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More handpicked essays just for you.
Roles of women in society in America
The role of women in America
Roles of women in society in America
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Text 1 is an excerpt from Sonia Nazario’s book, titled “Enrique’s Journey” that serves the cultural context of Mexican immigrants who are mothers, who left their children to earn money from the city. The narrative text is targeted to individuals who are blessed with a good quality of life. Text 2 is “In Trek North, First Lure is Mexico’s Other Line”, an article by Randal C. Archibold with accompanying photographs by Rodrigo Cruz, published in The New York Times in April 6, 2013. Similarly, it serves the cultural context of determined workingwomen, intended for the American audience, specifically New Yorkers. Although both texts excludes the cultural context of men, but highly considers women, this social group is depicted differently; in the excerpt, women are represented as an inspiring, heroic character, which enables the audience to easily empathize with their struggles, whereas the article, with its intended purpose to inform the audience of the doubling number of illegal crossers, portrays women as a short-sighted romantic.
Emotive language is used in text 1 to evoke the audience’s sympathy and pity towards Lourdes, the central female character, for what she has been through. Nazario’s portrayal of the affectionate relationship shared between Lourdes and his son, Enrique embodies motherly love, which audiences with a cultural context of a mother can easily relate and imagine the pain of being separated from their children. Without Lourdes, Enrique is “so shy it is crushing”. This appeals to the audience’s pathos as it explains her source of guilt and resentment to leave home. Additionally, Enrique seems to long for Lourdes’ attention. He “pursed his lips” to kiss her and clings “to her pant leg.” His attachment to Lourdes hi...
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...entially triggers negative responses for the cultural context of women as the article focuses more on facts and presented them with less appreciation. The lexis and diction of text 1 is more impactful in terms of its audience response as many cultural contexts are able to relate to Lourdes and Elvira’s feelings through their experience
In conclusion, through the different use of language and imagery, female immigrants or women as a social group, is praised for their strength in the excerpt, but they are regarded as rather insensible in the article since it primarily concentrates on facts, which reveals the theme of both texts, a dilemma between sacrificing their morality or being their children’s savior. Text 1 represents a migrant’s perspective that deals with emotions, while text 2 is impartial and possibly interpreted as ignorant of the character’s context.
Oftentimes, societal problems span across space and time. This is certainly evident in Julia Alvarez’s How the García Girls Lost Their Accents a novel in which women are treated peripherally in two starkly different societies. Contextually, both the Dominican Republic and the United States are very dissimilar countries in terms of culture, economic development, and governmental structure. These factors contribute to the manner in which each society treats women. The García girls’ movement between countries helps display these societal distinctions. Ultimately, women are marginalized in both Dominican and American societies. In the Dominican Republic, women are treated as inferior and have limited freedoms whereas in the United States, immigrant
Reyna Grande 's novel, Across a Hundred Mountains, focuses on the dynamic of the development and rethinking of the concept of a traditional Latino patriarchal family built up around male dominance. In low income and uneducated cultures, there are set of roles that throughout time have been passed by from generation to generation. These gender roles most often consist of the men being the breadwinner for the family. While the women stay home to cook, clean, and raise the children. Women are treated as possessions with limited rights and resources. Throughout the novel, Grandes challenges gender roles in the story of a young woman named Juana who, despite all adversity, fights stereotypes and is able to rewrite her own ending.
She takes her situation and beliefs and applies it to the general population explaining “[They] look at veiled women as quite, oppressed creatures” (Ridley 46), Muslim women are stereotyped and viewed by the general population as people with no say about their own lives. Muslim women deal with the judgment from outsiders who are ignorant to their true culture. They are viewed as lower class simply because of what they wear. Cisneros’ essay also included the problems of race, class, gender, and education. She felt that breaking the standards placed on her by her cultural norms it would displease her tradition loving father. He felt that Cisneros should find a husband and not focus on her education so much. Cisneros writes “I am the only daughter in the Mexican family of six sons” (Cisneros 366). This not only exemplifies the internal family issues of being the only female, but also the external problems of the norms placed on women in a Hispanic culture to be an ideal wife. Tan’s essay emphasized the fact that her race, gender, education and up-bringing played a role in people knowing her writing, even though she does not want it to. When informing the readers that her fans would often write not only about her work but also about “… [her] youthful indiscretions, the slings and arrows I suffered as a minority…” (Tan 1), this bothered Tan to an extent because she
By examining the narrative voice as well as the cultural restraints placed on them, readers can see the sexist culture in the novel and that the novel itself does not necessarily advocate this misogyny. Yunior, a Dominican man, is the overall narrator of the novel, so readers essentially see everything through his masculine eye. When discussing a brief fling with Lola, Oscar’s sister, Yunior says, “Even those nights after I got jumped she wouldn’t let me steal on her ass for nothing. So you can sleep in my bed but you can’t sleep with me?” (Diaz 169) His question suggests that it is his right to sleep with her, and his discussion of Lola herself objectifies her by noting only her body and her refusal to use it. This objectification is clearly sexist, but it is a reflection of the narrative voice, Yunior, not of Lola. Yunior will casually refer to a woman as “a bitch” (Diaz 183), which is clearly demeaning, but it is a man’s view and does not reflect on the substance of the women. It shows readers the culture he was raised in, not an actual portrayal of the women, illustrating a misogynist society but not a misogynistic novel. In the Dominican Republic, gender-based violence is the fourth leading cause of death, hinting at the overall problems caused by the hyper-sexualized nature of the country. Sociologist Denise Paiewonsky
Martinez, Demetria. 2002. “Solidarity”. Border Women: Writing from la Frontera.. Castillo, Debra A & María Socorro Tabuenca Córdoba. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 168- 188.
For thousands of years people have left their home country in search of a land of milk and honey. Immigrants today still equate the country they are immigrating to with the Promised Land or the land of milk and honey. While many times this Promised Land dream comes true, other times the reality is much different than the dream. Immigration is not always a perfect journey. There are many reasons why families immigrate and there are perception differences about immigration and the New World that create difficulties and often separate generations in the immigrating family. Anzia Yezierska creates an immigration story based on a Jewish family that is less than ideal. Yezierska’s text is a powerful example of the turmoil that is created in the family as a result of the conflict between the Old World and the New World.
Elena Poniatowska escrita durante una epoca de cambio en Mexico. Antes de sus obras las mujeres mexicanas eran sometidos, docil, y pasivo. En la tiempo de sus obras las mujeres estaba tratando salir de los estereotipos de antes. Esta problema social tomo un afecto en Elena. Aunque ella no viene de un movimiento literatura directamente, ella escrita con el concepto de compremetido. En su narrative El Recado ella crea un mujer estereotipical que no puede controlar sus emociones. La titula es eso porque ella viene a ver su amante, pero el no esta, asi ella escribe las cosas que sentia. La perspectiva es de un personaje y ella nunca interacta con otros personajes. En facto la unica descripcion de un personaje otro de la protagonista es de su amante Martin. Habla de otros personajes, pero solamente de sus acciones. Porque ellas es la unica perspectiva que tenemos es sencillo a sentar compasion para una protagonista de quien nombre no aun sabemos. Ella da la descripcion de toda que vea, y mas importante todo que se sienta. Tambien tropos y figuras retoricas dan un tono significante al poema. Estos sentimientos de la portagonista y el tono emocional de la narrativa transporta una tema de una mujer estereotipical y debil quien quiere ser reconocido.
Writing in the 20th century was great deal harder for a Chicano then it was for a typical American at this time. Although that did not stop this author, Sandra Cisneros. One of her famous novels, Woman Hollering Creek was a prime example of how a combined culture: Mexican-Americans, could show their pride and identity in this century. In conjunction, gave the opportunity for women to speak their voice and forever change the culture of Latino/a markets. Not only did it express identity/gender roles of women and relationships, but using these relationships to combine the cultures of Mexican and American into a hybrid breed. This novel, should have been a view-point for the future to show that there is more to life than just gender and race. Concluding this, the articles that helps define this is “The Latino/a Canon and the Emergence of Post-Sixties Literature” and “What is called Heaven”.
The contrast between the Mexican world versus the Anglo world has led Anzaldua to a new form of self and consciousness in which she calls the “New Mestiza” (one that recognizes and understands her duality of race). Anzaldua lives in a constant place of duality where she is on the opposite end of a border that is home to those that are considered “the queer, the troublesome, the mongrel and the mulato” (25). It is the inevitable and grueling clash of two very distinct cultures that produces the fear of the “unknown”; ultimately resulting in alienation and social hierarchy. Anzaldua, as an undocumented woman, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Not only is she a woman that is openly queer, she is also carrying the burden of being “undocumented”. Women of the borderlands are forced to carry two degrading labels: their gender that makes them seem nothing more than a body and their “legal” status in this world. Many of these women only have two options due to their lack of English speaking abilities: either leave their homeland – or submit themselves to the constant objectification and oppression. According to Anzaldua, Mestizo culture was created by men because many of its traditions encourage women to become “subservient to males” (39). Although Coatlicue is a powerful Aztec figure, in a male-dominated society, she was still seen
The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith).
Latin American society has placed a very high value on women being virgins when they marry. This value is one of the primary themes in Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Marquez. Virginity is one of the main motifs when thinking about feminism in the novel. A feminist lens would certainly ponder the ideals of this certain Latin American society and think of virginity as a great way to show the novels true nature. However, this view is only seen on the surface, as one delves into the deeper meaning of this book it almost sees the authors view of this subject as childish. Throughout Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a mockery is made out of the idea that celibacy is for those who are not yet married. The plot of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is based on the understanding that maintaining a woman’s virginity is important enough to kill for, and conversely, that anyone violating this social conduct was risking his or her own death. Virginity in the novel is synonymously viewed with honor. This aspect is what Gabriel Marquez challenges with the use of irony in the novel. Throughout Chr...
The situation of women in our society has always been a source of debate. The term feminism is required at the end of the 19th century to serve the collective aspiration of women to gender equality in a society hitherto subject to the rule of man. Historically, there are prejudices and acts about women that led to discrimination of these. In legal terms, as in the world of work and family, it is in the second half of the twentieth century that is affirmed and implemented new rights for women. From then on, it is not only in term of legal equality, but also equality of opportunity that raises itself the question of relations between men and women. I will be comparing and contrasting “You Leave Them” written by Mona Simpson with the short story composed by Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour.” Throughout these stories, both authors clearly express a common theme of feminism. By focusing my essay on the theme of feminism, I will first analyze the authors’ past experience and then associate how it contributes in both of their short stories. I will finish my essay by describing how authors respond to the absence of men’s vision.
Using both English and Spanish or Spanglish the author Gloria Anzaldua explores the physical, cultural, spiritual, sexual and psychological meaning of borderlands in her book Borderlands/La Frontera: A New Mestiza. As a Chicana lesbian feminist, Anzaldua grew up in an atmosphere of oppression and confusion. Anzaldua illustrates the meaning of being a “mestiza”. In order to define this, she examines herself, her homeland and language. Anzaldúa discusses the complexity of several themes having to do with borderlands, mestizaje, cultural identity, women in the traditional Mexican family, sexual orientation, la facultad and the Coatlicue state. Through these themes, she is able to give her readers a new way of discovering themselves. Anzaldua alerts us to a new understanding of the self and the world around us by using her personal experiences.
Clarice Lispector, a Brazilian female writer of Jewish descent, tied her writing with her very life, for her writing reflects her viewpoint on many aspects of her life. She was well-known for her existentialist writing involving themes revolving around women’s roles. Through the characters and their interactions in her works, Lispector explores the societal status of women. The male subjugation of women influences many of the themes found in her works and a better understanding of women’s social status ultimately leads to a better understanding of the relationship between the characters in her works and actions by those characters. Thus, the evaluation of women in the society contemporary to the era Lispector lived in influences the overall existentialist ideas and the motif of women’s roles in her work.
The roles of an archetypal mother in a Spanish society are to stay home, perform domestic work and care about family. They are there to grieve for the dead for six years, which in result makes them unable to leave the house, hence their lives are predestined. Even though it is natural for women to have little freedom, it can be deduced that they are in a “safe” zone. Nevertheless feminine characters are the ones who suffer emotionally from their longings and experience conflicts and catastrophes. In this case, mother endures from the death of her deceased son and husband and is constantly grieving. This display the common situations women at that time have to face, showing symptoms of repression. Generally in “Blood Wedding” female characters uncover their true self when talking to other feminine characters. The mother, being a very womanly character, depicts the human life which is shattered by Spanish traditions and people. Hence her desires are gone, in a sense, she also loses her real character, as she is so used to the society, that it would be wrong to think and act differently. When the mother talks to the neighbour, she reveals her opinion about the marriage more easily than talking to her own son (she even keeps a promise, indicating that they have been close). From the mothers conversations, it can he said that she strongly believes tha...