Analysis Of Alistair Macleod 's Collection The Lost Salt Gift Of Blood

The object of examining gender roles is to answer the question why should women and men be equal and "Are there populations in which men and women are absolutely equal? Are there societies in which women dominate men?" (Gender 238) By understanding the culture in which this piece of literature is written, the gender roles and the rules of behavior for a woman, then the relationships between genders can be realized. The general myth about women and their gender role in the American society is that the mother works in the home and supports her man in every way. For each relationship, the people in that relationship must decide the particular roles that they will play. In the literary work "Girl", Kincaid shows clearly that the woman's role in this work was to serve the family and to work mainly in the house. The mother writing this story tells her daughter that "this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a crease" (Kincaid 489). In this marriage, it is understood that the wife is to do the laundry for the husband. Today's society does not always provide these clear roles since many women work a full time job and the house chores are a responsibility for both to handle. Though the woman is still mainly held responsible for the home. There should be a constant search for equality in gender roles. Kincaid explains how the man is working to bring home the money and the wife supports

The son had loved his father dearly but does not favor his way of life. His interest in school greatly outweighed his interest or desire to work on ‘The Boat’. He still had a love for the sea and in some way felt like he should carry out his family’s tradition. After his uncle had accepted a new job he took his position on the boat and promised his father that we would continue to sail with him for as long as he lived, and when his father passed despite the desires of his mother he followed his dreams and pursued education and all of its wonders. After living his life he finds himself longing for the sea again and isn’t so satisfied with his life.

The boat represents the only way of life for the family due to the tradition of it being passed down the family. But the boat can cause disruption throughout the family because it is the center of attention for the family. The author was introduced to the fisherman lifestyle when he was a kid, “when I was very small he took me for my first ride,” (224) which can symbolize the family trying to get the author ready for the future. The mother (whose family passed down the boat) had a strong connection due to growing up with the boat being in her life. The mother put a lot of pressure on the family to stay in the family business and not go elsewhere. When she found out about the daughters leaving, the author said, “she was worried about herself and about her family and her life,” indicating her devotion towards the boat. The daughters were able to find a different path and move away from the boat and so did the son but it wasn't as easy for him. He felt the most pressure being the youngest and the only male in the family next to his father saying, “I would remain with him as long as he lived and we would fish the sea together,” (234) putting the father in a tough spot since he wanted his son to

Alistair Macleod is a famous Canadian author that wrote stories about small towns in the east coast. His stories have been praised for the emotional impact they have on the readers. Macleod’s stories focus heavily on gender politics, geographical settings, and following in the examples of superiors among other things. “The Boat” is a short story that focuses primarily on gender roles and how it affects both the men and the women in the story. The two main male characters in “The Boat,” the father and the son, are both characters that are forced into their roles as men that work in order to fend for their families. This specific story resonated with me because I have rarely seen a narrative where male characters are controlled by their female

The title of the chapter underscores the subservient status of women in American society. Their role in the life was restricted to the domestic sphere in which they were expected to maintain the house and teach basic skills to the children. As Zinn illustrates, their physical characteristic became a convenience for the men who could use exploit, and cherish someone who was at same time servant, sex mate, companion, and bear-teacher warden of his child. This line demonstrates that men overpower women, yet the tension between the husband and wife were confined to privacy of their homes. Zinn argues “Society base on private property and competition, in which monogamous families became practical units for

In many cultures, even today, there are stereotypes about women; i.e. that their job is to cook and clean, or that they are not as strong as men are. Many people would probably admit that they view men as tougher individuals whose responsibility is to protect and put food on the table. This theme of the male versus female power constitutes as prevalent in both Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. These authors intricately weave this idea into their novels through their characters’ specific duties, their characters’ behaviors and emotions, and the way children are viewed and treated according to gender. Both novels are set in the late 19th, early 20th century, but take

In the boat, the narrator is torn between two worlds, going to university and fishing. He wants to do both, but is eventually forced to continue fishing because of the pressure his mother gives him. He does not want to fail his mother’s expectations and let her down. When the narrator first decided he wanted to go to school, his mother said to him, "I never thought a son of mine would choose useless books over the parents that gave him life" (MacLeod 9).

This literary analysis will define the patriarchal submission women in the domestic sphere in the novel: For A Modest Fee by Freda Jackson. Jackson’s plot revolves around the migration of Elizabeth Evans and Ann Montgomery in the settlement of Aspen Coulee, Alberta in the early 1900s. Elizabeth is the daughter of a physician, which makes her subservient as a nurse within the household and in the community. Ann Montgomery is the housekeeper for the Evans family, which defines her role as a servant in the domestic sphere. These roles define the limited choices for women in frontier settlements in the Canadian west, which define the

In today’s society, women have an equal amount of rights compared to men. Women can work wherever they chose, vote for whomever they may choose, and pick a lifestyle of their own desire. This type of society has never been forever, meaning men were inferior to women at one point in time. The novel of The Sisters Brothers portrays this type of society, and we see many examples that the novel is presented in this type of society. The Sisters Brothers is a western-inspired story of 2 brothers and depicts many scenes where women are focused upon, and show many qualities and roles they play in their current society. Whereas one woman may play the role of a prostitute, others may obtain the role of a servant, shopkeeper or family caregiver. Within each role women play, many challenges appear, and different circumstances create different outcomes. Many of the women in the western community may have not had a choice in their current profession, meaning many of the prostitutes were forced upon this job, and the servants as well potentially did not have much of a choosing for their work style. This novel portrays men to be inferior to women, and women were not seen on the streets, but the background only. As the men would travel, and collect the money for survival, it would be the women who stay at home, or the women keeping the men content with their travels.

The lack of control women have in a society mainly controlled by men is presented through the author’s effective use of anecdote. In the beginning, when the speaker introduces the audience to her relationship, in which her partner takes lead in day-to-day activities, the audience immediately get an insight into the lack of power women receive with the author’s use of anecdote. The speaker is quick to tell the readers about her“[h]olding the log / while he sawed it. Holding / the strings while he measured” (Atwood lines 1-3). Atwood employs anecdote as the speaker’s explanation of helping her partner out in everyday activities is presented to the reader in forms of an account of an event in the speaker’s life. This forms a greater insight for the reader, as the anecdote creates an understanding of the way the actions in day-to-day activities men and women take when together, women are appointed smaller tasks within a society, which is dominated by men, whereas men are the driving force and do the important parts of the activities. Furthermore, when the speaker describes herself sitting in

Women in Oceana culture are viewed as protectors and creators of life. Their assigned role accounts for much more than birthing children, their care and protection, executing domestic tasks and fertility of crops (Gale, 2004; Kleiner, p. 1112). According to Gale, women are responsible for “feeding the heirs of the deceased in mortuary ritual” (2004). Oceanic women are an integral part of stable village life. From an outsiders perspective their general role may appear mundane, but their integral role in being connected to the social aspect and networking within the village is as important a role as a males (Kliener, p. 1112). In Oceania villages, the god given power of giving and controlling life is immeasurable. Because women harness this power, men are then required to take back and restore the balance of Mana; this accomplished by denying women access to specialized knowledge, allowing the men flourish as authority figures (Kleiner, p. 1112). Gale views this alternatively, as “matrilineal” rather than unequal in balance, stating that restoring the balance is not about inferiority for the women (2004). While their roles do not provide them with power, specialized knowledge or status, women contribute to other rituals inside the villages alongside men (Kliener, p. 112; Gayle, 2004). The village women also produce art, except those items that would be directly linked to religious,

The narrator’s family has a tradition of fishing. The mother in the story loves this tradition, but she never got to work on the boat. She always imagined it to be an honor to fish and continue the tradition. She disapproved reading

Therefore, when a mother enacts violence toward her child/children, it comes as a shock to society as the fathers are traditional placed in the power position in the family, and are expected to be obey (Unit 4 69). This enactment of violence from the mother results in her being viewed as monstrous as she is not supposed to act in that manor, as it is the predetermined role of the father to act in the position of authority within a household (Cole 29). The act of a mother abusing her child, or inflicting any kind of violence toward her child challenges the stereotypical view of

Over the course of history, women have had a stereotype of being subservient, passive, and deferent. However, John Steinbeck’s novella The Pearl disproves this epithet. The story revolves around a husband and wife, Kino and Juana, and their baby son, Coyotito. The characters experience a meaningful journey and learn a manifold of lessons. Although multiple themes unravel in the story, the author vividly writes about the role and development of women. Steinbeck’s The Pearl depicts various women’s roles and their development, especially in Juana’s words and actions.

Rarely do you see a woman operating a boat. However, when a female does step aboard a ship, power seems to always become an issue. Western women who travel by sea traditionally carry a stigma of bad luck and taboo connected with lesser opportunity for experience and authority than men (Pagh 2001). Pagh argues that the roles women play at sea are shaped by the ideology of the home. The notion that “a woman’s place is in the home” shapes the assumption that women’s abilities and interests rest only in the home and she should therefore have no interest in sea travel (Pagh 2001, xiii). We are so accustomed to thinking of how men are the only ones to go to sea with ships, yet women have been overlooked. There is a very different experience of seagoing women that is important to take into account.