Character Analysis of Estelle in Atwood's Rape Fantasies Essay

Anderson’s story contains a four-page description of the events that led to Melinda, the main characters, rape scene. These four pages were enough for Scroggin and Swier to challenge this novel in its entirety and hide it from students, hindering their horizons of literature.

After being taken sexually advantage of, Esperanza repeats the phrase “you lied” to declare that Sally and the media have lied to her by saying sex is a pleasant experience. Furthermore, constantly repeating “you lied” shows that Esperanza has been traumatized by this experience; Esperanza realizes the women who have been assaulted were not magnifying the devastating psychological effects. Likewise, the statement, “He wouldn’t let me go. He said I love you Spanish girl.” is a statement which is repeated throughout the vignette. A boy saw Esperanza and grabbed her for his own sexual desire. Esperanza repeats the thought of being caressed without her consent and this creates the psychological effect of her seeing men as predators. This illustrates that groping negatively affects the way its victims look at the world. By using these structural elements to describe Esperanza’s first sexual encounter, Cisneros shows the harmful psychological effects sexual assault causes and sympathy for these people is instilled into the readers, because they know the harm that has been

Storytelling has been used for all of human existence to pass down ideas and morals. Writing was just the next step in allowing additional individuals to have access to the multitude of new stories being created. When different people read the same story, they are able to glean different things from it. This is due to the fact that people read the stories on different levels and with differing viewpoints. Upon the first reading of “Dream Children”, by Gail Godwin, a reader may view the story as a timeless, boring love story. However, if a reader dives into the story from a feministic approach, one sees a deeper plot where Mrs. McNair is imprisoned by societal norms and longs for an understanding of her feelings and desires.

Throughout time, there has been a battle present in which females try to rise above the power of men and the hold they have on women. Whether the battle be for the equal treatment of both sexes or simply establishing a level of respect and understanding from the opposite sex, the meaning stands the same in which there is an ever-present power struggle that is continuously ongoing between the sexes. No matter the intentional meaning of the work, women suppression by men are seen when one looks beyond the simple statements given and examines the female characters in great detail to better understand the struggle she endures daily due to men. One author in particular that allows an interesting viewpoint into the mind of a blossoming woman is Susan Minot. Minot demonstrates in her story “Lust” how the female narrator is influenced and altered by her male sexual partners. Through each sexual encounter, the reader is able to see the changes these encounters have on the young woman emotionally and other affects a man has on her as she grows up in a male dominated world. This can all be determined by observing closely the figurative language used in the story, the fluctuations in emotions seen in the female character, and the thoughts the woman has about men throughout the story.

Laurie Halse Anderson creates a deep and meaningful book with the use of unique structure of the “chapters” and an important theme. Speak is a very relatable and realistic book. Many people around us have secrets that they are too scared to share. Melinda is a teenager that develops in character immensely. She goes from hiding a secret of herself to speaking the truth and finally revealing her secret. Rape is a serious situation and many people have experienced, but we do not even know it as the victims are possibly too afraid to speak up. Readers can relate to this book even if they aren’t the one with the secret. They could be the friend who did not know, or just a high school student who witnessed it all happen. Speak presents an important

The sarcastic tone of the line suggests that women are perceived in a condescending and degrading fashion. Incapable to evaluate their own feelings in reference to rape and that they do not possess the intuitiveness to recognize the magazines offensive manner in portraying such a serious topic. Estelle is offended at the magazines depiction of rape and finds it incomprehensible, "you think it was just invented...I mean what's so new about it" (356) she is further offended at the questionnaire, she is fully aware that rape has been around for sometime. She recognizes, unlike her co-workers, the magazines ploy, at exploiting women's insecurities of self-consciousness, powerlessness, fear and loss of control over their own will and condemns the magazine for minimizing the seriousness of such a sensitive issue.

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

Jacobs’ narrative is open and honest in its depiction of sexual harassment, describing the nature of the abuse and the tortured emotional state it leaves its victims in. Though the narrative tells of a girl’s life over one hundred and fifty years ago, it remains timely in its reminder that many suffering women do not have the ability to safely end the harassment they face every day, and yet, they continue to endure the consequential

In society, there is a lot of violence, in particular, violence against women. Women are very often murdered, far more than is discussed. We never hear about most of these cases, simply because there are so many of them. 25% of women have experienced some sort of domestic violence, and 20% have faced sexual violence, making having faced violence almost normal. The notion that violence is something normal is very dangerous, as it is not only harmful to survivors of violence, but it also makes it more likely that more people will be victims of violence as perpetrators can get away with it more easily. Though violence against women is not talked about enough, our flaws as a society are reflected in literature. An example of an instance in which violence against women appears in literature is in John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men. Said instance is the death of “Curley’s Wife”. She is blamed for her own death, and she is clearly not valued as a whole person, no one reacts emotionally to her death. Victim blaming leads to the normalization of violence and the devaluing of women.

By having this directly happen to Esperanza, the author makes extremely personal the experience of sexual violence. The audience views abuse of women in many instances, but the reader experiences Esperanza’s from first person. When Esperanza says, “Sally make him stop...I couldn’t do anything but cry” (Cisneros 100), one feels the weight of her helplessness. The powerlessness of women on Mango Street in the face of violence is evident. The sexualization of young girls leads to not only fear, shame, and negative self-worth, but also physical

Some Boys by Patty Blount covers one of the most controversial topics in today's society: rape. I would be lying if I told you that reading this book was easy, because it isn't. How would you feel if no one believed what you had to say? How would you feel if the person that found you bleeding and unconscious didn't believe you, either? What about your own father? This is what Grace is going through, and her story mirrors the story of thousands of girls today.

Estella symbolizes isolation and manipulates men to break their hearts. Her name means “star” and she is bright and beautiful like a star, however she is distant and cold like one too. Like a start, men love to gaze upon her, but can not touch her. In the story Estella tells pip that she has no heart, no sympathy, and no sentiment. (chapter 29) Estella

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” the story is revolved around the character Emily Grierson. The story is told by the townspeople where Emily lives. These people are attending her funeral and pitching in memories and tales they remember from Emily’s life. It is through the collective voices and opinions of the crowd that the reader is able to interpret Emily’s struggles. With Emily Grierson’s choices the reader can tell that she is a dependant woman, with psychotic tendencies, and does not take the thought of change and rejection lightly.

In the story of The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter attacks the conventional gender roles of women. The conventional Gothic plot revolves around pursuit. A young heroine’s virtuous virginity, purity and innocence is sexually threatened. Thus, what Carter does in “The Bloody Chamber” is redefine female desire and sexuality which are rendered passive and repressed through traditional Gothic texts. Where the mother exemplifies the heroic woman, the “girl” is the traditional damsel in distress. Maria Makinen’s assessment of Carters feminine characters is both truthful and incorrect. Carter uses traditional female stereotypes as well as her unique women to make a contrast between these perceptions of women.

Patricia Lockwood’s The Rape Joke is a risky composition- not because it discloses information about Lockwood’s personal rape experience, but because it does so from a comedic stance, ridiculing the unfortunate event and the events leading up to and after it. While the creation of the poem was prompted due to the sexual assault she experienced, the content and subject are not centered around the incident or the assaulter but around rape culture and the sociological concept of victim blaming, from both society and oneself. There is no such thing as a rape joke-the joke is the incredulous ways society has guided people to respond to it.