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gender roles within a family
gender roles within a family
gender roles within a family
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A character you may build when in process of making a better self or a life event has changed you. Sometimes we may just want a better version of ourselves to be liked or we forget who we once were. As I saw this happening to Dee in “Everyday Use” reading when she lost herself after leaving home and marrying to a wealthy man. I can see the sister rivalry between her and Maggie the same as my sister and I. One always wanting more and the other not knowing what to do next; or wanting similar attention and affection from our mother. Even though we did not grow up together for a few years the time we did spend was always fun as children. My sister as the elder one and I the young child with seven years apart was usually difficult to get along, but now as adults has made it even harder. From reading “The everyday Use” I see how Dee made drastic changes to herself and personality when leaving home; even though she comes across as up-tight I understand her way of being to a certain level. I relate to this story from my troubles with my own sibling and how I am possibly seen as this character from her eyes. I relate to Dee’s character because of her ambition, dreams, …show more content…
All reading pieces have had amazing stories, livelihood, and different ways of plot presentation. I have enjoyed all three stories in this chapter from mystery, interpretation and tragedy. I have been left with great lessons about women during different time periods and how one small prophecy can ruin a family for a lifetime. As my favorite piece was defiantly “Trifles” because of its mystery and leaves one wanting to know more about the story. “A Doll House” has made me think about what marriage may be like and if men have really changed in today’s world about their pride. All authors to create these playwrights have had great talent, creativity and spirit as all have inspired me to more interested in
There are many similarities in the relationships between men and women in Susan Glaspell's Trifles and Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House. The conflict in each play is the result of incorrect assumptions made by the males of a male-dominated society. The men believe that women focus on trivial matters and are incapable of intelligent thinking, while the women quietly prove the men's assumptions wrong.
Both mothers compare their two daughters to each other. In Everyday Use the mother tells us that "Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure." She Fahning -2-speaks of the fire that burned and scarred Maggie. She tells us how Maggie is not bright, how she shuffles when she walks. Comparing her with Dee whose feet vwere always neat-looking, as if God himself had shaped them." We also learn of Dee's "style" and the way she awes the other girls at school with it.
The plays, Trifles and A Doll’s house utilize symbols throughout the scenes to represent the way women were dealt with and perceived all through the nineteenth century. The symbols provide the audience ways to perceive the plays principle similarities in the representation of women, for example, men releasing ladies as inconsequential and portraying them as property; then again, the plays reflect the women’s ways of life as
In “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell and “A Dollhouse” by Henrik Ibsen, the authors use symbolism to shed light on the way woman were once looked down upon by men. In both plays the woman face similar derisive attitudes from the men in their lives. Women are treated as property, looked down upon and only useful in matters pertaining to cooking, taking care of children, housework and sexual objects. The women’s marriages, socioeconomic and social status are completely different, but both women reach their emotional breaking point, and grow so discontent with their situations they are willing to take drastic actions.
The plays, Trifles and A Dollhouse use the literary tool of symbolism to portray the way women were treated throughout the nineteenth century. Susan Glaspell uses the bird cage and the dead bird to signify the role and life of women in marriage and society, whereas Henrik Ibsen uses the dollhouse. These symbols allow the reader to recognize the plays main similarities in the treatment of women, such as men dismissing women as trivial and treating them like property; however, the plays portray the women’s lifestyles as different which seal their fates.
The relationship between male and females within literary works can be expressed in a variety of different ways. Often times, gender roles are solidified to present the man as a dominant and overpowering figure, where the woman is seen as nurturing and are many times objectified due to this nature. In “Poof”, the reader is presented with an example of a woman who is ‘too accepting’ and ‘too giving’ to her male spouse, where as in “Good and Gone”, a male protagonist shatters the dominating nature of the standardized gender roles by loving a woman based off of common interest, not based off of submissive nature. Comparing these two protagonists of both plays, the writers, EP3C and Lynn Nottage, present a duality of dramatic effects by either
Walker shows that in mother and daughter relationships adaptation to change can be hard in a variety of ways. First, Dee, Mother's oldest daughter, comes home to visit her mother and little sister Maggie. When she shows up, she introduces herself as "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo" (416). Her mother is confused about why she wants to change her name, since it was the one that was passed down. Dee explains that the other name did not suit her. Now even though Mother reluctantly goes along with this new name, it is obvious that she is not used to changing names, especially if it is one of great family importance. Another character that that has a hard time changing along with Mother is Maggie. When Mother sent Dee to a good school where she could get a very good education, Dee used to come back and try to teach her lowly, uneducated family members. Maggie and her Mother were not used to this, and they were happy with the education that they had. Instead, Dee "read to us without pity; forcing words, lies other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice" (413) and tried t...
Everyday Use and Good Country People are short stories with similar themes. Can an attitude from one of the daughters have an effect on both the mother and daughter’s life? The Topic called my attention due to being the eldest daughter in my family. Dee and Momma link to the connection I have with my mother. Dee, the eldest daughter, is seen by momma as insubordinate. The same way I feel my mother sees me. Dee and Hulga change their names in order to prove a point. Joy changed her name as a tool to rebel against her mother, Mrs. Hopewell. Dee changed her name to express to Maggie and her mother a new culture, causing her mother to insinuate that Dee is rejecting her identity and heritage. Both relationships between
Many define drama to be a literary work that is to be performed in front of an audience. But to truly define drama one must comply with its themes in order to understand it fully. Drama is a form of art that is visually presented. It displays key characteristics of human emotions to give deeper meaning to what is being presented. Sometimes drama brings out what a person is truly feeling through a tragedy play or a play portraying good fortune. Drama plays are sometimes taken out of real life instances to extend the controversy of the event or elevate the excitement of the situation. Much like in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”, where a woman is being put on trial for killing her husband. Trifles are small insignificant things that can be ignored. Women are being ridiculed in this drama due to their lack of voice in society; however their superiority is shown through their keen eye for evidence. Symbolism in this play acts as a precursor to predestined events that take place. It can be observed by looking at anything that has specific significance to a scene, which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters methodically point out. The unfinished quilt, the strangled bird, and fruit are the symbols that give insight what really happened between Mr. and Mrs. Wright, and what went wrong during their marriage to result in such a dreadful end.
Scott, Clement. "Review of 'A Doll's House." The Theatre 14.79 (July 1889): 19-22. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Paula Kepos. Vol. 37. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
The main character in the story "Everyday Use" would have to be Mama, without a doubt. Although she doesn?t change like Dee does, Mama changes a great deal. Mama would also have to be the main character because she narrates the story. At the beginning of the story, Mama sounds like she does not have a lot of confidence in herself. For example, she states that ?But that was a mistake. I know even before I wake up. Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue? Who can even imagine me looking a strange
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
Dee's physical beauty can be defined as one of her biggest assets. The fact that Maggie sees Dee "with a mixture of envy and awe" (409) cues the reader to Dee's favorable appearance. The simplistic way in which Walker states that "Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure" (410) gives the reader the idea that Dee's beauty has made it easier for her to be accepted outside her family in society. We are left with the impression that Dee's appearance is above average. Walker plays on Dee's physical beauty to contrast the homeliness of Maggie and her mother. Walker goes so far as to describe her feet as "always neat-looking, as if God himself had shaped them with a certain style" (411). In describing Dee's feet, Walker is giving the impression of perfection from head to toe. Dee's outward beauty has "made her transition from poor farm girl to that of an educated, middle-class black woman possible" (Allen-Polley 11). Needless to say, Dee doesn't seem comfortable with her past and therefore has a difficult time accepting her future. It is as though she is not really connected with her family anymore. She simply needs them to fulfill their positions in her recreated past.
In the short story, "Everyday Use", author Alice Walker uses everyday objects, which are described in the story with some detail, and the reactions of the main characters to these objects, to contrast the simple and practical with the stylish and faddish. The main characters in this story, "Mama" and Maggie on one side, Dee on the other, each have opposing views on the value and worth of the various items in their lives, and the author uses this conflict to make the point that the substance of an object, and of people, is more important than style.
The story shows that one can make significant progress in life as a result of choice or circumstances, and the clearly opposite side of social-class that are high and low class level. Maggie is truly the low class who is always feel inferiority complex because she doesn’t have education: “I never had an education myself…She knows she is not bright” (472), and nice body as Dee because of home fire “Maggie will be nervous…homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs” (470). From the other point of view, Dee is totally different. She has the education: “her education from high school” (472). The mother was the sole breadwinner hence, she plays the role of a man as well as a woman. In fact, she views her physical characteristics equating herself to a man, “big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands” (470). Maggie is a character that is put down by circumstances and physical appearance; this is a typical representation of the struggles of the African Americans: “I am a large…I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man…I can work outside all day” (470), The way Maggie’s walking is kind of “a lame animal” (471). Most women were not able to rise due to the unfavorable environment. As for Dee, her views were more accepted outside the boundaries of her