Essay on "The Ugly Duckling" and Standards of Beauty Today

"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, is a great example of women's role in the last century. The story is told in a simple form of dialogue between a man and a young woman nicknamed Jig. Although there is an important decision to be made, nothing of much importance is talked about. In the story, Jig does not have much influence in her relationship with the man, even when it comes to an abortion.

Body image is an important concept in many adolescent and young adult minds. To have a positive body image is to know that you are beautiful. To be beautiful is to reach the standards of beauty in society. However, society is constantly changing those standards as time goes by. Many young men and women strive to reach the positive, even if it means their health, money, and mind. They have the media, such as magazines to thank for these wonderful standards.

There is a cliché quote that people say, “Beauty is in the eye of beholder.” But in the essay “The Ugly Truth About Beauty” (1998) Dave Barry argues about how women who spend countless hours on their so called “beauty” whereas men seem not to care. Barry uses juxtaposition and exaggeration to poke fun at men and women behavior and shed light on the harm that the beauty industry is doing. When Barry argues his point of his essay he addresses both genders, but more specifically teenage to middle age men and women, but he writes about it in a humorous and light-hearted manner.

In the story The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, the author shows many similarities between the narrator's little brother Doodle and an exotic bird. While reading through the story the young boy is not thought very highly of. No one including, the doctors, ever thought Doodle would live past a couple days. But Doodle did just that, he lived for 6 whole years. His parents even named him William Armstrong, because they thought it would look good on a tombstone. His brother later renamed him Doodle because with that kind of name no one would expect much from him. Doodle had many obstacles growing up and didn’t really fit it. While going through life Doodle was constantly trying to prove that there was a reason for his life. Doodle’s brother tried very to have a normal little brother, so he pushed him in many ways to enable him to do normal things. Doodle could not stand up or crawl and when he did he crawled backwards, earning him the name Doodle. The brothers says to Doodle, “Aw, come on, Doodle,” I urged. “You can do it. Do you want to be different from everybody else when you start school?”

Howard the Duck is strange reading material and in a completely different category than what we read last week. I think it is really interesting as an example of the “funny animal” trope. This is when an animal (in a comic, cartoon, etc.) walks around on two legs like a human, and acts like a human, and is saddled with human problems. Usually, I associate this with silly characters meant for kids, like Goofy or Mickey Mouse. But I think the character type is much more interesting when its creator subverts these expectations and turns something as ridiculous-looking as Howard into an instrument for commentary on the human condition. This is what Steve Gerber did- and I think his success in doing so was best summarized when Professor Borenstein compared the humor within the comic to Louie C.K.’s standup and TV show. Howard the Duck is frequently depressing and troubling. Within the first issue, on the very first page, he considers suicide. In issue 12, he is institutionalized as his brain has turned to “duck’s head soup.” Reading Howard the Duck reminded me of a similar depiction of a funny animal. The show Bojack Horseman on Netflix has a similar character, a horse named Bojack, who does silly horse stuff like eat apple fritters and wear apple pajamas. But he is also deeply depressed and an alcoholic, and often incredibly self-destructive as a result. His pain is not played for laughs, as it might be on a lesser show. Instead, his terrible behavior gives the showrunners an

One of the women made the comment that Mrs. Wright used to be pretty and happy, when she was Minnie Foster not Minnie Wright. This is just the beginning of realizing that she was just pushed to far into depression and couldn't live up to John Wright's expectations anymore. The Wrights had no children and Mrs. Wright was alone in the house all day long. The women perceive John Wright to be a controlling husband who in fact probably wouldn't have children and this may have upset Mrs. Wright. They eventually find vacant bird cage and ponder upon what happened to the bird, realizing Mrs. Wright was lonely they figured she loved the bird and it kept her company. The women make reference to the fact that Mrs. Wright was kind of like a bird herself, and that she changed so much since she married John Wright. They begin looking for stuff to bring her and they find the bird dead and they realize someone had wrung its neck. This is when they realize Mrs. Wright was in fact pushed to far, John Wright had wrung her bird's neck and in return Minnie Wright wrung his.

The solidification of the gender hierarchy through stories cemented women into a position below men of which women were and still are unable to escape or to improve on. The gender hierarchy is commonly demonstrated through the objectification of women. This has been exemplified through these stories, which has kept women from advancing in society, due to both society’s disapproval and the views that these ideas give women of

The subjective element of beauty involves judgment, not opinion. Many people feel beauty is only something seen by the eyes. St. Thomas Aquinas views beauty in both the supernatural and natural orders. Aquinas lists the attributes of beauty to be found in nature. These are; unity, proportion, and clarity. We will see how these attributes of beauty are seen through the eye and felt by the heart.

Gender roles is a problem that takes place in both the workplace, domestic conditions, and society. Often signified through the age-old stereotype. That men are required of the more "challenging" or more "advanced" jobs, while women restrict themselves to the less grueling and less beneficial positions. Terms such as "that 's a man 's job" is a leading cause of inequality in the workplace. Not to mention, gender roles and standards are set in the homes of many families everywhere. The so-called "picture perfect family" situation; the husband goes to work while the wife stays home to tend to the children. While romanticized as ideal, this concept is the very essence of a patriarchal society. Meanwhile, the brutally vicious society we live in often berates women 's self-esteems in more way than one. Stereotypes of beauty, or who are skinny, pretty, white, and wealthy, are unfortunately the ideal standard of women and

This essay is for women who believe their thighs are too big, their breasts are too small, their hair is boring, their skin is flawed, their body is shaped funny, or their clothes are outdated. This month's column is for women who believe their life would improve if they could lose 15 pounds; if they could afford contact lenses, that new perfume or anti-cellulite concoction; if they got a nose job, a face lift, a tummy tuck, etc. This month's column is for women who feel shame or unhappiness when they ponder some part (or all) of their body. In other words, this month's column is for 99.9% of the women reading it!

In every society each gender’s behavioral response is often a reflection of the societal influences that have been instilled since birth. In every society each gender is subjected to certain roles. Males having to suppress their emotions while women are able to be emotional beings. Women being shunned for exhibiting characteristics of the opposite sex. Although, we live in a society that harps on individuality and self-expression, it is clear that this only applies when individuals do not feel inferior. Additionally, self-expression is only situational and accepted based off of certain agendas. In the following story, Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning, we are able to analyze how a male reacts to feeling inferior to a woman. In The Yellow Wallpaper, which is written by Charlotte Perkins, we are able to analyze how her husband’s lack of understanding and inability to communicate with his wife ultimately leads to her insanity. In each of these stories, gender roles are being depicted in a negative and positive way. Through the character’s actions were able to learn how society views each gender in the time in which the story takes place.

Through the eyes of society everyone has a set role they are expected to fulfill and certain characteristics they are supposed to exemplify. These roles and characteristics, this discourse, tells everyone how they should act and speak. For women it is the role of the mother. In our culture, that means raising the children, completing the household chores, and cooking all of the meals to perfection. Women are typical thought of as being demure and polite, small in stature, and submissive to the male gender. In the reverse, men also have certain roles that they are expected to fill and characteristics they are supposed to exemplify. Men are expected to be strong, dominant, and in charge of their families. They are often depicted, both in the media and in life, as the leaders. This discourse that we all follow can frequently be seen in Svava Jakobsdottir’s “A Story for Children.” The short story tells the tale of a woman as she raises her children and takes care of her household. The mother is completely devoted to her children and seeks to fulfill her role in the home to the fullest extent. As the story progresses, the main character slowly has pieces of herself removed by her children: her toe, her brain, and finally her heart. At the end of the text, after all of the children have become adults started families of their own, the mother realizes that she now has nothing and feels useless. In her short story, Jakobsdottir uses dramatization to depict the gender stereotypes and

The definition of gender roles is a set of societal norms dictating what types of behavior is generally considered acceptable based on the gender of a person. Additionally, if you don’t seem to accept this standard, there can be huge consequences. For example, in India, women are viewed as a burden and a “extra mouth to feed.” Her status promotes the idea that men can treat them in a subdued manner. If they don’t comply to these requirements, then a woman is murdered by her husband or his family by being set alight by a flammable liquid, which is usually known as bride burning. Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, also uncovers the harsh inequality of women. Gender roles shouldn’t be real and they were forced on us by society.

Throughout many decades women have been struggling to be equal to men, both at home and in the work place. Women have come a long way and are certainly fighting to gain that equality, but gender roles are very important in our society. They have become important in life from birth, and society continues to push these gender roles. The treatment of the male gender is very different from that of the female, and this issue has become very important to me, as a woman. As children we learn and adapt to specific gender roles, and as we grow they become more evident and more important to our role in a society. There is a lot of discrimination against the female gender. Carol Gilligan argued that

The tale of “The Ugly Duckling” has been told for many generations. It is the story of a little swan that is mistakenly hatched in a duck’s nest and because of his strange and different appearance he is teased and ridiculed. Even his mother can’t understand how this “ugly duckling” could be one of her own. The ugly duckling goes through many hardships and a long, lonely winter. Then upon seeing his reflection in the pond he realizes that he has become a beautiful swan and happily swims off, joining a group of nearby swans.