In the novel The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi questions whether one can overcome their own programming through the character of Emiko. He introduces us to Emiko who is genetically programmed and psychologically conditioned to seek and obey a master. At first Emiko shows no sign of hope. She lives her life everyday with resentment of who she is. Until Anderson gives her a reason to hope. He tells Emiko about a place where windups live without owners, which makes her want to survive. In order to achieve this future she needs to be in control of her present. Since Raleigh is in control of her, she must first overcome her programming and get control so that she can become her own person. Through another accident of chance, Emiko is finally able to see her future becoming a reality when Gibbons tells her that he can give her children. Through Emiko’s character we see that hope was what she needed to overcome her programming and live her life. Giving Emiko the opportunity to find herself and know who she truly is, allowing her to not care of what others think of her.
Without any hope, Emiko sees herself in a negative light, she feels as though she does not know what it is to have a voice of her own. It is obvious that she sees her life as being worthless and that it serves no purpose in life. Which also reflects with how others see and think of her. Emiko’s confidence is so low that she can never see herself in a good light, she “feels as if she is an animal every day” and this cannot change until she begins to accept who she really is and embrace it (221). If she ever wants to be looked upon as something more than just a windup she needs to have hope that she is better than how others say she is. But in order for her to overcome h...
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...rself to be comfortable with who she is. Once she was comfortable with who she is and is able to respect herself, she was able to take certain actions that will get her closer to achieving her goal. Once she became her own master and pleased only herself, she saw herself in a new light. When Gibbons meets with her at the end, she was given another opportunity at a brighter future. A future where she can have a family and be true to her nature. She found a new hope, she was able to have children who will be able to reproduce and giving future windups a new life. In one way creating her own village of windups without patrons. Bacigalupi introduced us with a different perspective on hope, that with hope one can overcome anything no matter if you were not programmed to do. That when someone is comfortable with oneself, nothing anyone says can affect the way one thinks.
While she might think that her plans are working, they only lead her down a path of destruction. She lands in a boarding house, when child services find her, she goes to jail, becomes pregnant by a man who she believed was rich. Also she becomes sentenced to 15 years in prison, over a street fight with a former friend she double crossed. In the end, she is still serving time and was freed by the warden to go to her mother’s funeral. To only discover that her two sisters were adopted by the man she once loved, her sister is with the man who impregnated her, and the younger sister has become just like her. She wants to warn her sister, but she realizes if she is just like her there is no use in giving her advice. She just decides that her sister must figure it out by
Vera’s purpose is to finish the last line of the poem, “One little Indian boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.” After she kills Phillip, she goes and hangs herse...
Though, acceptance of trauma can allow hindered development, eventually allowing full self-acceptance. Bernice, a once strong woman has been verbally, emotionally and physically abused since her childhood. Resulting in a loss of her sense of being. Within the beginning of the novel, when she is reflecting on her past memories, it becomes clear to the reader that in order for her to be able to accept herself, she needs to surface her past traumas. Bernice explains that, “In the tendrils, Bernice realizes there is remorse in her body and she is trying to kick it out. Her shell rejects remorse. Shame. Feeling bad over feeling good” (49). This mindset is negative and expresses her inability to share her emotions due to previous emotional abuse from her family and the many men that have taken advantage of her. This idea of disallowing happiness hinders her ability to accept herself and her past actions. However, through more time of self-reflection (over 200 hundred pages of her lying in bed with the author switching perspectives, confusing the hell out of me lol) Bernice realizes that she must learn to cope with these traumas and attempt to have a positive outlook on life. As Bernice is accepting the damaged part of herself, she comes to the realization that, “She can feel her body now, its loose and stiff at the same time. Her head, though will be the hard part. Part of her lost for so long that it is hard to enunciate what, exactly, she has found” (228). In comparison to when Bernice was unable to acknowledge her feelings and thoughts, it is now clear that she is slowly learning to manage her issues. By Bernice discovering that she is beginning to acknowledge her thoughts, this is the first step to being able to accept one’s self. In Total, It is shown that Bernice is deeply affected by the trauma within her life, however she is able to
Mrs. McIntyre is a divorced and widowed woman who has learned to depend only on her own strength during the day to day operating of her farm. She has created a comfortable world to exist in, and she fears change in that world. Mrs. McIntyre's lack of spiritual dimension stems from this constancy of her surroundings. She has never been challenged by her circumstances and was thus never forced to examine her spiritual beliefs and their depth. We can see her fear of change when she speaks of the peacocks. She if afraid to let them all d...
Motivation was something that Lena never lacked. “I’m going to get my mother out of that old sod house where she’s lived so many years. The men will never do it.” Lena took her mother’s fate into her own hands when it was not socially acceptable for her to do so.
Authors have addressed the topic of female independence in various literary styles, including novels, novellas, and poetry. In our society today, independence for women is one of the main topics of many songs. The concept of female independence has changed over the years; people have gone from frowning upon female independence to celebrating it. Both Catharine Maria Sedgewick and pop singer Kelly Clarkson address female behavior that now, in the 21st century, is typical for many women. In Sedgewick’s Hope Leslie, the title character portrays a young woman that defies her society’s repressive Puritanical standards; she portrays independence, courage, and outspokenness. Clarkson, in her 2003 hit, “Miss Independent” expresses characteristics common in many females of modern American society; they tend to show independence, self-sufficiency, courage, and determination. Hope, in a way, is an anachronism; she represents characteristics of a 21st century woman, though living in the 17th century.
Though its primary function is usually plot driven--as a source of humor and a means to effect changes in characters through disguise and deception—cross dressing is also a sociological motif involving gendered play. My earlier essay on the use of the motif in Shakespeare's plays pointed out that cross dressing has been discussed as a symptom of "a radical discontinuity in the meaning of the family" (Belsey 178), as cul-tural anxiety over the destabilization of the social hierarchy (Baker, Howard, Garber), as the means for a woman to be assertive without arousing hostility (Claiborne Park), and as homoerotic arousal (Jardine). This variety of interpretations suggests the multivoiced character of the motif, but before approaching the subject of this essay, three clarifica- tions are necessary at the outset.
• This experience made her very secluded and reserved. She thought a lot about suicide but found comfort in writing. She became an observer rather than a participator in everyday life.
It is obvious that Eveline is held accountable due to cultural expectations. Though, Eveline had the right mindset she just didn’t have the guzzlers to do so. Her father is an unreliable man. Her father cares so much about alcohol he is oblivious that he is pulling his kids away from him. Sadly, he seems to always find a way to her heart that leaves room for sympathy and fear when she engages in living for the better. Eveline only wanted one thing was to see her family but her father would not allow it. This leaves Eveline to suffocating thoughts she doesn’t cope with well. She will drive out thoughts that make her life distraught. Only strength she can be relied on is her imagination of escape. Eveline had been outcast as the weaker sex just like other women. Males role always were known as the aggressive type. During those time of years it was right for a man to be the head, the protector, and provider. Women tend to be the home overseers and they had no option but to cater to their husbands, provide food, stability, and care. In this time of gender expectation, women had no say so. They were the last resort for anything. As stated in her story, “This indifference or concealed hostility of
Although the people surrounding Susanna feel perturbed towards her lack of social-conformity, which is demonstrated through others questioning her “self-image”, she knows that she is simply exp...
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
We are shown that Eilis’ inability to make up her own mind about working for Miss Kelly and moving to Brooklyn result in the opportunity for her to have experiences away from home and her family. She becomes more able to assert herself and speak her own mind. Far from stunting her growth, Eilis’s inability to make up her mind results in her having experiences that change her into a more grown up and serious
Eveline has always felt lonely ever since her mother’s death but especially now when there is nothing more she can do with her life but find someone to take her away and love her. Eveline’s desire for a better life seems like it may come true when she meets Frank who she thinks will take her away to Buenos Aires. When her chance comes along for her to leave with Frank she too pushes her chance away. She thinks that she no longer deserves a better life other than fulfilling her duties to her family and chooses to be alone for eternity.
In order to further discuss her main points and views, a summary of her story
who wanted to enter her life, she is left alone after her father’s death. Her attitude