Guns carry a certain sense of fear with them. A person with a gun is more intimidating than one who is unarmed. Emily Dickinson and Sarah Jewett both express their ideas with this in mind. These two female writers use guns to express power and masculinity. For Dickinson, guns are something she relates to. One of her poems begins with “My Life had Stood – a Loaded Gun –“. Jewett on the other hand uses guns as an attribute that adds to the already present distrust Sylvia, the main character in a short story The White Heron, has for men. While these methods of using guns in literature are different, they both carry out the writers intent to describe and tell their story.
For Dickinson, guns are use in a more descriptive manner as compared to Jewett. In “My Life had Stood”, Dickinson sees herself as a loaded gun waiting to go off. Guns in this sense are personable and used to describe human emotions. By using the voice of a loaded gun, Dickinson is transferring her thoughts and feelings into the context of a hunter’s gun. Just as a loaded gun has no purpose by itself, so too were Dickinson’s hidden thoughts and feeling lacking purpose without an outlet. Nevertheless, purpose does come to both the loaded gun and Dickinson. As stated in Dickinson’s writing, “[t]he Owner passes – identified – and carried Me away” ( cite). The “owner” symbolizes language. Just as the owner is the vessel that allowed the gun to fulfill its purpose, language allows Dickinson to write poetry. Without language Dickinson would not be able to function as a writer, just as the gun cannot function without the owner. It was with writing that Dickinson fulfills her purpose and is no longer a “loaded gun”. This poem relates to Dickinson by describing her feelings o...
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...with a female friend. It was during this time that The White Heron was written. It makes sense that during this new transition from living with her husband to living with a female friend that she would write a book about a girls changing perspective of men and her own sexuality.
Literature often has hidden meaning that can be discovered with a close inquiry into the text. Both Emily Dickinson and Sarah Jewett gracefully imbed the themes of gender into their stories by using guns as symbols that speak of the issues of gender discrimination. These two female writers invite us to dwell on many different issues while also challenging the reader to reconsider any firmly held believes on gender roles. On the surface, both of these works are not deeply profound, but with an observant eye, one can clearly see that these stories contain much more than is initially apparent.
History has underrepresented females throughout countless centuries. In contrast, Hawthorne allows them to take on essential roles in “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Minister’s Black Veil,” “and “The Birthmark.” The way he presents them distinguishes his stories from others at his time. He proves all of his female characters almost flawless, deeply connects the male protagonists to them, and uses them to reveal the males’ hidden sides.
In her younger ages, she used a gun for entertainment, she loved to hunt with her father. The author was educated and taught about guns, by her father because of the unsaddling event of her grandmother and mother on highway 66 when the three men that were trying to run them off the road for the large cash amount that was used for cashing payroll checks for the miners. As she got older her gun was there for protection and security. She was more assured with it that she would be able to protect herself.
In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, there is a constant theme of protection for Emily Grierson, because she was a woman living in the south after the civil war and the requirements that were placed on women enable to be honorable. That is to say that, women needed to be protected by the men of the community during that time in history and women’s actions were constantly under watch to see if a woman was honorable and worthy of protection or not. Within the story, there are many instances in which this is shown. Faulkner also shows the reader a gender split between the men and women and how they felt towards Emily.
The excerpt of “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries A Gun” is a personal account from Linda Hasselstrom on why she feels the need to carry a gun as well as, why other women should feel the need to own a gun. Hasselstrom uses rhetorical appeals in order to justify her means of security, however she fails due to her inability to provide a substantial amount of background knowledge.
One of the key components of literature is the usage of elements, these elements of literature provides readers underlying themes that authors put into their story. Without these elements of literature, the author would have no way to convey their true messages into their works. In Zora Neale Hurston’s story “Sweat”, Hurston uses many elements of literature to convey the seriousness and true relationship of couples that have a history of domestic violence. However, a specific element of literature that Hurston uses are symbols which give readers a clearer understanding of domestic abuse and most importantly, the characteristics of the victim and perpetrator of an abusive relationship. The symbols that Hurston uses in her story are what fortifies her plot and characters in “Sweat”. The symbols that Hurston uses are necessary because it destroys the typical gender role stereotypes between men and women. This is necessary because there is such a difference between the portrayal of men and women, men often being superior to women. Hurston uses through her symbol to show some equality between men and women or at points women can also be superior against men.
Emily Dickerson’s poem, “My Life Stood – A Loaded Gun” is about a gun which is a personification of it's owner. The pleasure the gun takes in violence represents its owner's pleasure in violence.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against, oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structures. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society.
Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
In the article “Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun” Linda M. Hasselstrom, explains a series of events that prompt her to an important decision. It was a decision that changed her life. Hasselstrom is a respected writer who has written several books on based on personal, life experiences. In this particular article she gives examples of events that have occurred to her that forced her take a decision of carrying a gun. She explains that throughout her 10 recent years there were varies occasions where she saw herself in a dangerous situation. During those 10 years she constantly experienced situations where she saw she needed protection, and a simple self defense class wasn’t going to help. She became aware of her surroundings and eventually had experience on what to do in those types of dangerous situations. Although carrying a gun for her was something she needed when it came to protection, she also had to learn that it was a huge responsibility.
Throughout time women have been written as the lesser sex, weaker, secondary characters. They are portrayed as dumb, stupid, and nothing more than their fading beauty. They are written as if they need to be saved or helped because they cannot help themselves. Women, such as Daisy Buchanan who believes all a woman can be is a “beautiful little fool”, Mrs Mallard who quite died when she lost her freedom from her husband, Eliza Perkins who rights the main character a woman who is a mental health patient who happens to be a woman being locked up by her husband, and then Carlos Andres Gomez who recognizes the sexism problem and wants to change it. Women in The Great Gatsby, “The Story of an Hour,” “The Yellow Wall Paper” and the poem “When” are oppressed because the fundamental concept of equality that America is based on undermines gender equality.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
Hurston portrays women as independent and capable of infinite possibilities. Many aspects contribute to how an author, male or female, portrays his or her female characters. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Wharton, and Hurston all illustrate their own perception of women based upon personal experience and social acuity of their particular era. The portrayal of women in American Literature is based solely upon an author’s personal opinion and interpretation and does not necessarily symbolize the true spirit and quintessence of women as one. Bibliography:..
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been widely recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman in society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women characters in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a woman during the time of the Restoration Era and give authors and essayists of the modern day, such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a platform to become powerful, influential writers of the future.
Indisputably, roles and characteristics of opposite genders have been ubiquitous, since historical evidence proves so – dating back to when the practice of oral tradition was favored over written language. This historical evidence is especially apparent in literature from previous time periods. In these works of literature, men and women often have very different social and economic positions within society. Particular duties, or tasks, are practiced depending on the gender of these individuals. However, in the advancing world we are currently living in, these duties are beginning to intertwine in an effort to allow equal rights amongst opposite genders. This effort to break the sexist barrier, which encompasses our world, has already begun rattling the chains of politicians and the like. However, with the progressions made thus far in retaliation to sexism and unequal gender privileges, the United States of America is heading in a positive direction towards gender equality. Nonetheless, the female gender is perceived as a lesser entity in society while the male gender is dominant and controlling. The masculine individuals in literary works usually govern, or direct the feminine individuals. These characteristics are often evident in various literary works – including “Hills Like White Elephants,” and “A&P” written by Ernest Hemingway and John Updike, respectively. The slow and steady transformation from a sexist society to one that allows inferior genders to perform similar tasks, if not the same as their superior counterparts, may disturb the ideological mindset of figures with authority; however, it provides inferior genders with the opportunity to branch out socially, economically, and politically.