Examples Of Injustice In So Far From God

In analyzing portrayals of women, it is appropriate to begin with the character of Margarita. For, within the text, she embodies the traditionally masculine traits of bravery, resilience, and violence as a means of liberating herself from an existence of abuse and victimhood. Even more, the woman plays upon stereotypes of femininity in order to mask her true nature. The reader witnesses this clever deception in a scene where the character endures a “wholesome thrashing” from her huge, violent, and grizzly bear-like husband, Guerra (81). Although Margarita “[submits] to the infliction with great apparent humility,” her husband is found “stone-dead” the next morning (81). Here, diction such as “submits” and “humility” relate to the traits of weakness, subservience and inferiority that are so commonly expected of women, especially in their relationships with men. Yet, when one

Yunior is a hyper-sexual, athletic male, who was “Fucking with not one, not two, but three fine-ass bitches at the same time and that wasn’t even counting the side-sluts I scooped at the parties and the clubs… who had pussy coming out of his ears” (Díaz 185). His descriptions show how little he cares for these women, and that he only sees them as his conquests. Women, to him, are a notch in his belt, a sign that he is as masculine and he is expected to be. The ideas that women are sexual objects and a man must conquer as many as possible to be masculine is an ideology sustained in the Dominican Republic and ingrained in the minds of its people. Even when faced with the woman he could truly love, Yunior could not let go of the practice of proving his masculinity by having sex with multiple women, “One day she called, asked me where I’d been the night before, and when I didn’t have a good excuse, she said, Good-bye, Yunior” (Díaz 324). He chose to lose Lola because he was too stubborn to let go of his habits. This book is misogynistic because of the lack of respect for women expressed through characters like Yunior, and the ideas expressed through him that one’s sexuality is dependent on one’s attractiveness to the opposite

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the reader gets a sense of what the expectations are of Dominican men and women. Junot Díaz uses Oscar in contrast to the other male characters to present the expectations of the Dominican male. On the other hand, Díaz presents the women in the text, especially Belicia, La Inca, Lola, and Jenni, as strong characters in their own rights, but the male characters, with the exception of Oscar, have a desire to display their masculinity to maintain power over these women. It would be unfair to say that the women bring the abuse unto themselves, but rather it is their culture that makes the abuse acceptable and almost to a certain extent—expected.

People have experienced injustice in different fields through history all around the world. At school time, is a period that children are getting older, and starting to shape social ethics and values, and try to get recognition among their classmates and friends. I think when some situations happened unfairly during childhood, people would learn useful lessons. During the school time, it also taught me one lesson as well. I am not hundred percent sure that I understood what injustice is, but I think I know how deal with it now.

In that community women must give up everything for their men. These women are trapped in their homes and sexually assaulted by the dominant man. Although, Esperanza knows that she won’t suffer the same way. “I have begun my own quiet war. Simple. Sure. I am the one who leaves the table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate” (89). She refuses to be treated in such a way, and shows her feelings by doing what she believes in. Esperanza focuses on herself, knowing if she wants to be different from the other women in her society she’s going to have to completely understand what she wants. At first, she was self-conscious and worried about how others viewed her. However by the end, she was no longer willing to follow the standing gender roles in her society. Esperanza still had a regard for how the people she cared about viewed her but knew she had to focus on what she thought was right. Focusing on her identity gave Esperanza the chance to unleash her true self against the outside forces holding her back.

Oftentime men can be seen controlling women throughout the novel. In a patriarchal society, this is customary to a certain extent. However, many of the men in the novel go so far as to abuse women as objects to relieve their sexual needs. Trujillo himself is one of the worst offenders. He becomes infatuated with

“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

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is the story about four sisters from the Dominican Republic and how they became American as well as how they tried to stay Dominican. Through their fights with their father, full of machismo, and their relationships with American men and with each other, the four sisters reveal four different experiences in Americanization and the ways that the clung to their native culture, even decades after they first arrived in the United States. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is not a story that it told in chronological order, as it opens with Yolanda returning to the Dominican Republic for the first time in five years, despite ending with Yolanda while she was little and still living in the Dominican

Ana Castillo’s novel, So Far From God, propels the reader on a vibrant and surreal journey through the tragic ordeals of Sofi and her four daughters. The first chapter, which offers certain similarities to the Bible’s story of Jesus Christ, in that Sofi’s three year old daughter, La Loca, seems to succumb to a violent and horrifying death, and at the wake, she returns to life with a tale of her journey beyond the veil. This scene creates a notable comparison between the patriarchal religiosity of the story of Jesus Christ and the Chicana-centered resurrection, complete with the hypocrisy of a male-centered system of beliefs, the acts of acquiring selfhood as a female centered savior, and the phenomena of the “death” of the saviors.

Based on Cisneros’ works of literature, gender roles in a Hispanic culture revolves around patriarchal rule. The repercussions of a patriarchal rule includes the limitations of female liberation and development. Cleofilas’ abusive situation exemplifies the limitations of her independence and development as she can not make her own decisions and has to solely depend on her husband. This situation is illustrated when Cleofilas explains that the towns are “built so that you have to depend on husbands... You can drive only if you’re rich enough to own and drive an own car. There is no place to go” (Cisneros 628). Cleofilas reveals that men are the dominant gender and have more authority, and that women are compelled to depend on them in her society. It is an exceptionally rare case that a woman can afford her own car, for the men usually control the finances in a household. Additionally, Cleofilas has nowhere to seek refuge from her husband. Although she yearns to return to her father’s home, she decides not to due to the social standards imposed on her. In her society, the act of returning home after marriage is socially unacceptable. She understands that her family will be viewed in a negative light if she were to return home, as seen when Cleofilas refers to her town as a “town of gossips” (627). Similar to other men in the society, Juan Pedro’s authority is shown through his abuse. Cleofilas recalls, “He slapped her once, and then again, and again; until the lip split and bled an orchid of blood” (626).

David Stovall, professor of educational-policy studies and African American studies at University of Illinois at Chicago, said: “We cannot equivocate when it comes to preparing our children to face injustices.” I agree with author's view because I learned my friend's lesson about his children's story, which happened in an English spelling bee competition. His son had failed at the last round although he and others knew that he had done better than the winner. After that time, he announced that he would never participate in similar competitions due to he suspects there has been fraud and bias. In the next days, he has other expressions such as anger, resentment, hatred and other unwilling actions. But my friend persisted; face to face, explaining

The critical nature of Santiago’s relationship with Victoria Guzmán allows Márquez to satirize the servant-master and patriarchal complexes present in his portrayed culture. The sexual relationship between Ibrahim Nasar and Victoria Guzmán, parallels that of the relationship between Santiago Nasar and Divina Flor and highlights the social constructs and environment, which reduced Victoria Guzmán into servitude through the juxtaposition of the aforementioned combative personalities of Victoria Guzmán and Santiago. Márquez is successful in the sense that he can create a social commentary on the portrayed Arabic and Columbian cultures while still maintaining false objectivity by inserting variation into separate accounts. Márquez’s uses periphrasis, syntax, and chronological divisions between chapters to subdue overt comparison between the portrayed values of Columbian culture and its societal norms with the conflicting relationship of Victoria Guzmán and Santiago Nasar, effectively shrouding his commentary.

Gabriel Garcia Marques provides a unique platform in his novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (COADF) to analyze facets of traditional Colombian values. The characters provide context regarding particular sectors of religion, cultural values and social norms throughout the novel. Marquez highlights a multitude of cultural juxtapositions throughout all of his novels, however, COADF in particular comments on the social hypocrisy of religion and the double standards due to gender norms throughout the novel. In the novella, Angela Vicario’s character highlights misguided principles and helps to understand how women and other groups of people in the country are maltreated. Common themes throughout the novel often victimize Angela Vicario, such as sexual identity, alcohol abuse and religious scrutiny. Marquez conveys these themes through imagery, symbolism, allegory and most especially periphrasis. This paper will effectively highlight how these factors demonstrate the cultural discrepancy in allowance of freedoms and the roles of women in the novel, and broader country.

In reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, You can obviously notice Yunior the narrator is portrayed as a true Dominican male. It becomes evident that a large focus is put on both male and female roles and situations. Through these critical parts found all through this book, it winds up noticeably apparent that through the outrageous manly demeanor (machismo) is anticipated from men from the Dominican Republic, the ladies, thusly, are disrespected and unworthy are viewed as simply like a toy or object. Junot Diaz looks at his characters from a women point of view too, exploring the impact women have upon not only his life but also the men characters too. Through seeing how the Dominican culture impacts the characters in The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, it enables one to completely comprehend the thought processes and activities of the characters all through this book.

Since “the brothers were brought up to be men,” they needed to take action in order to regain their sister and family’s honor (30). Honor was idolized in the town to the point that the act of killing Santiago can be forgiven, or even rewarded. The town’s ideal of honor closely relates to heroic, masculine theme like going on an epic quest. For instance, Pablo Vicario’s wife Prudencia Cotes “’never would have married [Pablo] if he hadn’t done what a man should do’” (63). In other words, Pablo is the hero who goes on a grand journey to slay the monster Santiago. After slaying Santiago, he proves himself as a man, gains his honor, and is rewarded with a bride, who would not have married him otherwise. Prudencia’s decision to marry Pablo amplify the hidden cultural expectation for a man to uphold the honor of the family, even if upholding the honor means sacrificing someone else’s life.