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Social Injustices In Girl And A & P

2173 Words9 Pages

The awareness of social injustices have recently been increasingly prevalent in our society. Heated debates occur with topics such as abortion, gay marriage, and gender equality. Many people have differing opinions with these topics, but almost everyone feels the same way when talking about them: discomfort. However, it does not have to be this way. Many authors are starting to see this. The authors of two stories, Girl and A & P, used their writing to explore social norms as they relate to females. They used their talents and penned stories that allow a reader to consider and contemplate the point of view of an oppressed human in society. Both works delve into societal norms of how a female should behave. The dialect in the short stories …show more content…

This may be because the mother received scrutiny for doing what she wanted at some point in time, so she is trying to protect her daughter from making the same mistakes. The mother also does not want to be known as “the mother who turned her daughter into a slut,” so she is saving her own face by constantly judging the daughter’s appearance. The mother may think that if she tells her daughter what to do all the time, then she will stay on the straight and narrow and become a respected woman. The mother is critical; she continues to chide her daughter with clear messages of expectations on how to properly behave as a female per societies norms. The vocabulary that is used in the stories differ greatly. For instance, in A & P, Updike uses very descriptive vocabulary to fully characterize the girls in the store as much as possible. The author uses colors, adjective, and specific imaginary phrases like “cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisles.” He does this to put the reader in the mind of Sammy, the narrator. It is shown through these words how Sammy thinks on a day-to-day basis, especially when it comes to

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