For many centuries, women have been fighting for equality. While there has been much progress all over the world, we are far from reaching a truly equal society. Through the simplest acts such as speaking out or getting an education, women are still being reprimanded for their actions. Canada prides itself in being a progressive country, yet events of violence against women are still occurring. An example of this is the Montreal Massacre.
In the poem “First Grade” by Ron Koertge, the writer uses diction and symbolism to reveal his meaning: school can kill one’s imagination. “Until then”, or before the present, the author had creativity and believed that “every forest had wolves in it”. He extends on this idea by saying that he loves to “wear snowshoes all the time” and “talk to water”. Yet, when he enters first grade, he witnesses the woman with the “gray breath” assigning the students’ seats. He describes the teacher’s breath being gray to show that the teacher and the school lack liveliness and imagination.
Due to media advertisements, women have felt the pressure to look good more than ever. In the book Where the Girls are, the author Susan Douglas expresses what women sometimes feel when they are exposed to media advertisements. "Special K ads make most of us hide our thighs in shame. On the one hand, on the other hand, that’s not just me, that’s what it means to be a woman in America" (Douglas 1995). Women struggle every day with these societal pressures that the media has created and sadly it is only getting worst.
The road to manhood is not an easy road to travel on for many boys. Junior in my opinion does not follow the Code of Conduct outlined in the "How Boys Become Men" article by Jon Katz. In Katz' article he has a specific set of 6 rules to follow in order to become a man. Some of these rules are things such as "don’t be a snitch" or "let boys fight their own battles". Junior from "The Absolutely True Story of A Part-Time Indian" does conform to some of the rules highlighted by Katz but for the most part he does not.
In the critical essay “Insatiable Girls” by critic Carol Wershoven, the author believes that there are critical women in novels that are representatives of unattainable desire. Daisy represents the “golden girl” in the Great Gatsby; she is the goal and yet nobody can completely have her. Because Daisy is so desired by many men, she becomes an object to compete for using wealth as a substitute for attraction. Daisy's objectification leads to an unrealistic ideal and that expectation leads to disappointment in other characters as well as self-destructive behavior to Daisy. Golden girls must always stay pure, as well, to complete their image, so any type of scandal or negative portrayal of the character is immediately covered up by other characters, as an act of devotion to her reputation.
In Anne Moody’s autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi, she discusses the hardships that “negroes” faced during a time when segregation was prevalent. Anne Moody, or Essie Mae, as she was often referred to in the book, was a black rights activist. Certain events lead her to be such a strong advocate for African Americans. Her first memory of being separated from white people was at the movie theatre. Children were the last to see color, so they did not realize how sternly the segregation was enforced.
Coming of Age in the Civil Rights Movement Despite slavery coming to an end in the mid 1800’s, African Americans struggled to live a truly free life. Even in the 20th century, poverty proved to be an inescapable burden that kept them stuck on the lowest levels of society. Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody is an autobiography about the struggle of growing up on a plantation in rural Mississippi during the Civil Rights era. Sharecropping played an extensive role at keeping former slaves in poverty. Sharecropping dominated the South, but this type of job inequality was widespread throughout the entire country, making it near impossible to obtain a respectable job, even branding a college degree.
It is often that many celebrities have so-called Cinderella stories, coming from nothing and building themselves up to greatness. Some of the most iconic figures in the world came from poverty-ridden areas, but were gifted with other valuable attributes. Things such as intelligence, athleticism, character and more give those gifted with them an advantage over others, leading them to rise to the top. But sometimes, it’s not what one is born with, it is how they make use of their situation to strive for the best possible outcome. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls has a similar problem, growing up in mainly West Virginia, having only her siblings to try and get out.
They thought the doctors were still trying to cure her” (Skloot, 2010, p. 65). Imagine being in Day’s position, finally realizing that your wife’s final days are near. The amount of strength one must have to absorb this information without appearing heartbroken. Skloot highlights Day’s endurance throughout Henrietta’s suffering - especially during a decade when emotion was meant to be feminine. She is able to descriptively display the cancer from Day’s point of view; Skloot also shows how it affects the family’s dynamic in the
Summary “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” by Jessica Statsky is a thoughtful insight on the competitive sports for children. She is of the view that the competitive sports can ruin the enjoyment that games are supposed to provide. These methods of playing the games like adults can prove to be lethal for physical and psychological health. The author quotes from an authentic source that “Kids under the age of fourteen are not by nature physical.” (Tutko)
Writer Alexandra Robbins writes a non-fiction expose following the lives of various overachievers at Walt Whitman High School. The purpose Robbins conveys in the book is that college admission expectations have made high school a very cut-throat environment, leading students who try to meet these expectations to have deteriorating emotional and mental health. Throughout the book Robbins uses strong forms of imagery to get across the idea that stress is negatively impacting many students health and uses shocking statistics to show that students are turning to self –harm and suicide to deal with stress. Robbins uses imagery in a scene of a Whitman student named AP Frank who acquired seventeen AP credits in the course of his high school career.
In the op-ed “The Joy of Communal Girlhood, the Anguish of Teen Girls” by Jessica Bennett (New York Times 12/22/2023) she claims that girlhood masks the reality of being a girl yet, over the course of the article, explores the idea of girl trends having a positive impact. Bennett saw girlhood as a fantasy and used a study showing girls were facing double the sadness and hopelessness as boys. Social media seems to have a huge impact on girls' mental health because of the anxiety associated with it. However, she reveals that in the 90s prior to social media, there was a false sense of self and that today's society is a manifestation of that. After analyzing her protest against glorifying girlhood, Bennett questions herself and sees that these
The next soliloquy in Act 2 scene 2 reveals more information about Hamlet, and in this exact soliloquy we are able to see what Hamlet thinks about himself at this point. The characters of the story think that Hamlet as become mad, even though he says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is just pretending. On this soliloquy Hamlet explain his plan to prepare a play for Claudius to fool him and see his reaction, trying to find the truth by his actions. This makes the audience know that he is truly committed to avenge his father. On his frenzy he reveals that he wishes to kill Claudius as fast as possible, but he has to focus on his plan.
Most teenage girls fall in love so easy, and end up with their hearts shattered in the next couple days. When they are going through these types of situations, girls often overthink everything, and they always chase the ones who are not worth the time. In the poem, Advice to a Girl by Sara Teasdale, the author talks about a young girl who is emotionally torn after losing the one she thought she loved. “No one worth possessing, can be quite possessed…” (Line 1).
When Richard’s heard the news of her husband’s death, he assumed Mrs. Mallard would be devastated. While everyone knew Mrs. Mallard was “afflicted with heart trouble” (57), him and her sister, Josephine, wanted to give her the news with “great care” (57). Josephine broke the news to Mrs. Mallard in “broken sentences”
