12/9/09
Relations between “I Want a Wife” and “Not all Men Are Sly Foxes” “I Want a Wife” and “Not all Men Are Sly Foxes” share the same common theme: They stereotype the mother being the dominant parental figure in a young child’s life. There is no denying it small children rely on their mothers for love and care. In the essay “I Want a Wife” the author, Judy Brady writes, “I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because of course, I cannot miss classes at school.” But is it possible for a father to take care of a young child when they are sick, when they get home from work at the wee hours of the night? Should this be acceptable or do fathers need to take the initiative to take care of their children more? Although, these essays have a common theme they are spoken through two different voices. In “I Want a Wife” a mother and coincidentally a wife is speaking about what a great responsibility all mothers and wives take on when raising a child. In the other essay “Not All Men Are Sly Foxes” the essay is spoken through a father’s voice who is expressing his frustrations to the stereotypes that occur in children’s books. In this essay, fathers are perceived to be the weaker and more unlovable parent, in what the author Armin Brott thinks is an inaccurate perception. For example, in “Not All Men Are Sly Foxes” there was an exert that states, “The librarian gave me a list of the twenty most popular contemporary picture books and I read every one of them. Of the twenty, seven don’t mention a parent at all. Of the remaining thirteen, four portray fathers as much less loving and caring than mothers.” This provided imagery and personal facts for his audience on how much discrimination takes place in children’s books towards fathers. Contrary the essay “I Want a Wife” provides imagery and personal experience throughout the essay to the reader on what kind of responsibilities a wife and mother experience daily. This writing technique puts the reader in the wives shoes for a day and provides vivid details that illustrate how dependent children and fathers are on their mothers and wives. The first essay “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady was undoubtedly directed towards husbands around the world by taking shots at them at times in her essay. For instance, at the end of the essay there was an exert stating, “If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so I am left free.” In that exert and throughout the essay the author is treating being a wife like having a job. Also, she explains to the reader if wives are not good enough then they will be replaced with a new wife. This provides the reader with a negative stereotype on the father figure in all relationships which solidifies the author’s case in the other essay that men are indeed discriminated against. The author is indirectly using a simile to compare a father to a boss at work. However, in the opposing essay, “Not All Men Are Sly Foxes” the author states, “Even the terminology has changed: Males and females are referred to as mail “carriers” or “firefighters.” The simile used here puts more of a positive symbol of the father figures and emphasizes how much else they have to worry about with work and money.
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