Group items tagged

Arguement: This article addresses Women's influence in society and therefore the importance of their upbringing and upkeeping. Claim: It claims that women played a role in defining European national identity at the end of the 18th century and that nation, gender, and genre of theatre can result in distinct characters because of their influences and duties. Support: " Documents and facts, commentary and cartoons are scrutinized in the context of these genres, which themselves carry connotations of class, education, and gender."

Argument: The author, Foote, argues that the novel "Little Women" wasn't in fact about gender but about class. The "little women" in the novel are present in an ambiguous class position. Foote gives examples of why she feels there isn't a presence of solely gender issues but that of social class too. The March family lives by the Laurences' which in contrast is a very large estate. The fact that all the girls work also lends significance to the idea of the March family struggling in the economic aspect. Also, Foote brings attention to the fact that the market and the home were slowly starting to mix. Evidence: "The garden separated the Marches' house from that of Mr. Laurence. Both stood in a suburb of the city, which was still country-like, with groves and lawns, large gardens and quiet streets. A low hedge parted the two estates. On one side was an old brown house, looking rather bare and shabby, robbed of the vines that in summer covered its walls, and the flowers which then surrounded it. On the other side was a stately stone mansion, plainly betokening every sort of comfort and luxury, from the big coach-house and well-kept grounds to the conservatory and the glimpses of lovely things one caught between the rich curtains (Alcott 1993, 42)." Thoughts: It was very interesting to reexamine Little Women. When first read through the book takes on an aura of a children's book but when unearthed it is actually much more. There is the forefront of the gender roles in the novel that can easily be understood but it is the social class struggle that captivated me. The time period of this novel was around the time when women had to be more proactive in certain households in order to stay afloat. This was a sign of economic instability and was for the lower classes.

Source#2 Argument: The Kite Runner it a novel of conflict. Claim: The conflicts range from warring armies, factions, worldviews, ethnic groups; as well as individual conflicts and gender. Evidence: Throughout the novel Amir constantly runs into a problem. If the conflict isn't obvious there is always an underlying conflict. For example, the relationship between him and his father and the judgement he recieves from being friends with Hassan.

Robert McKay, author of the criticism on human-animal relationships that are described in The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker, believes in two arguments. One begin that Robert believes that the ability in which humans use language sets the difference between humans and animals. Secondly, he critiques about how Walker has "anti-oppressive" political views towards race and gender. In the story Walker "re- writes" the book of Genesis and she makes many references that are mythological and biblical. Robert McKay believes that humans and animals are very distinct and even though many people believe that there is communication between an animal and a human…well they are wrong according to McKay. In the novel Walker wrote about past lives and how humans came from animals, well according to McKay that's impossible and that's is why he critiques Walker on her comparisons between a human and an animal. The second argument he brought up was how political references were made to gender and race. These references were made when the young boy and the young girl were together and they realized that they were different due to the color of their skin. It is like an allusion to the bible says McKay because the boy lost his sexual innocence due to the temptation. Also, Walker makes an animal intertwine in a way between humans. For example, she puts the woman, followed by the familiar and then the man when in reality the animal is external in this human relationship. In the story when the boy and girl were together as it was stated above the boy kills the girl's familiar which was a serpent and it represents the serpent from the bible according to McKay, but that event (the boy killing the serpent) represents how men (white men) had the power over women and animals.

This literary critique of Henry James and many of his infamous books that deal with many gender roles during that time period. A reoccuring theme that has been revealed in many of his novels is the feminine character who us breaking the mold in some way. Donatella Izzo (the writer of this article) quotes "his suffereing female protagonists still manage to "carry life away with them in armfuls"(18)" This quotation exemplifys the amount of life these powerful women posses.

Ken Kesey has been the said to use stereotypes in his books. Two of the stereotypes would have to be Disability and Gender which he uses in one flew over the Cuckoo's nest. The author states he does a good job of not making mental disability impressive in its "avoidance" of stereotypes. But then the author goes on to state that Disability and emasculation are linked. Nurse Ratched is also a stereotype as a "direst result of her continual emasculation and her de-feminized domination of all the male patients." They also have a stereo typical anti-hero who is McMurphy. Ken Kesey has also been said to be stereo typical in Last go round with three different characters of different race. One white, one black and one Indian. Masculinity was the biggest stereotype that ken kesey had through out all his novels.

C. L. Chua analyzes A Thousand Splendid Suns in an attempt to find out if it was as much of a success as The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini's first novel. The different literary devices that Hosseini used are mentioned to perhaps give validity to the various arguments Chua makes. A shortfall of the critique is that perhaps not enough emphasis was actually placed on an argument; a majority of the essay was a very well written summary of the novel with only a light touch at the very beginning and end of the essay on the actual argument. "He [Hosseini] felt impelled to tell an Afghan story different from The Kite Runner's. That book had been about men-fathers and sons, male friendship, male treachery. Hosseini now felt drawn to tell a contemporaneous story about Afghanistan's women." Chua uses a clear and logical argument to assert his opinion that Hosseini really delved into the life of an Afghanistan woman in the current times. The critique remains coherent but I wish it was more focused and consistent in the argument. It would have been overall better if Chua has also given more of their insight of this novel. I'm not sure if the author of this article is male or female but depending on their gender, it could create a bias. Another bias that may exist is that the author of this critique really enjoy Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner so they may be more inclined to say that his second novel was just as good since they are already a fan. "Hosseini's two women are strategic contrasts physically, socially, and psychologically. Socially, Mariam is from the rural lower class; Laila, the urban middle class. Psychologically, Mariam is accustomed to humiliation; Laila, to consideration. Physically, Mariam's features are "unshapely," "flat," "unmemorable," "coarse," while Laila is a green-eyed blond beauty." The stark differences that Chua notes about Hosseini's protagonists help to understand a main theme of the novel which could

Argument: Author Sarah Hackenberg presents the opinion that women are only hiding behind their servant attitudes in order to get where they would like. She presents the sequence of events that led up to the initial true image of Jean Muir, not that of a nineteen year old but in fact of a haggard old woman. Hackenberg also gives certatin prominence to the idea of womens' highest achievement would be their marital status. The entire story epitomizes a servant of a governess that exhibits the standard female behaviors up until the very end where the maanipulative and devious women unmasks her self, hypothetically and literally. Evidence: "Most critics of "Behind a Mask" attend closely to the tale's radical gender and class dynamics: the way Alcott overtly aligns operating behind a mask with female power" (Hackenberg) "the fact that the governess's ultimate ambition, despite all her formidable powers of artistry and perception, is to "trick" a man into marriage..."(Hackenberg) Thoughts: Hackenberg raises many interesting points. Jean Muir was the ultimate woman. She only lacked in one area and that area was her status. Her only hope of climbing up in the world would to be marrying someone of a higher class. She said multiple times in the story that if this did happen to her that she would be completly content and only honor and follow her husband's rules. However, with the history that she has and what we know of her from reading this story we can be almost certain that Jean will not be content and will have to stir up some troulbe somehow. The story leaves off at a crucial point that leaves the readers contemplating all the different outcomes it could have.

Argument:This article was based on other critics arguments on Sense and Sensibility and whether or not the novel's purpose was feministic and the differnce or importance of having sense and sensibility. Evidence:-"Austen understood the position of women who were deprived of the means to earn an income but needed to maintain their social standing." -"The triumph of sense over sensibility in the novel establishes the value of conventional feminine virtues, a position also espoused by other writers in the aftermath of the Revolution." -"Austen advocated a woman's possessing "sense," not "sensibility," while others have argued that Austen advocated possessing neither one nor the other, but a balance between the two." "signaling Austen's attempt to reshape ideas about gender through her novel." Thoughts:Though the critics argue on the feminist or anti-feminist attitude of Jane Austen and her novels, it is clear that the purpose of her novels is feministic in nature. Whether based on her life, or simply fictional, the novels are promoting a view on the women's place in society, as it is, and as it should be.