The Wasp Factory Essay
In both Toni Morrison's Beloved and Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory, gender constructions are explored and manipulated to show the harmful effects that social norms of a patriarchal society can have on an individual’s psyche. Gender is a social construct which dictates how men and women should act in different situations; therefore, since both authors create characters who transgress the boundaries of this construct, it is implied that there cannot be a clear line between genders. However, whilst Morrison uses the backdrop of slavery to explore gender from the opposing racial viewpoints, Banks’ choice of a present-day, isolated setting means he is more able to transgress the boundaries between sex and gender using dark, twisted humour. Therefore,
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His last words 'Seven-O! Seven-O!’ again indicate how masculinity is measured in a man's ability to reproduce, as 'Seven-O' refers to the unborn child of Sixo and the ‘Thirty- Mile Woman’. This repeated exclamation, therefore, emphasises his triumph and defiance at having found a way to ‘document his manhood’. However, Morrison also is able to depict the oppression of slave culture as, by conforming to patriarchal gender constructions, Sixo is overthrowing the racial hierarchy as it is often implied that patriarchal gender constructions are for white people only because there ‘ain’t no nigger men’ . The fact that black males are not considered 'men' means that they shouldn't be able to fulfil their gender constructions, and the use of the derogatory 'nigger' reinforces this. Arguably, this is more derogatory in the modern context of reception as during the slave-trade 'nigger' was a commonplace term for black people, and therefore its use may not be as significant as it first appears. However, this still manipulates gender constructions, as although Paul D and Sixo conform to these constructions by implying the importance of masculinity in terms of self-identity; it also shows how patriarchal gender constructions can subvert racial hierarchy in the context of slave
His last words 'Seven-O! Seven-O!’ again indicate how masculinity is measured in a man's ability to reproduce, as 'Seven-O' refers to the unborn child of Sixo and the ‘Thirty- Mile Woman’. This repeated exclamation, therefore, emphasises his triumph and defiance at having found a way to ‘document his manhood’. However, Morrison also is able to depict the oppression of slave culture as, by conforming to patriarchal gender constructions, Sixo is overthrowing the racial hierarchy as it is often implied that patriarchal gender constructions are for white people only because there ‘ain’t no nigger men’ . The fact that black males are not considered 'men' means that they shouldn't be able to fulfil their gender constructions, and the use of the derogatory 'nigger' reinforces this. Arguably, this is more derogatory in the modern context of reception as during the slave-trade 'nigger' was a commonplace term for black people, and therefore its use may not be as significant as it first appears. However, this still manipulates gender constructions, as although Paul D and Sixo conform to these constructions by implying the importance of masculinity in terms of self-identity; it also shows how patriarchal gender constructions can subvert racial hierarchy in the context of slave