The relationship between Tom and Maggie in Books 1 & 2
I think most of the problems with Tom and Maggie's relationship are due to the fact that Tom thinks that females are inferior to males. He therefore thinks that Maggie is inferior to him and he shows this in the way that he treats Maggie.
Tom and Maggie both have a strong relationship with their father so therefore he could have influenced Tom's thoughts. "She'll fetch none the bigger price for that", their dad said this, and by it he means that even though Maggie is clever she won't do any better as regards to marriage. This is a very sexist way for Tom and Maggie's dad to talk about Maggie, as if females are only supposed to get married and produce children and that their intelligence doesn't matter.
If Tom's dad thinks like that it could be from his dad that Tom gets his sexist nature: "I told you girls couldn't learn Latin", this is one of the most openly sexist comments Tom makes in the book. Tom very strongly gets his point across by using harsh words such as "told" and "couldn't". This shows how inferior he feels females are, he said, "I told you" almost scornfully as if he's trying to say that if he said it, it must be right which isn't the case. Tom's complete sexist attitude is shown by the word "girls" here he generalises about any females ability to learn Latin although I'm sure that isn't the case and he just makes the comment purely because of his sexist nature.
Tom's sexism isn't just used against his sister, he uses it to put others down as well, "like a girl's: Tom thought that truly pitiable". The sexism Tom is showing here is by discriminating against Philip due to his hair apparently looking like a girls. He describes this as "truly pitiable" which shows how strongly he feels. Tom uses the word "girl" as an insult as if by calling Philip a girl he feels he has insulted him. This is a very sexist attitude, as he shouldn't be discriminating against females in this way.
Whenever Maggie acts in a way that Tom wouldn't, Tom automatically says she acts in that way, as she is a girl, "girlish way of taking things". This quotation is where Maggie gets agitated and Tom blames that on the fact that she's a girl.
In this story, Maggie is a lot like her mother. They both are uneducated, loving, caring, and allow Dee to run over them. Maggie has been through more things than her mother has though, because of the incident that happened. Maggie has scars like Emily, except Maggie’s scars are from a house fire (319). The house fire has impacted Maggie’s life tremendously, since she is very self-conscious and shy. Walker stated that Maggie is “ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs (318). The mother is protective of Maggie and will be there for her whenever she needs her too. Even though her mother knows all her struggles, she still supports her and pushes her to be better. I think that is one reason she pushes her to marry John Thomas, because she wants her to become her own person and to be strong (319). The mother of “Everyday Use” is opposite from the mother in “I Stand Here Ironing”, because she is there for her children no matter what their financial status
"Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe."(61) She is afraid of being weak and unable to project her happiness with the life she has chosen. Maggie attempts to remain quiet and reserved during the visit of her sister. The difference of their lifestyle interpretations is one of humble to extravagant. Unlike other young women, Maggie continues to live in an un-educated world where happiness is formed in the heart, not with possessions.
We do not know much about Tom’s childhood; however it is clear that his life has progressed into a sociopathic lifestyle. We do know that, “[His] parents died when [he] was very small” and that “[He] was raised by [his] aunt in Boston.” (25) He disliked his aunt, hated her, and wanted to kill her.
When he told her, she wasn’t content that he turned it down because they could’ve had money. So the following day she went out to the forest to go look for the devil. He waited to full day to go look for her because she took the pots and pans with her when she went to go meet up with the devil. He didn’t want to find her because he missed her. He wanted to find her because she had the pots that he could sell and make money off of. When he was walking in the forest on the look for her, he saw that her check apron was hanging on the branch of the tree. “Let us get hold of the property and we will endeavor to do without the woman”( Irving 158). When he took the apron off of the branch, he saw that nothing was in it but his wife’s heart and liver tied up in it. The point of this section is that Tom’s wife meant nothing to him because instead of being worried about her,
Tom and George show their attitudes about women throughout the book; they have similarities and differences. Both, Tom and George are disrespectful to the women. Throughout the book, the reader learns about Tom’s constant cheating. He was even caught
Tom and George both show their treachery towards women on multiple occasions. Tom’s first physical violent act is towards Myrtle when she constantly says, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to!” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke
Tom is portrayed as being aggressive and self confident. When he is with his mistress Myrtle, he shows his physical control over her, “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (Fitzgerald 39). His actions show how he is proud of his dominance over females. Laertes is characterized as being confident and strong. However, when Laertes learns his sister has died, he states, “Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears…When these are gone, The woman will be out.” (Shakespeare 4.7. 182-183, 185-186). Laertes considers crying to be the responsibility of a woman, as he states when he stops crying, the woman will be out of him. He is ashamed of being emotional as he believes it is feminine. Rather than being accepting to femininity, Laertes is mortified. In addition to, Tom would never act feminine. Both characters depict femininity to be a sign of weakness, so throughout the texts both strive to be the stereotypical
She wants Laura, if not herself to be taken care of. At that moment in the play Tom is the breadwinner in the family and up to this point Tom is the underpriviledged child that wants to move on. He wants to pursue his dream, a more adventurous life. Tom was a likable character until we find out he didn't pay the electric bill with the intended money. When Jim is over and he says "I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill".
Big Mama, Maggie and Mae all have very different roles within the family as well as in their respective relationships. Big Mama is, in both literal and metaphorical terms, the mother of the family but her most important role is being Big Daddy’s wife. Through all the years her and Big Daddy have been married, she’s been hopelessly devoted the entire time. Even after all the treatment she’s received from Big Daddy and even the cancer scare, it’s obvious she is very much in love with Big Daddy: “And I did, I did so much. I did love you. I even loved your hate an’ your hardness, Big Daddy!” (II.39). In everything she does, she only looks to please Big Daddy as housewives were supposed to please their husbands even through her outspoken ways. Big Mama’s personal identity is a mixture of society’s norms and her love for Big Daddy. Maggie doesn’t necessarily have a positive role in the Pollitt family. She’s supposed to be pleasing her husband and having children, but she’s doing neither of these things and it’s clear the rest of the family is concerned or looking down upon her for it. Maggie is not fulfilling a woman’s typical role in her relationship with Brick, which to the family means something is wrong with her. Even Big Mama says, “Some single men stop drinkin’ when they get married and others start! Brick never touched liquor…” (I.22), showing how even she
Tom's acts in love are childish and immature. At first, Tom's love for Becky Thatcher is just a crush. He tells Becky about his "marriage" to Amy and it starts a fight. After that, they both play a game of "hard to get". After this, Tom is too proud to apologize. Also, Tom makes good decisions. First, when Becky accidentally rips Mr. Dobbins' book a, Tom takes the blame, and this ends their feud. Another mature event takes place in McDougal's cave. When Tom and Becky are in the cave, they become lost. Then Tom takes responsibility for himself and Becky's life. These events are part of becoming a young man.
Atticus plays into the stereotype that women are weak and frail. Atticus thinks that women do not have the depth to handle a case as depressing as Tom’s. He is making a claim about all women that is not true. He is not teaching Scout how strong a woman can be. Atticus’s comments influenced the sexist tone of the conversation.
Tom is a character many people in this generation can relate to. Although the play was written many years ago Tom is just like any other millennial from this day and age. He basically hates his job because it’s not fun. He can’t cope with the fact that he has to pick up all the slack his father left behind. He even seems to think that running away will fix everything. All of these things are very common in society today.
During the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan about Daisy, she is talked about like she is a possession to be won over. During the argument Nick “glances at Daisy who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband” (Fitzgerald, page 143). Gatsby and Buchanan tell Daisy what to say instead of allowing her to tell her own truths, and if she does start to speak up for herself she is quickly quieted down. Daisy states at the beginning of the novel while talking about finding out the sex of her child that, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, page 16). Daisy is the only female character in the novel who understands that no matter what a woman accomplishes, she will always be downcasted based on her gender. This outlook is what allows her to be controlled by Gatsby and Buchanan, because she doesn’t believe that anything she can do will make her more of a human to them. Myrtle on the other hand, while still a married woman, isn’t able to see her powerlessness. She feels powerful enough to stand up to Tom and chant Daisy’s name over and over again until he breaks her nose (Fitzgerald, page 37). This scene demonstrates the way that men handled women if they ever did feel confident enough to speak for themselves. One final scene from the novel that really
As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom the chore of whitewashing the fence surrounding the house. In a brilliant scheme, Tom is able to con the neighborhood boys into completing the chore for him, managing to convince them of the joys of whitewashing. At school, Tom is equally as flamboyant, and attracts attention by chasing other boys, yelling, and running around. With his usual antics, Tom attempts to catch the eye of one girl in particular: Becky Thatcher, the Judge's daughter. When he first sees her, Tom immediately falls in love with Becky. After winning her over, Tom suggests that they "get engaged." But when Tom accidentally blurts that he has been engaged before to Amy Lawrence, he ruins his relationship with Becky and becomes heartbroken.
Motif: Showing off- Tom is mostly showing off to Becky. “When he shows off initially, we guess that he literally prances around and does gymnastics.”(Sparknotes) Later on when Tom is in Sunday school Judge Thatcher comes in, and the adults start to act like children again to get the attention of him.