Look Back in Anger

In a world where showing a bit too much shoulder was forbidden, came Susan Glaspell. Glaspell was an American playwright, born in the cruel times of oppression. This influenced women’s opinions on certain subjects which caused them to be silenced by fear of rejection from society. “A Jury of Her Peers” was based on an era where women felt as though it was unreasonable to speak up if they felt it was not absolutely dire. Harboring these pent up feelings could cause a person to act antagonistic. Minnie Wright was an example of this. She killed her husband and was subjected to the judgement of her peers. As the group investigated Mr. Wright’s death, there were two stories unraveling. The in depth explanation that the women figured out and the simplistic version the men had seemed to pick up (Glaspell). People would benefit from reading this story to begin to understand the struggle of what this and other women had gone through. Penn Manor American Literature students would benefit from having Susan Glaspell’s story “A Jury of Her Peers” in their curriculum because of how she expressed feminism through her writing at a time when it was new and discouraged; her ability to emphasize the themes with her settings and characters; and her literature that follows a protagonist that navigates through a sexist world.

Reading through any one of the hundreds of ‘chapters’ that Fern has written, it’s easy to see that if English was her first language, sarcasm was her second. She wrote bravely and unashamedly, mocking her society’s unjust view on women. In her column, “Children’s Rights,” she boldly proclaims, “Men’s rights! Women’s rights! I

The independence and strength that the Gowdie’s exude are seen as admirable qualities given the century that the women are living in. Brooks positions the Gowdie’s as characters who other women are envious of given their independence and strength in such a criticising society. Although the Gowdie’s are defeated in the end, their determination and willpower allow readers to admire them and respect them as valuable characters who have been wrongly victimised.

People who live in a discriminative society constantly face the dangers of being placed in a certain category because of who they are. The trend of stereotypes is reflected among different characters in literature, such as Peter Houghton from Nineteen Minutes and Janie Crawford from Their Eyes Were Watching God. Peter and Janie both have to constantly face tough challenges as they are labeled by society’s expectations. From Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is defined as being the “woman” in the relationship from her ex-husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. Joe and Logan’s behavior towards Janie shows the struggle and disrespect women receive from men and society.

In the story “A&P” by John Updike he tries to portray the conventional lifestyle and tendency of his community. The story “A&P” proves how feminism was a large part of the conservative lifestyle and is still present today. A&P helps you visualize how sexism could be happening right under our noses. The story is told through the main character Sammy, who is an ordinary teenager in the small town. Sammy makes a courageous effort to fight feminism and introduces ideas of liberalism but sadly loses his job in the process. The story A&P, based in the 1950’s, directly correlates to how women were treated in that time period. From the story A&P we can learn the distinct and harsh gender

Women prove every day to not be inferior to men, but equal. As equals, they deserve the respect. Margaret was accused of killing “by two blows” (“John”) on the head as stated by Iowa Cold Cases. First, as a woman, she was seen to be weak, but then capable of murder. Society changes their mind on the capability of women.

This time he continued to be neglected by his mother, Cecilia, who later, has an affair with Richard and abandoned her own three children live in a better life. According to Jimmy, Cecilia dyes her hair to blonde and lie about her cultural heritage to get an approval from Richard’s family, “Little did I know that my mother had eloped to San Francisco with Richard, fleeing into a white world as “Sheila”, where she could deny her past, hide her identity, and lie about her cultural heritage”(17).  In addition, she does want any connection between her and her children, “Richard turned to Mom and explained that, since his parents were old- fashioned, it would be best if she said she was Anglo and that she was just babysitting us for a girlfriend” (15). Jimmy already lost his father, but now he was about to lose his mother to another man. Unfortunately, the loss of these two relationships later leads Jimmy and brother being sent to an orphanage after the death of his grandpa. Eventually, he was sent to a detention center. During his time in a detention center, Jimmy is personality became shattered.  At the detention center he exposed to individuals who were neglected by their parents and states, “Even as blood ran through the wounded kid’s fingers and down his arm, his eyes announced that it didn’t hurt, it was nothing, he had no feelings” (21). Those kids in the detention center in a

Stereotypes are so damaging to culture and self-expression, not necessarily because they are false or racist, but more so because people, like Mrs. Turner, often feel obligated to fit in with a stereotype. People go to desperate measures to play the role that they feel is socially acceptable and at times will sacrifice their own happiness. Janie’s character is submissive to the stereotypes that dominate her life which in turn causes her to sacrifice her happiness and her dream of being in love. Hurston uses Janie to show her readers how harmful stereotypes are when a person follows them. Readers can witness this through Janie’s relationship with Joe Starks. When Janie is offered to make a speech Joe imposes a sexist label on her that dictates Janie’s life for the rest of their marriage. He humiliates her in front of the town saying, “Mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (Hurston 43). Because Janie still has the mindset that she must do as she is told, she allows Joe’s sexist stereotype to limit her self-expression despite her discontent

In Alias Grace, Grace Marks is a servant in the mid-1800s who performs chores and other household tasks for her employers. Throughout the book, Grace describes in detail the type of work she performs, and how she and her fellow coworkers are treated. A theme that more or less dominates the background of the novel is the apparent sexism of the mid-1800s. The women are considered too “weak” for the “tougher” jobs that were selected for men. However, it was not just a workplace issue; there is clear social sexism presented in the novel, as well.

In “A Jury of Her Peers,” Glaspell utilizes the sexist standards in society to demonstrate the harmful effects. Men in the story are presented as being the leader of the relationship and having the role of dealing with important business, while women are shown to be domestic caretakers who

Despite Buckley’s young age when Susie first disappeared, his life is greatly affected by the loss. He is extremely angry and resentful towards his parents. Buckley feels that his relationship with his father is shadowed by his inability to move past the loss of Susie. The tension between them peaks when Jack tells Buckley he cannot use Susie’s old clothes in his garden, but it is not simply about the garden. The garden is symbolic of new life and growth in the future and Susie’s shirts symbolize her existence. Although Susie’s clothes would no longer be intact, they would become part of the garden, just as Susie will always be part of the family even though she is no longer with them. This scene is also important for Jack and Buckley’s relationship because Buckley finally tells his father how isolated he feels. Abigail and Buckley’s relationship, on the other hand, is not so easily patched. Buckley is bitter that his mother missed so many important events in his life. The

Anthony is heir to his grandfather's vast fortune so for a while it seems he has the world at his feet. The grandfather is a strict disciplinarian, supports prohibition and leads a puritanical life. He is the exact opposite of his grandson. One evening he unexpectedly walks into his Anthony and Gloria's house during a particularly wild, drunken and raucous party. They gradually become aware of the old man standing in the doorway: “A series of little gasps, emanating, apparently from nowhere, from no one, fall into the next pause. Anthony is the color of chalk. Gloria's lips are parted and her level gaze at the old man is tense and frightened. There is not one smile in the room. Not one? Or does Cross Patch's drawn mouth tremble slightly open, to expose the even rows of his thin teeth? He speaks - five mild and simple words. "We'll go back now Suttleworth". And that is all. He turns, and assisted by his cane goes out through the hall, through the front door, and with hellish portentousness his uncertain footsteps crunch on the gravel path under the August moon” (Fitzgerald). Anthony is disinherited. His grandfather dies and leaves his fortune to his servant. Anthony and Gloria contest the will in a court case, which goes on for years. They gradually run out of money and Anthony's drinking becomes more and more extreme brining their relationship to the

Societal ‘norms’ surrounding gender have continuously remained prominent internationally. Although these standards and expectations continue to shift, women still face oppression today. The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates the expectations of women and their relationships to men in 1920’s New York City through one of the main characters, Daisy Buchanan. A vast majority of Daisy’s actions are to entice and cater to the superior men of the novel. Through this, I was able to reflect upon the evolution of society’s stereotypes surrounding women from the 1920’s. Initially, from reading the novel, I learned about the period of the roaring twenties and how the aspect of class affects the

In a novel set in 1920’s patriarchal society dominated by the obsession of wealth, power, chasing dreams and an enigmatic narrator, just how independent can a woman really be? This is the context for the characters in ‘The Great Gatsby’ where, in the aftershock of a world war, there is celebration and the incarnation of women left at home into ‘flappers’, but it is debatable how far they have really changed from traditional housewives. For Jordan this is an exciting transition but more traditional characters such as Tom cling to the past. When a threatening situation looms over them will they run and hide or confront the problem head on, the only way they know, as in ‘No Country for Old Men’? These contrasting reactions could be a result

In 1990 Judith Butler first published her book Gender Troubles, where she questions gender roles. Butler theorizes that gender, as in male and female, is a type of societal/gender colonialism created to keep people who do not fall within the gender roles from being part of the mainstream society. In her 1999 preface, in which she addresses the impact her book had in the decade since its original publication, Butler expresses the concern she had with the “heterosexual assumption in feminist literary theory (61).” Butler utilizes the works of other feminist philosophers to further demonstrate the inconsistency, and disconnect between fighting for women rights and fighting for human rights. Judith Butler makes an interesting argument on the failure to recognize the spectrum of gender, however, she makes a compelling argument on the use of language perpetuating a patriarchal society.