Analysis Of The Book ' Suttree ' By Cormac Mccarthy Essay

It is presently common, to label women as inherently malicious and slanderous individuals. We see these stereotypes present, in today’s society. For instance, when two women get in an argument, others around them, tend to yell ‘cat fight’, declaring that because they are women, they presume them as ‘catty’. This scenario, can also be used as a parallel, that depicts what society does to women. Society sets women in opposition to each other, by elevating a male’s status, and forcing women to seek approval from men. In the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the main character Francie observes, a situation where, a woman is verbally and eventually physically assaulted, by other women, because she is not married (or really, she doesn’t care nor needs the

In the essay written by Joey Franklin, the author exposes his own internal conflict, as well as the existing prejudice against fast food restaurant workers. The work is well developed, with the use of witty diction and tone, in addition to the appeals to rhetorical devices.

Though the inequality between genders was not fully resolved until later, the Women’s Rights movement was also beginning to take place at this time (Literature and Its Times…). An apparent problem of American society, then and now, is its tendency toward stereotypes, which will be further discussed later. Hansberry uses her characters and their dreams to draw upon the impact stereotypes have on a person’s ambitions and self-identity.

When Even the Rat was White was announced as the book that we would be assigned to read and complete a reflection on, I felt indifferent. The title generated the all too familiar themes of cultures being white-washed. In other words, the United States has a past and ongoing history of taking every culture and putting a European spin on it. Naturally, with the announcement of this title, I immediately thought of the Eurocentric atmosphere that is diligently maintained in this country. With that title, the book had to be about the history of that. Also, there were thoughts brought to mind about the book including more information about the cultures that were disregarded and misappropriated.

Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s.

Does deviating from one’s gender norms inevitably doom one down a spiral of moral corruption? Tim O'Brien, author of “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” and Ernest Hemingway, author of “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, certainly seem to hold this view, as evident by the fates of the major female characters in their respective works. The deviance of the major female characters in both works appears to corrupt not only themselves, but also pollute their partners, causing them to suffer injury or harm as a result. The degree of injury ranges from negligible, like Fossie’s demotion and broken heart, to fatal, like the bullet that rips through Macomber’s skull. It begs the question, are these stories meant to serve as cautionary tales for their female readers, or possibly for their husbands, so they may recognize gender deviance and stop it in its tracks before their wives transform into Margot Macomber or Mary Anne Bell? This essay will analyze what such characters say about pervading views of women, both in society and in literature.

In the novel, “All the Pretty Horses” the author, Cormac Mccarthy details a clear theme of gender dependent roles in society. While Mccarthy does not directly address these social constraints, they are present through the entirety of his novel. By using many of the conflicts and interactions within All the Pretty Horses he maintains a constant background echo of these expectations. The main protagonist, John Grady Cole often finds himself in situations that provide elaboration on these stereotypes. Throughout All the Pretty Horses John Grady Cole encounters men and women, all of which provide conflict. The men he encounters always initiate conflict with John, while the women in his life always seem to take on a warped role of themselves.

The All the Pretty Horses is written by American author Cormac McCarthy published in 1992. This story is about a 16-year-old cowboy John Grady Cole’s journey to Mexico with his friend Lacey Rawlins. In the late twentieth century, the idea of predominance of men over women remained. Since this book is about cowboy’s life, the book showed the masculinity disposition a lot. This paper explains with gender criticism in the All the Pretty Horses; powerless female characters, male-dominated society.

The great Elizabeth Cady Stanton once said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women were created equal.” Thus, the significance behind this quote by Mrs. Stanton reveals that not only has the society upon planet Earth have establish a cruel history of suppressing the female gender, but it has also manufactured many stigmas and notions that are pinned to perception of how a woman must conduct herself. Nonetheless, several examples of society’s shortcomings are presented throughout O’Connor’s short story. Specifically, the story’s representation of Red Sammy’s wife and her subsequent actions allow the reader to make the strong connection that society in the 1950’s was an era in time where males obtained significant social

Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the

"But there are no absolutes in human misery and things can always get worse, only Suttree didn't say so" (372).

American Literature has always been about men and for men. In this essay, we are going to analyze the women’s role in the book, as inferior and weaker gender.

An example of this notion is shown in Hope Leslie when Governor Winthrop, the landlord, reacts to Hope, the tenant, coming home late and refuses to reveal her reason why: “...Winthrop was not accustomed to have his inquisitorial rights resisted by those in his own household, and he was more struck than pleased by Hope’s moral courage” (184). Evidently, Winthrop’s reaction proves that women with “moral courage” are unladylike because moral courage is a manly trait. On the other hand, Esther Downing, another character in Hope Leslie, embodies the cult of true womanhood. Esther’s mere look at her love interest Everell is described as “a look of...pleased dependence, which is natural... and which men like to inspire, because --perhaps -- it seems to them an instinctive tribute to their natural superiority” (219). So, “Esther’s look … of dependence” confirms that the expectation that all women are supposed to have the same behavior, gestures and personality is meant to not only please men but to also hide their true form. Therefore, the cult of true womanhood presents an internal battle in female writers and Sedgwick presents this womanly struggle through the contrast between Hope and Esther. Society wants women to be quaint housewives but publishing a book defies the cult of true womanhood. Thus, defying the qualities rooted in the cult of true womanhood causes high risk of

While their bachelor status allows them leeway in their expression of sexuality and their non-restriction to heterosexual, familial life, the aforementioned relationships both take advantage of women in order to further establish and even deepen instances of male homosociality. Between the narrator and Dupin, for instance, bonding tends to occur around their investigations. Their investigations, coincidentally, revolve around the bodies of “dead, discredited, or disempowered” women (Between Men 137). Both “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Mystery of Marie Rôget” involve bodies of dead women that coincidentally have no place in discussions farther along the text. Thus, Dupin and the narrator can discuss women without having to engage with them, whether such engagements would have been romantic or otherwise. While no dead women are present in “The Purloined Letter,” a disempowered woman is certainly present, being the victim of the text’s driving conflict. While the entirety of the text hinges on such theft, the victim of the crime is barely mentioned, nevertheless never physically present (Derrick 72). Because bachelorhood precludes intimate relations with women, the routing of homosocial desire through the disempowerment of women works within the framework of all three of Poe’s short

James Joyce’s book of short stories entitled Dubliners examines feminism and the role of women in Irish society. The author is ahead of his time by bringing women to the forefront of his stories and using them to show major roles and flaws in Irish society, specifically in “Eveline” and “The Boarding House”. James Joyce portrays women as victims who are forced to assume a leading and somewhat patriarchal role in their families. He uses them to show the paralysis of his native land Ireland, and the disruption in social order that is caused by the constant cycle of abuse that he finds commonplace in Ireland. Joyce is trying to end the Victorian and archaic view of