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Gender Issues in School Education
Education according to gender differences
Gender Issues in School Education
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Since the development of civilization, women have always been viewed as subordinate to men in all aspects of life. This is especially true in regards to the communication styles of both sexes. The expository text “ His Politeness is Her Powerlessness” by Deborah Tannen and Charlotte Bronte’s gothic novel, Jane Eyre, demonstrates a shocking similarity between the 1820s and the 21st century in regards to men’s view point on women’s style of communication. According to the texts, women will always be viewed as the inferior sex regardless of their communication style. Based on society during the 1820s, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre gives an accurate depiction of how women’s communication styles were viewed by men. The protagonist of the story, …show more content…
No matter the society, the way a women verbally expresses her thoughts, whether direct or indirect, is always viewed as inferior to men who are always right. According to Tannen, the style of communication preferred by men is a more direct approach. They call women’s indirect style “‘covert,’ a term suggesting negative qualities like being ‘sneaky’ and ‘underhanded’” (Tannen 3). The way western men view women’s communication style is a reflection of how they view women in general- sneaky and underhanded. For the women this is not the case. They choose to speak indirectly simply because they feel that it is not their right to speak directly male dominated society. This ideology was a continuation from the 19th century in which it was a sin for women to speak directly. Elinor Keenan, an anthropologist found that in a village of Madagascar it is the women who are direct and men who are indirect. According to Keenan, the villagers “regard women’s direct style as clumsy and crude, debasing the beautiful subtlety of men’s language” (Tannen 9). This shows the similarities and differences of societies concerning women. While the preferred form of communication changed from culture to culture, women are still on the bottom of the social ladder when compared to men. When a
The nineteenth century Victorian era woman needed wealth or position to avoid a life of drudgery. Women were viewed as trophies or possessions men owned. They were not permitted to develop nor expected to, and even venturing out on their own was considered inappropriate. During the era in which Jane Eyre was published the home and family were seen as the basic unit of stability in society. At the middle of this foundation stood a wife and mother representing the sum total of all morality - a Madonna-like image. This image was reinforced by social institutions such as mainstream religious and political beliefs. Women were steered away from independence, confidence, and self-fulfillment and steered toward an existence of submission, dependence, and ignorance. They were expected to be beautiful and silent. This is why the titular heroine of Bronte's novel caused such controversy when Jane Eyre was published. Jane is plain and very intelligent. She is in addition intelligent, self-confident, strong-willed and she exhibits a moral conscience. Jane is atypical of women of her era in that she trusts in her own decision-making abilities and, furthermore, unlike most women of the era has the freedom to make them.
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature.
In her article “But What Do You Mean” Deborah Tannen, claims that there is a huge difference in the style of communicating between men and women. Tannen breaks these down into seven different categories; apologies, criticism, thank-yous, fighting, praise, complaints, and jokes. With each of these she compares men to women by explaining the common misconceptions that each of the genders do. The different style of communication can cause some problems at the workplace and even affect the environment. The different styles of communication has been around forever and almost becomes a “ritual”(299). Tannen is effective with mainly women and not men. She is primarily successful with women due to the fact that her tone targets women, also the organization
“Love is magical, and it can last, if we remember our differences” (Gray 14). Gender communication differences are very complex, yet somewhat remarkable. Dr. John Gray explains that it is as if men and women come from different planets. Unfortunately, many times men and women forget that they are supposed to be different (10). In addition to the biological natural differences between males and females, society treats and values each gender very differently, all of which plays a big part in how they communicate (Papadopoulos 2). Dr. Gray states, “When you remember that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, everything can be explained” (10). If a man and woman do not take the time to understand, respect, and become aware of their differences,
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.
Tannen, Deborah. “His Politeness Is Her Powerlessness.” You Just Don’t Understand: women and men in conversation. New York: HarperCollins, 1990. 203-5. Print.
In the introduction of Deborah Tannen’s “Conversation Style: Talking on the Job”, she compares and contrasts the ways men and women communicate. This reminds me of what I tell people that are struggling in their relationships. Women and men express themselves differently. Women think, but men act. If you can’t wrap your head around this, being in a relationship with anyone is going to be hard. Yet, this is such a basic way of looking at this issue. Not only are the genders vastly different, but each person relates to the world around them in a certain way. He or she also needs to be related to in a specific way. Looking at personalities and personal histories can give a better look at the way we communicate with each other. Tannen examines
The Creation of the Feminist Myth." Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre': Authoritative Text and Background Criticisms. Ed. Richard Dunn.
Liam Fleming Randall English 4 8-6-2016 Jane Eyre Writing Assignment Jane Eyre doesn’t accomplish many heroic deeds. In Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, Jane doesn’t possess many characteristics that would acknowledge her to as a heroine today, However, she is a heroine simply because she becomes an educated, strong and independent person at the time when women were under the control of men. Jane is portrayed as a woman with the brain and musings of a woman from the current times.
A widely accepted myth that we all might hear everyday or might even think we experience is women do all the talking. In different languages around the world, there are many different sayings that say women talk too much. Myth 6, “Women Talk Too Much”, by Janet Holmes addresses the question if women are the ones who take up all the talking time or is this just a myth? I will address the main ideas and my reaction about Myth 6.
Several weeks ago I observed a woman at the Mall. She and a young man sitting directly across from each other were engaged in what was apparently a mutual flirting. But the younger man seemed much more confident and cocky than did the woman. For one thing, he was more relaxed and calm. The woman, however, kept her arms folded over a bag that she was holding on to very tightly. The woman also had a strong tendency to look down more often than the man. Although her admiration for him was obvious, she seemed to be trying hard to conceal it. Often women seem to be more noticeably shy than men. Non-verbally, their “body language'; seems to communicate their feelings of great uncertainty and self-consciousness.
Bronte is known as one of the first revolutionary and challenging authoress’ with her text Jane Eyre. The society of her time was male dominated, women were marginally cast aside and treated as trophies for their male counterparts. Their main role in life was to be a mother and a wife, “ Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life……the more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it.” A quote from a letter Robert Southey wrote to Bronte. A clear sign of the mentality and opposition Bronte was up against. A woman’s “proper duties” of course being to tend and wait on her “master’s” every whim and need. Women during Bronte’s time had no clear voice, none that was of any merit, they were a silent category of society, silenced by their male oppressors. Bronte’s book was in fact written before the first women’s rights movement had happened, yet it puts forward an image of an independent strong character, of a passionate and almost rebellious nature. A character “refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors, standing up for her right’s, and venturing creative thoughts.” I put forward that Bronte throughout her text not only revises the themes of male power and oppression, but reconstructs them also. The text is a female bildungsroman of it’s time, sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly tackling the patriarchal view of women.
Throughout the Victorian Era, the literary movement focused on addressing societal ills of the era. Many of the female authors were focused on confronting common gender roles of Victorian Women in order to show their triviality. The Brontë sisters were adamant advocates of feminist notions. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë exemplifies the revolution of feminist writing in the mid nineteenth century. Although “Plain Jane’s Progress” asserts that the confrontation between Jane and Bertha is the most important element of feminism, Jane’s relationship with Rochester is actually the most relevant element of feminism in Jane Eyre because it shows her development as she breaks through the bonds of her gender role.
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.
The development of Charlotte Bronte's character, Jane Eyre, becomes vital to her novel Jane Eyre, and the other characters in which she is involved. She is an intelligent, plain featured, honest young girl whose reaction to her situations brings more depth to her personality. She is forced to deal with oppression, discrimination, and at times poverty, which disrupt her strong will, dignity, and desire for freedom. At the beginning, Jane possesses a passion for pride and the idea of freedom and these characteristics, along with her integrity, are tested continuously throughout the novel by the many personalities with whom she encounters. Living in a male dominant world Jane is expected to remain obedient and docile and her passion sometimes keeps her from being able to do this. She is a rarity among obeying female characters and we see this throughout the book.