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Patriarchy effects on society essay
After twenty years of literary analysis
After twenty years of literary analysis
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Literature often is looked upon in critical ways and has been written to change the mind of the reader in some way or form by helping readers think deeper about concepts that do not always come easily to the surface or have been buried away, unexplored, in our minds. It is the same literature that encourages individuals to challenge the patriarchal system under which we still live under to a great extent. I strongly believe that literature encourages us to challenge the patriarchal system under which we live because, it has revealed to me what a society with a patriarchal system looks like, and what negative consequences arise from a patriarchal system for the people. Through the eye of literature, I have seen the negative impact that a …show more content…
A Thousand Splendid Suns made me uncover and acknowledge what a democratic system would look like in their society and how it would change them as individuals. Throughout the book I noticed how Laila’s dad believes that the patriarchal system in place does no justice to the women of their society. In the book Babi states, “A society has no chance at success if its women are uneducated, Laila. No chance. (Hosseini 114)” Babi expresses that he does not agree with the way their patriarchal system works and believes that education is important making him one of the few feminist voices in the novel. In the book club, my group discussed how women who are educated can overcome all the biases in their society and even escape the abuse from their husbands (Book Club 2), one of the major themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns. We discussed how this can be seen in Laila’s bold and brave decisions made throughout her marriage with Rasheed. This is evident when Laila makes the life changing decision to run away from Rasheed to escape his torture and unite with her true love Tariq. Laila believes that she has the right to be freed from Rasheed and that she could run away if she wanted to. Everyone wants to live happily and have their rights but at the same time they want to abide by the system which they live under. By knowing what a good system for a country looks like, it makes us desire one. We begin to …show more content…
I have come to this feeling because of the article we read in class Why I Want a Wife by Judy Brady. Brady showed me exactly how a woman is classified in our patriarchal system. After the protagonist herself gets divorced she too wants a wife after realizing how much she does for her partner; she says, “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me” (Brady 4). This quote shows how Brady’s relationship had her working like a maid for her husband; Brady had no choices and happiness with what she does. She figured this out after having a child with him and losing more of her freedom. While she lists out all the things she expects from her wife she feels very strongly that she too then deserves a wife the same way her husband does. Implicitly it shows that developed societies too have a patriarchal system, however, it is not recognized as patriarchal from many people. This situation that Brady was in is what many women in present society in our country go through too without realizing it. While reading this essay in class it brought to my attention that the country I believed of not having a patriarchal system actually does. Leaving these problems and system
The systematic victimization of women by patriarchal societies is extremely prominent throughout the book “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, written by Khaled Hosseini. For example, Mariam has been victimized since birth with her father not being around, her not getting a proper education, she is outcasted by everyone around her. This patriarchal society allowed her to be married off to Rasheed at the age of 15. Another way this theme is displayed is through Laila. She was a young girl that was living a fantastic life but once her father and mother were killed she was taken in by Mariam and Rasheed, which then lead to her becoming a victim. Rasheed abused her mentally, and physically with no remorse. She had to abide by his
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against, oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structures. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society.
conceptualizations of gender in literature are situated in a culture and historical context ; the
Seen as sexist and oppressive societies – girls have no value if they are not married, women should obey orders from men
Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.
Throughout Western history it was known to have this Patriarchal system in which the men are the head of the family, and community, during which these spheres between the male and female were divided, each having their own set of roles: the male in the public view and the women in the private view. The men worry about what is going on outside the home like politics, money, control over property while the women take care of what happens on the inside of the home doing things like taking care of the children and doing the house work. With these roles set in place the women have had a hard time being respected because of this Patriarchy.
For hundreds of years, women are fighting a war of inequality in the male dominated society. Heather Savigny addressed a very important question in her article, what is Feminism? By definition, “Feminism” is a moment started by women to end inequality in all fields of society. Women in the society started this protest to gain rights that were deprived by the males in the society. A feminist can be a normal person who fights against the discrimination on based on sex, age and gender. The feminist movement is very important in our society, to protect women for sexual harassment and violence. To fight this problem, and to find a possible way to end it, many great writers wrote very influential poems and stories. A very few writers who chose to
The feminist perspective of looking at a work of literature includes examining how both sexes are portrayed
It has been said that not everything worth reading is a philosophical argument., and I agree. A glance through the shelves of bookstores, news stands, and libraries will incline one away from the idea that all valuable reading is philosophy. Thoughts back upon experiences that have touched one’s life undoubtedly will include an important novel or story and confirm the original statement. It is also fair to say that people approach literature and philosophy with different expectations. It seems fair to expect one’s philosophical reading to impart knowledge, while not necessarily demanding this of poetry or a short story. Likewise, there are different settings, goals, and different relations that exist between reader and writer, and reader and recommender. Some reading may be for enjoyment, escapism, or metaphor while other is for personal knowledge acquisition and/or a class assignment. While this is not to say that I haven’t enjoyed much of the reading required of me in the pursuit of my degree, I approached it all with an expectation that it should fit nicely within my preconceived notion of ‘Philosophy’. In this class I was presented with reading that broke out of that mold. I want to step back a little and work my way back into the literature from some distance. This is, I hope, a fair way of coming to an understanding of the field of feminist thinking.
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
Throughout literature, authors employ a variety of strategies to highlight the central message being conveyed to the audience. Analyzing pieces of literature through the gender critics lens accentuates what the author believes to be masculine or feminine and that society and culture determines the gender responsibility of an individual. In the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, the gender strategies appear through the typical fragile women of the mother and the grandmother, the heartless and clever male wolf, and the naïve and vulnerable girl as little red riding hood.
Through her writing, she acted as a precursor to the first wave of present day feminism that still shakes the flaw social constructs of our patriarchal system. She uses metaphors to illustrate allegorical imagery that when analyzed is rooted into the problems that women faced of the 1900s. And a thorough investigation and criticism of the bias that still holds true to today involving narrative constructs and their character gives readers the boons of an objective view of literary work. Women have experienced the worst that men have to offer and through their obstinance of the past, have become stronger and stand taller today than ever
Before the beginning of the women's rights movements in the late 19th century patriarchy, or a society dominated by males, was the norm in America. Men used sex and marriage to objectify and suppress women in order to maintain a society controlled strictly by males. The foundation of patriarchy was rooted deeply in the marital roles of men and women, one dominant, and the other submissive. Sex and marriage served as a mechanisms to shape the images of men and women in society. The system of patriarchy fed into itself to keep it going generation after generation.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
Indisputably, roles and characteristics of opposite genders have been ubiquitous, since historical evidence proves so – dating back to when the practice of oral tradition was favored over written language. This historical evidence is especially apparent in literature from previous time periods. In these works of literature, men and women often have very different social and economic positions within society. Particular duties, or tasks, are practiced depending on the gender of these individuals. However, in the advancing world we are currently living in, these duties are beginning to intertwine in an effort to allow equal rights amongst opposite genders. This effort to break the sexist barrier, which encompasses our world, has already begun rattling the chains of politicians and the like. However, with the progressions made thus far in retaliation to sexism and unequal gender privileges, the United States of America is heading in a positive direction towards gender equality. Nonetheless, the female gender is perceived as a lesser entity in society while the male gender is dominant and controlling. The masculine individuals in literary works usually govern, or direct the feminine individuals. These characteristics are often evident in various literary works – including “Hills Like White Elephants,” and “A&P” written by Ernest Hemingway and John Updike, respectively. The slow and steady transformation from a sexist society to one that allows inferior genders to perform similar tasks, if not the same as their superior counterparts, may disturb the ideological mindset of figures with authority; however, it provides inferior genders with the opportunity to branch out socially, economically, and politically.