Sexual And Textual Politics : Feminist Literary Theory

and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair” (421). After Emily’s

There are many female writers, some known better than other. Female writes most of the time focused their stories in experiences or personal point of view on what is going on around them. Other women write fiction of unusual worlds and character that people can relate to with the struggle or experiences. Margaret Atwood the “Canadian nationalist poetess is a prominebt figure concerned with the need for a new language to explore relations between subjects and society“ (Omid, Pyeaam 1). Atwood wrote her first novel called, “The Edible Woman”; this first novel categorized her as feminist, based on the main character of a strong woman. In an interview with Emma Brockes, Atwood affirms, "First of all, what is feminism? Second, which branch of

In the passage in the excerpt from “I Am a Woman” (1862) by Mary Abigail Dodge, the use of various rhetorical devices are evident throughout the text. The intended purpose of this text is to display her writing skills for an audience that is not keen on women’s influence in the literary sphere. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as diction, imagery, and emotional appeal (pathos), Dodge forms her argument by asserting that women are legitimate writers.

The extent and degree of information and detail written in this article about each represented author and their contributing works can ultimately be seen as one of the articles main strengths. However, although this article gives a vast amount of information on the women’s opinions and beliefs the article at times seems disassembled and erratic. The flow of the article is somewhat hard to follow, and without an increased measure of concentration, the ability of the reader to comprehend and decipher whom the author is speaking of can be lost. Also, with the extensive amounts of information and detail that each female author contributes to the argument, readers are bombarded with data to interpret and distinguish upon. With the author of the article not decisively choosing the strongest points of argument from each author, the information becomes overwhelming and possibly confusing at times.

Analyzing the ways in which a piece of literature includes feminist ideologies can bring out the potential messages that the creators of these productions were attempting to portray, while allowing the reader to critique the literature from a feminist perspective.

When Janie was about sixteen, she spent a spring afternoon under a blossoming tree in Nanny?s yard. Here she comes to the realization that something is missing in her life? sexual ecstasy. The blooms, the new leaves and the virgin- like spring came to life all around her. She wondered when and where she might find such an ecstasy herself. According to Hurston, Nanny finds Janie kissing a boy named Johnny Taylor and her ?head and face looked like the standing roots of some old tree that had been torn away by storm? (12) . Nanny can think of no better way to protect Janie than by marrying her to a middle-aged black farmer whose prosperity makes it unnecessary for him to use her as a ?mule? (Bush 1036).

When on the topic of feminist writing, understanding the time period in which the author’s writing takes place persists as vastly important. Historically speaking, western culture follows a model thoroughly dominated by men. That commonality remains

“Oh goodness, this is not how a lady ought to look. Let’s fix this up,” she muttered. But it was pointless. Her tears only washed away her efforts. Instead, she took upon brushing her hair. Daisy sat there humming to herself until she saw glaring lights

In her paper, Roxane uses credible sources and references to appeal to her audience. For example, examining interviews with actress Melissa Leo, The Atlantic magazine, and female leader Marissa Mayer. In addition, she also gives examples of her personal life and opinions about feminism. Inserting these examples and sources makes her claim much stronger. It shows her credibility as a writer by analyzing articles and providing readers with personal experiences.

At the beginning of the book, Annie John is very young. The author, Jamaica Kincaid, captures Annie's youth with vivid imagery, describing anything and everything. Annie describes her young friend Gwen with an astounding amount of detail; “her panama hat, with the navy blue and gold satin ribbon - our school colors - around the brim, sat lopsided on her head, for her head was small and she never seemed to get the correct-sized hat” (47). Annie also describes Miss Moore, the headmistress of Annie's school; “I knew right

This topic is extremely important as it revolves around the subject of feminism and sexualism, two topics that need to be taken more into consideration when reading a novel. The portrayal of female characters in novels that are read around the world are very impactful towards the female portion of the world as it places them in a spectrum of what they should act and look like to meet the standards of society. Focusing specifically on the development of the female characters and how they are just as powerful as men is an interesting idea to navigate around, focusing on the feminist portion of the novel. In current academic studies there has been substantial amount of works that are about women empowerment, with authors that believe the exact same, such as Purple Hibiscus and The Help.

In Lives of Girls and Women, people grow out of reading. As the protagonist Del says, reading “persisted mostly in unmarried ladies, would have been shameful in a man” (Munro, 117). As in The Bell Jar, women in Lives of Girls and Women who are educated and who are professionals are seen as masculine and immature. Mature and marriageable women learn to use make-up and to flaunt their physical beauty. Del overturns this rule by memorizing poetry and doing well academically. Both Esther and Del feel that academic achievements best define and express their sexuality, though not necessarily enhancing their sexual lives. While the bored, rich girls in The Bell Jar spend most of their time painting their nails and getting a tan, Esther feels out of place among the idle and the fashion-conscious. Her friend Doreen admits that at her college, all the girls “had pocket-book covers made out of the same material as their dresses”(Plath, 5). The night that Doreen returns drunken from the apartment of a stranger named Lenny, Esther closes her door on her friend but does not have the heart to lock it. Thus, Esther successfully shuts out the false societal values of female sexuality for a while, but acknowledges that her form of sexuality must co-exist with that of Doreen and of other females in her society.

Feminist criticism scrutinizes the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, politic, social and psychological oppression of women. One of the tools used

Feminism, if anything, has appeared majorly in the literature spectrum through all decades and forms. Feminism is the political, cultural, or economic movement aimed at establishing equality and protection for all women. No matter the time period or place feminism has always been a popular literary topic that has made a few works quite notorious, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Both works contain the scenarios in which the main characters are taken advantage of due to the apparent feminist society.

Books, plays, and movies that depict culture and social life often make statements about social issues such as gender roles, racism, and class distinction. Stories set up a context in which characters relate, often representing “stock” characters chosen from society and placed in situations where their stereotypical behaviors—and sometimes their breaking of these stereotypes—are highlighted. As feminism became a popular movement in Western countries in general and the United States in particular, female voices were naturally heard through fictional characters. Social and political issues commonly fuel entertainment; feminism, racism, and classism—recurring themes in entertainment through the 20th Century and into the modern day—have