In the novel I Regorberta Menchu is slightly different as the status of women in the society are relatively raised. As women play a significant role in the Guatemalan civil war and the community affairs. Menchu herself plays an important role within her community after serving as a house help where she was treated badly and despised as she was treated worse than a dog. After returning home, she takes up a leadership position in the community as the leader. She plays a significant role in developing important strategies that helped the Indians and other rebels in fighting the Guatemalan army. Thus the status of women in the novel are varying, Regoberta Menchu helps advance their course by holding a leadership position within the society in …show more content…
which she excelled. Discuss in what ways these novels have changed your perception of women’s diversity and women’s empowerment, and why. Reading the two novels and understanding the sentiments put across by the author regarding the situation of women in the society has had a significant impact in my life.
Women are treated differently from men, and in cases where a man and a woman are found breaking the law, the statement made by a woman does not make any significant impact on the case. This is a higher level of discrimination and favoritism, which is not supposed to be practiced within the society. Equal consideration is needed if there is any chance to ensure that there are better elements within the society to engage both male and women. The existing stereotypes about women do not help the cause as it only advances the claim that women are way inferior compared to men. Through the engagement of the novels, I have also realized that women are enemies of fellow women, instead of helping one another in a show of solidarity and togetherness as women; they play a significant role in ensuring that the other party does not succeed. When considering the case of Firdaus, all her problems when analyzed effectively, it is very clear that women in one way or another cause them. Thus despite being assisted she is deeply thrown in turmoil. If there would have been a better engagement between women, then she may have as well had a different life (Motta et.al, …show more content…
2011). I have also realized that when women are empowered, they can make the best leaders on the planet.
Regoberta Menchu makes a good leader after becoming a community leader by helping the Indians fight the Guatemalan army. Therefore, if women are empowered, then they can be able to overcome all challenges that they always go through. The society has made it difficult for women to succeed, the laws that are being put in place cannot be considered fair especially in Muslim countries. The case concerning Firdaus was not effectively considered as the judgment is made basing on very shallow investigation, which are only aimed at ensuring that the male prospers while female founders. I have also learned through the novels that women tend to give up too easily without putting a good fight, which promotes most of these stereotypes that are met with them. Although not all women are fainthearted, the assumptions are made when considering the majority. Conclusion: Evaluate how the texts challenge or subvert patriarchal conventions of the literary representation of gendered
roles. The text, in this case, is very critical and it indirectly fosters male, as being the main while considers female as being a dependent gender that needs to be significantly empowered to ensure that they have the same footing as their male counterparts. Although there is a consideration on some part of the text that women can make good leaders, they need this chance to realize their dreams. The text, therefore, tries to focus on the fact that the society is male dominated at that, women have a very little chance to succeed or being heard. Therefore, unless there is change to the status quo, it is very difficult to change the situation, as it is currently constituted. Thus according to the text male domination has had a huge impact on different societies and thus there is the need to consider alternative engagement which is supposed to aim at pushing for better female consideration and engagement within the society. The case of Firdaus is a very emotional case to consider, as she is a victim of patriarchal convention, which led her to lose hope and embrace a conviction that she did not deserve.
Dear Rigoberta Menchu:I have recently read your autobiography I, Rigoberta Menchu, in which your portrayed as an oppressed yet ultimately triumphant victim of classism, racism, colonialism, and of course sexism. In your book you talk about your family, a Quiche Indian family, which was very poor. The small plot of land that the family owned did not produce enough to feed everyone. Life on a plantation was harsh.People lived in crowded sheds with no clean water or toilets. Your people, the native Indians in Guatemala had no rights of citizenship. You were restricted to people of Spanish descent and were, therefore, vulnerable to abuses by those in power."We are living in a troubled world, in a time of great uncertainty.
Women in Literature: Reading Through the Lens of Gender. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. Print. The. Bailey, Carol. "
Ania Loomba displays how “women’s struggles for equality continue after formal independence and define the nature of postcoloniality” (Loomba 188). Loomba indicates that the nature of postcoloniality is that women are “cast as mothers or wives and are called upon to literally and figuratively reproduce the nation” (Loomba 180). This is shown in the novels, Xala by Ousmane Sembene and the autobiographical I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala by Elizabeth Burgos-Debray. Both characters are expected to be mothers and wives, it is expected that the character in Xala; Rama will marry and have children, however, she resists the representation of her mother, who is in a polygamous marriage. In I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala;
Due to traditional stereotypes of women, literature around the world is heavily male-dominant, with few female characters outside of cliché tropes. Whenever a female character is introduced, however, the assumption is that she will be a strong lead that challenges the patriarchal values. The authors of The Thousand and One Nights and Medea use their female centered stories to prove their contrasting beliefs on the role of women not only in literature, but also in society. A story with a female main character can be seen as empowering, but this is not always the case, as seen when comparing and contrasting Medea and The Thousand and One Nights.
conceptualizations of gender in literature are situated in a culture and historical context ; the
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.
The feminist perspective of looking at a work of literature includes examining how both sexes are portrayed
The struggles female characters endure can be related back to everyday life in society Females in literature can serve as inspirations for readers when they are properly developed and represented fairly. In contrast, a misogynistic view of woman in literature can further perpetuate ideas of inequality. Strong female role models are important and books that marginalize female characters contribute to internalized misogyny.
In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, women of the Ibo tribe are terribly mistreated, and viewed as weak and receive little or no respect outside of their role as a mother. Tradition dictates their role in life. These women are courageous and obedient. These women are nurturers above all and they are everything but weak.
... by masculine authority by virtue of the fact that they are inferior to and should be subservient to men. Worse still, women are often discriminated by society, which is largely monopolized by men. Sex discriminations find their way to home, the workplace and even the public life by and large. Furthermore, they are victimized by religious orthodoxy as well as their own acts and psychology. But anyway, who is to blame for the sufferings of women – the circumstance or women themselves?
In 1960s and 1970s, another approach appeared. It was called sociohistorical approach to literature, and was mainly concerned with how characters’ behaviours resembled to those of the real people’s, and whether their portrayal is truthful to the general script, or to its gender role. In close connection to this, another term appeared, called gender performance, which implies both, men and women, behaving according to the norms and expectations put by the society. For example, while men were allowed to be active, assertive and dominant, women should have been submissive, dependant and passive. Exceptions, both for men and women, were not gleefully accepted in the society. This is the main reason for appearance of another term, which is closely connected to the terms gender roles and gender performance, called gender stereotypes. Examples for gender stereotypes can even be found in the book Little Women, mainly through the characters of ...
Her life had taught her that whether in marriage, as a daughter, a girlfriend, or a niece, all women were in a sense prostitutes. Firdaus's father perceived her as a pimp would, knowing how to exchange her virgin daughter for a dowry when there was still time. Her uncle had taken her away to give her an education, only to abuse her, not letting her see how he would be shunned in a different society. Gradually, Firdaus' experiences with men became similar. The failed attempts to find love, and feel pleasure merged into a mass of hurt, and feelings of pain for all...
Thais E. Morgan ed, Men Writing the Feminine. State University of New York Press 1994
Of all the modern theories that are embraced under the umbrella-term of `critical Theory', feminist criticism is undoubtedly the most agreeable to apply. Drawing on notions and theories from psychoanalytical criticism, post-structuralism, deconstruction, and Marxist criticism, it seeks to bring to light the inequality between the sexes in literature, and how our entire social ideology is in fact structured according to `the male gaze'. As Barry points out in Beginning Theory, the representation of women in literature ."..provided the role models which indicated to women, and men, what constituted acceptable versions of the `feminine' and legitimate feminine goals and aspirations." (122)
With such a variance in rights and the way women were treated it is a glimpse into our very nature as humans. Both sexes play a role in our societies from mothers and home makers to pristesses. It is the very nature of female to bend and flex with the times and perservear. Each society has a different view of women and what role they will play in society. It is interesting to ponder the idea as to why certain culture hold women in such high esteem and some opress their women. Women have grown and diversified themselves over time and will continue to change the world. Holding a place in this universrse that is pecial and powerful no matter how society views them. As future societies come woemn will surely have some place in society wether it is good or bad only those societies may choose.