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The effect of western culture on African culture
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Have you ever went to sleep and woke up, wanting to make a change? It might not be a big change, but it can be something that is beneficial to you and other people. Sometimes you might not know where to start, and it can be tough. We as human beings all have this mindset where we are scared of change. We are already comfortable and use to what’s there and changing it can be risky because we don’t know the outcomes. In the book entitled Abina and the Important Men, by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke is about a woman named Abina, who wakes up one morning and decides that she wants to change the way that women are portrayed in society. Although slaves in the 19th century were considered free, women had a more difficult time achieving freedom
The Western and African culture believe that all women should be silent, they were not allowed to say what 's on their mind. Women’s opinions didn’t matter they were considered to be useless. They were accepted to be housegirls, where females had to cook, clean and nurture their children if they had any. Abina was a housegirl, and her daily routines were to do house chores, cook, get water and firewood. Sometimes she would go to the market to get vegetables. If she didn’t follow her master’s orders, she would get threatened. Many other women would be beaten and abuse if they didn’t follow the rules and regulations. In the book, Abina states, “ I had been sold, and I had no will of my own, and I could not look after my body and health”(Getz and Clarke 92). This quote seems to be saying that women during the 19th century were doing so many tasks for other people and they didn’t have the time to take care of themselves. If you don’t take care of yourself it can affect your health, you start to get weak, and catch all sorts of diseases. When you are low in energy, there is no way you can work. Your health always comes first no matter what the situation is. If you can’t take care of yourself what makes you think you can take care of other people. The Western and African culture apparently don’t care how women were being treated if they did woman like Abina wouldn’t
They had this idea of forcing women to marry men that they do not know. Marriage is a serious thing, it is a commitment between two people, promising that they will love and be with each other forever. If there is no love in the relationship, there is no point of marrying the person. Just imagine marrying someone that you don’t love. I’m pretty sure you, you wouldn’t like that. The book it states, “Marriage provided both material protections for a woman and, equally importantly, respectability”(Getz and Clarke 170). Marriage is supposed to give protection for the women, however, was not being protected they were being treated like slaves. Who would want to be married to someone that is so controlling? Pretty sure no one would. For example in the book, Abina was forced to marry a man by the name of Tandoe. Abina didn’t know him at all and had no feeling for him. Abina didn’t like the idea, so she ran away. She ran away because she was tired of being treated poorly, so she went to fight for her rights to be free. No one should be forced doing things that they are not comfortable with. The whole marriage thing brought a negative effect on women during the western
Women were auctioned off as “merchandise” to the best suitor they could get in town. Beauty, though important, was not as important as the dowry the woman possessed, because it was the dowry the family provided that could exalt a man’s societal status to all new heights. Once married, women were expected to have son’s for their husbands in order to take over the family business. A barren woman was not an option and could have easily been rushed to the nearest convent to take her vows of a nun, for no honor could be brought otherwise. No woman could run from the societal and legal pressures placed upon them. Rather than run, some chose to accept their place, but, like Lusanna, some chose to fight the status quo for rights they believed they
The two works of literature nudging at the idea of women and their roles as domestic laborers were the works of Zora Neale Hurston in her short story “Sweat”, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Whatever the setting may be, whether it is the 1920’s with a woman putting her blood, sweat and tears into her job to provide for herself and her husband, or the 1890’s where a new mother is forced to stay at home and not express herself to her full potential, women have been forced into these boxes of what is and is not acceptable to do as a woman working or living at home. “Sweat” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” draw attention to suppressing a woman’s freedom to work along with suppressing a woman’s freedom to act upon her
It amazes me how a few decades ago can seem like a whole different world. A course of time can impact our lives more than we know it. In the article, A Day Without Feminism by Jennifer Boumgoidnei and Amy Richntds, both of these authors created this piece to inform their audience that although women have gained more rights over time, there was still more progress to be made. These authors gave many examples of how life for women had been, the obstacles they had to overcome, and the laws women had to break for equality.
Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 short story “Sweat,” Delia Jones a washwoman and house owner is portrayed as an abused wife. Even though she has a job and owns the home she occupies, it does not change the fact that her husband still holds power over her. Women are stereotyped by society as housewives, which make them feel repressed of freedom. Women are repressed by society’s views and are limited in freedom, thus women such as Delia are unable to get what they desire.
The thought of freedom seldom enters the mind of an American woman today. Currently women can vote, hold office, ascertain any profession (if she so desires), and even run for the presidency! Women have far outstepped the boundaries of obedient housewife, they have discarded the restraints of domestic duties and strived for a greater goal, a common objective - to be equal to, or greater than, their virile counterpart. In a world where the gender role is becoming increasingly less defined, where men become “mannies” or assume the position of “househusband,” it is easy to overlook the past. One simply forgets the plights of her ancestors, when embracing the copious liberties available to the modern woman.
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 are 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.
Since the U.S. Congress passed the No Child Left Behind program, standardized testing has become the norm for American schools. Under this system, each child attending a school is required to take a standardized test at specific grade points to assess their level of comprehension. Parents, scholars and all stakeholders involved take part in constant discussions over its effectiveness in evaluating students’ comprehension, teachers’ competency and the effects of the test on the education system. Though these tests were put in place to create equality, experts note that they have created more inequality in the classroom. In efforts to explore this issue further, this essay reviews two articles on standardized testing. This essay reviews the sentiments of the authors and their insight into standardized examination. The articles provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that standardized tests are not effective at measuring a teacher’s competency because they do not take into account the school environment and its effect on the students.
Truth connects women’s rights and abolition by defining a woman as a man’s equal by including examples of her experiences. Truth concludes her speech, “If the first woman God ever made...
Women had no choice but to follow whatever society told them to because there was no other option for them. Change was very hard for these women due to unexpected demands required from them. They held back every time change came their way, they had to put up with their oppressors because they didn’t have a mind of their own. Both authors described how their society affected them during this historical period.
Bogard, Carley R. ?The Awakening: A Refusal To Compromise.? The University of Michigan Papers in Women?s Studies U Vol. II, No. 3 (1977): pp. 15-31. Online. Galenet. 4 April 2001. Available FTP: www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC
Every woman in the world has heard at least one “you cannot” in her lifetime. Believe it or not there used to be a time when society believed that statement and women were confined to cooking, cleaning, or housekeeping. Today, there are many amazing women pursuing their dreams, such as Hillary Clinton, a very famous politician, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. The women back in the 1840’s are the reason women today have this freedom, the women who changed feminism forever. The women’s suffrage movement was a long-standing battle for equality between men and women that should have been instituted from the start of our country due to women’s increasing political intelligence and work ethic. This became instituted thanks to Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony whose work was primarily in the 1880’s. Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony are still some of the most influential women in history because of their bravery and mental strength in the women’s suffrage movement.
The nineteenth century was a time of male domination and female suppression. Women faced economic social and freedom of rights barricades. Men's interests and efforts were towards the important people; themselves. We see this when the narrator is genuinely concerned about something strange in the house. John shows no empathy or support towards his own wife. Alternatively john responds by telling her it "was a draught, and shut the window" (Gilman 904). Perhaps this carelessness for women contributed to the mistreatment of the female illness by just giving them drugs to cope with sickness. The narrator continuously reminds us of the social expectations of the male in relation to females. The narrator uses phrases like "one expects that" and "John says..." to reinforce male's normal actions and treatment ...
...changing the role of women in society from a passive one to an active, vital force.
The author addresses paper and pencil tests with no special accommodations, and analyses trends throughout past decades. He also writes of the new era of standardized testing and accountability. Stiggins suggests that while standardized testing may be useful and effective in some aspects, most are not used correctly and that the high-stakes put intense pressure on teachers, making it difficult to actually complete their job which is to teach students new skills. They simply spend their time reviewing already learned skills to ensure good scores on exams.