If American Men Are Obsessed With Money, American

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Faisal Waheed Prof. Daley English Marya Mannes, a well known American author and critic once said, “If American men are obsessed with money, American women are obsessed with weight. The men talk of gain, the women talk of loss.” Mannes was always known for her caustic but insightful observations of American life (Marya Mannes,wiki), and this quote is no exception. When reading this quote, I strongly agreed to what Mannes said about the generalization of men and women. But I disagree when the quote only refers to Americans, because this generalization about men and women is predominantly true no matter which nationality. The short stories “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, “A Doll's House” by Henrik Ibsen, and “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, are some examples that support Mannes observation of men and women. “The Necklace” tells us a story about a women who always imagined herself being in a high social position, but ultimately ended up being in a situation totally opposite of what she had dreamed of. Mathilde married a low income clerk who worked in the ministry of public instruction. Mathilde's husband, Monsieur, brought home an invitation from his job inviting him and his wife to a ball, but when Mathilde read it her reaction was far from what Monsieur thought it would be. Mathilde broke down and started crying, telling her husband the reason shes crying is because she only has no dress to wear to this ball. Monsieur became very upset seeing her in displeasure and, with the money he planned on buying a new rifle, he brought her a dress “It annoys me not to have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on.”(Maupassant 34). Even after getting her the dress, she complains about not having any jewels or stones which directly refers to the Marya Mannes quote saying women talk of loss, which in this case, loss of money. The major
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