In “Marks”, Linda Pastan discusses the life of a woman who is constantly being judged on her actions as a wife and mother. It further attempts to detail her frustrations on the grades which her own family members give to her based on her performance. It is clear that they concern themselves more on how well she performed her roles rather than just being grateful that she did it for them, thus making the speaker feel rather unappreciated. Pastan used the metaphor of grades, along with tone, to effectively convey this sentiment. Through the idea of “dropping out” (line 12), the poem suggests that women should try to break free of the system and defy the traditional gender roles that it has placed upon them.
In connection with the set of values used the parenting and education by Chinese parents and American parents have more differences than similarities. All parents want happy, confident and strong children, the means for getting them there are very different in the two cultures. Amy Chua, researched of Chinese children’s performance in the school system, and it seems to indicate that a certain truth can be lead from her “descriptions” of how she raised her own children. Being a mother of two daughters – Amy Chua believes she has the recipe for success, but both girls have been raised the strict traditional Chinese way, where things such as playdates, watching TC, sleepovers and playing computer games is banned and grades less than “A” are not accepted in their home. The tiger mom doesn’t accept anything below an a for her daughters and she had only once gotten an “A” – she thinks that western families are too sweet towards their
“I believe I came not only an unexpected, but an unwelcome guest into the family… so that I was rather regarded as an impertinent intruder” (Charke 11). This immediate disapproval from those closest to her may have had a major impact on her self-image and confidence later in her life. For example, in the letter to herself at the beginning of the story, she says that she has never seen herself as a friend, and speaks of herself in a very
In “White Tigers,” Kingston tells her own version of a popular Chinese ballad, “Fa Mu Lan,” while incorporating her own reality back into the section. In her literary criticism, “Empowerment Through Mythological Imaginings in “Woman Warrior”,” Sue Ann Johnston comments on Kingston’s use of myths in the memoir, and believes that myths are Kingston’s most effective means of conveying messages to readers. Although these myths are effective, Johnston overlooks Kingston’s incorporation of these myths back into her own life. As demonstrated in “White Tigers,” Maxine Hong Kingston reveals that a woman warrior requires strength, dedication, independence, and confidence through her mother’s talk-stories and personal struggles during her life. At the opening of “White Tigers,” Kingston vividly describes the importance of storytelling to girls in the Chinese community.
“Growth is necessary with any mental illness, to be able to take a step forward is the greatest success any person with a mental illness can have” (Tsank). While Esther in trapped in the bell jar, she cannot experience character development. Character development is essential on the journey, but she is stuck within the same place for most of the book. Although the bell
The life of this ordinary housewife in a conservative family changes forever when she is engulfed by intense desire to read a particular Vaishnav text. However, what complicates matter for us further is whether Rassundari’s tone of confession is to be taken as her contemporaries understand it or, going against the grain, is there much more than what meets our eyes? Amar Jiban: A Voice of Protest? Rassundari’s childhood was an unusual one when she flowered under the protective gaze of her mother. However, quite shy and apprehensive in nature and interestingly, as an amulet her mother taught her to invoke the family deity Dayamadhav, at any moment of anxiety.
Since she got no money, Jane is considered more like a pest rather than a human being. Jane confrontations with Mrs Reed and her son through the early chapters in the book. Notably this is where we are introduced to Jane’s strong will and integrity becomes noticeable. As a result of these confrontations Jane is punished and sent to the girls’ school of
The burgeoning rebellion of a young girl in northeast China. A girl’s struggles to obtain for herself the education her parents inspired her to attain. An exploration of gender and identity as experienced by two sisters……These memories are crafted with honesty. During the Cultural Revolution, women made substantial gains. Many broke into higher-paying jobs in industry,
This open rejection provides insight into Fermina’s value of independence, a value so ingrained that she refuses the concept that higher power guide her actions, or of others. However, she is made to transition into a domestic role. For the largest part of her youth, Fermina Daza longed for independence and rebelled against her father, and once again when married, “she felt herself losing her mind, as the mad woman [screaming] in the asylum next door” (207). Marquez metaphorically shows the way Fermina is unhappy in her house, but also the way she is controlled. As a result of male influence, her freedoms are being deprived and she is being forced into a domestic role she dislikes.
The imagery of the ‘sour air’ encompassing her represents a miasma of rejection from society, who pressure her to conform to a single way of life. Whilst some say that looking through a Bell Jar gives her a distorted perception of society and the pressure she receives is a fiction of her own imagination, one must look only at her relationship with her mother to realize she is victimized by her harsh society. In specific it reminds us of the toxic environment set up by her mother who tells her "I knew you'd decide to be all right again". It’s shocking to the reader who is able to sympathize with Esther’s clear internal struggles, yet her own mother sees it only as a nuisance. The extended metaphor within this novel and the fragmentary structure we so often see in Plath’s work presents the depth of mental disorder but more importantly brings a harsh light to the society that never understood or even tried