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Essay on Sexuality in Literature
Female sexual roles in literature
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“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of a young girl, named Ifemelu and the experiences she faced when moving to the United States from Nigeria and then moving back Nigeria. Throughout the book the reader gets to read about her encounters with love and race. Starting with Ifemelu’s relationship with Obinze in Nigeria. Ifemelu thought that she had everything, she was getting a college education and could spend all day with her boyfriend. Until she decides to move to America so she could get a proper education. Strikes against
This new difference plays a part in Ifemelu’s experience when her roommates asked of she wanted to go eat with them. “... they often said, ‘Let’s go get some,’ about whatever they needed … as though this getting was not an act that required money. She was used, at home, to people first asking ‘Do you have money?’ before they made such plans (Ngozi 157).” If Ifemelu had a different experience in Nigeria she could have related to the people she was surrounded around. Another time her identity affected her immigrant experience is having to work. Ifemelu had to pretend to be someone else so she could get a job which gave her something else to be worried about it since she shouldn’t have been working, seeing that she only had a student visa.
These parts of Ifemelu’s identity not only affect Ifemelu’s immigrant experience but they also change the course of her life. For example if she never needed money she would have not went to the tennis coach’s house. And if she hadn’t went to the tennis coach’s house and have given him that “massage” she would have never felt the way she did feel after. Then she would have never ignored
Immigrants come to America, the revered City upon a Hill, with wide eyes and high hopes, eager to have their every dream and wild reverie fulfilled. Rarely, if ever, is this actually the case. A select few do achieve the stereotypical ‘rags to riches’ transformation – thus perpetuating the myth. The Garcia family from Julia Alvarez’s book How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, fall prey to this fairytale. They start off the tale well enough: the girls are treated like royalty, princesses of their Island home, but remained locked in their tower, also known as the walls of their family compound. The family is forced to flee their Dominican Republic paradise – which they affectionately refer to as simply, the Island – trading it instead for the cold, mean streets of American suburbs. After a brief acclimation period, during which the girls realize how much freedom is now available to them, they enthusiastically try to shed their Island roots and become true “American girls.” They throw themselves into the American lifestyle, but there is one slight snag in their plan: they, as a group, are unable to forget their Island heritage and upbringing, despite how hard they try to do so. The story of the Garcia girls is not a fairytale – not of the Disney variety anyway; it is the story of immigrants who do not make the miraculous transition from rags to riches, but from stifling social conventions to unabridged freedom too quickly, leaving them with nothing but confusion and unresolved questions of identity.
She talks about how after writing her novel she was conversing with an American who had just read the novel. He stated that it was a shame how Nigerian men where physical abusers, such as the man in her novel had been. She is quick to tell him that she ’ had just finished reading the novel American Psycho, and that it was a shame that all young American men were serial murders’ (Adichie 11:04). It is here that we see how a single story can affect our image of a group of people. Obviously, not all Nigerian men are abusers, in the same sense that not all American men are serial murders. The man that she was talking to had made an inference based on reading one Nigerian book, a single story. She goes on to say that because of Americas economic and political power she had read many novels about America, resulting in many stories, widening her perception of
The busy season for the shop she was working on came and the owner of the shop kept demanding for what we call overtime. She got fired after she said, “I only want to go home. I only want the evening to myself!.” Yezierska was regretful and bitter about what happened because she ended up in cold and hunger. After a while she became a trained worker and acquired a better shelter. An English class for foreigners began in the factory she was working for. She went to the teacher for advice in how to find what she wanted to do. The teacher advised her to join the Women’s Association, where a group of American women helps people find themselves. One of the women in the social club hit her with the reality that “America is no Utopia.” Yezierska felt so hopeless. She wondered what made Americans so far apart from her, so she began to read the American history. She learned the difference between her and the Pilgrims. When she found herself on the lonely, untrodden path, she lost heart and finally said that there’s no America. She was disappointed and depressed in the
According to Ifemelu there are two different types of black people in America, African Americans and American Africans. An American African is a black person is an African who immigrated to America and weren’t born in America. An African American is a black person whose ancestors were slaves that are born in America. African Americans weren’t nearly as smart as an American African due to the fact that the education in America is much different than the education in Nigeria. When Ifemelu was speaking to Dike, Ifemelus’ cousin, about what he learned about in school. “Once, she asked Dike what he had done in school before summer, and he said, “Circles.” They would sit on the floor in a circle and share their favorite things. She was appalled. “Can you do division?” He looked at her strangely. “I’m only in first grade, Coz”. When I was your age I could do simple division.” (Adiche 138). She was surprised to learn that he only learned about circles because in Nigeria the kids were doing simple division. This suggests that the education in Nigeria is at an accelerated rate whereas in America the children are learning at a very slow pace. In America the school systems are different, and much easier than the school system is in Nigeria according to Ifemelu. She is startled by the fact that American children get homework passes and take long to learn about the important things that they need to learn. She even tries to get Dike to eat bananas and peanuts, which is a food they eat in Nigeria. “No,” he said firmly. “I don’t think I like Nigeria, Coz.” (Adiche 139) Her cousin Dike is now institutionalized and thinks that Nigeria and weird and that the things that are done in America are normal, he only believes this because he’s an
In Amanda Ngozi Adichie’s short story, “My Mother, the Crazy African American,” it presents mainly the relationship between mother and daughter’s relationship and their misunderstandings and struggles. Ralindu grew up in Nigeria. Ralindu’s father works in America and three years after his residency was approved Ralindu came to America, and she is now getting used to American style. This situation has cause problems with her mom who came to America with her. Her mother still sticks to their Nigerian traditions like foods and their mannerisms and she wants her daughter, Ralindu, to act like her. Ralindu wants to act as a typical American teenager and that induces the disconnection with Nigerian culture which causes misunderstandings and arguments in the relationship with her mother.
The region Of Appalachia is generally considered to be an area full of people with little intellect and who are incapable of functioning as normal members of society. Since the early history of American Appalachia has been believed to be an area where there is not science or philosophy. It is believed to be an area full of people who are extremely gullible and superstitious. Many people have come out of Appalachia to challenge these stereotypes.
Imagine that you are of Arab decent you being screened more thoroughly than others at the airport. The only way the airport staff can identify that you are of Arab decent is based on your family name, Najjar. The airport staff constantly takes extra measures to confirm that you are not a terrorist. Stereotypes have existed in American culture for centuries. Early in American history stereotypes of Negroes and Mexicans predominately associate them with lower-class attributes (Campbell, 1967).
Jasmine by Bharti Mukherjee is a novel about what it means to become American. Jasmine was born in a small village in Hasnapur, India. However, she did not stay there long. After her husband was murdered, she moved to the United States, where she transformed into a fully American woman. While she became accustomed to American life and traditions, she never forgot her experiences in India and through every step of her journey in America. Jasmine had five different names throughout her life, and each one represented a different version of herself, as she gradually shifted towards more American values. Although she had different names and different identities, she always held true to her core beliefs and stayed true to herself. Each of the different names represents a distinctly different time in Jasmine’s life, and while outwardly she may seem like an alternative version of herself, she remains the strong willed and adventurous girl despite her situation and her surroundings.
Brands, H. W.. American Stories: A History of the United States. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
However, the adverse impact has outweighed the positive results. For example, the stereotype belief that all black people are thieves or associated with all the social evils in the society has led to police brutality (Couillard, 2013). Police officers discriminate and falsely accuse black forks of a crime they might not have committed. It has led to African-Americans becoming bitter and resenting the police department officials. Effects of Prejudice on Me Prejudice always makes me feel aggrieved since it violates my human rights.
Negative things are said about African Americans on a daily basis. From the beginning we have had stereotypes built up against us tearing down our image in society. Over the years it would seem that African Americans would want to fix this image of them but instead they have continued to build to this negativity. One of the main reasons why this image is present until this day is reality television. Although it may not be real, portraying these images on television gives both sexes of the African American race a bad name. Even though some of these shows are funny what needs to be realized is that the people watching these shows are not laughing with African Americans, but instead at them.
Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.
The first part of the book gives an account of Immaculée’s family background. The love she experienced from her parents and her three brothers is illustrated. Her parents cared for everybody, particularly the poor. Because of the love with which she grew up, she never realised that she was living in a country where hatred against the Tutsi, her tribe, was rampant. It was not until she was asked to stand up in class by her teacher during an ethnic roll call that she realised that her neighbours were not what she thought them to be – good and friendly. After struggling to get into high school and university, not because she was not qualified but because of discrimination against her ethnic background, she worked hard to prove that if women are given opportunities to...
Upon an initial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is easy to blame the demise of Okonkwo’s life and of the Umofia community on the imperialistic invasions of the white men. After all, Okonkwo seemed to be enjoying relative peace and happiness before then. He did have a few mishaps; one of them resulted in him being exiled for eight years. Nonetheless, he returned to his home town with high spirits and with prospects of increased success. However, everything has changed. The white men have brought with them a new religion and a new government. Okonkwo’s family falls apart. The men in his village lose their courage and valor; they do not offer any resistance to the white men. Consequently, Okonkwo kills himself in disgrace and Umofia succumbs to the white men. However, the white men are not the only people responsible for demise of Umofia. The Igbo culture, particularly their views on gender roles, sows the seed of their own destruction. By glorifying aggressive, manly traits and ignoring the gentle, womanly traits, Umofia brings about its own falling apart.
Ifemelu’s first encounters with America’s twisted sense of race appear extremely foreign to Ifemelu. When Ifemelu was at the store and noticed that the clerk was refusing to mention the race of the salesperson who helped her find her clothes, she was informed that many Americans are very uncomfortable discussing and mentioning race when it comes to people of color due to the country’s rough history especially with Black Americans. Ifemelu realized that the concept of race appears to be sociological. As the novel progresses Ifemelu begins to understand that even amongst Black American, she will stand out, as she has not experienced the typical “Black American” experience. With Blaine she felt slighted when he stated that she does not “live her blog”, despite her position as a critic and an observer.