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Womens role in literature
Depiction of women in literature
Depiction of women in literature
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*The poem “A work of Artifice” is written by Marge Piercy. The poem describes a bonsai tree and uses the tree as a metaphor for woman, by depicting woman that is treated unfairly, especially by not giving them their freedom of rights. I will prove my argument in this essay by examining the main metaphor, the relationship between the tree and the gardener, the tree symbolizing women and the Chinese foot binding.
The bonsai tree represents a woman and the gardener is a man. The gardener is a man because every day he whittles back the branches. In line 2 the bonsai tree is in an attractive pot. This pot prevents the bonsai the tree (woman) from growing on a mountainside. This also means the gardener is protecting the tree. It is ironic that the gardener provides the tree a home, yet in line 3 “could have grown eighty feet tall” suggests that it was frequently pruned and molded with the help of wire to give a certain artistic quality and shape the branches and the trunk. The tree is used for commercial benefits. Parallels in the poem allow the tree to become a metaphor for women in society.
The metaphor of the bonsai tree is symbolizing women and their roles in society. In line 7 “carefully pruned” signifying its importance the idea of protection is also present as the tree could have grown tall been “split by lightning” instead it is coddled and cared for. Line 9 -10 “every day as he whittles back the branches” it suggest that the gardener takes good care of the tree. Bonsai trees are subject to pruning root reduction, potting, defoliation and grafting. Just like these trees, women were restricted from reaching their full potential. Women are considered prized in the poem. Line 11 “the gardener croons” as one would wi...
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...ntrol and limit women, preventing them from reaching their full potential, therefore the tree(women) knows anybody who wants to control, limit or diminish any living creature, be it a woman or a tree, has to start manipulating and training it while it is very young age. Women are taught that their roles as wives and mothers are biological determined they are now told they should be glad they have husbands to support them and do not have to work outside home. Just as the bonsai tree could grow much larger and live outside the confines of its pot, however women can grow and develop differently and perform any of the jobs traditionally by men. There is a chance that Piercy was not symbolizing women. Either way this poem can be taken out of context.
Under any circumstance a woman is seen as being at fault. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, many male societies systematically victimize women. Forcing women to be dependent on men causes them to be victims in households and society. For example Nana says to Mariam, “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always” (Hosseini 7). The systematic victimization of women by patriarchal societies is a main theme in the novel, which is shown in the relationships between the men and women in the novel.
The tree “swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit.” This sentence evokes images of happiness and serenity; however, it is in stark contrast with “month after month, the whip-crack of the mortgage.” The tone of this phrase is harsh and the onomatopoeia of a “whip crack” stirs up images of oppression. The final lines of the poem show the consequences that the family accepts by preserving the tree—their family heritage. When the speaker judges the tree by its cover she sees monetary value, but when she looks at the content in the book she find that it represents family. Even though times may be tough for the family, they are united by memories of their ancestors.
Additionally, she experiences her fall from innocence as she grows up and sees the ugly side of the world. Each year, each chapter, it is shown of how she learns more of the darkness in the world- more about her poverty, her father’s drunkenness, and her class status. Here Francie’s mother states, “Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than to just be... safe. At least she knows she's living.” (Page) Certainly, these words speak to every human being who has to work painfully to live; that life itself is despondency. Additionally, the strength of Francie is compared to the symbolization of the tree in front of their tenement. The tree that grows in Brooklyn symbolizes the hardship and perseverance of life. The tree which struggles to live almost no soil, light, or water, but it strives to live. Just as how Francie will live no matter how sick and tired she is of this world. In conclusion, Francie Nolan speaks to the readers to stay strong through the harsh circumstances.
Symbolism plays a key role in the novella in allowing the author to relay his political ideals. In The King of Trees, Cheng uses many elements of nature to represent both revolutionary and counter-revolutionary ideas. The king of trees - and trees in general - throughout the novella is a symbol of counter-revolutionary ideals, and the older Chinese customs. Li Li, and in turn, the followers of Mao Zedong/the Red Guard, believe that “In practical terms, old things must be destroyed” (Cheng 43). This is shown through the felling of the trees – getting rid of the Old Chinese cus...
In her article, "The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860," Barbara Welter discusses the nineteenth-century ideal of the perfect woman. She asserts that "the attributes of True Womanhood . . . could be divided into four cardinal virtues-piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity." Furthermore, she adds that "if anyone, male or female, dared to tamper with the complex virtues which made up True Womanhood, he was damned immediately as an enemy of God, of civilization and of the Republic" (Welter 152). In Hannah W. Foster's The Coquette, the characters Major Sanford and Eliza Wharton violate True Womanhood condemning them both to wretched fates.
The leaning tree is a perfect example of how most people would expect an elderly person to pass away before a young person or in other words a leaning tree to die before a young and strong tree;however, today that is not the case anymore. Thompkins goes on to talk about young people and their belief that time is not as precious as it seems and that it can be wasted on anything. In the third stanza it states, “Some people think because they’re young/They have the time to play and roam/You better get your house in order,Before death do appear/You never know the time you’ll be leaving here.” This line was included to reveal how most young people act as if they have all the time in the world to do what they please such as making careless mistakes and decision not even trying to think about the possible consequences to come in the future. Yet Thompkins is stressing that one does not have all the time that they think they might have and now is the time for them to get everything in order because no one knows when their time is coming. Also, he included a brief story of an elderly Christian man who was a leaning tree, and his children were the strong, bulky trees. It states, “There was an old Godly man/His story always comes to mind/ He outlived all his children/ He lived a long time/God let him live to see a hundred nine.” The elderly man outliving his children supports the fact that young people will not always outlive their parents or live to be his age. Most young people believe that they will see their parents go before them , but that is not always the case as it seems to be like in the song. The lyrics in this song show that time is very limited and should be used
Trees are constantly brought up in the book Speak and used to symbolize many things in many different ways. Every time Melinda would sketch a tree it would of always been drawn for a specific reason. Melindas struggle to find out who she was and her growth are parts of Melindas life.
The poem starts with the line, “This girlchild was born as usual,” which suggests that as soon as a girl is born, society already expects her to learn the role she will soon play in when she hits puberty (1). Thus, showing why we are given dolls as little girls to illustrate how we should act and appear according to society. After we learn all the roles we will soon take part in, “the magic of puberty,” hits and girls immediately begin applying the ideals to their own lives (5). As if this attempt to conform is not enough we have other people telling us we are not to perfect. “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” says a classmate to the girl (6). This type of pressure can slowly but surely destroy even the little confidence women do have in themselves.
Anna Julia Cooper’s, Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress, an excerpt from A Voice from the South, discusses the state of race and gender in America with an emphasis on African American women of the south. She contributes a number of things to the destitute state African American woman became accustom to and believe education and elevation of the black woman would change not only the state of the African American community but the nation as well. Cooper’s analysis is based around three concepts, the merging of the Barbaric with Christianity, the Feudal system, and the regeneration of the black woman.
The influential roles of women in the story also have important effects on the whole poem. It is them that press the senses of love, family care, devotion, and other ethical attitudes on the progression of the story. In this poem the Poet has created a sort of “catalogue of women” in which he accurately creates and disting...
...s’ poems, his purpose remains to identify with the thing, not just to describe it, and to allow it a way to express itself. In Young Sycamore William uses free verse lines to mimic the real curves and sways of a tree. In doing this, Gray states that it was Williams’ goal is to allow the reader to in essence become like the tree. By creating this effect upon the reader, Williams is able to show how beautiful a regular tree can be if it is looked at in a new way (Gray).
This poem was about very religious. In this poem she talks about her admiration of God and how she and all humans are humbled by God's creations. She says, "The higher on the glistening sun I gazed. Whose beams was shaded by the leafy tree; The more I looked, the ore I grew amazed, and softly said, 'What glory like to thee?' Soul of this world, this universe's eye, No wonder some made thee a deity; had I not better known, alas, the same had I". This quote means that a tree because of its beauty amazes her. Also, she is saying that the thing responsible for creating such a thing must just as beautiful if not the most beautiful on the earth.
... paints it so “ the tree [is] further in the middle;”. By placing the tree in her picture towards the middle she is able to take up the otherwise “awkward space”. The reader can interpret the tree and being Lily herself, and by moving the tree to the center of the painting, she is showing that she is committed to be liberated female standing. This continues to the last part of the book when Lily finally is able to establish herself as woman free of the social confines. Woolf writes “ With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, in the center. It was done;” (154). This final line of the painting, represents a division between the old social system and the one that Lily stands for. Lily is finally comfortable with her choices.
Furthermore, another form of symbolism and allusion that Plath includes in the novel to emphasize the struggles in which a woman withstands as she grows is the fig tree. Within the story of the fig tree, it is actually a based on the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden where the tree symbolizes conflict between genders. The story details a doomed relationship between a Jewish man and a nun. Interestingly enough, she infers that her relationship with Buddy is also hopeless when she states, “It seemed Buddy and I were like that Jewish man and that nun” (Plath 55). She figures that even though Buddy and her attend the same church, they may as well be following different religions due to their extreme differing perspectives regarding gender roles. In regards to symbolism, the tree implies the decisions Esther must face in her life because she can only pick one fig, yet she wants them
The forest additionally symbolizes the relationship in which native serves as a place of empowerment for individuals. This also adds to those the themes. The forest is a symbol of Prynne and Dimmesdale’s empowerment in the truth, hope and love. Upon their meeting in the forest, both feel positively changed as qu...