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Analysis Of Feminist Criticism

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Letty Cottin Pogrebin, an American author, once said that “when men are oppressed, it's a tragedy. When women are oppressed, it's tradition”. Women have been oppressed for years, always living in a world where men are put first and seen as superior. It has just become tradition and the way that we go about living our lives. As it is so widely seen, these beliefs are translated into the media, books, films, etc. The idea of feminist criticism is explained in Lois Tyson’s article “Feminist Criticism” as the ways “in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (Tyson 1). It analyzes the ways these works promote stereotypical ideas of women in society …show more content…

In the film, Holden and Banky are childhood best friends and comic book artists who meet another comic book artist, Alyssa, who is a lesbian. Holden and Alyssa become friends though Holden continues to develop romantic feelings for her, eventually confesses to her and they begin a relationship. Though Holden is angered and the two argue when he discovers Alyssa’s promiscuous past, as he had been under the influence that he was the first man Alyssa was with. Near the end of the film, in an attempt to relieve tension and restore relationships with Alyssa and Banky, Holden suggests a threesome which Alyssa refuses to agree to and leaves. Though the film can be seen as very progressive, especially for the time it was released, there are also flaws to its modern approach. Despite the fact that it was not released too long ago, there have still been changes to people’s ideas and advances in the feminist movement. While Alyssa strives to be herself, she ends up erasing her identity of who she had strongly expressed and gives into a man. There are also many stereotypes presented Banky, Holden, and others throughout the film. In Kevin Smith’s 1997 film, Chasing Amy, while looking through a feminist lens, the film attempts to portray that women should have the ability to freely express themselves, when actually men influence their sexuality and force stereotypes upon

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Minorities have been repressed for many years all over the world. They were treated as inferior and possibly will be for many years to come. There’s Hispanics, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian, and Indians and many more. Women have been repressed for far longer and continue to be treated as inferior because of how women have been raised believing they must do what men want them to. Due to this females are treated differently from males whether it’s a colored female or white females, women are treated as lesser beings to men.

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In every relationship there is always an unequal relationship with the significant other. In the short story The Chaser by John Collier, Alan Austen who’s the main character in the short story goes to an old man to buy a love potion so this girl named Diana would fall in love with him. The basic principle states that men and women have a relationship that is unequal or oppressive. In the short story “The Chaser”, it shows feminist criticism by feeling unconfident, buying a love potion, and Diana’s treatment of Mr. Austen. My first main point of the story that touched on feminism was when Mr. Austen feeling unconfident.

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The prejudice that the author brings forward strongly is the notion of feminism. The author’s main purpose of writing this novel is to examine the role of women played around

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Forms of Oppression Today Society has a unique way of viewing women and labeling them as “submissive”. Even though there is a typical view of women, imagine having to deal with stereotypes for being a black woman in the time of slavery. The picture changes for a woman. First, she is no longer a woman but instead she is property in a man’s eye. Next, she is not assumed to be “weak” or “submissive” but she was told and taught that she and has no power or say so to change it.

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After skimming through Volume 1 of The Norton Anthology Literature by Women, I noticed the reoccurring themes of patriarchy, women subordination, and the strength to be creative despite oppression. During the times that these literary pieces were written, women were constantly battling the patriarchy in order to get basic rights. During the earlier time periods, intelligence was seen as a sign of an evil spirit in a woman, resulting in miniscule amounts of literary works written by women. Women were not provided with equal spaces to creatively express themselves, as mentioned by Virginia Woolf. Moreover, they were not given the same publishing opportunities, many women either went anonymous or by a fake male name to have their works published.

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I believe that men as a gender are also oppressed. Oppression can be defined as the systematic mistreatment of people within a social identity group. Frye uses a bird cage, to explain oppression, saying that one may not view the wires as harmful, but all together, they leave you imprisoned, sometimes without your knowledge. This means that, women may be oppressed without the understanding or realization of what is going on. With one wire or barrier alone, a bird can just fly around it and be free, but when

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Men have given the media this unrealistic image that women cannot fend for themselves, cannot do hard jobs, or cannot get as far in life as a man. Even in jobs, though a woman and a man may be in the same position, women “earn just 74 cents for every $1 a man earns” (CNNMoney). This is truly unfair, yet men today still say that women are “equal,” though it is obviously false. Women today, though they have more rights than in the 1800’s, are still not in the place we need to be in ranking with men. Women are still abused, sexually harassed and mistreated more than men because of their sex.

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If a reader looks at a novel through the feminist lens, they will, just like the real world, a world mostly ruled and defined by men. When reading “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, the reader finds themselves witnessing a time where women couldn’t express themselves and are only seen as an object. However, the main character, Janie, has made it her goal to defy that as seen through her actions throughout the novel. Because of this choice, she is judged by the town and shamed by the people around her for they cannot reach their potential or personal goals themselves from their little determination. Body Paragraphs: In chapter 10 of the novel, while the town is off enjoying the ball game, Janie is running the store.

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Edgar Allan Poe was an ingenious author, poet, playwright, and artisan in the morbid literature and arts. He had a momentous impact on the “gothic lore” genre, and many followed in his footsteps. One French poet named Charles Baudelaire, author of “Fleurs du Mal” (Flowers of Evil), spent a great deal of his time translating and commentating on Poe’s works. Poe’s most significant and notable impacts were on American author H.P. Lovecraft, and American artist and modern director Tim Burton. Lovecraft was popular in the early 1900s, most famous for his novel The Call of Cthulu (1926).

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From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth

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Although times and conditions have changed, women in today 's society are still being discriminated against because of the same belief that women are inferior to men. Women in the united states and other first world countries are being deprived of equal pay and equal rights. Women in today 's society make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes and get discriminated against because of the belief that women aren 't as strong and intelligent as mem. They have been excluded from numerous educational opportunities and in some middle-eastern countries, are stripped from their basic human rights like education and equality. Women all over the world are now coming together to fight for the rights that they

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Feminist Criticism allows to understand the meaning and importance of literature when relating to the male-female power

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“Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors,” -Evelyn Cunningham. During the early 20th century, society’s expectations of women were tremendously different than how they are currently in the 21st century. Women were expected to be submissive to the men around them and had to listen, obey, and serve them. Prominent examples were represented in Ernest Hemingway’s stories, “Cat in the Rain” and “Hills like White Elephants.” Both of the well-known short stories were written in the 1920s and depict the mistreatment of women.

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Rebecca West once said, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat”; feminism and other social issues are fundamental to literature, with them commonly being a driving force behind both modern and classic works of fiction. Feminism is everywhere, with women still fighting for gender equality in modern day Britain as demonstrated through Emma Watson’s United Nations speech which was broadcasted in September of 2014 where she differentiates feminism from ‘man-hating’. Feminism has developed considerably over time as general attitudes have been swayed through literature, political movements and women’s portrayal of themselves. In 1847, Charlotte Bronte released her novel ‘Jane Eyre’ which was viewed as very radical for its time as Bronte uses Jane to exhibit her resentment towards society. Jane is presented as a morally strong, determined character who, when she falls in love, embraces the notion instead of the label and profits which are associated with it; she states that she “cares for [her]self” and that “more unsustained [she is], the more [she] will respect [her]self” as she is not tempted away from her self-respect.

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