“Worry, strain, shock...may all poison the blood of the enslaved mother...poisoned blood may produce a defective baby”(“The Children’s Era”). Margaret Sanger uses these words to show the poor reputation and doomed outlook enslaved women and their children are given. If birth control were available to these women there would be a fewer number of unsuccessful humans. Sanger later pulls on the emotions of her audience by agonizing over the helpless souls of unborn babies who dream of a bright future that is out of their reach. These babies could be protected from harsh situations if provided an option to control birth.
It is a sensitive topic and may even not be accepted in society. The woman is apprehensive and does not know what will happen next if she does decide to get an abortion (Norton). The relationship between the characters shows that the woman depends on the man’s approval but also seeks acceptance and
No matter one’s career choice, family life, ethnicity, or culture, finding and owning one’s personal identity is a persistent struggle that can last an entire lifetime. One is surrounded by media and messages feigning “the perfect life” which begin to consume one’s thoughts with “what if’s” or “if only’s”. Lucy Grealy struggles with defining her self-image in her autobiography, Autobiography of a Face. Throughout Grealy’s accounts of her battle with cancer, bullies, and her self-esteem, readers get a raw, painful, yet incredibly relatable look into the elements that can contribute to self-image. In writing Autobiography of a Face, Grealy leaves readers with a chilling lesson: only readers themselves, not peers or the media or society, can choose how to define their lives.
Thank goodness, she turned out alright. But I’ll never risk it again. Never! The strain is simply too - too hellish,” (36). Larsen uses words provoking anxiety and horror to give the reader insight into Clare’s mind when she thinks about pregnancy and motherhood.
When thinking of personal experiences, “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks touches on the emotional topic of abortion. Even though this poem was published decades ago, it can still be seen very relevant to this day. Accepting abortion and the outcome can indeed be a challenging task for many, while others seem to adapt to it without much of a problem. Gwendolyn Brooks’ writing lets us take a look at the mothers view point of abortion and how a mother responds to her new situation. Throughout the poem, the speaker shows signs of grieving concern of the topic of abortion and its outcomes by presenting emotions of regret and memories, shame and guilt, and contradicting herself to almost justify what she has done.
Trying to prevent neglected children and back-alley abortions, Margaret Sanger gave the moving speech, “The Children’s Era,” in 1925 to spread information on the benefits and need for birth control and women's rights. Margaret Sanger--activist, educator, writer, and nurse--opened the first birth control clinic in the United States and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. During most of the 1900’s, birth control and abortions were illegal in the United States, causing women to give birth unwillingly to a child they must be fully responsible for. This caused illness and possible death for women attempting self-induced abortion. Sanger uses literary devices such as repetition and analogies
The argument over a woman’s right to choose over the life of an unborn baby has been a prevalent issue in America for many years. As a birth control activist, Margaret Sanger is recognized for her devotion to the pro-choice side of the debate as she has worked to provide sex education and legalize birth control. As part of her pro-choice movement, Sanger delivered a speech at the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference in March of 1925. This speech is called “The Children’s Era,” in which she explains how she wants the twentieth century to become the “century of the child.” Margaret Sanger uses pathos throughout her speech as she brings up many of the negative possibilities that unplanned parenthood can bring for both children and parents.
Michael Tooley takes a liberal approach on abortion. He believes that killing a fetus is morally acceptable. He debates that abortion during any stage of pregnancy should be accepted with his reason being that a fetus does not have “a serious right to life”. In his work "Abortion and Infanticide", he discuss "what characteristics [a fetus] must have in order to be considered a person." He believes that a person’s identity is progressively attained, and the fetus is not a person until birth.
In her essay, Sallie Tisdale describes some of the clients she had and the conversations she had before and after their abortions. The first client she mentions is an eighteen year old woman. Despite being so young, this is her fourth time being pregnant (Tisdale 414). Immediately, the audience notices the awful
She recognizes that her own mother regretted giving birth to her, “It saddened her to have given birth to such an item as myself,” (263). The unsettling implication that a woman has given birth to an object, rather than a living, breathing, human being, is made tragic upon realizing that the protagonist views this as fair judgement and in turn she not only accepts this truth as her own but she agrees with it, “I was a thing,” (265). The narrator’s sympathizing view of this cruel impression helps guide the reader in understanding how damaging this type of isolation is to the incapacitated. The isolation resulted in the protagonist genuinely believing that she has no place in society and instead of fighting against the majority she simply took their verisimilitude and made it her
For example, when Lou Ann is pregnant and riding on the bus, she explains how relaxing it is to be pregnant because men do not, “rub up against her when the bus made sudden stops and turns.” Lou Ann feels as though the only way she can be left alone without being inappropriately touched is when she is visibly pregnant. Just because Lou Ann is a woman, she is leaned against and rubbed on by men. In addition, Taylor describes herself as, “Lucky that way,” because she does not have a father. Taylor hears so many stories and witnesses so many examples of poor treatment of women that she considers herself lucky to not have a father, a juxtaposition to the depression many children feel growing up without a parent.
During the course of the story “Hills Like White Elephants” the author Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to describe the the main idea of the girl having the “operation.” Hemingway uses the landscape, the white elephant, and the term “elephant in the room” to represent different aspects of the pregnancy and abortion. The landscape in the story represents choosing the abortion or choosing to keep the baby. The setting of the story is at a train station.
The only woman in the world who will still cradle you in her arms even if you've stabbed her loving heart is your mother. The short story “Teenage Wasteland” by Anne Tyler is about guilt and reveals mother’s feelings towards her children. A loving mother will feel guilty for anything that happens to her children, and even for that how they feel. Mothers is the person who cares the most about her child. The story “Teenage Wasteland” tells about a common situation many families experience: a misunderstood child creates problems to his parents, not by fault, but because he feels unwanted.
Philippa Foot presented a series of moral dilemmas when she discussed abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect. One famous problem of her was the trolley dilemma: “..he is the driver of a runaway tram which he can only steer from one narrow track onto another; five men are working on one track and one on the other; anyone the tack he enters is bound to be killed.” (Foot, 1967, p. 2) What should the driver do? Despite what he does, he will harm someone!1
In the story Hairball by Margaret Atwood, Kat is living in a fictitious world as she lives life with a fake persona, but in reality she is lost and does not know who she truly is. Firstly, Kat has gone through many personality changes throughout her life; from her childhood as the pure Katherine, to high school Kathy, and blunt university Kath, to finally her present chic image Kat. Her character change suggests that she was constantly looking for who she truly was. However she still does not find her true self as at the end of the story she says, “... [I am] temporarily without a name.
