Passivity: A Way of Life. The life of the main character – Rukmani was filled with hardships. Happy times were a rarity, and everyday life was full of work from sunrise to sunset. Yet despite all the work, her family was in utter poverty. Nevertheless Rukmani was always optimistic, and accepted her life the way it was. Kenny, on the other hand, never understood why they accept their poverty and always tried to get them to rise up. It is Indian ideology and the belief in karma with reincarnation
Passivity and Impotence in Frankenstein There are many ways to interpret a literary text, especially one as laden with ethical questions and literary allegory as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Shelley's complex family dynamic - her conflicted relationship with her father, her need to please her mentor/husband with literary success, her infants' deaths - enhances the intrigue of the novel and suggests multiple themes and layered meanings. One discernible theme in Frankenstein is illuminated
Escape from Passivity in Ethan Frome They say that if you give a man the necessary tools and supplies, he will build himself a trap. Since this trap is made unconsciously, it cannot be escaped. The only solution that suffices is to live with this trap - for life. But is it the only solution? In Edith Wharton's tragic novel Ethan Frome, the need for affection causes Ethan Frome to gradually shed his taciturnity and bring his emotions to life. Early in the novel, Ethan's passiveness and lack of
Images of Women in Sports There is, of course, a huge difference between the ways women are typically supposed to act and what is expected from a typical athlete. Whereas women are expected to comply to their gender role prescribing passivity and compliance, athletes are connoted with an aggressive, competitive nature. Furthermore, society trains women to be ashamed of their bodies and supplies an unrealistic ideal body type and encourages restricting feminine clothing, whereas athletes must
evil. Although the witches set a certain mood and Lady Macbeth exerts a certain influence on him, Macbeth's downfall is caused by his own character. Macbeth's tragic flaw in character was the paradoxical pairing of his ambition with his passivity. Throughout the play we see many examples of Macbeth's conflict between his ambition to attain the crown and his passive attitude towards the actions that are required to obtain it. Macbeth's ambition is first illustrated in his susceptibility
Against Nature In "Sex and Violence, or Nature and Art," Camille Paglia claims nature is inherently stronger than society. "Society is an artificial construction, a defense against nature's power.a system of inherited forms reducing our humiliating passivity to nature." (Writing in the Disciplines 572) I agree with the majority of Paglia's opinions, however, I believe that there are points that could have been elaborated on more substantially. In this essay, Paglia states that man is born evil and
society. The potential problems of their relationship are exploited fully by Iago, who plays on Othello's fears - his insecure position in a white society with a white wife, and his strict adherence to that society's norms as regards a wife's passivity and sexual behaviour--to get him to see through listening. That is, Iago uses words to twist reality and create mental images for people, and then persuades them to accept these as true. Listening to Iago is indeed dangerous. Despite the fact
males? Had females been in a similar situation as the boys in Lord of the Flies, they would have fared abundantly better. Initially, this paper will address society’s role in encouraging males’ violent behavior, as well as females’ politeness and passivity. Secondly, it will be discussed how family socialization influences females’ gentle natures and males’ aggressive temperaments. Finally, this research will explore both gender’s leadership styles, and scientific perception behind these differences
"It won't do any good to study. I won't make a good grade anyway." These students think they are doomed to failure because of poor performance in the past or their current fears of failure. Consequently, their lack of self-confidence results in passivity with little or no effort to establish goals. Even when they do make worthwhile accomplishments, these students perceive that the performance of other students looks better in comparison. They let events happen to them instead of making them happen
Orwell's Perception of the Political Power of Language As an author, George Orwell is concerned with the modern use and misuse of the English language. He notes the recognized ability of language to distort truth and deceive masses in his essay "Politics and the English Language", and attempts to alert the public of this power in his novel Nineteen-Eighty-Four . Depicting dystopia of a totalitarian system at a complete extreme, Orwelll's novel is essentially about psychological control of the
it just lets go and becomes relaxed. Another one is shock to nervous system. This technique is commonly used by stage hypnotists and it is employing a sudden exited command in a surprising way. The participant will experience a "moment of passivity"(Hunter)where they'll either resist the trance or "let go" into hypnosis. Hypnosis also has some useful situations. One would be in the area of memory. When you are entranced in the hypnotic state, your sense of memory is enhanced. Although
Joyce singularly bestowed a gift of introspection, though that did not save him from becoming yet another of the living dead. Gabriel, a respectable middle-aged professor and writer, wished for an escape, but did not search for one. It was this passivity and resistance to change, like the "beeswax under the heavy chandelier"(p.186), that eventually solidified into the wall which he had not the courage to oppose. He felt himself a "pennyboy for his aunts"(p.220), the hostesses of the congregation
It's inconceivable not to think that television couldn't influence our attitudes and behaviors. Neil Postman makes this point by outlining America's movement from a typographic society to telegraphic society. (Postman, 1985) This is not to suggest passivity. Much of what is aired on television is fictional. However, proponents of censorship argue that television creates a false sense of reality and influences not only young children but teenagers as well. In one incident after viewing the movie The
The Victorian Women of Shelley's Frankenstein She is a daughter, a wife, and a mother who faithfully carries out her domestic duty in subservience and passivity. She's a willing sacrifice to her father, her husband, and her children. She's sentimental, meek, and docile in nature. She's also flawless in every physical aspect. She's her superior man's play-thing and possession--she's his to protect and cherish. She is a typical nineteenth-century Victorian woman of England. Such typical images
"selflessness, patience, and outward obedience" were also "required" in women (Prior 96). In contrast to men's "masculine energy," women were thought to possess "feminine passivity" that made them incapable of actively venturing into the world with curiosity (Kanner 208). Such false belief on the men's part, not women's "feminine passivity," is what hindered the women from venturing into the world and confined them to the home. Such confinement is evident in the following woman's diary: All this time
unfaithful marriage, neither confronts nor flees her fate. And at the core of Goodison’s poem is her own conflicted decision, as the female product of this union, to define her mother’s attitude as unwavering strength, worthy of reverence, or as passivity, masked by nonchalance. The title of this work illustrates this ambiguity: does the clause “may I inherit half her strength”, translate into “may I be permitted - by the same mysterious influence that affected my mother - to remain strong just like
sexuality and beauty are a threat to patriarchal society and that they must be controlled. Showalter affirms this in her essay by quoting David Laverenze's essay, "The Woman in Hamlet." In this essay he asserts that, " Hamlet's disgust at the feminine passivity in himself translated into violent revulsion against women and into his brutal behavior toward Ophelia" (Showalter 222). As men begin to see feminine aspects within themselves they will go to great lengths to not only deny, but also control these
refused to give a proper burial for the slain Polyneices, brother of Ismene and Antigone. Infuriated by this injustice, Antigone shares the tragic news with Ismene. From her first response, "No, I have heard nothing"(344). Ismene reveals her passivity and helplessness in the light of Creon's decree. Thus, from the start, Ismene is characterized as traditionally "feminine", a helpless woman that pays no mind to political affairs. Doubting the wisdom of her sisters plan to break the law and
evil, both limited a woman’s behavior into quiet content, with few words to object. Women in the nineteenth century, Gilbert and Gubar claim, lived quiet and passive lives, embodying the ideals of the “Eternal Feminine” vision in Goethe’s Faust. Passivity led to a belief that women were more spiritual than men, meant to contemplate rather than act. “It is just because women are defined as wholly passive, completely void of generative power that they become numinous to male artists,” they write on
was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. Sammy understood that she was the one in charge, and by saying that the other two made their shoulders round he showed that he realized their passivity was by choice; they followed her by their own wills. Sammy also understood how the "regulars" of the A&P thought and reasoned. He correctly interpreted the customers’ reactions to the girls, saying, "A few houseslaves in pin curlers even looked