Miss Schwartz is a people pleaser, and she must learn to treat herself with dignity. Multiple times in the story Miss Schwartz does not take responsibility for her actions. After taking the dress from the department store Lena is not sure about bringing the dress back. The narrator states, “she would have gone back with the dress, but did not know how to go about it.” Miss Schwartz knows that it is wrong to steal, but she does not truly want to return the dress. To take the blame off herself she makes up the excuse
IN the early part of her marriage she tried to stay true to the Confucian gender code of women in her house. She said “A women could not go out of the court we women knew nothing but to comb our hair and bind our feet and wait at home for our men.” (Pruitt, p. 55) As time went on she decided to go out and find work to support herself and her children. She worked until her youngest son was married, which was typical Confucian family. Ning followed the Confucian beliefs on a primary duty of women saying “It is the destiny of woman and her happiness to carry on the life stream.” (Pruitt, p. 153) Ning did not follow the rules regarding women
Mentor: (putting her hands up in surrender) Alright, alright. Let’s get on with this. (riffling through her papers, finds some important paper and starts to read from it) Now, it says here that ladies of noble birth are supposed to defer to their parents or children. They are supposed to bear healthy children, boys in preference. (Looking at Lady Capulet haughtily and appraising Juliet)Looks like that was one quota you were not able to fill.
Intense Instructions Can you picture a little girl being taught by her mother about how to conduct herself as a woman? Can you imagine hearing a mother saying, “...on Sundays try to walk like a woman and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming...?” Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” can be interpreted in many different ways based on the tone, theme, and how the characters conduct themselves. In Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl,” the tone is harsh whereas the Mother is “putting her foot down” and letting the girl know how she is expected to act and how to conduct herself. The tone of the story, which plays a strong role, is harsh and can come off a bit cruel. It seems demanding and forced.
I interpret this to mean that as much as we women would like to erase the thoughts from our heads, it is something that stays with us not only in childhood, but through adulthood as well. Santos mentions seeing a title on a magazine that reads, “How to find the perfect dress for that perfect evening”. This statement references the society that we live in and the emphasis we put on body perfection and designer things. Young girls and women alike are bombarded by the pressure from society to be a certain weight, a certain height, and to wear certain clothes. I think this poem also highlights the way we think others view us.
The theme in the story illustrates societal and parental expectations when it comes to being a girl and how the narrator eventually gives in to these expectations. For example, the grandmother tells the narrator, "girls don't slam doors like that." (Munro 52) The narrator thinks, "A girl was not...joke on me." (Munro 52) She realises that she is expected to fulfill the duties of a girl by helping her mother in the kitchen. As a result, she tries to fight these stereotypes by slamming doors and working outside with her father.
Little Women, Big Issues: How to fit in during the mid 19th century Like we talked about on Wednesday, the novel is a "Literature of Instruction" novel and written to tell young women on how to behave and how to "fit in" in this restricted society. I want to discuss Little Women focusing on themes relevant to women during that time period, such as personal identity and the roles of gender, society and economic status. Personal Identity -Finding a sense of personal identity (Wanting to fit in) is another issue that women faced in the mid 18th century and in this book. -The girls in this book are striving to find a sense of personal identity and to find a place that they fit in their community of peers, their family, and society. -We see the girls trying to fit in and find their own identity.
Date: July 5, 2011 Title of Selection: A Pair of Silk Stockings Author: Kate Chopin “A Pair of Silk Stockings” is written by Kate Chopin telling about the struggle of a woman searching for balance between family life and personal satisfaction. The story gives people a surprise feeling that they rarely see this situation. Anyways, “A Pair of Silk Stocking” is a good story revealing women’s thought that how they sacrifice for their family but they also need to satisfy their own hobbies. Mrs. Sommer is actually a good mother who has always taken care of her children. She always puts her children first.
Anna quotes "I thought that she could teach me much about how to manage alone as a woman in the world." Anna here is talking about Anys and she hopes that she could learn her ways of her life for her own benefit. Before Tom dies Aphra tells Anna, ‘why do you let yourself love and infant so? I warned you, did I not, to school your heart against this?’ Aphra tells anna this to make a point that she told her so, that not to get too close to her children before they grow up because of the circumstances and how Aphra had lost all her children. This shows how the power of love can affect people, even tho Aphra wasn’t a big fan of Anna she still made a point out with some sense of caring.
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” represents a stereotypical women’s role and so called “life” in the nineteenth century. The sample text involves a mother ranting to her daughter about what her responsibilities in life are and what it takes to be a proper woman instead of a “slut”. This literary work is a great example when perceiving the nineteenth century woman by establishing a set image and role that each women should follow in order to be accepted in society. The feminist criticism allows one to analyze the text to co-inside with this theory because it “seeks to restify sexist discrimination and inequalities.”(25) We can see that this female writer incorporated personal experience and historical context when writing this literary piece. There are distinct economic, political and professional realities displayed in the text.