The Ladies Paradise by Émile Zola Zola's portrayal of men and their attitudes towards women may be the relation between that of, the controller and the controlled. One is made to believe that it is the men who control the women, and although this is the case in most instances of the Ladies Paradise, there are two people who ensue in resisting against all odds, at being run over by the machine that captivated and engulfed the late nineteenth century bourgeois household unit. They are the elegant Mademoiselle Boudu and the brushy eye browed Monsieur Bourras. One of the main characters Monsieur Mouret ("governor" of the Ladies Paradise) spectacularly uses the lower classes as a tool to increase the perception of happenings in his store. So as to invoke middle class ladies of France not only to enter his palatial trap set for the nineteenth century consumer, but as well to create their desire of acquiring greater material possessions than they may actually need. Another implication is the insatiable consumer appetite created by Mouret results in the development of kleptomania, exemplified in the latter stages of the book by a bourgeois wife of a Magistrate, Madame de Boves, as well as long time employees of the department store. Mouret is the quintessential renaissance man of France with his dashing ways of charming women and subduing them to his desires whilst having them believe that his actions are in their favor and interest at all times. Monsieur Mouret had the utmost respect for women and their habits; this is the case until his boredom with them in his private life overwhelms his desires for them, in which case he moves on to the next victim. In the public arena he continually portrays himself as a gentleman of gentlem... ... middle of paper ... ... to be filled none-the-less, so it was only fitting for Mouret to do it. It took the irreverence for filial morality to achieve the contemporary model for doing business. Denise saw this new functioning of enterprise, and even though she had her reservation from seeing the degeneration of social order, she still was a participant of it. Not only that, she implored others to follow, for she was aware that its momentum would overcome them had they not heeded to her advice. And this is exactly what happened to, Monsieur Bourras, her uncle Boudu and his family, as well as the other small shops of "old" Paris. And as for the misfortunate thievery that was going which did not discriminate by class or position, they were merely trifling consequences of modern achievement. They would be dealt with naturally just like the organic evolution of nineteenth century establishment.
Common sense seems to dictate that commercials just advertise products. But in reality, advertising is a multi-headed beast that targets specific genders, races, ages, etc. In “Men’s Men & Women’s Women”, author Steve Craig focuses on one head of the beast: gender. Craig suggests that, “Advertisers . . . portray different images to men and women in order to exploit the different deep seated motivations and anxieties connected to gender identity.” In other words, advertisers manipulate consumers’ fantasies to sell their product. In this essay, I will be analyzing four different commercials that focuses on appealing to specific genders.
The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a story of science, religion and the life of the Henrietta Lacks herself. It has won many awards and was on the New York Best Seller list for over three years. To summarize it briefly, the book is based on the cells of Henrietta Lacks who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Sometime before she died, some of her tissue was sampled and used for research without her permission. They used the cells form her body to experiment on which led to many breakthrough discoveries in the scientific world. The cells were later named HeLa cells. No one in her family knew about this until years after her death, so they felt like she was just being used as an experiment from which they got nothing. When looking at the book as a whole, it is easy to see why so many people hold it in such high regards; however it appealed to me in a different way.
The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, at Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee conducted numerous frontal assaults against fortified positions occupied by the Union forces under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield and was unable to break through or to prevent Schofield from a planned, orderly withdrawal to Nashville.
In the short story “An Adventure in Paris” by Guy De Maupassant an unnamed woman seeks for adventure, love, and excitement. An unnamed narrator starts to explain the inner nature and curiosity of a woman. The story transitions to the point of view of an unnamed lawyer’s wife which allows us to see her deepest desire to travel to Paris and be part of the lavishing life she has seen in the magazines. To escape her regular routine she makes a plan to go to Paris; however, her family members are only middle class and cannot help her fulfill her desire to live the life of a celebrity, fame, and fashion. Just when her trip seems to be monotonous she comes across the chance to live the life of an extravagant person. This chance happens when she meets Jean Varin, a wealthy author, in a store wanting to purchase a Japanese figurine. When Varin decides that the figurine is too expensive the lawyer’s wife steps up to buy the figurine which causes Varin to notice her. She flirtatiously invites herself into Varin’s daily activities which intrigue Varin. As the day closes she invites herself to Varin’s house and has an affair with Varin; however, she doesn’t feel she is satisfied because of his many needs. She anxiously waits till morning to come so that she can leave which only confuses Varin. When Varin asks her why she is leaving after all they have been through she states that she wanted to know what depravity felt like; however, it was not what she expected. The central idea of the story is about a woman’s psychological desire for romance, adventure, and an opulent lifestyle that leads to curiosity and the immoral act of adultery.
Julia Child created the most influential cookbook in the history of America. In her book, My Life in France, one message she sends about the nature of goodness is that hard work, persistence, and integrity pays off. Julia displays this before, during, and after the process of creating her cookbook. Before, in her cooking classes, Julia did not back down from any challenge, even when no one believed in her. During, Julia worked harder than she had ever worked. And after, Julia and her co- authors Simone and Louisette, never gave up, even when their cookbook was rejected by their publisher. She was the definition of an underdog, but she prevailed, and came out on top. Without her persistence, she never would have had one of the best selling cookbooks of all time.
Adèle Ratignolle uses art to beautify her home. Madame Ratignolle represents the ideal mother-woman (Bloom 119). Her chief concerns and interests are for her husband and children. She was society’s model of a woman’s role. Madame Ratignolle’s purpose for playing the pia...
visit the just and exhort them to do what is right, to give to each
Sexuality is very diverse, in some instances normality is based on the cultural context of the individual 's society. In "The other side of desire" by Daniel Bergner, the author goes in depth into the lives of four individual 's whose lust and longing have led them far down the realms of desire. The current paper addresses the four individual 's Jacob, the Baroness, Roy, and Ron each exhibits a paraphilia that may or may not meet the full criteria in the DSM-5. Furthermore, each person’s specific paraphilia is conceptualized and explained in depth. Countertransferential issues anticipated before working with these individuals is analyzed and clarified. Also, the apprehension of sexual arousal and sexual behaviors is conceptualized into normality
In this novel, the society is centered around dichotomies; “youth and dotage” (Balzac 67), “the young man who has possessions and the young man that has nothing” and “the young man who thinks and the young man who spends” (87). Any person who falls outside of either box is called a “[child] who learn[s]… too late” or can “never appear in polite society” (87), essentially meaning they are undesirable in a formal society because they cannot follow expectations. The titular character, Paquita, is an “oriental” foreigner, from Havana, domesticated in Paris when she was sold to a wealthy woman who desired her. She fits into no culture entirely, as she is “part Asian houri on her mother’s side, part European through education, and part tropical by birth” (122). She is bisexual, choosing neither men nor women over the other. She is controlling, dressing Henri in women’s clothing (119), but controlled as she is reduced to a possession. However, there are ways in which a person can still be desired even if they are not easily pigeonholed. With her golden eyes and sensuality, Paquita fulfills both of the main pursuits of this society, “gold and pleasure” (68). Consequently, unlike the Marquis and his irrelevance in society, Paquita is highly sought after, thus making her a valuable commodity. Her desirability is not because of who she is as a human, but instead what
In Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast, Generous Orthodoxy, he explains what generous orthodoxy is. The generous part of generous orthodoxy amounts to being open to making changes and seeing change as positive, and the orthodoxy points to a more traditional stance on values. Combined, these two concepts are ironic, because generally traditions aren’t changed easily, and the changes made aren’t always accepted by the community that stands behind those traditions. Gladwell also explains that to make a positive change in a tradition, the body that you are trying to change must be respected.
Throughout many of Toni Morrison?s novels, the plot is built around some conflict for her characters to overcome. Paradise, in particular, uses the relationships between women as a means of reaching this desired end. Paradise, a novel centered around the destruction of a convent and the women in it, supports this idea by showing how this building serves as a haven for dejected women (Smith). The bulk of the novel takes place during and after WWII and focuses on an all black town in Oklahoma. It is through the course of the novel that we see Morrison weave the bonds of women into the text as a means of healing the scars inflicted upon her characters in their respective societies.
This passage in Honorè de Balzac’s novel Père Goriot describes the ultimatum Rastignac gives to himself after experiencing a harsh transition of luxury to filth, as he sees it. Before Rastignac enters his meek lodgings he has a life altering discussion with Madame de Beausèant. They talked about the price he would have to pay to gain acceptance into Parisian high society. The contrast he experiences ultimately fuels his greed and reckless behavior. This drives him further on to his mission of making his fortune. In a close reading of this passage the narrator takes turns of telling Rastignac’s point of view and his own. The adjectives used to describe Rastignac’s actions and thoughts add to the sense of urgency he feels. The sharp contrast between the elegant and the common is made more prevalent in Rastignac’s eyes.
"A Woman’s Place", the name of the commencement speech given by Naomi Wolf at the Scripps College graduation in 1992; contrasts the independent and the dependent woman. In today’s society, there are two different types of women: the woman who has a good head on her shoulders and knows where she is going in the world, and the woman who seeks dependence within the masculine world. Just as they were thirty years ago, women are still not considered to be equal to men. They are more or less looked at as being second to men.
In The Stranger, Camus portrays women as unnecessary beings created purely to serve materialistically and satisfy males through the lack of a deep, meaningful, relationship between Meursault and females. Throughout the text, the main character, Meursault, creates closer, more meaningful relationships with other minor characters in the story. However, in his interactions with females in this book, Meursault’s thoughts and actions center on himself and his physical desires, observations, and feelings, rather than devoting his attention to the actual female. Living in Algiers in the 1960s, Meursault originates from a post-modernist time of the decline in emotion. Meursault simply defies the social expectations and societal ‘rules’, as post-modernists viewed the world. Rather than living as one gear in the ‘machine’ of society, Meursault defies this unwritten law in the lackluster relationships between he and other females, as well as his seemingly blissful eye to society itself. In The Stranger, males, not females, truly bring out the side of Meursault that has the capacity for compassion and a general, mutual feeling relationship. For example, Marie and Meursault’s relationship only demonstrate Meursault’s lack of an emotional appetite for her. Also, with the death of Maman, Meursault remains virtually unchanged in his thoughts and desires.
Women at Point Zero is a book written by Nawal El Saadawi where she focuses on the main character Firdaus and shares her story in a way that allows reader to get an idea of the patriarchal structures of Egyptian society. Her life story shows readers the obvious discontentment women have with the way society views them, and the glorification of things that go against normal societal structures. This book does an excellent job of portraying the patriarchal society and how women are dominated by men. However, it truly reinforces the stereotype that western culture has of Middle Eastern men as being animalistic beings ravaging defenseless women and the role of Islam.