Furthermore, as the protagonist of this novel, Antonina shows the readers an early example of female empowerment and the effects of women in the war effort. Antonina herself can find a perfect example of this…
Explanation: The narrator, Twyla, is ashamed of her mother who is obviously a stripper and Roberta’s mother is suffering from mental disorders.…
Set in a small rural town in the 1950’s, Rosalie Ham, the author of the ‘Dressmaker,’ has written the novel in such a way that presents the audience with an exquisitely detailed portrayal of the characters. She critiques the malicious behaviours of many of the townspeople’s values highlighted within the wheat-belt community. Ham challenges the reader to view their ideas and morals through her empathetic portrayal as their actions are understood, however the hypocrisy and bigotry that are exhibited by significant characters depict their idiosyncrasies through Ham’s comedic portrayal.…
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” the author conveyed a story about brotherhood between two brothers. The narrator was overwhelmed by his internal conflict of guilt and felt that his actions were having its consequences. Doodle, the main character of the story, lived a life that consisted of constant struggles. His brother, the narrator, helped him through his external conflict, but one day, he pushed him too far. The color red appears constantly throughout the short story and to express the theme and conflicts the short story was comprised of. The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle’s death, and the love the narrator had for Doodle were all elements that were represented by symbolism through the color red. The love and pride the narrator had…
Throughout the novel, “The Wife's Story”, written by Ursula Le Guin, every character witnessed the event in different ways. In this particular predicament, where a man is trapped in a world of wolves, there are several characters who experienced the man turning into something horrid, the creature, the kids, the mother and me, her sister.…
In Julia Alvarez’s “In The Time of the Butterflies”, the four Mirabal sisters, Minerva, Maria Teresa, Patria, and Dedé, struggle to accept the principles of courage, freedom, and fear during a time of political turmoil. As the sisters began to become symbols of hope amidst a revolution, each must discover how to define freedom and courage, as well as how to apply these concepts in their fight against an oppressive regime. Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic, hoping to silence their rebellion, sends three of the Mirabal sisters to prison. During this time, Maria Teresa beings to develop a deeper awareness of her role alongside her sisters in the battle against Trujillo, as well as further understanding of concepts such as determination and bravery. In prison, Maria Teresa feels inspired as she begins to grasp the true feeling of courage while she comprehends the impact her sister, Minerva, has made on the fellow prisoners watching as they call out, “¡Viva la Mariposa!” (238) as the guards drag Minerva away after she protests their commands.…
Alvarez presents a series of ironic situations to make candid observations about how women are just as capable as men to do what society defines as “men’s” work. In The Time of the Butterflies is set in the era of Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, where the Mirabal sisters assist in organizing a rebellion against the regime and are soon known as the “Butterflies.” Despite the bravery they demonstrated, the Mirabal sisters were ordinary wives and mothers who did not take the passive role of a woman but instead rose above their titles. When the Mirabal sisters try to convince sister Dedé to join them in the revolution, Dedé expects charismatic and passionate Minerva to speak up but instead hears littlest sister Mate do so, the little sister…
In the riveting novel, Lieutenant Nun, Catalina de Erauso goes against every norm for a young woman in Spain. This story told from a first person point of view has many themes including religion, violence and gender. Catalina de Erauso was able to achieve things disguised as a man that she wouldn’t have been able to as a woman. Catalina was able to embrace her masculine alter-ego and did so by resorting to extreme violence in some ways, and she was also able to keep in touch with religion throughout the book.…
The main theme of the story is domestic violence. It made me realise how strongly opinionated I am on the topic and it sickens me to read how Enrique, the main characters brother is violently beaten by his father at a very young age for completely nonsensical reasons on several occasions. For example he beat him for getting dirt on the carpet and another time for going over a stone while mowing the lawns. ‘Dad backhanded him and blood came to his lips, he called him and idiot and incompetent. He backhanded him again.’ I cannot personally relate to this but it infuriates me to read knowing this carries on in our society.…
At the turn of the 20th century, women were considered inferior to men: they were only required to stay at home, take care of households and children. “The Chrysanthemums”, as told by John Steinbeck, is a story of a woman during that period who tries to change the course of her destiny. In this story, the two-fold issues of femininity and symbolism play a critical part in explaining this helplessness. Steinbeck uses the narrative to signify the hope for change of the woman as well as her character by illustrating different similarities between Elisa and her flowers. Readers are able to comprehend how a lady feels when she is caged within her life, and the struggles to disengage from such oppression. At the end of the story, the writer expresses a sense of hopelessness for Elisa because, although she might try as much as possible to free herself, reality will rise up and keep her entrenched in a subdued role.…
“The Revolt of Mother” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” both share a similar issue of the portrayal of women in which she is being undermined by her husband continuously, leading to rebellion where they break the rules of society in order for their voices to be heard. Both short stories show the inferior social status and roles of women in the late nineteenth century, making this period a male-dominated society. In the late nineteenth century, women knew their place and were dependent upon their husbands. They must cater to them, cook, clean, care for the children, and please the husband in any way possible. In both stories the women follow their husband’s wishes and demands, until finally they can’t take it anymore. “The Yellow Wallpaper” demonstrates freedom and independence when the narrator liberates herself to tear down the wallpaper, freeing herself, as well as completing her descent into insanity. In “The Revolt of Mother”, Sarah’s freedom begins when she finally decides to move her family into the barn, where she takes a stand against her authoritarian husband. Throughout both of these short stories, it shows the reader how society viewed women, how they were expected to act, and how they were treated…
People are capable of doing crazy things! Nora, in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, loved her husband so much that she committed forgery just for the sake of his wellbeing. Susan Glaspell’s character in Trifles, Mrs. Wright, murders her husband after she discovers that he killed the one most precious thing to her, her pet bird. It was out of love that these women committed illegal crimes. Nora wanted her husband to be healthy because she loved him and knew that without his salary coming in, their home would fall apart. In contrast, Mrs. Wright wanted her husband dead. He was responsible for taking the life of the only company she had for many years. Mrs. Wright loved her pet bird more than she loved her own husband. The bird was more than just a pet to this lonely woman, it was her single companion. Through their failed marriages, conviction of crime and judgment from their peers, these character’s personalities change completely and begin to show the reader the evolution of women’s place in society.…
This particular play is about an estranged mother and her precociously initiative daughter going on a road trip stretching from Paoli to Yellowstone, both seduced by the idea of a getaway. The daughter is living with her father who is granted full custody by the court in the divorce between her father and mother. The little girl aged fifteen at the time was called Olivia and her beloved father Aaron, but he has married another wife, who is a nasty piece of work in how she treats Olivia. The little girl calls her mother Beatriz a pretty distressed and angry Cuban woman whose intuition to solve the dilemma at hand is to go on a road trip. This paper will be looking at the variables and events that influence’s Olivia’s journey to self-identity…
In the short story, “The Moths”, the narrator, a fourteen year old girl, assumes the responsibility of taking care of her cancerous and dying Abuelita. Her Abuelita is the only person who understands the narrator and the only person she feels she can turn to. After having followed man’s rules for so many years, Abuelita passes away. All the moths that lived inside her are freed and the narrator learns some life lessons. Helena Maria Viramontes uses symbolism and setting to illustrate the oppression of women in “The Moths.”…
The women we’ve read about in both “A Jury of Her Peers,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” share two aspects. They share the bondage of male oppression, and their resilient spirits. I both stories, the characters face a struggle regarding both their household and the men within them, and must go to great lengths to overcome them. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale directly defy the men of the story, where the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” defies her husband in a fashion unimaginable.…