Rhetorical Analysis Of Why I Want A Wife By Judy Brady

The object of examining gender roles is to answer the question why should women and men be equal and "Are there populations in which men and women are absolutely equal? Are there societies in which women dominate men?" (Gender 238) By understanding the culture in which this piece of literature is written, the gender roles and the rules of behavior for a woman, then the relationships between genders can be realized. The general myth about women and their gender role in the American society is that the mother works in the home and supports her man in every way. For each relationship, the people in that relationship must decide the particular roles that they will play. In the literary work "Girl", Kincaid shows clearly that the woman's role in this work was to serve the family and to work mainly in the house. The mother writing this story tells her daughter that "this is how you iron your father's khaki shirt so that it doesn't have a crease" (Kincaid 489). In this marriage, it is understood that the wife is to do the laundry for the husband. Today's society does not always provide these clear roles since many women work a full time job and the house chores are a responsibility for both to handle. Though the woman is still mainly held responsible for the home. There should be a constant search for equality in gender roles. Kincaid explains how the man is working to bring home the money and the wife supports

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 an essay by Judy Brady titled “I Want a Wife”, Brady discusses the typical gender dynamics of her time period (the 1970s) and challenges them. She essentially says that women are treated like they are inferior to men and so she says that she wishes or wants someone to fulfill her duties for her just like she does for her husband. This essay shows the struggle to gain equality in this time period and also represents the thoughts that a woman in this time period might have. Not only is the meaning behind this essay significant, but the way in which Brady presents it is also significant and it amplifies and strengthens the argument. This is proven by textual evidence found in the essay itself.

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.

In the 1970’s the average family had a wife that would take care of all of the cooking, the cleaning, everything concerning their kids, and even caring for her husband too. They did all of this without complaining, while their husband was at work. In those times nothing less was expected from them. In the article “Why I Want a Wife” Brady uses ethos, logos, and pathos to illustrate her opinion of what a wife do in a marriage, in which she infers that wives do too much for their families.

It is midnight at the last party I ever went to because I turned down a one-night stand with Rebecca from math class: Does this sound like you? Many college students seem to believe this to be a true statement. What if you just were not that type of person? Donna Freitas wrote, “Time to stop hooking up. (You know you want to.)”, published in 2013 with The Washington Post. Donna concludes, most students in college would rather go on a date than have one-night stands but fear their social status may be called into question. Donna begins to build her credibility with experience in hookup culture, quantifiable surveys conducted by

In paragraphs one and two, the author introduces herself and gives her explanation and reasoning for wanting a wife. Brady demonstrates her credibility in these paragraphs. “I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother.” Brady introduces herself as A Wife and a mother, showing her empirical knowledge. The author then capitalizes “A Wife” because she wants to emphasize and argue that she is a wife, not a servant or any other job description. By capitalizing these words she is showing that wives are no longer looked at as people, but as objects or as a type of job. She then begins to explain how she came about wanting a wife. “Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce...He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife.” She employs irony thourgh this statement. Of course, she was ironing or doing chores because she is A Wife, that is what they are supposed to do. She shows a short glimpse at her job title and her job description.

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

Before 1939, the “ideal woman” was the devoted housewives whose sole purposes in life was to be devoted to her husband, raise the children, and keep a tidy house. However, all

In the 1800’s, the women responsibilities were to maintain order in the house, protect and discipline the students. In the 21st century, now women are not just responsible for cleaning, cooking and discipling children, instead women can now work and impose some of those tasks on their husbands. In the story “Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society”, as the home is considered the “woman’s kingdom” and that it is the women responsibility to “make the lives of her husband and the dear ones committed to her trust, is the honored task which it is the wife’s province” (Gutenberg 1), most of their time is spent in the home making sure the home is kept under control and ready to serve her husbands and children. In reference to the speech by Emma Watson, she states that “we need to end gender inequality” (Watson 1), which in the 21st century it is coming closer to reality. Women now don’t have to remain at home all day, they can now work just like men and provide for their families the same way men do.

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

The truth of the matter is, she is ironically protesting the endless work and every imaginable deed for her husband and kids. I believe the wife does indeed have many duties that the husband does not worry about. The way she uses repetition of the phrase, “I want a wife.” (Brady 108-110) is clever because it gives the reader a sense of a prolonging event similar to the endless amount of work a wife must do. Brady also includes many examples of what a wife does for her husband and by this listing and repetition, she does a good job at making the reader feel the feeling of drag when reading to make the duties seem endless. Wives are left with the other services that must be done while the husband is out working. If both of them, the husband and wife, work then an agreement must be created in order for them to work equally and not leave all of the

She is a wife. One of the first things the reader notices is the shortness of the essay is, how it’s simple, straight forward and to the point. Brady convinces the readers why they would want a “wife”. The tone is suitable for the connected audience, mostly feminist women, like wives and mothers because she is too a wife and mother. She states in this essay, “I belong to that classification of people known as wives, I am A Wife,” which makes the readers feel that she has real insight in the actual 70’s American household (263).

“I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife” (229). Judy Brady, a mother, analyzes the responsibilities of women or referred to as wives from a day to day basis. Establishing the importance of this essay was quite manageable for Brady since she has had experience with imperious men. Published at the year 1972 in Ms. Magazine; Brady wanted her statement to be understood. Identifying women feel obligated to do not only their responsibilities while managing someone else’s. Being able to sympathize with the audience was accomplished by Brady in “Why I Want a Wife,” by expressing pathos.

In the essay, “I want a wife”. Written by: Judy Brady. The author puts into perspective the gender gap in regards to the Gender Division of Labor, describing a long list of expectations that were stereotypical for women in the 1970’s. In an attempt to highlight her points Brady plays with role reversal, and takes on the perspective of the husband. Most of the essay is her listing off a myriad of duties and expectations that a man should expect in his ideal partner.Brady uses the words “ I want a wife who will” as she lists all the main thing that go into running a household, responsibilities of raising a child, and physical expectations between husbands and wives.The author assumes a satirical tone that resonates through the essay, as she