What Is The Theme Of The Talk Funny Girl

The Talk-Funny Girl by Roland Merullo has many critical approaches within it, but the gender approach was one consistent approach with its three concepts of gender roles, masculinity and femininity, and patriarchy and matriarchy. From the beginning of this reading, the gender roles concept was frequently used to compare characters and their roles in the story. As a punishment, Marjorie would be forced to act like a boy by her parents, who referred to it as “boying” days. “On boying days there would always be a job to do, a house repair project usually…it was almost as if he really did want a son there to help him” (Merullo 74). As a female, it was as uncommon for one to participate in house repairs and outdoor work, so the roles of gender were altered in this setting.

The idea of power was a large and impactful part of this story, involving control from both males and females. Near the end of the story, Marjorie reflected on the power her mother had over her father. “My mother holding the knife and coming for me in the woods. The way she could work my father and work him until she convinced him to do what she wanted” (Merullo 281). Marjorie’s mother was able to easily manipulate their family and held the most power, showing an example of matriarchy. On the other side of this concept, patriarchy was recognized when Marjorie’s family went to Pastor Schect’s church. He had the ability to influence others to believe in his wicked ideas and convinced many to follow his twisted values. “Pastor Schect began to take his twisted ideas about the punishment of children and bring them, week by week, to a new level. There were girls and young women, he said, who god sent to earth as sacrificial lambs” (Merullo 293). With the power Pastor Schect contained, he was able to take control over his followers. The concept of matriarchy and patriarchy supported the common theme of power and control throughout the