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How has the representation of women in literature evolved since 1900
Women in English literature
How has the representation of women in literature evolved since 1900
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A men biggest weakness is expressing their emotions. They are taught from an early age to be fearless and powerful. They are informed that 'Big Boys Don 't Cry ' and to 'Man Up '. Men start to connect feelings and emotions with their weakness. They come to believe that they have failed if they become affectionate and were to open their hearts. As a result, many men try to be the warrior who saves the people around them and always puts on a bold face. Men are typically the provider of their household and tend to play the male role. “All men are the same”, is the most common phrase we all hear a lot nowadays, but some of us fail to realize that they are not. Carver argues that men are successful in relationship when they are unafraid to express emotion. There are three men in the story: Husband #1, Husband #2, and Robert. There is one wife who is connect too each man in some sort of relationship. First of all, Husband #1 and the wife were married. He was a military office and a childhood sweetheart. Somewhere in their relationship the wife got very unhappy in being an officers wife. She attempted to do suicide, but survived. “Her officer – why should he have a name? he was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want? – came home from somewhere, found her, and called the ambulance” (34). The husband did not even care much for her. She felt very lonely. Before getting married, she met a guy name Robert. The wife worked for Robert as a reader because he was blind. While being married, Robert and the wife used to stay in touch by sending audiotapes back and fourth by telling him everything. Husband #1 was not successful in his marriage because his wife was totally unhappy with the
Mark Fossie and Mary Anne Belle were childhood sweethearts nearly betrothed at birth. While in Nam, Mark came up with a master plan to fly Mary Anne over to Vietnam to be with him. As men joked one evening about how easy it could be to sneak someone over Mark heard and took this as no joke. He was going to try it! He spent almost all of his money to get her over but it paid off,they were reunited. The picture of a happy couple they spent most of their time together adn for a while things seemed very normal to them. All they had ever known was being a "them" and when they were together things just seemed to be right. How blindly we see things when we are surrounded by the arms of the one we love. She was young and curious and being the only women there she was very flirtatious.
Why would a married woman go out, spend the night with a man whom she barely knows, when she has a wonderful, devoted husband and child? Mrs. Mallard's cry of ultimate relief and the joy she felt when she learned of her husband's deathis intolerable.
This means that their feelings and emotions are suppressed, and deep relationships are not created. Jensen states, “But we live our lives in that system, and it deforms men, narrowing our emotional range and depth. It keeps us from the rich connections with others…that make life meaningful but require vulnerability” (132). This declaration implies that men who comply with masculinity sacrifice the ability to cry, show sensitivity, and express emotion because those are actions that women, who are fragile, take part in. Throughout the text, Jensen makes a point to compare males to females because he is representing how society does not want their characteristics to overlap. Therefore, men hold back from showing emotions because being compared to a woman will damage their image in society. The actuality of men holding back emotions is unfortunate because men are holding back their innate self. Jensen makes a valid point that expressing feelings and emotions is part of being human, and when men do not allow themselves to be human they lose their
middle of paper ... ... It isn't as though they don’t love their husbands; they are more looking for some freedom for them to do what they would like to do, without being told what is best for them. Mrs. Mallard experienced some momentary grief, but then she feels excited about what she will finally be able to do with her life. She actually understood that she will finally be able to live for herself, but she finds out he is not dead; her grief comes back as is what kills her.
As these images become more visible, men are more likely to feel comfortable about the idea of men revealing their emotions. While there is not an equal number of men secure with expressing their emotions as women, there is a much higher instance than in previous
Upon reading Raymond Carver's short story of the Cathedral one will notice the literary devices used in the short story. When analyzing the story completely, one then understands the themes, motifs, metaphors, and the overall point of the piece. This leaves the reader with an appreciation of the story and a feeling of complete satisfaction.
As young men grow up, they would generally learn and integrate within a box of codes which shows them how to be a man, known as the Guy Code. The Guy Code is a set of rules prevalently applied among men groups about how a man behaves with other men and his girlfriend. It mainly teaches guys to be dominant, aggressive and fearless. In Michael Kimmel’s “ Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code”, he indicates that men disguise their emotions and inner beings to be like a man, particularly among their peers. It imposes a consciousness that timidity is not a characteristic that men should have.
Over time, the image of men has changed. This is due mostly to the relaxation of rigid stereotypical roles of the two genders. In different pieces of literature, however, men have been presented as the traditional dominate figure, the provider and rule maker or non-traditional figure that is almost useless and unimportant unless needed for sexual intercourse. This dramatic difference can either perpetuate the already existing stereotype or challenge it. Regardless of the differences, both seem to put men into a negative connotation.
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.
Another part of the story that came off surprising was how her husband gave her up so easily. Instead of feeling bad for his wife, Mr. Hutchinson quickly admitt...
Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. He never connects with anyone emotionally until the end of this story.
The book Cathedral by Raymond Carver and The Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison have many similarities that make them unique because of the individuals living in similar homes with similar problems. Raymond and Dorothy both wrote about individuals either having a tough time or a good time, but soon turning to tragedy. These books speak a lot about the individual and how they overcome the problem that is set before them and how their house either helps them in their problem or not. It also shows which character the male or female is more determined to keep the relationship alive and burning.
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to. (Carver 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
Later the poor and inculpable man came outside to throw the garbage. The clear night and few stars in the west and the steady, light traffic on EL Camino made him to see the life and the question in another perspective. He though about the old days and though about the future. Eventually he found how precious his wife to him and he loves his wife so much. He feel that he argue with her and make her unhappy. He feel regret, so he changed his mind. A man who loves his wife really much would so something like him.
All three men have distinctly different attitudes towards the situation they have created. Each has experienced rejection from women. In fact, each displays a level of hardness that affects his attitude. They each react differently to the woman’s indifference and each take his efforts to different levels.