##ment. ':If' By Rudyard Kipling And The Paradoxical Commandments

Since the beginning of time there has been a distinct division between the sexes. Through sheer definition there is a physical difference between the two but as time has passed there has been an indisputable recognition of the differences in personality and cognition. There are also undeniable differences in the life experiences had by the two sexes that

The roles of men and women in society, though they vary slightly from culture to culture, have been forged in such a way that that they have been ingrained in us, while being nothing more than a social construct, and we appear to be unable to shake them. Although we do try to be accepting of change, the very thought of an adjustment in our perceived gender roles typically results in a reaction that is a cross between a cringe for some and a furrowed brow for others.

In our society today, there are many ways identity plays a role in how people live their lives, as well as how people are viewed or treated by others. A big part of a person’s identity comes from their gender. Men and women are raised differently, whether it be their beliefs and ways of thinking, how they view their future, or the actions they choose to take throughout their lifetime. In both Katha Pollitt and Silko’s essays, they discuss the differences in the lives of men and women and how these differences result from society’s expectations by using metaphors and life examples to explain their message to the reader, as well as allow the reader to connect to this message.

In both essays, two common themes revealed are the dominance of man and to find the perfect female spouse to satisfy their male spouses need. Ideas that are being presented are girls need to stay girly and attractive and males cannot sustain friendship with females. Each author elaborates on what the ideal male or female is. The author Paul Theroux talks more about how society sees as a man in his essay “Being a Man” and uses metaphors and hyperboles to get through readers. While the author Judy Brady explains what the ideal female is viewed as in her essay “I Want a Wife” and uses satire and domestic ideology.

A short essay “ Guys vs. “Men” written by Dave Barry, presents Dave’s perception on the difference between “Guys” and “Men”. Dave presents his essay in a comical way that generalizes the “men” vs. “guys” and also gender biased generalization. Dave argues that men hold too much of responsibilities and many expectations in which guys do not and they live happier life. One of the methods he uses to support his argument is a comparison. Other method he uses is the description of how he views “men” vs. “guys” and gives his perspective. And the last method he uses to further his argument is the use of hyperbole, exaggeration through out the essay.

For a long time, men and women have been dealing with the controversy of gender roles. In modern day, the battle for gender equality has been more known. In the story “Guys Suffer from Oppressive Gender Roles Too”, the author Julie Zeilinger explains how males are held to a more macho standard, but do have prevalent emotions. If we were to let go of these rigid rules about what is manly, there would be no standard for any gender. If that was reality, men shouldn’t have to feel humiliated about staying home, and if their companion makes more money than they do. Zeilinger talks about how males detach themselves from some emotions, and live a “life nub to a true range of human emotion” so they can meet this masculinity standard. However if males

In every society, there is a profound distinction between the sexes and their roles within said society. In most societies, this is a diverse network of associations that not only covers those features directly related to sex, such as anatomy and physiology, reproduction, the division of labor, and personality attributes.

There has always been a battle between the roles of men and women. Men are very different to women in many different ways. The essays that Fatema Mernissi wrote “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” and Dave Barry wrote “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” have the same baseline, but are different in their own ways explaining gender roles and qualities. The essays “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” and “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” are both similar, but their approaches are very different by one being humorous and the other being very serious.

“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved” (Matthew Henry). Gender roles are how each human is supposed to act, speak, or dress according to their assigned sex. The world has always depended on them to make crucial decisions and they have marked every aspect of society. Several people have taken advantage of gender stereotypes to determine what to do with their lives or to come up with excuses as to why they are carrying out a task. Literature is one of the main agents that exposes human attitude towards life. It has been affected by time

In society, gender is a real struggle by reason of people do not believe that men and women should be treated as equals. Gender, although not directly mentioned is still a part of the story. In “The Minister’s Black Veil” (Hawthorne 28), the author indirectly mentions gender with,“The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face throws its influence over his whole person.” Like the black veil, gender is a prospect that individuals are fully judged based upon. Gender is an effective way

This brings light to what author Santrock discusses in the book as gender roles, which is “a set of expectations that prescribes how females and males should think, act, and feel” (p.163).

Men and woman see, and access the world in different ways. The views of author of John Gray (1992) can be gleaned simply from reading the title of his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Though arguably exaggerated, Gray’s words seem to embody a popular belief, that men and woman are inherently different; almost – seemingly – from different worlds. It is the

The largest difference between these poems is the demographic they are written for. “If” is undeniably male-dominant in comparison to “The Paradoxical Commandments” which has advice directed at anyone who chooses to read it. The first indication that “If” has advice specifically given to males is in line three when Kipling says, “If you can trust yourself when men doubt you,” This line could have easily been adjusted to “… when people doubt you,” to allow all readers to relate to it. The second time Kipling makes it obvious his words are for male-readers only is the second line of the final stanza “Or walk with Kings --- nor lose the common touch.” Kings are clearly masculine, and as powerful as a person can get in Kipling’s eyes. The final line of the poem “And --- which is more --- you’ll be a man, my

Given that the structure of gender qualities has been a large part of our views, in regards to a variety of issues, a number of people take exception to variances from within these rules. Keeping this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why many individuals are discouraged from crossing traditional gender traits, and closely examine parts of the article assigned for this paper.

“If”, by Rudyard Kipling is a great poem to acquire inspiration from. It is basically a step by step guide on how to survive in the world and succeed. I quite literally take this poem to be based on one common factor, which is success. The whole gist of the poem is one must keep a narrowed focus, avoid dishonesty and hate, risk everything just to lose it, but be willing to start over again. A successful person must watch everything they have dedicated themselves to, get destroyed, but get up and rebuild it. The successful also have to be sure to handle success and failure with grace. If they can do all this, Kipling states, “they will be a man, and will have the world and everything in it.”