When reading Harriet Jacobs/Linda Brent’s autobiography addressing her life as a slave who grew up in the deep south and who later fled to the North, two important characters make an impact on her life. Like many people, Jacobs/Brent’s life actions are heavily impacted by the people and the atmosphere around her, driving her decisions, wants, and desires. Although Jacob/Brent’s grandmother makes an impact on her life, Dr. Flint makes a greater impact on her life. With his pushing, he helps determine whom she has children with, controls her life through the livelihood of her children, and even impacts her life after he has passed away through his surviving daughter and son-in-law.
While she was there, the old Jewish woman’s words finally gained some meaning. She realized that she didn’t have to be at her home to be herself, she would always be Catherine. This made Catherine more mature, she changed by knowing that she was, and would always be, herself. She says, “I am like the Jews in our hall, driven from England, from one life to another, and yet for them exile was no exile.” (Cushman 202).
Secondly, Harriet wanted a social change because she had seen and went through the difficulty of it at such a young age. This caused her to notice how little freedom, if such, they had. Also, she knew that no one should have to go through such torture without any sort of protection. Moreover, they had limited supplies for the year and only had one day for themselves, which wasn’t fair considering the fact that they worked 6 days of the week all year. After all, some slaves had tried to escape, which she witnessed, but if “caught, would be whipped, and finally sold to the chain gang,” the text states.
In Esquivel’s novel, Like Water for Chocolate, she argues that kindness is more powerful than cruelty. Unlike kindness and compassion, people will never be fully loyal to those act cruel. The strongest form of loyalty is obedience founded by trust and powered by love, which cannot be replaced with intimidation and fear. When kindness is displayed to a given individual, it is capable of creating a strong core of purpose within oneself, forming loyalty through the desire to be near the one who gives them that affection. In contrast, brutality does the opposite, in hope to break that core enough for the person to resort to dependency Overall, cruelty pushes those under its control to break down, whereas kindness allows for people to strive.
Paul Ryan once said, “Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” Individuals must strive upon excellence based on the society they are placed in. Watching how others react can help one become the best they can be. Throughout The Glass Castle, Jeannette is exposed to society by her parents. Her parents, Rex and Rose Mary, see society in different means than how others perceive it.
Early on, Elizabeth is confronted with the issue of a struggling marriage. She and her husband John find that their relationship is rather strained because Elizabeth
When all the odds were stacked against them, their unwavering hope and optimism helped them push forward and fight for what they wanted and needed. Having to raise three children alone is already a daunting and at times exhausting job not many people can handle, but Sindiwe managed that while working full time and going to school one can only imagine the strength that takes and the sacrifices she had to make, but she believed that doing all of this would put her in the best position possible to succeed. When Harriett was hiding in that attic for those seven years, she was able to look past her current situation and complications because she believed that everything she was going through was worth it. She knew that the sacrifices she was currently making would be worth it in the
It is Helen who advises Jane to study the New Testament and follow Christ's example, in particular his injunction to "Love your enemies"--a counsel that clearly influences the forgiveness Jane grants the dying Mrs. Reed” (Lamonaca
Although she was successful in not obsessing over money and herself, she was, like any young girl, left with an emptiness. Abigail was stuck with an uncle who had “no interest in children” (Miller 134). In the Puritan religion, family is very important, yet the reverend of Salem had no interest in his own. He could not show his niece love and affection, but he was a “man of God”. Although Abigail, luckily, was not influenced by his narcissistic ways, he was still her only parental example.
Mrs. Reed likewise separates Jane from the Reeds’ social circle by confining her to the nursery while her cousins spend their days in the drawing room (22) and calling Mr. Lloyd, the apothecary for “ailing servants,” instead of the family physician for Jane’s illness (15), thus placing her among the servants. However, the servants too reject Jane from their group—Miss Abbot told Jane that she is “less than a servant” because she does “nothing for [her] keep” (9). Jane thus
I kissed them slightly, and turned away” (Jacobs, 79). This is the moment that Linda Brent left her children, Ellen and Ben with her grandmother at her house to get away from Mr. Flint who was sexually abusing her. This moment can compare to the article that talks about motherhood and help readers understand what Harriet Jacobs message throughout the novel was about being a slave mother. The article Motherhood as Resistance in Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl breaks down all the parts of Harriet Jacobs life that has to do with motherhood and also explains to the readers about what one of the outcomes is to being a slave which is “Enslaved women and their children could be separated at any time, and even if they belonged to the same owner, strict labor polices and plantation regulations severely limited the development of their relationships” (Li, 14).
Although the girls would love to go home, returning home would upset their parents and cause them to be ashamed of the girls. Therefore, the family shame motivates the girls to ignore their natural urge to return home to the forest in order to honor their parents’ wishes. In another example, Claudette acknowledges the shame that would come with failure: “But we knew we couldn’t return to the woods; not till we were civilized, not if we didn’t want to break the mother’s heart” (Russell 232). The girls’ wish to avoid shame causes them to continue to remain at St. Lucy’s and assimilate a culture that is not their own. Through this shame, the girls are pushed to immerse themselves entirely into human behaviors.
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, there are many examples of sexism throughout its entirety. The character, Walter, demonstrates the acts of a sexist human being. Walter is sexist to not only women in general, but to the women in his family. Not taking into consideration of other people’s sayings and their feelings, Walter generally only thinks about himself, says what he believes, and truly only cares about money. Walter constantly is fighting with all of the women in the family as well.
In the short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker shows the conflicts and struggles with people of the African-American culture in America. The author focuses on the members of the Johnson family, who are the main characters. In the family there are 2 daughters and a mother. The first daughter is named Maggie, who had been injured in a house fire has been living with her mom. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with natural beauty wanted to have a better life than her mother and sister.
Elizabeth wanted to get married for love. She has a conversation with her friend, Charlotte, about Jane and Bingley’s relationship. Charlotte believes “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance” (18), and that Jane needs to be extra verbal about her feelings or Bingley will lose interest. Although Charlotte cannot be blamed for her view on love, elizabeth thinks very differently. Elizabeth says “your plan is a good one where nothing is in question, but the desire of being well married” (17).
