Green Grass, Powerful Women
White culture misinterpreted, ridiculed and even outlawed native beliefs. Natives, in turn were forced to live according to the absurdities of the white man. In Green Grass Running Water, King portrays these absurdities through four old Indians and a coyote that are trying to fix the world. This task becomes very difficult for them, when the Christian God appears and messed everything up. Now they are confused and the world is in chaos. King shows how illogical and foreign the natives found the Christian religion; especially in it’s views on Women’s inequality.
It all started “in the beginning.” Everything was fine with this [Indian] beginning until that crazy Christian God (or dog) got a hold of the world and mixed everything up.
So, there was a Sky World and in that sky world was a woman. Big woman.
Strong woman. First Woman. First woman falls from the sky world into the water world and decides she better make some land. G O D thinks this is ok, but a garden would be better. First woman makes a garden and lives there with Ahdamn. Nobody knows were Ahdamn came from, but things like that happen, you know. (King, 40)
At first this novice Christian G O D does not realize that there is anything wrong with First Woman being called Strong Woman. Naturally, no (Christian) G O D in their right mind would let a woman have a name with that much power. This new G O D also does not realize the insignificant role that Adam plays or the humiliation that he brings with a name like “Ahdamn”. Aside from his name, Ahdamn is a foolish man. While First Woman is busy finding them something to eat, Ahdamn is naming the animals.
You are a microwave oven, Ahdamn tells the Bear. We got to get you some glasses, says the Bear. You are a telephone book, Ahdamn tells the Cedar Tree. You’re getting closer, says the Cedar Tree. You are a cheeseburger, Ahdamn tells Old Coyote.
Everything is fine and G O D does not think anything is wrong until First Woman comes across that forbidden tree. It has all sorts of goodies such as apples, melons, bananas, hotdogs, fry break, corn, potatoes, pizza, and extra-crispy friend chicken. But G O D does not want anybody eating his food and so his Christian rules are made and women are suppressed.
In this next story G O D has more control over the situation and is...
... middle of paper ...
.... She has to grab his face to keep his attention; and second, Alberta’s control over him. She holds all the cards, he is just a player in her game, and he’s about get loose. She doesn’t really need him, in fact, if she can find a way to do without him, it’s done. She would rather have a one-night stand or be artificially inseminated than to have a man tag along. It is clear that the role of a man is very diminished, not needed to make the baby and not wanted to raise the baby. This is outside of the social Christian norms, but Luckily Alberta is a Strong Woman, an Indian woman and has the economic means to support a child on her own, which is more than she can say for Lionel. Poor Lionel is left in the dark with no role to play but that of a child whose fate is controlled by the women around him.
The four old Indian’s must have done something right, despite the Christian G O D getting in the way of their culture and messing up their story. Even outside of this novel, we live in a chaotic world of mixed up stories and combined religions. We are a Christian nation (thanks to the Christian G O D) but we also hold true to our Native origins of female superiority.
Schungel-Straumann, H. (1993) ‘On the Creation of Man and Woman in Genesis 1-3: The History and Reception of the Texts Reconsidered’. In: Brenner, A. (ed.). A Feminist Companion to Genesis. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. pp.53-76.
We always talk about the creation of the earth itself and how it all started with men, but let's talk about the women for once. In Pandora's Box, it says that the first woman, Pandora, a beautiful woman made from clay, was gifted to Epimetheus. Which Zeus names as “his own terrible gift to mankind”. Along with Pandora, Epimetheus received a box, in which he was warned not to let anyone, especially Pandora, open. After a seemingly perfect domestic life, Pandora's’ curiosity/desire got too strong and she opened the box. Then, outcome; want, suffering, hunger, thirst, jealousy, and mistrust. All evils were let out, except for one thing, hope, the only good thing, and
Wilson’s Fences paints a picture of African American living in the 1950’s in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, which is Wilson’s hometown. The main character Troy Maxon is a garbage man, who feels he could give the world more than what segregation permits him to. Clive Barns in his review “Fiery Fences” refers to the main character Troy Maxon, “as complex and as tormented as black America itself” (1020). From the beginning of the text one acknowledges that Troy was self-determined, and demanded to prove himself equal to the rest of the “white folks.” As for Wilson growing up and moving from schools occasionally due to oppressions toward his skin color, he as well craved to show his worth, and prove he could deliver excellence. One may distinctly infer that Troy never got to prove his talents in baseball due to his complexion. Meanwhile, Wilson never had the chance to justify his writing talents while in school due to the assumption that because of his race he was not knowledgeably capable of creating brilliant papers. Further in the text Troy speaks about his father asking, “How he gonna leave with eleven kids? And where he gonna go” (Wilson 991)? By questioning his father’s choices one grasps Troy also dealt with a father’s absence throughout his life such as August Wilson
Boys in the Native American culture are pushed to be good runners, skilled hunters, and good warriors. When they achieve this they are considered men in their society. When they become too old to do all of this they become counselors of the village. Women are expected to raise children, make food, and take care of the children for a lifetime. There is no police force, government, or punishment in their culture. They do not need it. These r...
August Wilson’s Fences was centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American man full of bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life amidst the 1950’s. In the play Troy was raised by an unloving and abusive father, when he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was impoverished and needed money so he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy’s life was anything but easy. In the play Troy and his son Cory were told to build a fence around their home by Rose. It is common knowledge that fences are used in one of two ways: to keep things outside or to keep things inside. In the same way that fences are used to keep things inside or outside Troy used the fence he was building to keep out death, his family, and his disappointments in life while Rose used the fence to keep those she cared about inside and help them bond.
The roles of women have altered our lives substantially from the beginning of time. Take the example of Eve in the Garden of Eden. If the theory is true that our existence relies completely on a God who created us, then had Eve not eaten the forbidden fruit, humanity would not have been born apart from the only two people on Earth.
“Ask him, before he comes into the presence of the Lord, if he is willing to conform to the laws of the country in which he lives, the country that guarantees his idle existence.” This is the general belief shared among the missionaries, in order for the Native Americans to enter the “utopia” which the evangelists have created, the Indians must throw away their way of life and adapt completely to the white man’s culture. Mrs.Rowell’s claim and Miss Evans acceptance of this ideology reveals that the American missionary society believes that they are above these Native American “heaths”. Furthermore, in Gretchen Ronnow’s, “Native American Writers of the United States”, Ronnow declares, “He [John M. Oskison] often juxtaposes issues without indicating his own opinion about them: traditional values versus mainstream values, formal education versus the teachings of Native American elders, intermarriage versus separatism… (254).” The relation between American settlers (in this case, the missionaries) and Native Americans is enlightened since Oskison has been exposed to both cultures as a Cherokee American by birth. Therefore, Oskison works are based upon his observations growing up. Overall, from the perspective of Oskison and history, it is easy to prove that Americans believed their ways to be better. With this understanding, it is not surprising that Mrs.Rowell and Miss Evans would treat Harjo with contempt and believe themselves to be
We are all familiar with the creation story in Genesis of the Bible—a rib was taken from Adam (man) in order to create Eve (woman). Did this set the tone for women’s submissive role in society? History shows us that this is not true, since women dating as far back as the 6th century had power and were taken seriously. Strong women, such as Perpetua of Carthage, used their faith as a means of helping others and asserting their power in a male-dominated culture. As the years went on, though, women experienced a loss of power and control. A woman’s worth was directly associated with h...
Many ideas of male superiority come from and began with the Bible. It can be noted that woman, in the second creation story in Genesis, is made from that which is man. It can also be noted that it is a woman who, in the Garden of Eden story in Genesis, initially commits the first act against God's wishes and therefore causes herself and her companion to be judged and punished. Throughout the Bible, women are rarely referred to by an actual proper name. Women are referred to as property, a mere woman in a world of men. Also in the Bible, women are presented to be focused entirely around the home and are property of men with the sole purpose of bearing children, as in the Abraham, Sarah, and Haggar cycle in Genesis in which the two women are property of Abraham, there only to provide him with an heir. However unfortunate, in the context and time it was written, this was the case. Still, today we cannot believe the Bible to be a guideline for the roles of women. Many ideas may be false concerning what has been inferred and what was actually written and its purpose. A closer reading of the text will prove that women played a vital role in many of the treasured beliefs of believers. Even without names, women had a voice and were a force to be reckoned with.
Meyers, Carol. "The Genesis Paradigms for Female Roles, Part I: Genesis 2-3 and Part II: Genesis 3:16" in Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. Oxford University Press, 1988, pp. 72-121.
A world relying so heavily on technology was not something that anyone hundreds of years ago could have predicted. In today’s modern society, computers can be seen practically everywhere. Computers can be programmed to do an unimaginable list of things, making them one of the most useful technologies. However, the people that use them seem to forget that the backbone of computers and technology is math. Mathematics is one of the core subjects that are associated with computing, and it goes as far back as the 1700s. Leonhard Euler, born on April 15, 1707, was a mathematician that made an incredible amount of contributions to mathematics back in the day. Euler’s work helped advance many different fields of mathematics by the
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history.The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and a situation is resolved is when Rose tells Troy that Alberta died having his baby, Raynell.
The books of the Old Testament, and variations, are recognized by the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. Each paint women as the temptress responsible for the mistakes of men. Women were the cause of the first punishment given to mankind. Eve persuaded Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, from the tree of knowledge. For this act, inspired by woman, mankind was forever punished and expelled from paradise.
Two weeks a month a woman was considered unclean and unable to partake in certain religious ceremonies. This part of a woman’s physicality is overlooked when the men need woman for child bearing and the immense role they play in creating life, which is referenced similar to what God does with humanity. Woman not being allowed to achieve higher religious statuses has not allowed another perspective on the scripture as well as it has permanently kept women second to men within the religion, even is the society around the religion has changed to include women
The 17th Century saw Napier, Briggs and others greatly extend the power of mathematics as a calculator science with his discovery of logarithms. Cavalieri made progress towards the calculus with his infinitesimal methods and Descartes added the power of algebraic methods to geometry. Euclid, who lived around 300 BC in Alexandria, first stated his five postulates in his book The Elements that forms the base for all of his later Abu Abd-Allah ibn Musa al’Khwarizmi, was born abo...