Theme Of F. Gallimard As The Cruel Occidental Man

Emperor K’ang-hsi was one of the greatest Chinese emperors of all time. Ruling from 1662 to 1722 he was also one of the longest ruling emperors in Chinese history and for that matter the world. K’ang-hsi brought China to long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. Jonathan Spence writes from the eyes of K’ang-hsi getting his information from K’ang-hsi’s own writings. Though a little biased towards himself this book still provides important insight into his mind. Emperor of China is divided into six parts; In Motion, Ruling, Thinking, Growing Old, Sons, and Valedictory.

“Dragon Lady” is a “dangerous and seductive woman” whose nature is “belligerent” and “domineering” (yourdictionary.com). Historical roots of the “Dragon Lady” date back to the late 1800s when in the imperial China, the empress, Tzu-hsi, suffered the “Dragon Throne,” a term used to identify the removal of an emperor of the imperial China (asian-nation.org). The New York Times labeled her as “the wicked witch of the East, a reptilian dragon lady who had arranged the poisoning, strangling, beheading, or forced suicide of anyone who had ever challenged her autocratic rule”

The play first reveals the shortsightedness of stereotypes made by Westerners, when the submissive Asian woman is awaiting a dominant Western male. Throughout the play, Gallimard is reliving his experiences that he has shared with Song in prison so he flashes back to describe his story of the perfect woman. Gallimard first flashes back to the German Ambassador house in 1960’s where he first meets Song. Gallimard and Song end up conversing about the opera Madame Butterfly that Song was performing in. Song thinks the opera is ridiculous, but Gallimard likes the opera. Gallimard tells Song how she did a beautiful job as butterfly and how her character was very convincing. Song argues with Gallimard, stating that this opera is only beautiful to Westerners. He asks if “it’s one of your favorite fantasies, isn’t it? The submissive oriental woman and the cruel white man” (17). After hearing these words, Gallimard turns rather defensive; despite his own stereotyping of Asian women, he does not want to be trapped in a stereotypical Western mindset. Song effectively trashes this stereotype by using his devious skills to manipulate

She is significant in Chinese history because of her writings and teachings of the “Admonitions for Women” using a Confucian approach to define appropriate behavior (Gregory p. 123).

In the Time of the Butterflies revolves around the Mirabal sisters, women living in a very patriarchal, “macho” society. Their personal struggles are part of the power of their story, as they stand not only as symbols of rebellion against Trujillo, but at the same time as loving, independent women with husbands and children. Alvarez shows how the resistance against women in politics can even be propagated by the women themselves, as both Mamá and Patria initially express sentiments that women are inferior to men, or else are somehow “purer” and so shouldn’t dirty themselves with politics. In talking to the interview woman in the present day, Dedé says that women “followed their husbands,” but she knows that this is an excuse, as she is the

The Tang was a very aristocratic society that is known for being the “Golden Age” in Chinese history, with some of the greatest developments in the society occurring, (CD Benn, 2002). The dynasty made the unheard-of move of allowing women to sit for the Imperial examination and serve as government officials, with women enjoying the unprecedented power in politics (CD Benn, 2002). Charles Benn’s book, “China’s Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang dynasty”, is a secondary source in the form of a book, published in 2002. He is a professor studying Chinese history, in particular, the Tang dynasty, and in his publication, details the lives of Chinese people in this dynasty. Women had much more freedom than seen in any dynasty before it and it gave women a voice and saw women with almost as equal rights in society, with women finally being able to enjoy the privilege of education and marriage

Throughout the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez utilizes the characters Patria, Maria Teresa, and Minerva, to display the daily struggles of women in the Dominican Republic who are fighting in a patriarchal and oppressive society against the regime. All that the Mirabal sisters have ever know is a world where they are thought of as inferior to men. Where male authority defines who they are; women trapped in a community where their voices don’t matter and they should be seen and not heard. As perceived in the novel, Alvarez uses figurative language as well as the theme of oppression to describe the fact that Dominican women are sexulized based upon their apperances.

Additionally, the injustices are cleared as writing on the walls, however, no one can understand the bad circumstances they are passing through. Characterization of Patria and how her courageous and caring qualities awakened due to the murders she witnessed. This quote hints the birth of the second butterfly and her participation in the movement. Characterization of Mate that she is not a fragile girl anymore, on the contrary, she is becoming more mature and confident of her convictions. It hints that unlike Dedé she will soon join her sisters and become one of the butterflies as well.

Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of Butterflies is a work of historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic under the rule of powerful dictator known as Trujillo. Four sisters work together to resist a force greater than themselves to stand up for their beliefs and protect their family. Patria, Dede, Mate, and Minerva, “the butterflies”, experience the loss of their father and family members to the regime. They work together to retrieve them back or use their losses to drive them to overthrow their compelling government. Each of the sisters represent a larger theme of the novel such as religious importance, identity, or coming of age. Minerva Mirabal is driven by the need to escape the “cage” she is locked in by Trujillo. Therefore, the theme

As China faced new international pressures and the change to a communist society, gender relations transformed women from servants of men to full independent workers, who finally became soldiers of the communist state. In Jung Chang’s novel, Wild Swans, the three women – grandmother Yu-Fang, mother Bao-Qin and daughter Jung Chang – exemplify the expected gender roles of each generation. I will argue that Confucian society presented few economic opportunities for women to support

Many people argued that Empress Dowager Cixi accelerated the speed of the demise of the Qing dynasty. Cixi might be a blasting fuse but she was not accounted for the final fall of the dynasty. The actions Cixi took had profoundly changed the foundation of feudal China so as to push China forward into a modern stage. Although many historical data suggested that whatever Cixi had done were to consolidate her authority and personal status. But no matter what, the impact on the country was obvious. Cixi broke the previous traditions from Confucianism that had been lasted for centuries. Tensions between the Manchus and Han Chinese had been greatly improved, which made a great contribution to China for later unification. Under the reign of the Empress Dowager, the social structure had undergone a series of changes. Qing 's demise is doomed, this was resulted from issues that had stacked up from previous generations. Moreover, Cixi did her best to secure China’s status in the world in such a chaotic period in history. She made undeniable contributions to China.

In the very end of the play, he reappears in men’s clothes, saying: “Butterfly? Butterfly?” (93). These words show Song’s feelings towards her loss of Galimard, confused. For it shows the imaginative power of

Ang Lee’s Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon is probably one of the most successful foreign films to ever be screened in America. Being the number one film of the year in 2000. On the other hand it was reportedly considered a flop in China. While it was influenced by American film styles, it still kept true to many aspects of its Chinese film heritage. With very apparent love story, it lacked the Extreme amount of Kung Fu fight scenes eastern audiences have come to enjoy. This is a stunning love story between a monk and widow. While it does have its share of over the top fight scenes, when you start to dig deeper the films many social implications become apparent. With ties to subjects such as religion, martial arts, philosophy, love, and even gender issues. This film is a representation of the modern era and how long practiced traditions are being challenged. Each character and plot line allows a glimpse into the Social and Traditional understanding of a culture.

In both film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (Men Who Hate Women), the 2009 Swedish film directed by Niels Arden Oplev , and the 2011 American version, renamed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , directed by David Fincher, the two principle characters only meet halfway through the film. For a significant portion of the movie, they interact only by spying on each other. As a film that addresses differences between male and female interactions, the presence of a male or female protagonist is important for the viewer’s understanding. Though almost equal presences on screen, the perspectives from which the film is told vary between the two adaptations.

Most Martial arts films in China generally tend to foreground issues of gender. In addition, these films portray a fixed line of gender separation. The Chinese Martial arts film culture has always been more receptive to the general idea of the female character in what Westerners would indeed consider exclusively male role such as the action hero (Castillo 3). In the martial art films several actress have even established their entire reputations as action stars. The action heroes were also held up as the idea of masculinity with all of its inherent characteristics of control, privilege and agency. This is actually adopted from the western archetypes of male action hero which emphasize connotations of physical presence and prominent body musculature. The emergence of the Chinese martial arts has resulted to convergence of social, economic and political pressures that along with creative talents of producers, writers, actors and directors, have indeed forged a national cinema that captured attention of the world wide cinematic consciousness. Majority of the Chinese martial arts movies are distinctively known in cultivating the concept of gender roles. A close analysis of these movies ultimately portrays that multiple characters from the both genders not only play an immense role in the martial arts aspect of the films, but indeed symbolize Chinese themes as well as some of the issues that the country was going through at that particular time. In these regard, in most of the