In the poem “The One Girl at the Boys’ Party,” Sharon Olds uses imagery to convey pride in her daughter’s growing femininity. What would seem to be another childhood pool party for the girl turns into an event that marks a rite of passage to adulthood. Though the narrator is reluctant of her daughter’s search for an identity, she ultimately sees her daughter’s transformation to womanhood as admirable. Olds’ pride is first shown when the girl begins to lose her innocence from the unfamiliar surroundings of masculine men. The narrator says, “They will strip to their suits, her body hard and indivisible as a prime number” (5-6). The girl’s stiff and confident stature that this image conveys suggests that she is anxious yet willing to progress …show more content…
. her narrow silk suit with hamburgers and french fries printed on it will glisten in the brilliant air . . .” (13-15). The majestic image of the girl illustrates the mother’s pride in her daughter’s confidence during the predominantly male party. As a result of the girl’s poised demeanor, the mother is likely to be pleased with her daughter’s ability to uphold the expectations of an adult. Rather than feeling apprehensive and uneasy about a party favoring one gender, the girl overlooks this distinction and carries herself admiringly. In addition to developing an adult-like composure, the girl also experiences an awakening of her sexuality. Her seductive feelings and allurement toward the boys is becoming more conscious in her thoughts. Emerging from the pool, the water from the girl’s body is described to “sparkle and fall to the power of a thousand . . .” (22). The girl is beginning to understand sexual attraction and her appeal to the opposite sex. The mental image of prestige that is suggested by her newfound “power” heavily contradicts the representation of innocence and naivety of what was once the girl. The girl is no longer oblivious to sexual desires and hesitant of change. Instead, she carries around her femininity and allurement as a badge of
This frustration acted as a vehicle for her to gain a desire to be more
The poem starts with the line, “This girlchild was born as usual,” which suggests that as soon as a girl is born, society already expects her to learn the role she will soon play in when she hits puberty (1). Thus, showing why we are given dolls as little girls to illustrate how we should act and appear according to society. After we learn all the roles we will soon take part in, “the magic of puberty,” hits and girls immediately begin applying the ideals to their own lives (5). As if this attempt to conform is not enough we have other people telling us we are not to perfect. “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” says a classmate to the girl (6). This type of pressure can slowly but surely destroy even the little confidence women do have in themselves.
Lisa Genova, the author of Still Alice, a heartbreaking book about a 50-year-old woman's sudden diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and Dementia USA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association. Genova's work with Alzheimer's patients has given her an understanding of the disorder and its affect not only on the patient, but on their friends and family as well (Simon and Schuster, n.d.).
In the beginning, the “girlchild” being discussed is described as “healthy, tested intelligent,/ possessed strong arms and back,/ abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.” (lines 7-9) Yet throughout the poem, all that is pointed out is her fat nose and thick legs. As the poem progresses, she is told how to improve her flaws, through diet, exercise and acting dumb. By the end the girl commits suicide after exhausting her efforts to conform to society. The final lines show the people attending her funeral discussing how pretty she looks, emphasizing the idea that she finally achieved her “happy ending”. The poem as a whole demonstrates a type of satire called Juvenalian satire, which is a formal version in which the speaker (or writer) attacks the vices and error of society with contempt and indignation. Through Ms. Piercy’s use of description and words choice that implies contempt and sarcasm, the reader is able to identify how society’s standards for women’s looks greatly overshadow other talents and abilities they may have. It is demonstrated that if one is not skinny, and petite with perfect hair and a “turned up...nose” (line 21) then other traits such as intelligence, kindness, and strength are not worth
Once Orlando returns to the world of civility, boarding a ship to London in her new dress, she reflects upon the duties of a woman. She remembers that, as a man, she thought women were to be “exquisitely apparelled” but also “chaste year in and year out” (251). This upsets her as she is overwhelmed by the large effort she will have to put into her appearance only to get no reward. Orlando’s dilemma has been one that women have always faced: the balance of sexuality and modesty. Her society places heavy emphasis on marriage, wherein daughters vainly alter their appearance in hopes that they will use their beauty to attract a man of status. Consequently, they must also show modesty, not making a man want them too much, in order to preserve their image of purity. After losing her ability to be sexual, Orlando realizes that she faces many problems that she didn’t have as a man. In coming home after a long trip, Orlando returns to countless lawsuits because her sons are fighting for a property she can no longer own. Although Orlando “remained precisely as [she] had been” (220), her memories and ability the exact same, society deems her incapable of owning property. Orlando’s society would rather take everything from her than admit that her sex changed very little else about her ability and personality.
It explores this idea primarily through the use of diction that refers counterintuitively to that which it describes. In the opening stanza of Piercy’s poem the idea of gender identity is immediately discussed through the idea that girls are expected to play with certain kinds of toys. Piercy writes “presented dolls that did pee-pee / and miniature GE stoves and irons / and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (Piercy 2-4). In quick transition, Piercy then explains that “in the magic of puberty” the young woman was insulted for her appearance (5). This quote shows that gender expectations are placed on children at the first possible moment. As children, girls are forced to prepare for their roles as a wives and mothers by taking care of baby dolls and by cooking pretend meals. This shows that for their entire lives, women are only destined for one outcome—domesticated servitude. In addition, through the use of descriptive language, such as the mention of “pee-pee” and the cherry flavored candy, Piercy seems to mock the way young girls talk (primarily their choice of words). In the next description, Piercy uses imagery to show the reader that the woman is healthy, intelligent, strong, and having “abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.” (9). This quote shows that no matter how smart she was
It interrogatively parallels slandered women’s poetry to type-casted personas, who metaphorically “paints her face” as an outspoken, artistic statement, attaining gender equality only through alcohol consumption (“to the manly Bumper flys”), which stimulates the undeveloped mind alongside men alike to composing poetry (Why should it be in me a thing so vain/To heat with poetry my colder Brain”), as well as reprehending the scornful, patriarchal judgement that sardonically ignores the unappealing (“In ev’ry place to let that face be seen which all the town rejected at fifteen?”). This imitates both the supposed half-mindedness of women to male’s skewed perspective and confining rule, and the aspiration for freedom, through the Zeitgeist rhetorical mock
In The Boy No One Loved the author, Casey Watson, discusses child abuse in a boy named Justin and some of the life events that he has gone through. Justin is an example of how child abuse can be correlated with violence. Some of the forms of child abuse that Justin went through while being with his birth mother include: neglect, maltreatment, sexual abuse, and being in an unsafe environment. When these circumstances happen, though, Justin was lucky because he was able to find a family that grew to care for and love him. Finding a family (or even being a member of a family) like this is a wonderful experience that not every child gets to have.
“The Girl in the Flammable Skirt”, by Aimee Bender, is a short story narrated by a young teenage girl. The story is metaphorically themed. It illustrates the burden of a man, experienced by the other.
We have all heard the African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The response given by Emma Donoghue’s novel Room, simply states, “If you’ve got a village. But if you don’t, then maybe it just takes two people” (Donoghue 234). For Jack, Room is where he was born and has been raised for the past five years; it is his home and his world. Jack’s “Ma” on the other hand knows that Room is not a home, in fact, it is a prison. Since Ma’s kidnapping, seven years prior, she has survived in the shed of her capturer’s backyard. This novel contains literary elements that are not only crucial to the story but give significance as well. The Point-of-view brings a powerful perspective for the audience, while the setting and atmosphere not only affect the characters but evokes emotion and gives the reader a mental picture of their lives, and the impacting theme along-side with conflict, both internal and external, are shown throughout the novel.
Throughout the world, there are rudimentary gender characteristics, both physical and psychological, that differentiate a man from a woman. However, some people do not associate themselves with these stereotypical characteristics. Notwithstanding the amount of progress achieved in the past few decades, gender stereotypes are still solemn. Qualities like strength, intellect and sexual deviance are usually associated with men, while qualities like irrational, emotional and insecure are more relevant to women. In Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Dorothy Livesay’s “The Unquiet Bed”, each poet captures the expression of female
In Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls,” there is a time line in a young girl’s life when she leaves childhood and its freedoms behind to become a woman. The story depicts hardships in which the protagonist and her younger brother, Laird, experience in order to find their own rite of passage. The main character, who is nameless, faces difficulties and implications on her way to womanhood because of gender stereotyping. Initially, she tries to prevent her initiation into womanhood by resisting her parent’s efforts to make her more “lady-like”. The story ends with the girl socially positioned and accepted as a girl, which she accepts with some unease.
In the short story, “Girl,” the narrator describes certain tasks a woman should be responsible for based on the narrator’s culture, time period, and social standing. This story also reflects the coming of age of this girl, her transition into a lady, and shows the age gap between the mother and the daughter. The mother has certain beliefs that she is trying to pass to her daughter for her well-being, but the daughter is confused by this regimented life style. The author, Jamaica Kincaid, uses various tones to show a second person point of view and repetition to demonstrate what these responsibilities felt like, how she had to behave based on her social standing, and how to follow traditional customs.
After reading Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together, I was left with mixed feelings. Ill thought the book was poorly written, and could have been structured better. The way Turkle structures the book made me bored and uninterested. On the other hand, it enlightened me about the conditions that technology has done throughout society.
T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land, shuffles through many characters, several of who are women. Each one of the characters has their own story and their own voice. They each contribute something unique to the overall meaning of the poem. The women in particular vary widely in age, stage of life, education level, and socioeconomic status. Their voices are unique and distinctive, and it is typically easy to tell them apart when they come up in the poem. However, despite their differences, Eliot remarked that the women are actually all a manifestation of a single woman. Two women in the poem who exemplify this thought make their appearance in Part II: “A Game of Chess.” These women appear to be complete opposites, but they work together in the poem to express Eliot’s view on modern sexuality.