This film assists in disclosing societies portrayal of the relations amidst men and women. Through a non-traditional perspective on the controversial relations between men and women regarding both work etiquette and societal views. As the film opens the main character “Josey Aimes” has been abused by her husband, and has chosen to move back to her parents’ home where she was clearly unwanted. Her father makes assumptions that his daughter had created the abuse by being unfaithful, while her own son believes his mother to be a whore/tramp. Reflecting on these two situations, society has constructed that woman would be at fault for any conflict created between a man and woman. Since the film is based around the last few decades of the 20th century it chronicles our societies biases during that period, which may still be prominent within society today. Further clarification shows that all the main female character wanted was to provide fully for her family since becoming a single mother. To many this would be completely acceptable, however, the only available work within her hometown for both men or women was working in the mines which …show more content…
This too would be met with obstacles since, the company attorney put “Josey” and her character on trial along with the fact the case at the time was based on she said he said. That was until she obtains the support of her family and friend “Glory”, then the others joined allowing the case to become a class action suit. Although this suit was won by the plaintiffs, and has become a well-documented part of our society as a breakthrough case in the search for equality based on race and gender. Gender obstacles are raised throughout every country or society, but as far as the United States it has yet to be resolved, and may continue to be a driving force in
The antagonistic nature of man verses woman is illustrated through Allende’s description and reactions of Clara and Esteban. Men and women are at the opposite ends of the spectrum of human nature, women know that men like to think they are in charge, because it gives them power, so women give into this little whim for the peace of mind and happiness that are essential in any relationship. Their instincts make their influence much more threatening and rebellious than the rage of one man who does not get his way. The women of Allende’s world are vibrant, spiritual, sensible and loving, the men are volatile, strong, and passionate, while they may be stereotypical, they help portray the true nature of man verses woman. Women may be physically weaker than men but they can match wits and daring with them any time.
By examining the narrative voice as well as the cultural restraints placed on them, readers can see the sexist culture in the novel and that the novel itself does not necessarily advocate this misogyny. Yunior, a Dominican man, is the overall narrator of the novel, so readers essentially see everything through his masculine eye. When discussing a brief fling with Lola, Oscar’s sister, Yunior says, “Even those nights after I got jumped she wouldn’t let me steal on her ass for nothing. So you can sleep in my bed but you can’t sleep with me?” (Diaz 169) His question suggests that it is his right to sleep with her, and his discussion of Lola herself objectifies her by noting only her body and her refusal to use it. This objectification is clearly sexist, but it is a reflection of the narrative voice, Yunior, not of Lola. Yunior will casually refer to a woman as “a bitch” (Diaz 183), which is clearly demeaning, but it is a man’s view and does not reflect on the substance of the women. It shows readers the culture he was raised in, not an actual portrayal of the women, illustrating a misogynist society but not a misogynistic novel. In the Dominican Republic, gender-based violence is the fourth leading cause of death, hinting at the overall problems caused by the hyper-sexualized nature of the country. Sociologist Denise Paiewonsky
In several cultures, women are seen as archetypes more than men. The proposition of women are instantly idealized and glorified and instantaneously ignore the true complexity of a woman. Countless of these superficial images can be seen across various cultures where the societies within these cultures define what it means to be a female and what type of behavior is and isn’t acceptable within those parameters. The persistent restatement of these stories throughout these generations reinforces the gender system. Women who step out of the norm in these societies are then held punishable for their actions. Alicia Gaspar de Alba pinpoints the three archetypal roles that are given to the women in the Mexican and Chicana cultures. These are, “the mother, the virgin, and the whore.”) (51). These ideologies preserve that all women are determined by these social roles. These roles can easily become an unsustainable way to coexist, as in the image of the “Virgin Mother,” can be seen as opposites with the whore. This demands a division of the perpetual binary. Due to this, women must continually strive to mold themselves to uphold standards that may seem impossible, which then leads into the suppression of their sexuality.
In conclusion, we see how this boundary between genders is amorphous yet binding as it perpetuates the male dominant societies in The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek in various forms, enclosing women within its walls. For women “[t]o survive the Borderlands”, they “must live sin fronteras (without borders)/ be a crossroads”(Anzaldua 38,39-40).
Patriarchy is a form of social organization. Sandra Cisneros, a writer who was one of seven children and the only girl, has written extensively about the Latina experience in the United States. “The House on Mango Street” contains many of her family members and friends, which are Esperanza, the narrator; her mother and father; Sarah and Lucy, her best friends; Nenny, her little sisters; and Carlos and Kiki, her youngest brother. “The House on Mango Street” is about a family that grew up very poor in Chicago. Her family always wanted to move, but she wanted this move to be her last move. Although they moved don’t mean that she was satisfied with it because she wasn’t and she hated her living conditions, she wanted to be independent and on her own; she wanted things to her way. She prayed for better days and for a better life, so one day she took it upon herself to leave. “The House on Mango Street”, by Sandra Cisneros, addresses the topic of Social Issues through her use of Ambiguity, allegory, and anecdote.
One of the issues that was raised is the idea of the relationship between femininty, technology and sexuality. The relationship between all of these qualities converse in one character, Maria. The real Maria has many roles thoughout the movie, including one who cares for the workers children, a preacher of peace for the workers, and one who loves Freder. The machi...
Cisneros describes that even women who must understand each other’s feelings since they go through the same struggle of marriage and raising kids are oblivious to the fact that children are also encouraged to grow up in a way that portrays women being inferior to men. She writing through Esperanza's point of view as “The boys and girls live in separate worlds.[...] My brothers for example. They’ve got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can't be seen talking [to us].”(8) Cisneros says boys and girls grow up separately, they have a different set of rules they have to follow, and naturally, girls follow the harder ones. The grown adults monitor the feeling of girls being inferior to boys in each house and exhibit no attempt to change that misconception. Adding on, Cisneros characterizes the children living on Mango Street as innocent and lacking the knowledge about their sexuality and puberty as none of the adults have taken the initiative to explain these abstract concepts to children which lead to the children putting themselves in the path of trouble when they try to explore puberty. As adults do not explain the delicate matter of adolescence to their children, they are more inclined to be taken advantage of by others. For instance, Cisneros writes about Esperanza assaulted and brutally raped in different
“Poverty and exploitation of women in Latin America can never be alleviated because they are rooted in machismo,” meaning that because of the way society was run in Latin American, women can’t advance from the ancient state of mind that they belong in the private sphere and should stay there, because only men are good enough to be out in the public sphere. The reason why society was run in this manner, was because of the machismo feeling engraved in the minds of men and, in some cases, women in society. Alicia, Carolina, and Nancy don’t really have any other choice, than try to survive on their own by doing acts that are not “approved” by the society they live in. Even now, because of their actions, we could even disagree with the way they decided to approach their situation, because even now a day, we could think that selling one’s body or being involved in “off the book”
It is the purpose of this essay therefore to demonstrate that there is a profound influence in the use of sound and language in relation to the discrimination of women. By showing that the manipulation of sound and language in regards to the films’ narrative structure is responsible for this apparent persecution, a clearer understanding should be gained as to why the figure of the female is observed in this form.
Esperanza must socialize with her younger sister Nenny, who is too young to be her friend, but a girl nonetheless. She says her brothers “got plenty to say to [her] and Nenny inside the house. But outside their house[,] they can’t be seen talking to girls” (8). Why? Because talking to their sisters and other girls will invalidate their masculinity and it will taint their image. They cannot be seen talking to the girls because they will lose their status with their friends and their social clique will be intruded. This is not acceptable in a male-dominated society, therefore, they must stick to the rules: women ought never to meddle with men social spheres maintaining their feminity, while men can conveniently intrude into the women social sphere sustaining their masculinity. This sort of male privilege is clear in The House on Mango Street and it is made clearer by Esperanza’s distinction between boys and
During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working raised by fifty percent.” They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant.” Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's
Women have been given by society certain set of duties, which although change through time, tend to stay relatively along the same lines of stereotypical women activities. In “A Doll House” and “Simply Maria” we see the perpetuation of these forms of behavior as an initial way of life for the two protagonists. Nonetheless; we see a progression towards liberation and self discovery towards the development as a human being by breaking the rules of society. Such attitudes soon find opposing forces. those forces will put to the test the tenacity of these women; and yield freedom and ownership for their lives which are owned by others at the start of their stories.
This essay will analyze the themes of sexual and class exploitations in the story “The Wife’s Resentment” by Delariviere Manley. By exploring these themes we are able to get an idea of why Manley wrote this story. That is, she hoped to make young women, whether rich or poor, aware of the value of their virtue as well as their rights as married or single women to protect that virtue or honor. By revealing the themes that are presented in the story, we can see what Manley stood for and why she wrote this story in the period she lived in.
In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza comes across many issues in her neighborhood that relate to “a woman’s future”. Usually, the catastrophe of the commonplace dream that circulates throughout the minds of Esperanza’s peers and like-gendered neighbors starts with sex and ends with violence. Whether the urge to fornicate is a direct lead into violence or just a gateway is a somewhat hard-to-place theory. However, as Esperanza grows she unknowingly stumbles into the predicament herself as her adventures escalate and bring her deeper into the barrios’ barbaric and dangerous nature.
Also, the film revealed women empowerment and how superior they can be compared to men. While demonstrating sexual objectification, empowerment, there was also sexual exploitation of the women, shown through the film. Throughout this essay, gender based issues that were associated with the film character will be demonstrated while connecting to the real world and popular culture.