Summary Of Miss Temptation By Kurt Vonnegut Objectify Women

Does deviating from one’s gender norms inevitably doom one down a spiral of moral corruption? Tim O'Brien, author of “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” and Ernest Hemingway, author of “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, certainly seem to hold this view, as evident by the fates of the major female characters in their respective works. The deviance of the major female characters in both works appears to corrupt not only themselves, but also pollute their partners, causing them to suffer injury or harm as a result. The degree of injury ranges from negligible, like Fossie’s demotion and broken heart, to fatal, like the bullet that rips through Macomber’s skull. It begs the question, are these stories meant to serve as cautionary tales for their female readers, or possibly for their husbands, so they may recognize gender deviance and stop it in its tracks before their wives transform into Margot Macomber or Mary Anne Bell? This essay will analyze what such characters say about pervading views of women, both in society and in literature.

The next requirement for being a “true woman” was submissiveness. According to society men were superior to women by “God’s appointment.” If they acted otherwise they “tampered with the order of the Universe” (Welter 105). A “true woman” would not question this idea because she already understands her place. Grace Greenwood explained to the women of the Nineteenth Century, “True feminine genius is ever timid, doubtful, and clingingly dependant; a perpetual childhood.” Even in the case of an abusive husband, women were sometimes told to stay quiet

Over the course of many years, women have struggled to expand their roles and rights in society, hoping to one day achieve complete equality with their male counterparts. Two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Judy (Syfers) Brady, both recognized the patriarchal society in which women had to endure. They despised the way it heaped inequality and servitude upon women, and decided to assert their opinion on the issue in order to change the perceptions and imposed limitations on women. In Stanton’s speech, “Declaration of Sentiments”, and in Brady’s article, “I Want a Wife”, both women attempt to convince their audiences that females deserve complete equality with men by stating the submissive situations and obligations women find themselves immersed in. This is done to get their female audiences to reevaluate how they have been treated and give them a second chance at attaining equality. Both women employ various rhetorical techniques in their arguments to strengthen, as well as compel other women to oppose the ‘domesticated’ image of women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Judy (Syfers) Brady expressed their views in pursuance of forging a path to a revamped lifestyle for women.

Throughout history, gender roles have been an important barrier in society. Women are forced to satisfy expectations established by men and society. “My Last Duchess,” by Robert Browning, focuses on the powerful Duke establishing certain expectations of the Duchess, and attempting to control her. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, concentrates on Laertes establishing certain expectations of Ophelia, and seeking to control her. A Room of One’s Own, by Virginia Woolf, centers on societal expectations of Judith, and her father trying to control her. In all three texts, men have the ability to control women and have the freedom to do as they please. Women must conform to the expectations of faithfulness, attentiveness, and chastity.

Carol Emshwiller didn’t start her writing until she was thirty, a mother, and married. Emshwiller, “was just learning the lessons of feminism on the front lines of domestic lines” (539). In Carol Emshwiller’s short story during the 1980’s “Abominable”, Emshwiller shows how men, in their sexual confusion, ethnic inexperience, and self-disasters, are not capable of understanding women and their needs, anger, and bitterness. The unnamed and self-styled man in the story shows his stereotypical, phallocentric attitudes to understand women becomes more humorous, rather than angry. From transforming the battle of sexes into the man’s search for an misleading species akin to

Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the

When many aspects of a woman life are controlled for her and she can no longer make decisions for herself, she becomes a slave to her oppressor. Throughout the class, the theme of women being controlled by other oppressing forces, can be seen in many texts. Women have their decisions made for them in terms of their, food intake, appearances, and lifestyle choices. These ideas are seen in Beyond the Lights, where Noni’s mother Macy both what Noni eats as well as how she looks. Again in “The Gilded Six Bits,” Missie May’s hunger and food intake are controlled and judged by Joe, who believes because he is a working man, his hunger is more important. In Color Stories: Black Women and Colorism in the 21st Century, society controls women’s appearances by pressuring them to look a certain way to be considered beautiful. In both Not That Kind of Girl and Borderlands: La Frontera, women’s decisions about their bodies in a sexual manner are controlled by the pressures of men. Oppressing forces play such a strong role in so many of the texts covered in class this semester, it makes one wonder if this oppression and forceful control is an accurate representation of our society today.

Presenting literature to the public that is meant to be a commentary on social or political issues, masked under the guise of entertaining and fictional, is a tool implemented by authors and activists for centuries. While not all satire is as overt as Jonathan Swift’s suggestion that we eat the babies, it does not diminish the eyebrow raising suggestions that are conveyed once the meaning has been discovered. In Aphra Behn’s The History of the Nun and Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina, the established expectations of the female role within society are brought into question then directly rejected. These expectations establish that women should be deferential to men, morally unblemished, and virtuous at all times. Men, however, are not held to these expectations in the same way. The masculine roles assumed by Isabella and Fantomina demonstrate a private rebellion against the established patriarchal society as it warns against the under-estimation of women and proves that women exist independently.

In a patriarchal and misogynistic society, women are manipulated, humiliated and judged, which results in their role as secondary, subservient citizens. In Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, women are represented on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, either as pure, kind ladies or deceitful, ill-intentioned criminals and whores. In order to survive, women must be able to overcome personal and societal obstacles based on gender. Through sexual abuse, the power and advantages of white male privilege, society’s tendency to mistrust females, and the ways in how men in positions of authority impose upon and objectify women, women are oppressed and belittled to what society declares them.

Kurt Vonnegut is known for his dark humor, wit, and imagination. He is consistently listed among the great American authors of the later twentieth century and his novel’s such as Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five are considered modern classics. In this essay, I will focus on two of Vonnegut’s short stories “Welcome to the Monkey House” (1968) which takes place in a dystopian future where everyone is required to take pills that take all the pleasure out of sex and “Miss Temptation” (1959) which takes place in a small east coast town by looking at them through a feminist lense. Both stories come to the same ultimate conclusion that over-moralization of human

Junot Diaz, the author of “A Cheaters Guide to Love” writes his short story with many different references to anti-feminism. He writes about women in different ways to show them as powerless, and un-superior to the main character in the short story. From this short story, Diaz conveys the main characters ways when he shows the him talking about, the girl he calls to have sex with, the women at the yoga class, and the files read at the end of the story that show the fifty girls he cheated on his fiancé with. Diaz creates his main character and puts him in the second person to relate to the reader, but show his anti-feministic signs.

In a tedtalk, Andrew Stanton said “We all love stories. We're born for them.” (Stanton 1:45) Which is true, our society’s culture is driven by storytelling. Stanton was the mind behind well known movies like Finding Nemo and WALL-E. He obviously had has time to perfect the art of storytelling. He came up with rules to create a good story. Some of the rules being make me care, 2 + 2, no happy village, villain, or love story. And those are just some of the rules used to create a good story.In Kurt Vonnegut's Miss Temptation, Vonnegut uses the rules make me care, 2 + 2, and makes a promise. Vonnegut also breaks the rule of no love story as there is potential for a love story in the end.

Since records began, women have held the stigma for being the weaker and insignificant sex in comparison to men. Women were and are lower in society, which gives men the mind-set that women are objects rather than people. Throughout history, women are constrained to play the minor roles; supporting men and caring for children. Women are considered of no value in a male chauvinist society. Both “An Inspector Calls” and “Of Mice and Men” explore the theme of the exploitation of women.

Parents always teach their children to ‘treat others how you want to be treated’, yet people create excuses about why women should be treated as less than males. Women are mistreated because men believe that they are better. In Paolo Bacigalupi's novel The Windup Girl Emiko is enslaved in Raleigh’s brothel. She is abused and laughed at, even though she did not do anything wrong. She is a female New Person trying to get through life. Emiko’s emotions are devalued, she is treated as if she is subpar, and she is only valued for her body and servitude.

Fulfilling the image of a corrupt and sinful world, society devalues women and demeans their existences, oppressing them into a world of submissiveness and destruction. The patriarchy not only have detrimental effects on women, but the entire world as well. However, women have always exhibit strength and development despite the lack of opportunities, and they reveal the virtuousness of moral character. In the 19th century dark romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals the atrocities of the patriarchy and masculine hegemony in society and thereby perceive women as the current redeemer of humankind’s sin. He, thereby, urges individuals to deter from the idea of women solely carrying the burdens of humankind’s sin and to