What Jim Tarter argues in his essay, “Some Live More Downstream than Others” is that some people do not care about the well-being of others based on the lack of environmental justice in our neighborhoods. As well as there being little concern about females with cancer. To an extent, I’m persuaded by the argument he makes, but not so much by how he believes that cancer is an issue for feminists. The essay is introduced by Tarter discussing how he had cancer and survived it. He also explains how he comes from a “cancer family”. Since his family has had a history of developing some type of cancer. As it turns out, the cancers he and his family had developed may not have been an issue with genetics. It may have been affiliated with the environment they lived in. Due to this, Tarter uses both his and his sister’s, Karen’s, experience with cancer to reflect on the work of a biologist named Sarah Steingraber and explore the environment’s role with cancer. Tarter also reflects on the works of Rachel Carson as well as Audre Lorde, who both have similar studies towards cancer. Not only does Tarter reflect on the works of these three people. On top of that, he also discusses Steingraber’s and Carson’s …show more content…
At one point in his essay, he makes a wild accusation in that Steingraber was a feminist cancer activist when she clearly never was (p. 831). Also, I believe that his argument about how cancer is a feminist issue is very one-sided. As he points out, it’s true that cancer will affect women more often, and it’s also true that women’s breast cancer research should be better funded, but he doesn’t point out that there are cancers that affects male’s ability to have kids. To be fair, however, he does give credible information that persuades me into believing that cancer is linked to the environment. In this case, there was a link between the polluted river and his family’s history of cancer (p.
Irving’s Depiction of Women Letty Cottin Pogrebin once said, “When men are oppressed, it’s a tragedy. When women are oppressed, it’s tradition.” Washington Irving is at times sanctioned as being a misogynist as a result of his well-known writings such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. While his depictions of women represented in his writings were heinous, I do not believe Irving was a misogynist.
Every day she found something new about her appearance that disgusted her which seemed to be the greatest tragedy she has faced, and cancer seemed to be a minor comparison. Cancer seemed to be a ticket for empathy of kindness towards her and having a disfigured face seemed to be a ticket to avoid her, how
As one of her eleven siblings in a poor family, Margaret couldn’t help but to feel inferior and long for a rich and comfortable lifestyle. When Sanger’s mother died at the age of forty, Margaret believed that her mother’s premature death was a consequence of excessive childbirth. Along with this mindset, as a young girl, Margaret formed a mindset that poverty, illness, and strife were all fates for large families, whereas small families enjoyed wealth, leisure, and positive parental relationships (Croft). It came to no surprise that Sanger, with such a harsh childhood, grew up to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, advocates for birth control. Soon after her mother’s death, Margaret decided to become a nurse.
This quote shows that even though Mairs sometimes has difficulty accepting her illness, she knows that there is a growing acceptance of people who must deal with the difficulties that she faces. This ultimately lends a hopeful and positive tone to an otherwise serious and depressing section of her essay. This contrast in tone, but general feeling of hope is key to the type of emotions that Nancy Mairs is trying to educate her readers about. Mair is successful in using multiple rhetorical strategies to connect with the reader.
Over the decades, the topic of the environment has always ended in endless arguments and debates. In Edward O. Wilson’s book The Future of Life, he satirizes two passages about stereotypes of environmentalists and people first critics. Using rhetorical questions, ad hominems, Irony, and logos, Wilson illustrates the unproductive manner of environmentalists. Using ad hominems, both passages mock each other. “Environmental wackos” frustrate Wilson because the environmentalists think they have control over the county.
In nearly all historical societies, sexism was prevalent. Power struggles between genders mostly ended in men being the dominant force in society, leaving women on a lower rung of the social ladder. However, this does not always mean that women have a harder existence in society. Scott Russell Sanders faces a moral dilemma in “The Men We Carry in Our Minds.” In the beginning, Sanders feels that women have a harder time in society today than men do.
In the first section, he gives numerous examples of how normal his life was before the diagnosis. He recounts his childhood and his beginnings of how he loved to read because of his mother. He tells of when he would stay out late reading in the starlight to come home to his mother worried that he was doing drugs, but “the most intoxicating thing I’d experienced, by far, was the volume of romantic poetry she’d handed me the previous week” (27). He continues with all of his life before cancer, but when he gets the results he says “One chapter of my life seemed to have ended; perhaps the whole book was closing” (120). The rest of the book, the closing of his book as he calls it, focuses on examples of how cancer changed his
In Margret Atwood’s “Lusus Naturae,” set in the 1800’s, a period where a multitude of people remained annexed by those they loved due to ailments that were deemed uncommon; to illustrate this phenomenon Atwood engages us through the intertwining story, told by the protagonist, who is kept unnamed. The protagonist is not only affected by her physical disease, but also the psychological affects from remaining isolated from her community. The tale is crafted to criticize how severely society treats others in the face of diversity and disability. The protagonist not only accepts the abuse, but she also agrees with it because instead of viewing herself as someone who has worth, she only sees herself as an inhuman burden. Through obstacles our narrator faces, because of her disease, we can see how truly cruel society can be.
Renée Montagne, a radio journalist, and Ann M. Simmons, a global development writer, briefly touch on this in their research, suggesting that the families left behind struggle emotionally to move on and want answers for what happened. Simmons briefly wrote about how early unequal treatment can begin saying, “African American women also say that healthcare professionals are often dismissive of their concerns if they are poor, have health problems or already have several children” (Simmons). Consequently, this form of treatment can lead to patients and family questioning health care professionals. Additionally, Renée Montagne pointed out the prejudice many medical professionals possess stating, “But now many social scientists and medical researchers agree, the problem isn't race but racism.” (Montagne).
“Rather than face a possible five-year jail sentence, Sanger fled to England. While there, she worked in the women’s movement and researched other forms of birth control” (“Margaret Sanger”). Still, in the most stressful of times, Margaret Sanger was unremitting and determined to make a difference. Through all of her trials and tribulations, she was astounding in her unending efforts. All of Sangers hard work started to pay
Imagine a close family member finding out they have cancer. Most people would be devastated, but my mom concurred through it and continued to brighten everyone’s day, D. Thesis- Even through her journey of cancer, my mom kept a smile on her face and continued to inspire people. E. Preview of Main Points- Cancer not only made my mom realize how lucky she was, but it also pushed her to become a better person.
Terry Tempest Williams wrote a strong and passionate essay, The Clan of One-Breasted Women, about her experience with finding out about nuclear testing in addition, what she believes was the cause of breast cancer that most of the women in her family were suffering from. Williams narrates her experience throughout the essay from the time she found out about the nuclear testing, through her being caught crossing into a testing site, illegally. The essay follows Williams throughout her experience and how it affected her family. Not only does Williams use diction, tone, and mood to get her point across. She also makes a strong argument through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
It seems like we arrived at a deadlock, where no progress can be made about it. We still have feminists fighting for their rights, but I doesn’t seem to work that much, although they have much more rights than they had fifty years ago. But the question that remains is: what is women’s and men’s role? In “The World on Turtle’s Back”, we can see an stereotypical view on male and female roles.
Patriarchal societies have existed as long as there have been humans. From the beginning when men would hunt and women would gather, to the present day wage gap, men’s demonstration of superiority is evident throughout history. Women, historically, serve as accessories to men, seen not heard. However, some brave women question their role in society. Edna Pontellier, in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, conforms outwardly to the societal role of women existing only as mothers and wives but questions inwardly through exploration of her individuality and sexuality, as demonstrated through her relationships with her husband Leonce Pontellier and Robert Lebrun, yet her realization that her growth will not be accepted by others ultimately causes her death.
In Kate Chopin 's novel The Awakening and the short story “The Story of An Hour” feminist beliefs overshadow the value in moral and societal expectations during the turn of the century. Due to Louise Mallard and Edna Pontellier Victorian life style they both see separating from their husband as the beginning of their freedom. Being free from that culture allows them to invest in their personal interest instead of being limited to what 's expected of them. Chopin 's sacrifices her own dignity for the ideal of society’s expectations. Chopin 's sad, mysterious tone seems to support how in their era, there was a significant lack of women 's rights and freedom of expression.