Suddenly Lee had a best seller. Fans wanted more but To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee’s only published novel. The last work under Lee’s name was an essay, over 20 years old now, that she read at the Alabama Heritage Festival in 1983. She has received many awards for her book. Bookstores say that High School and Middle School students account for most of the sales of the novel.
In the poem “Medusa” gender conflict through control is also illustrated when she says: “a suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy”. This depicts that she feels ownership over her husband and wants him to “be terrified” if he does not obey her commands. However, in “Les Grands Seigneurs” the narrator conveys that after she was “wedded, bedded … a toy, a plaything … wife” she is nostalgic for the first three stanzas to how men were towards her before she was married as she is now powerless. We can depict that there was less gender conflict before she was married. Moreover, in “Medusa” powerlessness is also portrayed when she rhetorically questions herself “Wasn’t I beautiful?
Sara Teasdale, often described in her youth days as a “flower in a toiling world”, created some of the worlds most lyrical poems, which most often centered around the themes of love, beauty, and death. Although she lived a shorter life for her time, her poems such as “Rivers To The Sea”, and “Strange Victory”, will remain in poetry books through history. Sara was born towards the end of the summer in 1884, and grew up as the youngest child in a family of four. Sara was closest to her sister Mary, who would often take care of her. Mary would later become an inspiration for some of Sara’s poems that related to beauty, and love.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, King Lear’s daughters, Goneril and Regan, show no mercy to their former king and father. Goneril’s lack of compassion is seen by many, even those of importance to her, such as her husband, Albany. “Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile: / Filths savor but themselves. What have you done? / Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?” (IV ii 42-44) Albany proclaims to his wife after being informed of how she has mistreated her father and pushed him to insanity.
On the other hand as stated earlier they can be very lop sided. James Thurber’s 1939 short story of “The Secret life of Walter Mitty” displays how an over bearing wife has control over her husband by her constant nagging and telling him what to do. Walter does exactly what his wife wants but displays defiance when she is not present and drifts off into his own little world making him the man he always wanted to be. In Tristan Bernard’s “I’m Going” play written between 1866 and 1947 is comical and a farce much like James Thurber’s “The secret Life of Walter Mitty”. Though they show differences in reverse role playing of the characters; they bear similarities and share a common theme.
Haley Muggy Basuli SURVEY WOMENS LIT ENGL315A SEC 001 3/14/13 Option #2 The Yellow Wallpaper and its’ Relation to Sandra Fluke From the very beginning of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, it is clear that the main character is being oppressed and demeaned by her husband John. “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage,” she writes about her husbands’ reaction to her questions about their future summer home. The fact that she says that being mocked is expected in marriage is a sad thought, and makes me hope that we have come a long way when it comes to marital relationships since this story was written. This story is set in the 19th century, and was written to draw attention to the need for women’s physical and mental health to be taken more seriously. “Hysteria” was a common diagnosis seen in only women for hundreds of years in Western Europe.
Curley’s wife would always try to show more of herself, and of course the reaction of the men was to call her a “tramp” and a “rat trap”. This is also subtly changing the readers view. We can see that all the men on the Ranch feel the same way about her. Steinbeck almost puts you in the position of Lennie and George, so whenever she insults them, so also insults you, further exaggerating what you feel about Curley’s wife. For example, when she says “They left all the weak ones here” all the men ignore her to let her know that she isn’t wanted, and Crooks tells her to get out.
Plath satirically compares her father to God because he was a heavy presence in her life, and how he weighed down on her, like marble. The poet, Sylvia Plath, uses diction throughout the poem “Daddy” to express her mordant and bitter view of her late father. The word ‘Daddy’ comes up a lot in this poem. Plath refers to her father as ‘daddy’ to support her sarcastic attitude towards her dad. Nowhere in this poem Plath shows any compassion towards her father, but yet she refers to her father as ‘daddy’ so that the reader could see the bitter venom behind her words.
The narrator’s insanity is caused by her husband, the treatment prescribed for her, and her obsession with the yellow wallpaper. One cause of the narrator’s insanity is the relationship between her and her husband. The narrator’s relationship with her husband is one of a father to daughter relationship. The narrator state, “John laughed at me but of course, one expects that in marriage” (Gilman 746). She is forced to live as a young child would live.
Furthermore, Rossetti employs reported speech to help create memorable characters as 'Son" Thomas' repeats her names; demonstrating that Maude Clare's presence lingers and that she has make her mark on the newly wed couple. Also, Thomas 'strove to match her scorn with scorn' but 'faltered' thus developing his character's weakness and implying his continuous love for Maude Clare. This is further demonstrated with the use of caesural pause to interrupt direct speech, 'he said - "Maude Clare..."- and hid his face'. Another interpretation is that his stuttering depicts his shame of having had an affair with Maude Clare. Another technique that Rossetti uses to create memorable characters is Maude Clare's repetition of 'half'; this illustrates another side to Maude Clare's seemingly arrogant character 'queen'.