Rhetorical Analysis I Want A Wife

After World War II, the nation was blooming. Everything was growing, people were going to college, and wealth grew. The idea of the perfect American life was developed, this included a husband that worked and a wife that stayed home and took care of the house and children. To look at how women are affected by this perfect life I am analyzing “Governor Adlai Stevenson Tells College Women about Their Place in Life, 1955” and “Good Housekeeping: Every Executive Needs a Perfect Wife, 1956”.

In Judy Brady’s essay, “I Want a Wife,” she examines why she would like to have a wife. Brady believes that a wife performs all house chores and the husband does nothing, but to expect the wife to do everything for him. Brady tries to persuade the reader to look at a husband viewpoint of what a wife should be. The essay was written during the early 1960’s, during the second wave of the feminist movement in America. Brady is pushed by certain reasons to write, “I Want a Wife” to show the humanist humor.

Throughout this article Brady uses ethos, logos, and pathos to illustrate her opinion that the wife does too much in a family. Brady connects with her audience by relating to what was expected of them back in the 1970’s. She states reasons to why she wants a wife and lists what she says a wife would do for her. Lastly, Brady connects emotionally to her audience by

In this satirical article, Brady expresses the difference between the roles of women and men in the 1970’s by stating men’s point of view on women and women’s roles in society. Throughout her article, Brady emphasizes the roles of women. For example, women could now “work and...takes care of the children when they are sick”. Comparing the 1880’s to the 1970’s, there has been a big improvement. Many women had jobs outside their home, but still were responsible for most housework and childcare while their husband’s only responsibility in a marriage was to go to work and earn money to support the family. Society’s expectations allowed women to work outside the home to support college education for husbands; however,women had to know how to balance their time between their children and their jobs, making sure that their husbands “cannot miss classes at school.” During the 1970’s, women were still oppressed in many ways and had to follow society's expectations in order to live up to the men’s view of women’s roles in society. Even though society’s expectations of women had improved since The Awakening, most of women’s roles had stayed the same. In the article, Brady specifies how once a husband is “through with school and has a job, [he expects the] wife to quit working and remain at home so that [she] can more fully and completely take

Write an essay in which you explain why marriage is right or wrong for you now or at any time. Or is Brady simply trying to expose the double standard applied to husbands and wives? Write an essay in which you argue that the double standard for husbands and Wives still exists, is disappearing, or has disappeared since Brady's essay was first published. b. Is Brady's view of the typical husband extreme? If you believe it is, write an essay rebutting her views or offering a more balanced view. If you believe Brady's view is accurate, write an essay supporting her opinion by citing examples of husbands you know or about which you have read. Bring in ideas from Deborah Tannen's "Talk in the Intimate Relationship" (chapter 6) to support or illustrate your ideas. c. Write an essay in which you expand upon the notes you made when responding to item b under Engaging the Text.

An average, women during the 1960’s were held accountable for many responsibilities. Women led very different lives during this time period. Punctual, responsible, and reliable were just some of the many standards that were expected from society. At the age of twenty women were expected to be married; soon after they would become pregnant. Raising a family and devoting their lives to be the best housewives possible. Legally women made no earnings or any income for that matter. Child care and in vigorous chores were a part of their daily routine. Women had no say financially. Women had one duty, and that was to be a housewife. Men had all the control in marriages; after all they were the bread winners. Women were stuck in a vicious cycle of controlling and power hungry men. Comparing women from the 10960’s to the women in today’s generation is quite astonishing. The women’s rights movement fought for women to be free. Women no longer need to be chained to such degrading and depressing circumstances. Raising a family and having a husband is a beautiful goal most women dream of. However, we should also have the right to decide when we want to marry and to whom we believe is the right candidate. “Why I Want a Wife” written by Judy Brady raises a powerful message on women in the 1960’s. Judy touches upon the idea that women had constantly been expected to be in confined and submissive relationships. Brady perfectly depicts the

of himself as an unwanted old bachelor and accordingly sets out to remedy the problem. The fact that he does not love Carol, whom he knows ?less than three weeks,? does not faze him in the least. Following the opinion of the 1950s, Carol, in his mind, becomes his ?competent housemaid? who will perhaps collect ?old pottery? and bake him ?little casserole dishes.? But Carol doesn?t mind. To be deemed ?complete? in the eyes of society in the decorum of marriage is enough for both individuals. In the characterization of Carol and Howard, who use each other?s presence as shields against judgment by a critical society, Gallant creates an amusing portrait of marriage as something that makes ?sense? with ?no reason?to fail? as long as both parties have ?a common interest? and ?[s]imilar economic backgrounds.?

Brady also uses irony to develop an opinion towards the basic male perspective on gender roles: "I want a wife who will work and send me to school. The technique of using irony gets the message across of all males wanting to have a perfect wife. Brady wants to have "a wife who is a good nurturing attendant" to her children. " The most ironic element about Brady's essay is that she has allowed herself to become a wife, and is now regretting it, wanting a wife of her own. The strategy of using irony is that it shows that all males are looking for a wife as prefect as the one described by Brady. And "I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean. As well, Brady would also like to have a wife take care of her physical and social needs: "I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean," "who cooks the meals," "who will care for me when I am sick" and "a wife who

In Judy (Syfers) Brady’s article, “I Want a Wife”, she expresses her opinions in a satirical commentary that offers hypothetical criteria for an ideal wife, with an underlying message that deals with how people should be grateful for all of the deeds and chores that women do. Brady utilizes the strategy of

Prior to describing what a man will expect from a wife, Judy Brady establishes her credibility within the first couple sentences of her essay. Brady states “I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother” (1). This quote is significant since Brady makes it clear in the beginning of her article that she has firsthand experience of being a wife and a mother. Her experience allows her to have a vast amount of knowledge on the

The entire article has this mockingly serious tone throughout, done in order to make it so that the reader ponders about the mindset of a person who performs this blatant exploitation. This paragraph, along with the rest of the article, shows just how utterly selfish the idea of the ideal wife is through its use of a blunt voice and the author purposefully writing it as if it had a lack of irony and self-awareness. When I read this, I could tell exactly what she was talking about. She caused me to think about a form of selfishness that exists in the world.

When Brady classifies herself as “a wife and mother” she is automatically labeled with the responsibilities that were enforced by societal beliefs of that era (Brady 229). Women were considered inferior to men and struggled to gain equality. Husband's required too much of their wives as to their physical needs; “I want a wife to keep my house clean.” Their social needs, “When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk about things that interest me and my friends.” In addition, their sexual needs, “I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied.” (Brady 229-230). Women did all these things everyday to please their husbands, although they received no fringe benefit in return. The cultural values that were viewed at this time emphasized the discrimination and equality that Brady desperately wants her audience to

Why I Want a Wife, written during the women’s rights movement, an era women were expected to marry young, start a family and be a stay at home mom. Women were denied acceptance into colleges to become doctors, engineers and lawyers. Author Judy Brady a woman fed up with the unfair treatment of women. She immediately gains Ms. Magazine readers’ by describing her role in her home: “I belong to that classification of people known as wives… I am a mother” (229). With her first few sentences she verifies herself as a wife and explains that she knows what she is talking about. She, then, uses pathos in a sarcastic and angry tone to entice the readers to continue reading and become angry about how men treat and expect women to act. Brady wants to upset her readers and force them into action to get equal rights.

In Judy Brady’s article “I Want A Wife”, she uses repetition greatly in her essay to make her point, why wouldn’t anyone want a wife. Judy Brady was born in 1937 in San Francisco and got a B.A at the University of Iowa in 1962. Brady’s article first appeared in the feminist magazine Ms., which was in Arlington County, Virginia in 1972. The author’s main idea was to show the amount of work that a wife is expected to do. She does this by strategically listing out what she looks for in a wife. She constantly says, “I want a wife”, to signify that she wants someone to do these things for her as she has done for her husband. In today’s society, the wife is seen as the caretaker and doer of all businesses, while still catering to a

Brady uses strong word choice to create an ironic and sarcastic tone. The text contains a personal story that references the narrator’s newly divorced male friend who is already looking for a new wife. The narrator responds to the situation by saying “It suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife.” The narrator mocks her male friend by saying that after witnessing and analyzing his current situation, she all of a sudden realizes the advantages of having a wife, which makes her want one as well. This produces an almost uneasy feeling within the reader. As the mood and tone of the essay suddenly shift to sarcastic, any ideas previously discussed become invalid and cannot be taken seriously. The text ends with the statement “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” By closing with this unanswered question, the reader is left to interpret the essay however they see best fit. The reader is left to contemplate whether or not to give in to society and continue to promote these impractical standards made for women, or stand up and work to make a change. The author, who is a women, freely mocks the