While he suggests how to kindly treat one race of women, he emphasizes on how to womanize another. The culture associated with “How to date a browngirl, blackgirl, whitegirl, or halfie”, believes that women will act accordingly, and should be treated based on their own culture and race. In “Girl” by J.Kincaid and “How to date a browngirl, blackgirl, whitegirl or halfie” by J.Diaz both authors describe how culture influences the outlooks, and stereotypes on women. The expectations of females seen in “Girl” revolves around a strict set of cultural rules for women. Through oral transitions the girl’s mother spreads the beliefs of their culture.
DO MUSLIM WOMEN NEED SAVING? Lia Abu-Lughod Book Review “Writing against culture” The book “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” by the Lila Abu-Lughod, an academic who has lived many years observing women in the Middle East and the West has a meaning of the most basic conditions of the Muslim women’s lives which are set by political, and economical ethics. She also evaluates the beliefs of the international movement of speeches about ‘the demoralized Muslim women. Her motivation on examining how individual Muslim women experience freedom, rights and restrictions brings a much-needed perception. As an anthropologist who had lived for so long with women in communities where everyone was Muslim, she was forced to reflect on what she could do with the perspective her ethnographic work had given her.
In Janice Mirikitani’s poem “Breaking Tradition,” the speaker reflects on the different generations of women. Her exploration corresponds with her struggle with living within the Asian-American society. With the stories of a grandmother, mother and daughter, she shows that every generation of women have to live with the burden of womanhood and everything that comes with it. However, each generation comes with its differences as well. The speaker presents examples of the roles of women in order to set a standard of comparison between the three generations and to show the differences in expectations of women within them.
Because all three characters want to fit into their communities they are forced to hid their true identities and become either what society needs them to be, in Offred’s case ‘QUOTE’ And in Marlines case she’s changed because society demands that she has to be tough, rough and ruthless to reach the top. Top Girls by Caryl Churchill is a play set in early eighties when woman were still trying to be super women. The corporate executive and the soccer mom with great intimate relationships. Churchill’s main character Marlene says “I know a managing director who’s got two children, she breast feeds in the board room, she pays a hundred pounds a week on domestic help alone and she can afford
In this novel, Julia Alvarez manages to capture and express the true feelings of women which deconstructs the stereotypes through Yo. Feminism is defined as “a political movement that works to achieve equal rights for women and men” (Hirsch 113). For the past ages, women were seen in the society as inferior to men and were greatly excluded from education and the right to property ownership. A British feminist named Mary Wollstonecraft argues, “educational restrictions keep women in a state of ignorance and slavish dependence” (Blake 117). The shattering of classifications and stereotypes, and the subversion of traditional gender roles, and the concept of sisterhood or unity among women are among the main tenets of feminist criticism.
Zenzele A letter for My Daughter In Zenzele A Letter for My Daughter, Shiri shares her wisdom and the experiences that come with it with her daughter, Zenzele, who has rejected cultural traditions to welcome Western influence. Shiri is afraid that the Westernized culture of the United States will threaten Zenzele into living a life independent of Zimbabwe culture. After reading the short story about Mukoma Bryon, it becomes apparent to the reader that one of Shiri’s major motives for writing the letter to her daughter was to remind her about the importance of Zimbabwe culture and persuade her not to make the same decisions as Mukoma Bryon. However at the same time, she is filled with deep love towards Zenzele and understands her fondness of Western ideology. In a way, this letter is just as important to Shiri as it is to Zenzele because while it provides the motherly advice that Zenzele will always treasure, it also gives Shiri a fighting chance to convince Zenzele to intertwine her education abroad with the roots of her home country and ancestors.
Literary Analysis “Everyday Use” In the story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, there are three main characters. The mother, youngest daughter Maggie, and Dee, the oldest daughter who is trying to leave her past behind while attempting to find herself and her African heritage as she thinks it should be. There has always been an unspoken jealousy between Mama and the oldest daughter. Dee is seeking a way out of the poverty and oppression of the times, so much, that while she was away at school she had changed her name to one that has an African meaning while omitting any trace of her current true history. Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo is Dee’s new name.
Jody Starks’s Domineering Force Against Janie Written by Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story about Janie Mae Crawford, a young African-American woman who searches for self-identity as she ventures through womanhood. Being raised by a grandmother who lived through slavery and other harsh circumstances, Janie is taught to value social status and wealth, as they are the key to an enjoyable life. However, unlike her Grandma, Janie does not find comfort in materialistic possessions and searches for what is missing in her life, her missing part at the end of the ‘horizon.’ In her journey to complete herself, Janie meets three men, Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and Tea Cake, all of which make a separate but significant impact on her life. In particular, Jody Starks, is the individual Janie is with when she makes some of the biggest transitions in her attitude, based on the way he treated her as an inferior. As a result, an important concept in Their Eyes Were Watching God to understand is how Jody Starks tries to mold Janie’s character into something she is not by exerting control, manipulation, and power.
There is a definite devaluing of women and their contribution to their families, community, and society. Each of these stories brings awareness to the reader, which in turn can fuel the inner workings for change to occur. This can be achieved by providing a need in women to be and feel confident in themselves, their abilities and contributions. CABALLERO Caballero has many examples of women at different positions within the family and how those positions and roles that are placed on them are designed to define them. These roles and positions can in essence trap them or free them.
Based on the mother’s tone in the text, she wants to create a mirror-image of herself to her daughter. Girls are often taught how to be inferior of boys by teaching them how to be the “typical” woman that stays home, cleans, and serve men. Families and cultures have a positive and negative