Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, published in 1962, tells the story of men in a psychiatric ward and focuses on two characters called McMurphy and Bromden, and their defiance towards the institution’s system. A critical factor in this novel are the women. The 1960’s played a significant role in changing the norms of social issues, and the perfect idea of women was changing too. Women were no longer just stay at home wives, but had their own voice in society, and many people did not agree with these untraditional views. Kesey’s representation of women in this novel illustrate them in a poor light that makes it obvious that they don’t fit the ideal womanly persona. Nurse Ratched is the main antagonist who is a very cruel and manipulative nurse, in which all the characters seem to agree that she is out to get them. The other main female role is a hooker McMurphy knew before the hospital who plays a role of meeting the boys needs. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
In To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, it is vivid that gender roles were part of society in the 1930s. Scout Finch, a little girl, shows that being a girl doesn’t define her personality or actions. Although this book was published in 1960 and was set in the 1930s, the contention of gender roles is still prominent in today’s civilization.
The Maltese Falcon is a film noir directed by John Huston. The film is based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett of the same name. The film was made and distributed by Warner Bros. and was released in October 1941. In this film, detective Sam Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart, takes on a case from the beautiful but deceptive Miss Wonderly, played by Mary Astor. That night, Spade’s partner, Archer, is killed while following Mr. Thursby, who is also killed. It is revealed that Miss Wonderly’s real name is Brigit O’Shaughnessy and that she had been working with Thursby. Spade is approached by Mr. Gutman, played
At the end of chapter 6, Janie rebukes the men and her response not only highlights the gender inequality problem in the novel, but it also shows a major character development in Janie. Not only of what Janie says is startling, but the fact that she said something made me see Janie in a different perspective. Janie?s opening line, ?Sometimes God gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business?, caught my attention because her response is against societal norms. Women are not classified as actual individuals, and they are expected to be obedient and quiet. In this quote, Janie asserts that women are individuals, and even God speaks to women as well. Janie bringing up God strengthens her argument
The quote, “Expectation is the root of all heartache” written by Shakespeare epitomize the stories of “Brother Dear” and “Boys and Girls”. The expectations set by others transform the characters views on their daily lives and future choices; however, they develop through their given limitations by maturing, and making realizations on their own. Yet, the new found freedom of choice creates conflict within families and society. The short stories of “Brother Dear” written by Bernice Friesen and “Boys and Girls” written by Alice Munro, both showcase the theme of limiting expectations set by others through characterization, the stage of adolescence, and conflict.
Hamlet's words, “frailty thy, name is a woman” (1.2.148), forever redefined femininity in literature. Throughout works such as The Great Gatsby and Hamlet women are never treated as equals to their male counterparts and their role is characterized by misogyny, dependency and utter obedience. According to Aristotle, “the courage of a man lies in commanding, a woman's lies in obeying; that 'matter yearns for form, as the female for the male and the ugly for the beautiful”. Hamlet and The Great Gatsby reveal compelling parallels in their portrayal of the role of women. The mistreatment and inequality of women is a predominant issue in each work and is illustrated through the two main female protagonists, Queen Gertrude and Daisy Buchanan. Ultimately, women are
The author’s main purpose of writing this novel is to examine the role of women played around
Dracula is about vampires in general, the myth, the mystery and the horror. Even though Dracula wasn’t the first vampire story, it was the first really popular one. Throughout the novel, the author, Bram Stoker, portrays many different aspects of women's roles in the 19th century. With the use of imagery and symbolism, the theme of sexuality and gender roles has an enormous presence in the novel. Social gender roles of women and men during the Victorian Era were very strict and looked upon differently than any other time period. One of the many characteristic features of the Victorian culture was its patriarchal ideas about women. This culture looked upon sexual activity as a negative matter amongst women. The theme of sexuality is very significant
In the award winning article, “Passages in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein: Towards a Feminist Figure of Humanity?” Cynthia Pon addresses masculinity and feminism in terms of conventions, ideals, and practices (Pon, 33). She focused on whether Mary Shelly's work as a writer opened the way to a feminist figure of humanity like Donna Haraway argued. The article has a pre-notion that the audience has read Frankenstein and Haraway's article. Pon has a slight bias, due to her passion as a feminist writer. It may skew her thinking and at times be subjective. The intended audience is someone who is studying literature and interested in how women are portrayed in novels in the 19th century. The organization of the article allows anyone to be capable of reading it.
The women in To Kill a Mockingbird have important roles but very few of them. Many women in To Kill a Mockingbird have responsibilities to take care of the children and care for the Orr residents of the house they live in. Calpurnia for example. Calpurnia is the black female cook for the finch household. However, she does not just cook. She is teaching Scout to be a lady as she grows older and matures. Society's idea of women's roles in Maycomb county remain the same through the story
1940 in America brought us Bugs Bunny in “A Wild Hare,” president Franklin Delano Roosevelt for a third term, the discovery of Stone Age paintings, and And Then There Were None. Over the Atlantic in Victorian England circa 1902, Lord Salisbury retired from being Prime Minister, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria were coronated, the Olympic Games were held, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published The Hound of the Baskervilles. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are two top examples of mystery thrillers. They vary in their narrative perspective, style of foreshadowing, tone, and characters. These are all important elements of literature used to enhance the plot.
Equal treatment of the sexes is a cause many have been fighting for, for decades, and in this case, centuries. Slight rebellious acts of women bending gender norms can be seen as far back as Shakespearean plays, in particular, Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. Olivia from Twelfth Night, and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing showcase characteristics of being opinionated, assertive, and strong-willed; qualities that were rarely seen during that time period. Much Ado About Nothing was written around 1598 and Twelfth Night was written around 1601, which was the Elizabethan era. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to think that they were inferior to men. The church also believed this notion and would quote Genesis: "...thy
A man is supposed to be strong, powerful, and well respected. What if all genders were seen in the same light? In most societies, past and present, men are viewed as the dominant gender. The novel Things Fall Apart, establishes the idea that gender roles can limit a society.. There are many situations in the novel where women 's talents are wasted simply because of their gender. Characters struggle with their identities, who society forces them to be, and characters successes are predetermined by their sex. The novel Things Fall Apart displays the unnecessary limits societal gender roles can place on a person 's potential.
Using humor, cleverness, and style, Oscar Wilde illustrates the lives of the Victorian upper class in The Importance of Being Earnest. More specifically, the “Trivial Comedy for Serious People” reveals in a satirical manner the insignificant concerns of Great Britain’s aristocracy. In the introduction of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings, editor Richard Ellmann creates an overview of Wilde’s best known work. Describing how the play differs from the Irishman’s other writings, Ellmann assesses, “What seems clear is that Wilde has turned here from direct onslaughts upon conventional morality to a more olympian amusement” (xviii). Wilde utilizes
The story that I had presented for my oral presentation in Task 1 is ‘Boys and Girls’ is a by Alice Munro. This simple short story is about a young girl’s resistance to womanhood in a society infested with gender roles and stereotypes but have to accept the gender stereotyping in the end of the story. The story takes place in the 1940s on a fox farm outside of Jubilee, Ontario. The relevant theories of literary criticisms that can be applied to the ‘Boys and Girls’ short story are historical criticism and mostly feminism criticism.