with the bangs? Is she a mystery? Is she kind hearted? Daring? Or an un loyal woman looking for romance anywhere she can? In Zadie Smith’s “The Girl with the Bangs” We learn just who the mysterious girl with the bangs really is. In this crazy, romantic, short story the readers are in for an excellent surprise.
To begin, A woman’s hairstyle puts her in a self-selected class and offers you some real information about her. Bangs say one or two things, either she is shy or she is fierce. So by reading the title you think that this story is going to be about a guy’s infatuation with this timid girl that has bangs or a story about being captivated by this bold girl and his favorite feature is her bangs. But once you start reading we learn that “he” we thought was being captivated by the girl with bangs is actually a “she”.
Next, in this story we learn...
Everyone faces varying degrees of peer pressure at least once in their lifetime, but what matters is how one reacts. In Bad Haircut—a collection of short stories—the author, Tom Perrotta, examines the effect of peer pressure on the main character, Buddy, in a comical yet informative light. Buddy faces peer pressure consistently and ends up associating with the wrong people, due to a lack of backbone. Yet Buddy is different and a better person than those who he associates with because he is compassionate and able to recognize that he is a follower; therein lies the irony that only the reader sees Buddy’s merit while the other characters only see the results of his friends’ poor judgment.
To elaborate, Scott argues that as a picture interpreter, we must make a distinction between the “ideal and the real,” to understand the true meaning of an image. She argues how the Gibson Girl and the American Girl were two idealised visions of modern beauty and femininity which made women to try to be like them. These two girls became markers of their decade, ...
Alice Walker’s short creative nonfiction, Dreads uses imagery to convey her narrative about a hairstyle that was inspired by singer, Bob Marley. Dreads are defined as a “hairstyle in which the hair is washed, but not combed, and twisted while wet into braids or ringlets hanging down on all sides”, according to howtogetdreads.com. Imagery was chosen for this paper by the depth of Walker’s illustration of beauty that natural hair has that might seem to be abonnement or not professional by society standards. This reading sparks interests just by the title a lone. That people have mixed feeling about dreads, some might see it as being spiritual; or as a political statement. However, Walker loves the way her natural hair is supposed to form without
Barbara Wels’ short story “Gorgeous” is a satire of an obsessive-compulsive woman who seeks a lifestyle mirrored by beauty and perfection. Wels’ writing style composed of carefully arranged lists of words, experimental narrative structure and third person voice, emulates the persona “Gorgeous” and her crazed nature for control and organised stillness in all aspects of her life. By focusing on the treatment of surface and superficially, through Wels’ use of cyclic narrative and the portrayal of the detailed-orientated “Gorgeous” this will link Wels’ story to the broader social context of a materialist culture and the importance of humour in the generating a response to the story.
In most short stories the author writes a story about an experience they have had or something they have made up. In David Arnason’s, “A Girl’s Story,” the first thing that catches the eye is the title. David Arnason incorporates the readers in the story; he writes a story about the process of the author writing a romance novel. The story is entitled, “A Girl’s Story,” because the author tries to write a novel a female would write, or would want to read.
In the recent past year or two, a woman’s natural hair has become a big thing. Before, African American women, to be specific, were so disgusted by their hair. They would do anything in their power to change the “nappy” aspect of their hair to “beautiful”. They would use relaxers very so often and hot combs.
Quiet, unassuming, serene. These characteristics define the appearance of poet Mary Jo Bang. There is, however, another side to the humble St. Louis native which is not readily apparent by either her looks or her demeanor. Beneath her deceiving facade lies another person entirely, which only emerges through her poetic talents.
Fletcher is not the only one obsessed with looks. Leota is a beautician after all. The setting of the story taking place in a beauty parlor is significant, as is Leota’s job as a beautician. Leota’s character is almost stereotypical in appearance from what is learned, she has black and blond hair, long red nails, and obsessed with a single pastel color, lavender (Welty 1094). Her occupation is to enhance the beauty of women but it is no secret that she lives up to the gossiper stereotype surrounding beauticians. There is not a single person who does not gossip with the person who cuts their hair, especially if they go to a beauty shop. In this shop, the ugliness of gossip and judgment rears its head, ironic is a place where women come to make themselves
is defined as attractive-to-men...”(119). This ties in to a story that Allison tells in her
Characterization plays an important role when conveying how one’s personality can disintegrate by living in a restrictive society. Although Kat is slowly loosing her mind, in the story, she is portrayed as a confident woman who tries to strive for excellence. This can be seen when she wants to name the magazine “All the Rage”. She claims that “it’s a forties sounds” and that “forties is back” (311). However the board of directors, who were all men, did not approve. They actually “though it was too feminist, of all things” (311). This passage not only shows how gender opportunities is apparent in the society Kat lives in, but also shows the readers why Kat starts to loose her mind.
Connie can be labeled as an average teenage girl: vulnerable, carefree, desirous, and curious. She has just discovered the power of her own beauty, but hasn't yet realized that power, in any form, must be controlled. Connie has long, dark blond hair. She is petite and seems confident in her looks, yet "everything about her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home" (par. 5). Connie loves to h...
In a world where many are led to believe that they fall short of what society depicts as “perfect”, it is still true that everyone is beautiful in their own way. There are even more demands on girls now a days than there has ever been before. Some may think they need to fit in, so they become someone they are not or they begin to act like a totally different person. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, illustrates society’s high and unrealistic expectations on the physical appearance of women, while failing to see that a woman’s self-esteem is at risk of being diminished.
“The Wig” by Brady Udall, begins with an imagery of an eight-year-old boy finding a “dirty bush of curly blond hair” wig in a garbage dumpster one morning. This wig which is described to be quite similar to the hair the boy’s mother had, creates a strong image of her, bringing the father, the son and the mother to be together again. This is the story of a father-son bond for a better life by giving in into an alternate reality to relieve the loss of the mother.
“Listen as your day unfolds. Challenge what the future holds. Try and keep your head up to the sky. Lovers may cause you tears. Go ahead, release your fears. Stand up and be counted. Don't be ashamed to try.”
Although the author, Leslie Norris, did in fact write about a son shaving his father’s face in the short story “Shaving,” there is indeed a much deeper meaning and theme behind the story that explains the emotional distraught that one is put through during the ending of one’s life. When a loved one is on their death bed, the family members know that now is the time for change, that is what Barry, the son knew too and that is what this story is explaining by the events of shaving his father’s face. In this story, there are many ways that the author shows the vulnerability of the father and the graceful caring of Barry, one line from the story that shows that the father has allowed Barry to become the man of the house goes as follows,