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Essays on gender roles in literature
What is feminism? By general definition
Essays on gender roles in literature
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Feminist theories are a way to review works and analyze the ways in which dominant patriarchal themes and oppression of women are prevalent. By reviewing certain stories with feminist theories in mind, the deeper meaning and hidden agendas of some authors can be found. In certain stories, authors give their female characters a traditional passive voice and glorify the patriarchal ideal. Feminist theories also help to recognize certain gender stigmas that are presented in stories and how the authors or narrators tackle those traditional gender roles. In Viramontes’s story “The Moths”, this negative attitude toward women continues. The narrator is sent to her grandmother’s house by her mother to escape more punishment for her violation of gender …show more content…
Throughout the story, the narrator makes references to traditional gender norms saying, “I wasn’t even pretty or nice like my sisters and I just couldn’t do the girl things they could do”. The narrator’s inability to do what qualifies as traditionally “girly things” shows her reluctance to take on the traditional roles embodied by her mother and sisters and promoted by her father and the Catholic Church. Instead, working alongside Abuelita, the narrator finds a place of belonging where she feels less pressure to take on those more acceptable feminine roles. The narrator’s Abuela has vast knowledge of plants coupled with her ability to heal using that knowledge which connects her to the curandera tradition which has also been identified in “Bless Me Ultima” is an important part of Chicano culture. …show more content…
Throughout the story, the main character Antonio is pulled in two directions as far as which family he will be more like. His future career paths are also discussed but it is mostly emphasized that the men will be the main influences in helping his decision while the women play more of a supporting role. Ultima, the main female character, is of great importance to Antonio but the author also emphasizes the importance of the time Antonio spends with his uncles and the huge influence his older brother’s actions have on him. Antonio’s father comes from people on el llano, a rough people. The book opens with discussions of how the lifestyle of the vaquero is a way of life that goes back in to ancient times, which perpetuates this idea that is a rite of passage a becoming of a man is to take on this vaquero way of life. This basically serves to remind Antonio that to choose his mother’s dream would be choosing something feminine. Antonio’s father had greatly hoped his three sons would move with him to California to begin a new life. This also serves to further the idea that men should fall in to their traditional roles as sons and take up the way of their father. Antonio’s brothers encourage their father’s idea but don’t believe in it because they want freedom. Antonio’s father is also used as almost a weight on Antonio in
Helena Maria Veramontes writes her short story “The Moths” from the first person point of view, placing her fourteen year old protagonist female character as a guide through the process of spiritual re-birth. The girl begins the story with a description of the debt she owes her Abuelita—the only adult who has treated her with kindness and respect. She describes her Apa (Father) and Ama (Mother), along with two sisters as if they live in the same household, yet are born from two different worlds. Her father is abusive, her mother chooses to stay in the background and her sisters evoke a kind of femininity that she does not possess. The girl is angry at her masculine differences and strikes out at her sisters physically. Apa tries to make his daughter conform to his strict religious beliefs, which she refuses to do and her defiance evokes abuse. The girl’s Abuelita is dying and she immerses herself in caring for her, partly to repay a debt and partly out of the deep love she has for her. As her grandmother lay dying, she begins the process of letting go. The moth helps to portray a sense of spirituality, re-birth and becomes, finally, an incarnation of the grandmother. The theme of the story is spiritual growth is born from human suffering.
As she tours her hometown, one can see the horrendous circumstances in which her community thrives in, for example, to get from one side to the other they must cross a makeshift bridge where the water has begun to change color such as black, green, even beginning to foam. Numerous health problems have arisen due to the toxic waste that is being dumped into the streams that therefore leading to runoff when it rains such as sores developing on feet and legs, weakened immune system, spots that appear on the limbs, etc. Lujan, a third world feminist (could also be known as an environmental feminist as well) exposes the unsanitary environment in which she lives in, desiring a greater community where her children can live in without the worry of diseases or the contamination of their water sources. Though she was not always a promotora/advocator it was not until Lujan came face to face with a sign inviting women to participate in a health survey furthermore learning about the health risks that she made the decision to be outspoken about the cause. She took workshops to help her better apprehend labor and women’s rights in order to promote laws and speak out against illegal acts conducted by businesses. Therefore, it only makes sense that women would be the most outspoken group of the maquiladoras since they make up eighty percent of the
Antonio is the main character and narrator of “Bless me, Ultima”, a book written by Rudolfo Anaya. Antonio is a six year old boy who is very curious about many of the mysteries of life such as religion and the world around him. He is often a spectator of terrible things that he doesn’t understand. Antonio is able to find out about his own culture through seeing the cultures of his friends and family, his encounters with good and evil, and his own curiosity.
Feminist literary criticism looks at how literary works portray women. They look to see if there is any social power exerted by females. Feminists also see our culture as a "patriarchal society organized in favor of the interest of men." (HCA...
Often, society is faced with multiple problems that are out of their control. How one interprets and finds a solution to these issues can greatly alter their future. In the classic, In the Time of the Butterflies, the reader is exposed to the Mirabal sisters and their fatal journey from childhood to adulthood. The reader observes as the sisters make many choices in creating new relationships and strengthening their current ones. Most women, including the Mirabal sisters are faced with the controversy of gender discrimination and have been for many years. However, Julia Alvarez allows for the world to listen in on how women have changed society due to the decisions they have made. “It’s about time we women had a voice in running our country” (Alvarez 10). If it were not for the Mirabal sisters’ courageous decision-making throughout their life, women may still have been known as the “invisible half of history”. Although society does not seem to appreciate the historic efforts of women such as
Being the youngest male member of the Marez family, Antonio was born with the burden of fulfilling his parent’s dreams. In Mexican culture women and girls tend to stay inside the house, cook, clean, and do other traditionally female occupations. However, since Antonio is a male he is more inclined to go out into the world, explore, and pursue an education. In doing so, Antonio has life changing experiences that begin molding him into a ‘man’. Aside from this, Antonio possesses a closer relationship with Ultima because he is the youngest, and because he is male. Males are typically favored in Mexican households; often receiving special treatment and leniency from women, but extraordinary pressure from men. Young boys are given freedom with the expectation that they will learn to become strong, independent, hardworking and value-oriented men. This freedom nevertheless, gives Antonio opportunities and experiences not presented to his sisters; therefore, making him the star of the novel. Antonio flexes his cultural-given independence at the beginning of the novel when he has his first life-changing encounter. The altercation happens when his father goes to hunt down the man who killed the police chief. The man being hunted is named Lupito, and Antonio find himself hiding in the river where Lupito inevitably gets shot by the town’s men. Antonio listens in fear as Narisco declares, “Let
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.
The pervasiveness of passive heroines in popular versions of fairytales and folklore has long afforded feminist critics a rich hunting ground to criticize the roles forced on women by patriarchal societies. In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros uses allusions to female heroines in children’s tales in many of the novel’s vignettes to create a portrait of expected feminine roles within a Latino patriarchal community and recasts the tales to “reveal the true-to-life consequences for women who are socialized to live their lives waiting for the happy ending” (Spencer 278). The women of Mango Street are shown to conform to the traditional roles espoused by quintessential fairy and folk tale heroines. However, their lives, as described through the voice of young Esperanza, are far from magical. Instead The House on Mango Street is suggestive of a social reality in which the women’s lives are constrained by gender roles and social mores. This research paper will endeavour to demonstrate how Esperanza’s coming-of-age transition to an empowered Chicana can only be achieved by rejectin...
Feminism is the belief that women should have political and social equality that is equal to the male society. Feminism is also the belief that women should receive the same opportunities as men in their personal decisions involving their careers, politics, and expression. It is thanks to these beliefs that many authors base their works on feminism. According to Anne-Marie Kappeli, feminist texts reflect the author’s views on women in society. In addition, most of the authors who write feminist texts are women. Feminist texts often relate to the oppression of power towards women and they also point out the unfairness and deficiencies of equal opportunity in society. Feminism also is used to create an interesting story. It is typical that in feminist stories, the main character is often a heroine who struggles with the oppression of the male society.
To understand feminism in the novel, one must first understand the feminist lens itself. OWL Purdue describes the lens as “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (Purdue). Feminism acts as both a commitment and a political movement that wants to end sexism in all forms. Most feminists generally disagree on many topics of the subject, however all have one common goal. These aspects affect The Things They Carry in a plethora of ways, mostly due to the fact that gender roles is a main theme. There are negative and positive aspects of the feminist lens. Positive contains the empowering of women and equality, whereas negative pertains to oppression and unequal rights. Both are covered in The Things They Carried from sex symbols to battle tor...
Gabriele,J.P. Of Mothers and Freedom: Adela’s Struggles for Selfhood in La casa de Bernarda Alba. Symposium, Vol 47. No 3. 188-199. 1998
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting her husband’s sudden return she regretted abandoning her moment of freedom. An analysis of “The Story if an Hour” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about women’s self-identity in the 1800s male-dominated society, and how it caused women’s lack of freedom.
...en can understand the concepts of individualism, and they can probably understand it at a higher level than men, showing women's power and potential in society. Mama Elena and Rosaura are characterized as the traditional, suppressed Mexican women. Rosaura is mocked by Esquivel because she portrays her as the dumb sister that has no control whatsoever over her choices and that can't change, and think for herself for once.
Women are in a constant battle, not for an upper hand, but for mere equality. Coelho’s Fatima eagerly encourages the man she loves, Santiago, to leave her and fulfill his Personal Legend. This is an act that seems to emphasize Fatima’s belief that Santiago’s happiness is more important than hers, which seems to allude to an equality between the two characters. This characterization of Fatima may cause readers to question the narrative’s view on women. Fatima’s willingness to let Santiago continue with his journey while...
feminist criticism focuses on the role of women in literature. it is based on an assessment of the roles of women in a story or occurring from the opinion of supporting equality among genders. Charlotte Perkins is one writer whose work include feminist criticism. feminist literary criticism before the 1970s was worried with the politics of women's writing and the illustration of women's state within literature, this comprises the representation of imaginary female women's characters. according to the Victorian web " from the 1970s on, most feminist critics reject the genderless mind, finding that the "imagination" cannot evade the conscious or unconscious structures of gender. Gender, it could be said, is part of that culture-determination which Oates says serves as inspiration. Such a position emphasizes "the impossibility of separating the imagination from a socially, sexually, and historically positioned self." This movement of thought allowed for a feminist critique as critics attacked the meaning of sexual difference in a patriarchal society/ideology. Images of male-wrought representations of women (stereotypes and exclusions) came under fire, as was the "'division, oppression, inequality, [and] interiorized inferiority for women." this means that Female stereotypes increased in early literary works. women were powerless and unintelligent. They were basically portrayed as being different from men; however, not distinguished for any involvements to society.