Firdaus began her life blind, but watched by all. Captive in the home of her father she had no choice, no freedoms, and any attempt to achieve freedom evoked a punishment. As a woman, she knew no notion of freedom, all she knew was to follow the rules that were presented to her. The idea of having personal desires was demolished before they were created and replaced with a fear of disobeying the patriarchal societal rules. Only through small glimpses of freedom while under surveillance or in captivity was she able to find the courage to break away from societal norms towards freedom. Surveillance in this story relates to being watched, imposing fear so that one feels forced into submission without a literal push. Captivity was a physical restraint on one’s life; confined within a finite limit, which dictates one’s life, each individual move was not as scrutinized, but one’s actions are constrained within the captor’s restrictions. …show more content…
Marzouk literally held her hostage, threatening she would be killed if she didn’t follow his rules. He forced her into his intricate world of treachery. She chose to free herself from his tyranny, no matter the cost. It was the climax of both her captivity and of her physical freedom when she killed him and walked away from the life he wanted her to live. After she left, she felt in control of what the watching eyes of society saw, and had almost escaped from the trap of patriarchal society when she encountered the prince. The prince gave her the freedom to choose her price, but it was still a form of society controlling her actions. She made the choice to defy society and forced the watching eyes see her for the person she wanted to be by ripping up the money and speaking her mind. In this way, she chose to be under surveillance by society, even though it was inevitable that she would be held captive for the rest of her
Prometheus Bound is quite different from other tragedies in that it is peopled entirely by gods. The play focuses on the story of Prometheus, and we have versions of this myth in Hesiod's famous works. There is reason to think that the author of Prometheus Bound was not only acquainted with Hesiod's version but actually drew on Hesiod directly in this play. This essay therefore aims to establish in what ways the author of Prometheus Bound seems to have drawn from Hesiod's version of myth, in what ways he has diverged from it, and what reasons he might have had for making these changes and innovations. This might therefore highlight any particular emphasis or purpose of Prometheus Bound and what its author might have been trying to get across. Though there is not space in this essay to discuss the problems of attributing this play, it must be recognised that this ambiguity of authorship and dating makes it even more difficult than usual to look at views and purposes behind the play.
Even though this meant that she would not be able to see or interact with her children for all that time. The pain that she feels is evident when she says, “ At last I heard the merry laugh of children, and presently two sweet little faces were looking up at me, as though they knew I were there, and were conscious of the joy that imparted. How I longed to tell them I was there”(97). She tolerated being locked away in an enclosed dark space for 7 long years in order to free her children from the current master that owned them as slaves, showing how having someone to put ahead of yourself makes you stronger and more resilient as a
Ever feel as though someone is watching you? You know that you are the only one in a room, but for some reason you get an eerie feeling that you are not alone? You might not see anyone, but the eyes of a stranger could be gazing down on you. In Foucault's "Panopticism," a new paradigm of discipline is introduced, surveillance. No one dares to break the law, or do anything erroneous for that matter, in fear that they are being watched. This idea of someone watching your every move compels you to obey. This is why the idea of Panopticism is such an efficient form of discipline. The Panopticon is the ideal example of Panopticism, which is a tool for surveillance that we are introduced to in “Panopticism.” Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron," has taken the idea of surveillance one step further. The government not only observes everyone, but has complete control over society. The citizens of the United States cannot even think for themselves without being interrupted by the government. They are prisoners in their own minds and bodies. The ideals of “Panopticism” have been implemented to the fullest on society in Vonnegut’s "Harrison Bergeron," through physical and mental handicaps.
In the passage of the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, the author masterfully conveys two complimentary tones of liberation and fear. The tones transition by the use of diction and detail. The passage is written entirely in first person, since we are witnessing the struggles of Fredrick Douglass through his eyes. Through his diction, we are able to feel the triumph that comes with freedom along with the hardships. Similarly, detail brings a picturesque view of his adversities. Since the point of view is first person, the reader is able to be a part of the Douglass’ struggles with his new freedom. With diction, detail, and point of view, the reader is able to get a rare glimpse into the past of Fredrick Douglass.Fredrick Douglass’ diction is powerful as he describes his life as a slave and with his new freedom. Fredrick Douglass calls being enslaved an act of “wretchedness,” yet he was able to remain “firm” and eventually left the “chains” of slavery. Fredrick Douglass expresses that being enslaved is a wretched act and that no man should ever deserve such treatment. Despite being a slave, he kept strong and eventually broke the chain of society. However, Fredrick Douglass experienced great “insecurity” and “loneliness” with his new freedom, and was upon a new “hunting-ground.” His new freedom brought other devastating factors, being a new state without any friends, which caused his loneliness. In this new state, he grew insecure for he was in a new danger zone where at any time his freedom could be rejected. With new freedom come new obstacles, which are described in the diction of Fredrick Douglass.
Foucault once stated, “Our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance; under the surface of images, one invests” (301). By this, he means that our society is full of constant supervision that is not easily seen nor displayed. In his essay, Panopticism, Foucault goes into detail about the different disciplinary societies and how surveillance has become a big part of our lives today. He explains how the disciplinary mechanisms have dramatically changed in comparison to the middle ages. Foucault analyzes in particular the Panopticon, which was a blueprint of a disciplinary institution. The idea of this institution was for inmates to be seen but not to see. As Foucault put it, “he is the object of information, never a subject in communication”(287). The Panopticon became an evolutionary method for enforcing discipline. Today there are different ways of watching people with constant surveillance and complete control without anyone knowing similar to the idea of the Panopticon.
...e to do what she wants, and free not to do it.” Firdaus’ newfound freedom directly correlated with her making her own money, and this shows the power of money.
The theory of Panopticon by Foucault can be applied in this poem. According to Foucault, there is a cultural shift from the old traditional discipline of inmates to a European disciplinary system (314). In this new disciplinary model, the prisoners always assume that they are under constant watch by the guards and they start policing themselves. Panopticon is the process of inducing inmates to a state of conscious and ...
In the clip “The Lion’s Cage” Charlie is running away from a donkey, and he ends up to be in a lion’s cage. He turns back to leave, but the door is locked behind him. One of the proxemics that is clear then is that he keeps a large distance between him and the lion, which reflect that he is afraid. The lion is still sleeping, but a dog comes and starts barking, so he uses his hand gestures to try to ask the dog not to bark. He tries to be as quiet and calm as he could, and he never touches the lion, which is one of the haptics that he does. About the chronemics, he uses his time to figure out how to escape from the cage before the lion wake up. When he tries to crawl into the next cage, he saw a tiger and his eyes become big, so he crawls back
A person’s rights and freedom are one of the most important things one can have. Throughout the novel, the characters all crave freedom. Each character would do anything to be free again. This is proven when an additional character, Fanta, slits her newborn son’s throat, flings another baby overboard, and attempts to jump overboard herself (Hill 102-103). Fanta would rather kill her own son and herself, than give up her freedom. This moment horrifies yet amazes many readers of the lengths someone is willing to go to in order to keep their freedom rather than be a slave. This shows how serious and frightening the situation really is. In addition, throughout the entire novel, Aminata encounters various setbacks, but she still continues her long journey to freedom. This is demonstrated when she says, “The pain of my losses never really went away. The limbs had been severed, and they would forever after be missing. But I kept going, Somehow, I just kept going,” (394). The passage represents her strong commitment to freedom. Although she endures a tremendous amount of hardships, like losing all her loved ones, she keeps striving for the freedom she desires. Most people die or become too broken inside at this point, but Aminata continues to fight for her life, to keep living, and to one day tell others her inspiring story. Freedom can single-handedly be the one most valuable thing an individual holds dearly. Thus effectively exposes the harm of racism as it motivates the characters to go to great lengths to keep their
Firdaus is a character that started off with nothing, and eventually would die with nothing. After being orphaned at a young age, Firdaus had to build a life for herself, and keep on a sustainable path. Before becoming a prostitute, Firdaus has a somewhat traumatic life experience when she was molested and abused by the men in her life. One was a boy, older than her, and the other was her uncle, her own relative. Because of her innocence, she was able to describe the feeling as “a sensation of sharp pleasure” (12). Being a young child, Firdaus was unable to understand the extent of what had just happened to her. Because of all of this, Firdaus lacked a sense of normality, which could be interpreted as a reason she went off path, and didn’t have an average upbringing like a lot of children would have. In a culture such as this book was set in, being around the 1960’s in Egypt, the role of women was completely different from how women are treated in this century and time period. For Firdaus, living in a time where a woman’s voice was unapprec...
at the place and situation she is now in because of her servitude to her
She expects to have anything she wishes, and most of all, she expects to have a control over everything. That is why she punishes all of her lovers, so even though she has no interest in them anymore, they are in a way bound to her.
Throughout the novel Marji is constantly trying to figure out who she is and who she is going to become. But by the end of the novel Marji evolves into an independent woman who does what she wants with her life to make her happy, something that would never have happened without the influence of women throughout her life. Works Cited Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon; First Edition, 2004
by her father and his choice of husband for her - she could run away
Harvey Fierstein, noted journalist, encourages us to “never be bullied into silence. Never allow ourselves to be made a victim. Accept no ones definition for your life. Define yourself”. In the novel “The Story of Zahra” written by Hanan al-Shaykh, Zahra was bullied into silence because she allowed herself to be made a victim by accepting others definition for her life; she did not define herself. Conversely, in the play Lysistrata, written by Aristophanes, the protagonist, who went against all odds, was anything but a victim by taking the leading role in a protest against the men; she took a stand for what she believed in. Zahra and Lysistrata were both women who faced unstable and dangerous relationships with men, but all similarities end there. The way in which these two women handled their circumstances were completely antithetical which, as a result, caused different endings to each women’s journey.