Phenomenal Woman By Thich Nhat Hanh

Men are presented in a uniform manner that doesn’t display emotional details. For the women, something as simple as stiletto high heels or makeup could send a message of promiscuity to men. (Are these things simple? I think Tannen wants to stress that nothing that marks a woman is quite “simple,” all things have meaning of some sort.) As the women presented themselves to the public, they surveyed themselves in order to manage the way men would see them. This way the woman could make adjustments to the way men would view and perceive her, thus giving the woman power to attract the ideal man by adapting to his personalized wants. (This strays from what I believe Tannen is trying to convey. Tannen says that women have no default way to present themselves and are forced to make a statement about themselves with every presentation, but never says their “statement” is specifically directed toward or focused on men. If you are trying to describe how being marked can be advantageous, this could be an excellent point with a wide variety of advantages, try not to look only in the realm of attraction. Perhaps discuss how Tannen only looks at the “always marked” nature of women as a negative, where it may not have to be. Perhaps the ease of being unmarked which is available to men could even be

The women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power which is true to some extent with the way some women are treated. This characterization of Ibo women is limiting, but when more in depth in the book it shows the divers roles of women, and how important the women are to their tribes. The women in the tribes are sometimes shown as the weak ones of the group but when these women are the foundation, nurturers, and caretakers of the tribe that shows the great responsibility they have and how important they are.

Similarly, the related text, “Phenomenal Woman” a poem by Maya Angelou portray the persona as a complex individual. Complex as in her definition of beauty is not widely accepted by the rest of the society. The persona portrays some aspects of a traditional and uninhibited woman.

One of her many known writings is titled, “Woman’s Beauty: Put-down or Power Source?”, where she expresses her feelings towards how beauty is unfairly attributed towards women and perceived by some as a task. These two viewpoints correlate due

She speaks not only for herself but also for her gender and race. “This extension of self occurs in Angelou’s autobiographies and protest poetry. It is in keeping with a traditional practice of black writers to personalize their common racial experiences” (McGeagh 28). The ‘I” of Angelou’s refrain is obviously female and, in this instance, a woman forthright about the sexual nuances of personal and social struggle. Maya Angelou has been very involved with the civil rights movement. In her poems she really captures an incredible sense of momentum, vitality, and hope. She states that these experiences are “so important for me in my life that it must come through in my work” (McGeagh 5). Her writing attempts to capture and preserve the determining forces, vicissitudes, and ambiance of her own life story and of the ongoing African-American story, which helped to shape her and which she reflects and illuminates. “Abandoned by both her parents when they divorced, Angelou early experienced the twin forces that would determine the contour of her life and the nature of her career: personal rejection and institutional racism” (McGeagh

Interestingly, Maya Angelou’s biography contradicts with her poem. As during her youth, she had been sexually assaulted by her mother’s lover. Ironically in her poem, it talks about a powerful woman who is filled with confidence and ambitions in life. Which also does give an impression of a tremendously strong woman.

Maya Angelou inspires people of all ages to except themselves through literature. She talks about herself in poems and autobiographies. They explain who she is and who she hoped to be. As she talked about herself, a relationship was established between her and the reader.

Nawal El Saadawi’s novel, Woman at Point Zero, can be considered to be a rebellion against authoritarian political and patriarchal structures because it tells of Firdaus’ life story in way that shows an obvious discontent with the way society views women and the way it glorifies aspects that go again societal norms.

From compassionate to respectful to loyal, strong woman are characterized in countless ways. Maya Angelou uses her poem “Phenomenal Woman”, to explore the labels of confident and strong women. Angelou includes figurative language, diction, and rhyming in her poem to argue that strong, confident women don’t care what people think of them.

Maya Angelou is considered by many to be the foremost poet of her age. While the themes of her literature are largely connected, her delivery is varied. In her poetry, she has used wit, sarcasm, imagery, and diverse rhythm. Angelou has used these techniques and the recognition it has provided for her, to fight for the civil rights of African Americans and women. After examining the life of Maya Angelou, it is easy to see that much of her work focuses on the significance of African Americans and women. Poems written by Maya Angelou, including Phenomenal Woman, Million Man March Poem, and Still I Rise, evidently support this theme. Phenomenal Woman primarily focuses on the significance of women as Million Man March Poem does to the significance of African Americans. One of Maya Angelou’s most famous poems, Still I Rise, brings together both ideas by expressing the significance of African Americans and women.

The title of the poem is ‘Phenomenal Woman’. Phenomenal is not a word which is often used to describe a woman. One would hear a woman described as beautiful or pretty but the word phenomenal is telling us that this is no ordinary woman, she is special and outstanding. The poem starts off with the words ‘pretty woman’ which makes us realise that this phenomenal woman would not be regarded as pretty in the eyes of society. The poet then describes the woman who is normally appreciated by society: ‘I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size’. She is telling us that this phenomenal woman does not fit these criteria. She uses the words ‘I say’ and puts a comma after the words which emphasises that she really does believe in what she says. The next few lines draws on imagery and uses the words ‘hips, steps, lips’ which brings about the image of a shapely woman. It points out the womanly charms that all women have (hips and lips) and which they tend to use in order to entice men. The stanza ends with the words: I'm a woman/ Phenomenally. /Phenomenal woman,/ That's me.’ She uses these words constantly throughout the poem. It is like a mantra and emphasises that this is not an ordinary woman and that she does not just blindly do what society dictates her to do. It is also like she is trying to get the message across to the reader and by repeating these words, perhaps the reader will quickly ascertain that they are true. She says ‘I’m a woman/ Phenomenally’. Phenomenally here

The unhealthy rigidity of his Persona is painfully apparent throughout the entire poem - it paralyses him completely in social situations, leading to intense insecurity ('And how should I presume') and shyness ('Do I dare?'). On the other hand, his Shadow urges and strains to do far, far more ('Shall I...', 'Should I...'), but, restrained by the Persona, manages to only express itself in fantasy.

Nawal El Saadawi’s eye opening novel “Woman at Point Zero” exposes the gender inequality, male violence and domination over females occurring in Egypt. Through the character Firdaus, we learn that humans feel obligated to pursue personal desires, but all humans are social primates who feel the need to integrate within a society and eventually conform to society’s expectations. In Egypt it is common for men to possess control over women and they conform to the expectations of society because they fear the outcome if they were to oppose. Through characterization and the brilliant incorporation of symbols, Saadawi demonstrates that Firdaus initially chooses to conform to societal expectations with fear being a prime factor but ultimately submerges her fear allowing her courage to emerge. The courage to stand up for herself and the females as a whole against the men but her choice leads to her imprisonment and being placed on death row. Shockingly, she does not fear death as “[she] prefers to die for crime [she] has committed” and this is her final rejection of conforming to the never ending expectations of society.

Society looks down on women who are sexually active with more then one man or have sex all the time. On the flipside of the situation men are prized and put on a high horse for having many sexual partners. In most societies men ultimately decide what women can and cannot do, which shouldn’t be the case. A woman cannot be liberated or truly happy until she can make choices non-sexual or sexual by herself without the degrading opinions from men in society.

She is trying to inform her reader, which she does by using a lot of facts and statistics, which appeals to the logos, which also engages the reader. Along with engaging readers by supporting her statements, so that she does not just look like a crazy feminist, she also engages the reader by mentioning celebrities who people know well.