Walker’s statement on the bottom of page 69 and the top of 70,”what now masquerades as World History is largely fictitious.” raises a serious topic that causes extremely heated debates. Agreeing with the statement, I understand that Walker wants the truth of Africa and its people to be heard and believed. European historians seized and intentionally manipulated history in order to create the idea of them being the founding fathers of the African civilization. When Europeans first began their journeys to Africa they were completely baffled in the discovering of something they were intimidated by. Africa was not a place that was meaningless and worthless, but instead to their surprise it was a place that was rich in culture. In the Foreword on page 3, a respondent, Diane Stokes stated, “Africa
In the 19th century many debates raged on the correct way to showcase a women’s body in a painting. “What was the relationship between women’s moral and sexual nature?” (pg. 272), artist worked to find a balance between these two concepts. A successful combination of these two topics can be seen in the can be seen in Eclogue by artist Kenyon Cox. Cox’s painting depicts four women naked and partially clothed lounging about together in a field. In the painting the women are youthful and in classical poses to make them appear more “innocent” as opposed being overtly sexual. This painting showed how American artist “attempted to downplay the sexual implications by making the women more youthful…as well as more idealized” (pg. 285) This painting
In the first section, the narrator describes a time when she did not stand up for herself. When the man complains that his dean is making him hire someone of color when there are so many other good writers out there,
It can be said that society has always been quite judgmental, and at times misguided when it comes to women. The negative perceptions that society has towards females are often times directly related toward her actions. What a female does seems to degrade her identity and capabilities in the eyes of some men. In the poems “The Lady’s Dressing Room” and The essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we can see both authors use of tone, form and style to develop their works. These poems are mainly driven by men’s attitudes towards women. A man’s perceived opinion about women can negatively shape society’s views and perceptions of them.
a. Maya Angelou was an avid writer, speaker, activist and teacher. As a result of the many hardships that she suffered while growing up as a poor black woman in the south she has used her own experiences as the subject matter of her written work. In doing this she effectively shows how she was able to overcome her personal obstacles. Her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970) tells the story of her life and how she overcame and moved forward triumphantly in spite of her circumstances. She asks her readers to rise above their defeats, to not allow anyone to stop their dreams. In demonstrating how she succeeded she has been a role model for women of all cultures and races. The “Phenomenal Women” poem is a celebration
Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour” is set in the late 1800s – a time when women were considered inferior to men. Women had traditional roles as wives and mothers. In this 19th century patriarchal society, Chopin shows us Louise Mallard, the main character, who does not comply with the female gender norms of the Victorian period. When Louise learns about the death of her husband, her reaction and the reaction of her sister and the doctor tell us a great deal about gender stereotyping during this time.
In response to “The Man We Carry in Our Minds”, having a different point of view after discovering what I woman actually goes through in life can be related to a life situation. A man always put a title on what I woman can or can not do. I believe a woman can perform any work that the mankind has placed together rather it is welding, cutting grass, or driving truck. No man should label a woman wellbeing. The purpose of the story was to show how man stereotypes a woman. Every one does not have the perfect life that rich people live up to. From poor to rich people still have to make a way not everyone has to start from the bottom and make it towards the top struggles can start from anywhere at any time. As for Sanders statement as he discovered
Jane Evershed is one of those people that has the ability to speak through her artwork. This is a wonderful skill to have, as a picture is worth a thousand words. She speaks most openly to women, those who may or may not have endured the discrimination, oppression, sexual assault, and abuse from loved ones or society itself. Society makes it harder for women to accept themselves as they are. They come in all shapes and sizes, ethnicities and backgrounds, religions and sexualities. Evershed realizes this, and uses her personal struggles and the ongoing struggles of women everywhere to get a message across: women are beautiful, powerful, and strong. This is why there have been many women to join together and promote feminism; to stand proud
Atwood is able to represent the injustices through a satirical stand point and comical protagonist to understand the journey of these women and how they are portrayed within a society that doesn’t consider them as thoughtful, soulful people. Through the use of biblical allusions the audience can see what the women represent in the novel from bible and how they are predispositioned to be silent because of their portrayal in the Bible. The use of specific word choice shows the deliberate words that spark a tone in each scene and leave a lasting impact towards the audience. Atwood comments on the issues of today by making fun of the thoughts and actions of the characters that represent the rest of the world. Through Offred’s eyes, audience is able to acknowledge and accept the extent to which gender roles are placed in society and how women are portrayed as silenced, domestic
The women in the novel are portrayed as these strong and open minded women, unlike the men. The men in the novel are portrayed as being confused and burdened. In the novel, it is shown strongly when Sonya is very much open minded when Raskolnikov tells her about the murder. Sonya was open minded about it when the men did not accept it at all.
“Everyday Use” is one of the most popular stories by Alice Walker. The issue that this story raises is very pertinent from ‘womanist’ perspective. The term, in its broader sense, designates a culture specific form of woman-referred policy and theory. ‘womanism’ may be defined as a strand within ‘black feminism’. As against womansim, feminist movement of the day was predominately white-centric. A womanist is one who expresses a certain amount of respect for woman and their talent and abilities beyond the boundaries of race and class. “Everyday Use” can be seen as a literary representation of this concept. “Everyday Use” is a story of a mother and her two daughters- Dee and Maggie.
Sarah Kay is an American educator, reader and a spoken poet, who was born to a Taoist mother and a Brooklynese father. She is also the founder and co-director of Project VOICE, a project whose aim is to entertain, educate, and inspire its audience. Thus, these three aims are important aspects of Kay’s poems and their effect on her audience. Throughout her poems, she tackles social issues widely present in today’s world, and her poem “The Type” is no different. Kay is the speaker of, “The Type” and throughout the poem, she is taking to individuals who identify themselves to be a woman. This is shown in the opening line when she says, “If you grow up the type of women...” Throughout this poem, Kay explores the themes of empowerment and identity, through the use of repetition and connotation. Through the frequent use of repetition, Kay puts emphasis on how women are defined in relation to males. Additionally, she also uses connotation to remind women they are more than what they are perceived to be in relation to others and they have the power to define themselves. Therefore the main idea of the poem is to perhaps remind women of their worth and inspire them to define themselves on their own terms, and not through the eyes of men or in comparison/relation to their relationship with others.
This essay will approach the poem My Last Duchess, by Robert Browning, from two perspectives: Masculinity and femininity. The essay will illustrate how the abundant details of this poem can be clear representations of many of the concepts of masculinity and femininity contained in the pertaining theories.Among the theorists that will be used or referred to are Kate Millet,Janet Saltzman Chaves, Helene Cixous and Michel Foucault.
Standing Female Nude, written by Carol Ann Duffy, is a poem which describes the condition of a prostitute who is struggling to make a living. Duffy, as with a majority of her other works, attempts to give a voice to voiceless women in the middle and lower economic classes in an effort to promote her feminist agenda. This poem is in fact very layered and explores multiple aspects which may not be spotted on a superficial level, and enables her to transmit her ideas to the readers. Duffy puts across her main ideas of society’s treatment of the prostitute versus the treatment of males, and the prostitutes introspective views.