Gender Roles of Women in Twentieth Century Literature Expressed

"Barbie Doll." McMahan, Day, Funk, Coleman. Literature and the Writing Process. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 643.

"To every woman a happy ending" (25) continues society's deception that a woman is happy and fulfilled if she possesses physical beauty and acts in a certain manner. "Barbie Doll" offers a sad but realistic view of the drastic consequences that can occur from living in a society that judges young women by unrealistic, false, and superficial values. Too often society fails young women by refusing to recognize, appreciate, and value true beauty, that which lies in young girls' hearts, spirits, and characters. These are the only true things that make a young lady beautiful, and the only qualities that can provide lasting happiness.

In this story, Nora is portrayed as a middle aged housewife who has childlike ways. Torvald, her husband, calls her childish names like “lovely singing bird” and “my little... ... middle of paper ... ...ce of not being known by her real name in her writings for fear of not being taken seriously. Eliot’s feminist stance is shown in this novel through the societal conflicts Dorothea is faced with daily. Both writers faced criticism from their counter parts, but managed to still construct great works of art. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik.

“She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile, wheedle. Her good nature wore out like a fan belt.” The last poem, “Women’s Work”, by Julie Alvarez, speaks out against women playing merely a domestic role in family life. The daughter of the mother is the speaker and because she doesn’t work outside the house she is forced to do chores in the home even as she hears her friends pla... ... middle of paper ... ...ut a girl in American making sense of who she is and trying to find her American identity as though she too is an immigrant from muti-cultural decent, and the last is about the discrimination against Mexicans that get jobs in America and the jealousy Americans feel as they are below the totem pole when its their country and not the Mexicans. In response to this research essay, these poems have a strong meaning behind them all, some more than others, but I was put in the speaker’s shoes as I read and analyzed each and every poem. In conclusion, the themes of the poems relating to the title of the chapters have the same key aspects, but as the poem’s theme as one, each and every poem tells its own story and each and every author has there own spin and reality thrown into their works of writing.

The movement for changing the image of women helped contribute to the theme of Barbie Doll. The poem Barbie Doll Piercy creates a theme that originates from the feminist movement of the 1970’s and keeps meaning in today’s society. The main theme of the poem is, societal pressures on a person to fit into a mold or stereotype can drive a person to extreme measures. The theme reveals it’s self slowly in each stanza of the poem. In the first stanza, Piercy creates this picture of a normal girl, who’s give... ... middle of paper ... ...emorable and add emphasis to the theme.

Dove uses the word “lurched” to describe an unwanted force of contact and to i... ... middle of paper ... ...s to be more than a stay at home mother and wife but feels trapped by the role that she if forced to play. Similarly to the way people hold expectations for the daystar, or sun, to rise every day, mothers are expected to perform their duties like cleaning the house or taking care of the children. Both are taken advantage of and are not fully appreciated until they stop performing their duties. Throughout the poem, the woman’s daughter and husband are given names, “Liza” (line 12) and “Thomas” (line 17) respectively, but not her. The woman is only referred to as “she” or “her” which further highlights the lack of acknowledgement she receives.

Just as Barbie’s life is filled with exciting material things, as depicted in the books and movies starring Barbie, the young g... ... middle of paper ... ...this can be viewed as a happy ending is because the young woman no longer has to try to conform to society. Marge Piercy has ironically paired a suicidal girl with the well know child’s toy Barbie. By giving the poem the title “Barbie Doll”, Piercy shows how society expected the girl in the poem to attain the desired qualities of a “perfect woman”. This masterpiece allows the reader to see inside the world of this troubled young woman who differs from the norms of society. After reading this poem I concluded that society in some ways compares woman to Barbie dolls, which in turn reflects the qualities that society values about women.

This novel reveals that to be a woman of the nineteenth century could be a very difficult and demeaning style of living. Women were thought of as commodities or like children. On many occasions they were told what to do, how to think, and what to say. Vanity was instilled in women at a very early age. Some women learned to use the power of their beauty and body to try to advance their status in society.

She will lead a lonely, solitary life that has driven many mad. Luckily, because of the feminist movement in the 60’s, our society is more accepting of the different choices women make. There still is the pressure to be a supermom, but it is perfectly acceptable to be a working mom as well, or not be a mom at all and just focus on careers. One just must be able to handle the consequences that come with their decisions. The message in “A Doll’s House” is just as applicable today as it was when it was written.

Jing Mei cannot begin to understand what an ideal mother is, because of the complexity of humans. Is a perfect mother someone who is overworked and thus absent or someone overbearing and a perfectionist or easily persuaded and thus unfair? In the stories: Two Kinds by Amy Tan, I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen, and Everyday Use by Alice Walker, the notion of reconciliation between mothers and daughters is explored. Forgiveness made through both daughters and mothers being able to understand and accept the reasoning behind a mother’s actions, which, as young girls, the daughters unfortunately misunderstood. In the story Two Kinds by Amy Tan, Jing Mei’s mother’s obsession with making Jing Mei a prodigy is the cause of destruction in their relationship but, once Jing Mei begins to understand her mother’s reasoning, the enabler for their reconciliation.