A Place Where The Sea Remembers

Theme: Feminist Lens Men have power over women. When Dr. Simon is nearly about to physically abuse Mrs. Humphrey, but resists the urge. This event portrays who even sane men, who are not under the influence of alcohol (Grace’s father), think it is fine to beat a women. The idea that at the time, women are supposed to cook and clean, and men keep women because of this.

Many people, especially women with no Latin background who read Diaz’s work might think that Diaz is an antifeminist because of the way he objectifies women in his novels. Mainly on his novel This is how you lose her. Women are constantly objectified as sexual objects, for example, in his the short story “ Nilda” he describes Nilda his brother 's girlfriend as, “ She was a Dominican , from here, and had super-long hair like those Pentecostal girls, and a chest you wouldn’t believe.” The way he describes Nilda is very sexist, but as the story progresses the reader can tell that since the beginning of the story this girl had no future. A person with a Latin background can interpret this part of the story as Diaz’s exposing Machismo. For example, Nilda being objectified as a sexual object plays a huge part in what women in a Latin community deal with everyday. Mostly because machismo in most Latin countries is perceived as part of the norm. Oftentimes, women are treated as secondary class citizens with no voice. Diaz does a great job exposing machismo in his stories. By exposing machismo in his stories Diaz is revealing the unfairness of what is means to be a woman form a

The culture of rape toward women of color especially have influenced many to believe the misconception and stereotype of black women sexuality. The authors minimize the history of enslavement and rape because they could not come up with a reasonable truth or reason as to why Haitian women and any color women were rape. Many held the position that women were responsibility for many of the white men action because they were taught to accepted the white men sexual advances and adapt the culture of enslavement and oppression. Their virtue was not their because they were not a human being in the eye of the white man. According to the book, white men felt empower and used excuses to justify their actions, “such attitudes helped justify and normalize

As a result of the abuse female characters have faced, it has become an objective for authors to prevent this. There have been clear strides recently, putting women as the protagonists, and not in a manner that has them dealing with persecution. The amount of strong, female characters is a large stride in the right direction to end the conflict regarding women’s roles in literature. However, this sudden influx of women in literature may lead to the reversal of the issue; the absence or abuse of men. While certainly literary equality is the end goal, to flip the issue would be just as bad and lead to sexism on the opposite spectrum. To truly mend the rift between genders, there must be no discrimination, the idea that an author is trying to use sexist undertones by not writing the lead as a female should not have to be an idea that readers think about when analyzing modern books. While even still there are issues of gender inequality in literature, there must be moderation from both ends for a resolution to be possible. The only way for equality to be achieved is with the absence of sexist ideals from all

Gender roles in Puerto Rican society has been viewed as very male dominate, leaving women in domestic roles. Women’s roles in Puerto Rico have followed the same pattern as many other women’s roles in different countries all over the world. Puerto Rican women have been viewed as subservient to men for centuries. Women are used as “material” for a man’s needs, Philippe Bourgois, In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio, stated that “Rape runs rampant around us, and it is as if a society maintains a terrifying conspiracy of silence that enforces this painful dimension of the oppression of women in everyday life.” By tradition, Puerto Rican women were responsible for cooking, cleaning, and other household chores, including that they are there for a man’s pleasure. Therefore, rape culture has become a major problem country to country. Puerto Rican women have been viewed only as domestic workers who were there to serve their husbands. Rape culture is defined as “… an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety,” as stated by Marshall University in their article, Rape Culture. In some cultures, rape is part of becoming a man or women, this shows to them that

The perception of inequality was evident in the colonial Spanish America, man belief that women were lacked in capacity to reason as soundly as men. A normal day for European women in the new world was generally characterized by male domination, for example marriage was arranged by the fathers, women never go out except to go church, women didn’t have the right to express their opinions about politic or society issues. Subsequent to all these bad treats European women try to find different ways to escape from man domination and demonstrate their intellectual capacities, for example women used become part of a convent, write in secret their desires and disappointments, and even dress as man to

Society is very shy to discuss matters about rape, and especially in North America, where we view it as something that doesn’t occur. This makes it unbearable for women, which were victims of rape, to go through this because it’s such a commonly unexpressed topic. A perfect example of this is seen in the play Ruined; in the play the women in brothels have been ruined, because they have been raped, are seen as corrupted and impure. The same goes for women in our society, because they are viewed as devalued, and are no longer treated with equality. This in turn allows the individual that was raped to adopt the hatred within them, which is devastating and undeserved. In Ruined, the women accepted be prostitutes because they felt there was nothing else out there for them which, unfortunately, is a common feeling amongst rape victims. In Sunitha Krishnan’s “The Fight Against Sex Slavery”, it is appalling to hear the stories she tells, as well as her own. The surprising thing is that she is not pleading for aid in liberating or stopping human trafficking. It seems what she needs is for society to accept and nurture those who are freed and want to live a regular life. She justly states that we have to move past this "culture of silence". Our society has this tendency to be indifferent regarding things that don't concern us directly and be quiet spectators. There are

The majority of characters in A Place Where the Sea Remembers has felt regret and betrayal. It was hard for them to not do the things they did because of the fact that they were thinking of themselves. For example, Marta and Chayo have both felt regret and betrayal. Some characters have also felt this conflict, but Marta and Chayo are the ones that go through it the most.

“Beautiful and Cruel” marks the beginning of Esperanza’s “own quiet war” against machismo (Hispanic culture powered by men). She refuses to neither tame herself nor wait for a husband, and this rebellion is reflected in her leaving the “table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate (Cisneros 89).” Cisneros gives Esperanza a self-empowered voice and a desire for personal possessions, thing that she can call her own: Esperanza’s “power is her own (Cisneros 89).” Cisneros discusses two important themes: maintaining one’s own power and challenging the cultural and social expectations one is supposed to fulfill. Esperanza’s mission to create her own identity is manifest by her decision to not “lay (her) neck on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain (Cisneros 88).” Cisneros’ rough language and violent images of self-bondage reveal the contempt with which Esperanza views many of her peers whose only goal is to become a wife. To learn how to guard her power

behavior and a cry for the recognition of women's rights ( ). Instead its theme

The vignette “Beautiful and Cruel,” conveys the impact it has on Esperanza. In this vignette, Esperanza feels that she is “an ugly daughter” and “the one nobody cares about” (Cisneros 88). She does not need, or want, a man to lead her life, unlike the women she knows. She does not need, or want, a man to make decisions for her. Unfortunately, she still feels the pressure to look gorgeous and stunning: “Nenny has pretty eyes and it’s easier to talk that way

Marin said that “she’s going to get a real job downtown because that’s where the best jobs are, since you always get to look beautiful and get to wear nice clothes and can meet someone in the subway who might marry you and take you to live in a big house faraway.” (Cisneros,26-27) This mean she will change her life with man not her own. In this story’s background society is woman should work in a house and man should go outside and make money so this is like man should protect woman. Also, another character that similar with Marin is Rafaela. She is beautiful so her husband didn’t let her go outside of her house. Then, she never left outside and she just look outside through the window. This can be said that women rely on men and leave all responsibilities for men. In the past, this thought, same as them is very normal but as time passes, most people agree for gender equality. Then, literally, gender is being equal. But, Esperanza thought that woman should live in recognition of these thoughts and consider them after she met normal woman in that

Thesis: In the short story “Woman Hollering Creek,” Sandra Cisneros emphasizes the importance of having a female figure to look up to in order to overcome the oppression women are subjected to in a patriarchal society.

All characters in the novel are living in a man’s world; nevertheless, the author has tried to change this world by the help of her characters. She shows a myriad of opportunities and different paths of life that woman can take, and more importantly she does not show a perfect world, where women get everything they want, she shows a world where woman do make mistakes, but at the same time they are the ones that pay for these mistakes and correct them.

Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. Feminist political activism campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual violence. Themes explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification, sexual objectification, oppression and