Respresentation of Lolita in Society
Lolita represents the manifested "id" in all of us. Since her creation, she has remained an anomaly of outrage and disgust, yet, unconsciously, she is the greatest sex symbol of all times. We all crave to be the "nymphet", yet society does not accept a middle aged woman running around with pigtails and a lollipop dangling from their mouth. Middle aged women envy the nymphet in her baby-doll dress, her innocent smile, and a body that is milky-clean and flawless. They want this back, they want the firm buttocks that once was cellulite-free, and the pink in their cheeks without the necessary application of Revlon rouge. So, what does the society of middle aged women do, they rely on the image of this "nymphet" to replace the tension and frustration of their own aging. This is "Lolita". She is the symbol of society that is post-adolescent. We become her pupils and spectators. She is the creature that every father loves because the innocence has not yet been touched. She is the creature who has the eyes of an angel and the hair of an unbleached blonde. Yet, is the character Lolita that innocent? This is where she is an anomaly to the little girls with checkered skirts and roller skates. She is a strong, independent, sexual goddess that screams 'virgin', yet is far from it. Could middle aged women get away with that? Could they stand in front of a crowd of men who wanted to pinch their cheeks, and tell them their cute, set them on their lap, and smell their talcum powdered skin? Of course not, they'd be lucky to have a husband that rolls over before he goes to bed, to stick it in for an evenings satisfaction. So here's this 'nymphet', every man is humbled by, pouring their attention to, while this nymphet just sits there, twirling her pigtails and licking her lollipop. Does she care that she is being idolized by men and envied by women? Of course not. She is independent from that. She lives to satisfy herself, while everyone stands around, working from nine to five, paying taxes, and are lucky enough to have time to watch that soap opera they taped earlier in the day. Lolita lives in all women. Women envy the nymphet's ability to not do anything, and still be loved and adored by the opposite sex.
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
The girls feel that people need to mask their imperfections and true selves to uphold the image of how they are supposed to be. These dolls were found in a less than desirable place, such as “Lying on the street next to some tool bits ,and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a florescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and a coffee can full of rusty nails”. They find another Barbie with heals in the depths of junk. They cover up the physical flaws of the burnt barbies with pretty outfits such as the “Prom Pinks” dress. One of the girls state “as long as you don't lift her dress, right? - who’s to know.” This attempt to cover up where the dolls came from and their imperfections seem to parallel their feelings about themselves and where they come from. The girls have an image of how their dolls would be if they were new. This could be the role society plays on the image of how women are supposed to be and look
Which is caused by the narrator having a male perspective. The narrator does not give the women and credit or redeeming qualities. All the women follow a general stereotype. If they tried to break away from the stereotype, they would me more important and influential characters. Paquette, a chambermaid in the Baron’s castle, is described as “a pretty and obedient brunette” (5). She is identified obedient not because of her job as a chambermaid, but because she is willing to exploit her soul and body to the men around the castle. In regards to the old woman, she doesn’t even have an actual name, which does not matter since is ugly and useless. The old woman has the mindset that she is; an object; a mistake; a disgrace. That her time has passed as a beautiful useful woman. All the rape and abuse has physically affected her and she is out of luck. In fact, she is lucky if men talk to her, or even look at her without
In the first verse of “La casada infiel”, the reader is introduced quickly to the sexist narrative voice and Lorca’s criticism of societal values surrounding female sexuality and sex at the time:
According to Dabrali Jimenez, of the New York Times in a recent article on Goth Lolita Culture “There is a world in which the childhood fantasy of Alice in Wonderland seems to collide full force with the Addams Family” Jimenez, D (2008) p. CY4 of the New York Times Edition: A new generation of Lolita’s makes a fashion statement, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/nyregion/thecity/28trib.html?_st=r=1&scp=3&sq=gothic%20lolita&sce&oref=slogin
Society defines the true definition of beauty. This affected Pecola and haunted her on a daily basis. The blonde hair, blue eyes that Pecola so desperately wants is represented by the white culture. She eats the candy to try and make herself like Mary Jane “smiling white face, blonde hair in gentle disarray, blue eyes looking at her out of a world of clean comfort” (50). Pecola’s innocents allows her to believe
She trusts that it is only kind and good to accept and embrace people for who they are, in this case we identify as the ‘idiots’ who feel defeated by the middle class, for deep down in everyone wishes to be accepted, just like how she wishes to be understood for her burdens. At the end of the film, as she suffers rejection from her husband, she ultimately chooses to leave even though she is able to receive the understanding she desires. The final slap from her husband represents The film truly reflects that… Björk in Dancer in the Dark … All three films reflect a women who is very strong willed - they all have their own opinion on how the world should be like, including how they should fit into it by roles they find right to play and responsibilities to perform. Considering how women are represented in the contemporary as naive, sexualised, lacking in depth and knowledge, these main characters are indeed represented with a huge contrast. These women are victims of the world for having their strong beliefs, but choose to hold on to these very beliefs, despite being disabled by tragedy and their circumstances. We could wonder why Trier has chosen to portray these characters and their attitudes using females. It could be interpreted that he is trying to provide a different and fresh angle to looking at women for they
... overcome the obstacles that once held them back and had led them to prison in the first place The experiences of prison are enough to make a former inmate “do whatever it takes to avoid a second term” (“Rehabilitative Effects”) This being said, the many religious, therapeutic, and educational proceedings have also given prisoners an initiative to stay out of prison The religious aspect gives inmates hope and courage The therapeutic provides inmates with a safe environment to share their issues and to receive positive encouragement And finally, the educational offers a way to acquire a GED and or occupational skills that will enable the previously incarcerated with skills that will give them an advantage to obtaining a job. The negative side of prisons has become the face of prisons, blinding the public to all of the good that incarceration offers the incarcerated.
The novel also records the heinous system of caste discrimination practiced in Indian society. The caste system was a brutal oppressive mechanism that branded an unfortunate section of the society as untouchables and thrust them to the periphery. For several millennia caste constituted the core of social life in India. It dictated the occupation and the social interaction of a person. Nicholas Dirks in his introduction to Colonialism and culture remarks, „…. Culture in India seems to have been principally defined by caste. Caste has always been seen as central in Indian history and as one of the major caste is today- as it was throughout the colonial era – the major threat to Indian modernity.‟Describing the caste system in India Amdedkar
Arundhati Roy wrote the novel “The God of Small Things” in 1997. The book captures a great part of her experiences as a child in Aymanam. Roy explores the values, social stratification and family customs that the imperialism has left and remain in India until nowadays, because of the British colonial regime. In this essay I will study how Roy criticises the position of women, besides criticising other aspects of the Indian society, from a postcolonial feminist perspective. The novel has important female characters, three of them are Ammu, Mammachi and Baby Kochamma and I will explain how their lives are a way that Roy uses to criticise and portray women’s position.
In The God of Small Things, Roy explores the idea of breaking boundaries by personifying the setting, focusing on everyday events, and manipulating the characters within society. The most predominant boundary in the novel remains the rigid social classes known as the caste system in Indian society. Roy gives each character a specific role to bring out the importance of the Love Laws, which set behavioral margins within the society.
Untouchability was so rampant even in post-independent era in India. The Dalits on the lowest rung of the social hierarchy were subjected to a great number of atrocities. The treatment given to them was worse than that to that of the animals. It was considered all right to touch dogs and cats, but if one happened to touch a “Chuhra” one got contaminated or polluted. They were never treated as humans. They were only ‘things’ to be thrown away after use. Valmiki underscores the rigors of the caste system, when he announces:
The beginnings of human interactions are definitely based on first impressions. Although there is an exception, people generally interact with other people they believe or perceive to hold the same values or goals as their own. This grouping is facilitated by the first impression each individual exhibits. The continuity of the relationships formed from that interaction is then based on whether the first impressions were actually true (then the relationship continues) or there was some form of deception which leads to unsustainability of that first impression (then the relationship discontinues) (Human et al., 2013). The context in which the interaction occurs also contributes to the impression perceived. When I was in high school, I recall the way I made my first friends at boarding school, I observed who was in my class first and then if they were serious with their studies and then their background. In those days those who came from disadvantaged backgrounds always were more serious with their studies than those who came from more affluent families; and thus my circle of friends wa...
...o overcome the castes of society in order to live their lives as they choose. In their relationship, Ammu and Velutha disregard the “Love Laws” to be together. And though the two rarely see each other and come from completely different lifestyles, their love for one another is the strongest of all relationships throughout the novel. With this absurdity, Roy challenges the idea of social boundaries by encouraging the characters to follow their hearts and chase true love, even if their search results in harsh consequences. Meanwhile, Roy enforces the boundaries of society by creating characters like Baby Kochamma, who represents the social norms, and the police, who represent the enforcers of the social norms. While the novel ends with the notion that “tomorrow is a new day,” this isn’t the case for Ammu and Velutha, who fall victim to the controlling ways of society.
The oppression of women and their struggle for equality can be seen throughout several cultures, one specifically is set in India through the novel The God of Small Things. This struggle for equality is descriptively illustrated to portray the dynamic differences in social status that occur between men and women. Roy depicts the oppression that women experienced in India under the patriarchal system, while illustrating the glorification that patriarchy received which in turn hindered gender equality, as well as facilitated sexism toward females.