Comparing The Hero And The Crown And Jeff Smith's Bone

However, gender critics would analyze a book by stating whether masculinity or feminism is used. Take for example, at the very beginning of Wicked, when the group of travelers are taking a rest. They begin to discuss the witch and how she came to be what she is in the present, “She was castrated at birth […] she was born hermaphroditic, or maybe entirely male”, replied the Tin Woodman (Wicked 1). She is believed to be born a male before she became castrated, and then was made into a female. She was also thought of as a lesbian, in which she played the role of the male, “She’s a woman who prefers the company of other women […], she’s the spurned lover of a married man […], she is a married man”, as stated by the Scarecrow (2).

Some things about fairy tales we know to be true. They begin with "once upon a time." They end with "happily ever after." And somewhere in between the prince rescues the damsel in distress. Of course, this is not actually the case. Many fairytales omit these essential words. But few fairytales in the Western tradition indeed fail to have a beautiful, passive maiden rescued by a vibrant man, usually her superior in either social rank or in moral standing. Indeed, it is precisely the passivity of the women in fairy tales that has led so many progressive parents to wonder whether their children should be exposed to them. Can any girl ever really believe that she can grow up to be president or CEO or an

We’ve studied three fictional novels throughout this course, all of them having to do with plague or epidemic. These books all fits into the genre of dystopian. One of the themes that seemed prominent throughout all three books were the roles of the female protagonist or antagonist or the male counterpart of it. In Matheson’s book, I am Legend. The protagonist is a masculine man named Robert Neville, he is the last surviving human on the planet, living with only vampires around him until he meets what presumably is another human that is a feminine character. We find out later she is the reason he meets his demise. In contrast, James’ novel The Children of Men, the female character of Julian plays a huge role in saving humanity from the health crises they are facing in their world. The role of gender plays a huge part in these two works of literature, the health of both genders in both books determine the outcome, Julian being healthy, and Neville being able to survive by himself, they both represent an exceptional idea of masculinity and femininity. But the meaning of gender changes because of the epidemic of crises they are facing, for Neville’s case seeing a woman for the first time in three years, or Julian being pregnant, these changes the importance of gender.

“It’s taken the fantasy genre decades to grow out of its image as a juvenile boys’ club obsessed with cleavage and crossbows” (Griner). Though science fiction has attempted to break the gender stereotypes against female characters, the genre still has a long way to go. Currently, the majority of female characters are still portrayed as over-sexualized, and dependent on male characters. When women are shown in heroic female roles, they are still belittled for not being a man. Seiter claims that “Many of the more stereotyped features of the portrayal of women…are also accurate reflections of the sexist reality of our society” (21). It is unfortunate that this claim is accurate, but it is. Science fiction is a fictional genre, providing an opportunity to break all stereotypes and create a world from scratch. But gender stereotypes have been ingrained into the world, making them difficult to break when producing fictional stories. Sexism has created a gender bias in science fiction that needs to be changed.

Male heroism is active and based on the deeds they perform, while the female ideal is passive and based on the actions they do not perform.

This topic is extremely important as it revolves around the subject of feminism and sexualism, two topics that need to be taken more into consideration when reading a novel. The portrayal of female characters in novels that are read around the world are very impactful towards the female portion of the world as it places them in a spectrum of what they should act and look like to meet the standards of society. Focusing specifically on the development of the female characters and how they are just as powerful as men is an interesting idea to navigate around, focusing on the feminist portion of the novel. In current academic studies there has been substantial amount of works that are about women empowerment, with authors that believe the exact same, such as Purple Hibiscus and The Help.

During the Shakespearean era, gender roles differed substantially from the modern world. Patriarchal society made women seen as subordinate to men, therefore idealized women that were obedient to men, innocent, and pure. Both genders were expected to get married and have a family. Hero exhibits the stereotypical women during this era, given that she was a quiet, polite, feminine, weak, obedient, and submissive to

J.R.R. Tolkien’s works have been analysed for decades and have often been criticised for the lack of female characters. Arguably his most cherished publications, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in particular has been condemned for the passivity of his relatively few female characters. Having said that however, throughout the three books, there are a number of female characters who combat the stereotypical role of women and subvert the norm of submission to a patriarchal authority. Arwen, Éowyn and Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return

In the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, there were four main groups of women: “ Queens, sorceresses, a freeman’s loyal daughter and an elfin woman and her daughters” (Anon, Introduction). As stated in the Introduction of the book, the “important events turn on decisions made by women.” Throughout the book, this quote came to represent the fact that almost all the wars/fights within the saga was caused by some action of a woman. Almost all these actions of the women in this saga was the root cause for all the wars/fights in this book. Because of this, the women are actually seen to be what is connecting all the saga’s different episodes/chapters, despite the fact the whole book revolves around King Hrolf (Anon, Introduction). So within the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, the primary role of women is steer and further progress the saga as the connecting characters.

In Sleeping Beauty, the Prince is portrayed a strong and courageous person, he can be seen as a great character because he overcomes many obstacles to be able to help the Princess survive. Although Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale and is stereotypically more admired by girls, the masculine tale might be liked by the male population because they aspire to be the male hero. Maleficent shows the feminine tale and warns the girls that not men cannot be trusted in some cases, and that there is no need to have a man by your side. A woman can survive on their own using her own intelligence and courage to overcome any obstacle that she might face. For the female population, this change is very important because this “hero” story helps us relate to the character and our desire to do great and special acts (Seger 387). This film proved that a woman is capable of defeating evil, and brings a new perspective into Disney

Throughout many pays and novels, women have had important roles of helping form the main characters, in the way they think, move or change the story. Women have always been subordinate to men all through history, but in plays, novels, short stories, etc, they have been given large enforcing roles, showing the power within women. William Shakespeare and Sophocles use guilt, pride, and influence to demonstrate the importance of the women’s role to support the main characters in both the plays of Macbeth and Antigone.

If writers choose to use voice in their writing, they must consider which voice will represent their writing the best. One of the first things that can come to mind in choosing a voice is the gender of the voice that is going to be used. Gender becomes an important decision, because a male or female voice may represent certain things better then the other gender. Male voices generally have a more dominant, deep, loud sounding voice. Compared to a female voice which generally has a kind, softer sounding voice. This may be sexist, but most people put a stereotype on different voices.

In well-known fairy tales the males and females characters are often portrayed in the same light. The male characters are often described as the hero with strong masculine traits while the female characters are portrayed as the damsel in distress. Throughout the years fairytales have been casting the same stereotypes for their characters. In the story Beauty and the Beast the author de beaumont depiction of what an ideal woman is lays in Beauty. She is meant to embody the role of a feminine, humble caretaker, lover, and savior. The author depicts males as provider’s, however, it is clear that the men in the story are dependent on a positive female figure for life. Beauty’s disappearance threatens both her father and beast with death, symbolizing

Throughout generations, the idea of gender roles can be found. Every person in their own particular way has an image entered into their head of how the parts of every gender should be played. In both Les Misérables and The Kite Runner gender roles are most certainly evident and seemingly stereotypical. In Les Misérables the fundamental hero, Jean Valjean is depicted as a man that was vigorously assembled and can lift overwhelming items, one of the most famous male stereotypes. All through The Kite Runner, Afghani young men are required to be athletic, social, certain, and in charge, much the same as their fathers. They are also expected to provide and make decisions for their families. In both novels, the female roles also tend to appear stereotypical. In Les Miserables, the female characters appear to be made for the men in the story to spare, feel sorry for or overlook. Even though Fantine was one of the most prominent roles within the novel, her presence and time within the story are very short lived and viewed very low key in comparison to the other male roles within the story. In The Kite Runner, the female roles are not as prominent as the men’s roles, and as a societal norm, women’s roles are dictated by the men to be portrayed as lesser individuals compared to their male counterparts.

    When one considers Shakespeare’s female characters, one has to remember that the plays were written in a time when women were considered weak-minded creatures who were apt to make bad choices if given the freedom.  Shakespeare, for the most