My Misstress' Eyes
William Shakespeare
In My Mistress' Eyes, Shakespeare negates the idea of having a mistress whom one can truly love. The way in which the speaker describes the mistress suggests that he does not think highly of her. The speaker is using the mistress solely for personal pleasure. He says that his "mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"(Shakespeare, 885). This shows that the speaker does not think highly of his mistress at all. In fact, he looks down at her. When he describes desriable qualities of his mistress as undesirable. He criticizes her eyes, lips, and hair. All of the qualities that make women particularly unique are not seen as significant or speical to the speaker. Perhaps the speaker views the mistress negatively because she is willing to be viewed easily as an object to men. He ultimately says that the way in which his mistress carries herself is not becoming of a proper lady.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Gender Unit 3
Barbie Doll
Marge Piercy
In Barbie Doll, Piercy illustrates how easily a woman's self-esteem can be destroyed. In the beginning of this poem, girl was described as a typical girl who carried herself confidently. "She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back..."(Piercy, 836). However, when other people began to point out the girl's flaws, these comments became more biting. At first, the girl was not bothered by these comments, but in time, "her good nature wore out"(Piercy, 837). She was becoming more angry with the comments made by her peers. This confident, young girl was becoming more upset because society was trying to conform her into something other than her normal self. In today's society, girls tend to have lower self-esteem levels than men. Like everyone in this world, people strive for the approval of others. When people do not belong, they tend to try to conform to something that is viewed as more acceptable. The girl in this poem decides that it is better to belong to something uncomfortably than to be outcasted comfotably.
Marge Piercy
In Barbie Doll, Piercy illustrates how easily a woman's self-esteem can be destroyed. In the beginning of this poem, girl was described as a typical girl who carried herself confidently. "She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back..."(Piercy, 836). However, when other people began to point out the girl's flaws, these comments became more biting. At first, the girl was not bothered by these comments, but in time, "her good nature wore out"(Piercy, 837). She was becoming more angry with the comments made by her peers. This confident, young girl was becoming more upset because society was trying to conform her into something other than her normal self. In today's society, girls tend to have lower self-esteem levels than men. Like everyone in this world, people strive for the approval of others. When people do not belong, they tend to try to conform to something that is viewed as more acceptable. The girl in this poem decides that it is better to belong to something uncomfortably than to be outcasted comfotably.
Gender Unit 2
A Jury of Her Peers
Susan Glaspell
In A Jury of Her Peers, Glaspell shows how the stereotype of women can be proven wrong. Typically, women are not viewed as intimidating or threatening in any way. Men typically do not believe that women can be capable of harming other people in the way that a man can harm people. However, in A Jury of Her Peers, Minnie Foster is proven to be capable of the heinous crime of killing her husband. She proves to be very intelligent in tricking the police that she could never be capable of harming another human being. Most women are viewed as belonging in the kitchen and tending to household duties. As Minnie is accused of this crime, one of the police officers says that "women are used to worrying over trifles"(Glaspell, 412). This shows that the police officers do not view women as complex people who can be capable of worrying for anything other than their cooking. This assumption is ironic because in this story, the women prove to have more control over the men. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are the ones who find the evidence of the dead bird. They are clever enough to hide this fact from their husbands; consequently, the husbands continue to search for the needed evidence throughout the house. Minnie Foster appears to be the stereotypical housewife, but even her neighbors say that even though they all "live close together", they all "live far apart"(Glaspell, 424).
Susan Glaspell
In A Jury of Her Peers, Glaspell shows how the stereotype of women can be proven wrong. Typically, women are not viewed as intimidating or threatening in any way. Men typically do not believe that women can be capable of harming other people in the way that a man can harm people. However, in A Jury of Her Peers, Minnie Foster is proven to be capable of the heinous crime of killing her husband. She proves to be very intelligent in tricking the police that she could never be capable of harming another human being. Most women are viewed as belonging in the kitchen and tending to household duties. As Minnie is accused of this crime, one of the police officers says that "women are used to worrying over trifles"(Glaspell, 412). This shows that the police officers do not view women as complex people who can be capable of worrying for anything other than their cooking. This assumption is ironic because in this story, the women prove to have more control over the men. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are the ones who find the evidence of the dead bird. They are clever enough to hide this fact from their husbands; consequently, the husbands continue to search for the needed evidence throughout the house. Minnie Foster appears to be the stereotypical housewife, but even her neighbors say that even though they all "live close together", they all "live far apart"(Glaspell, 424).
Gender Unit 1
Hunters in the Snow
Tobias Wolff
In Hunters in the Snow, Wolff uses the literary element of conflict as he goes about describing the friendship between Kenny, Tub, and Frank. He makes note of their crude humor toward each other which is an indication that their friendship is rather light-hearted. At the beginning of the story, I thought that these men were only friends with each other so that the men would have friends to hunt with. However, as the story continued, conflict began to rise among the friends. Kenny becomes rather upset when the men are hunting and he angrily begins to shoot at things. Whenever he would come across something he did not like, he would shoot it. Some of these including posts, trees, and an old dog. However, Tub knew that Kenny needed to be stopped. "Tub shot from the waist. Kenny jerked backward against the fence and buckled to his knees"(Wolff, 193). Even though this was a drastic way to go about stopping Kenny's rampage, Tub knew that it needed to done in order to spare the lives of other living creatures that did not deserve to die. Wolff showed that conflict proved to test the friendship of these men.
Tobias Wolff
In Hunters in the Snow, Wolff uses the literary element of conflict as he goes about describing the friendship between Kenny, Tub, and Frank. He makes note of their crude humor toward each other which is an indication that their friendship is rather light-hearted. At the beginning of the story, I thought that these men were only friends with each other so that the men would have friends to hunt with. However, as the story continued, conflict began to rise among the friends. Kenny becomes rather upset when the men are hunting and he angrily begins to shoot at things. Whenever he would come across something he did not like, he would shoot it. Some of these including posts, trees, and an old dog. However, Tub knew that Kenny needed to be stopped. "Tub shot from the waist. Kenny jerked backward against the fence and buckled to his knees"(Wolff, 193). Even though this was a drastic way to go about stopping Kenny's rampage, Tub knew that it needed to done in order to spare the lives of other living creatures that did not deserve to die. Wolff showed that conflict proved to test the friendship of these men.
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