Tim Winton The Turning Summary

The main character Victor is rude, selfish, and uncaring. He is mean to the one man who helps him throughout the entire story. Personally, I was confused by why everyone called Thomas, Thomas Builds-the-Fire. As I continued reading, I expected an explanation. However, the only part I liked about the story is the conversation with the lady on the plane.

To analyze the impact of women in the picture, one must examine Philip Marlowe, the hero and epitome of masculinity. Throughout the novel, Marlowe displays the admirable qualities of a man: intelligence, strength and justice. Additionally, Marlowe’s role as the hero of the film creates an example to which all men should strive. He represents the goals and desires of men, and as such his behavior helps define the position of women. Women constantly throw themselves at Marlowe, allowing him to pick from a fairly wide selection. His choice of Vivian holds considerable weight in determining the traits that make a woman popular. Marlowe’s interactions with all women help reveal the complexities of 1940s feminine attraction.

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.

Lucas in her articles regarding Australian masculinity presented in cinemas suggests that the themes of social perception and presentation of masculinity and maleness have been repeatedly used in Australian cinemas (Lucas Page 138). She adds that images of masculinity in cinema may reflect and maintain the dominant hegemonic masculinity, but as well may also challenge the dominant concepts of masculinity (Lucas 139). A large number of Australian cinemas display standard perspectives of masculinity, which promotes the binary impression of male and maleness, which includes logical, domination, violence or competition (Lucas page 139-140).

     I have thought about many different ways to organize this paper and have come to the conclusion that the best way to approach the topic is on a book-by-book basis. My perceptions of the gender biases in these books vary greatly and I did not want to begin altering my views on each so that they would fit into certain contrived connections. What interests me most in these stories is how the authors utilize certain character’s within their given environment. Their instincts and reactions are a wonderful window into how the authors perceive these “people” would interact with their surroundings and often are either rewarded or punished by the author through consequences in the plot for

‘We are victims of matricThroughout Chief Bromden’s journey rediscovering himself in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, he witnesses and recalls recurring conflicts between male and female characters, such as between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, or between his parents. Through the his or other patients’ narration of these conflicts, female characters are often tagged with detrimental characteristics, and therefore are depicted as demeaning antagonists.

What three themes or issues that are explored in Wintons stories and how are they relevant to the target audience

We’ve studied three fictional novels throughout this course, all of them having to do with plague or epidemic. These books all fits into the genre of dystopian. One of the themes that seemed prominent throughout all three books were the roles of the female protagonist or antagonist or the male counterpart of it. In Matheson’s book, I am Legend. The protagonist is a masculine man named Robert Neville, he is the last surviving human on the planet, living with only vampires around him until he meets what presumably is another human that is a feminine character. We find out later she is the reason he meets his demise. In contrast, James’ novel The Children of Men, the female character of Julian plays a huge role in saving humanity from the health crises they are facing in their world. The role of gender plays a huge part in these two works of literature, the health of both genders in both books determine the outcome, Julian being healthy, and Neville being able to survive by himself, they both represent an exceptional idea of masculinity and femininity. But the meaning of gender changes because of the epidemic of crises they are facing, for Neville’s case seeing a woman for the first time in three years, or Julian being pregnant, these changes the importance of gender.

In Ian McEwan’s ‘Enduring Love’, Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ and Sylvia Plath’s ‘Ariel’ Collection, the themes of gender and identity are clearly linked. Kesey and McEwan explore gender and identity through the male perspective and consequently present themselves as misogynists through their texts in their deleterious portrayal of women who do not adhere to what tradition dictates is ‘ideal’. Plath, on the other hand, presents the female perspective, providing readers with an alternative view, that of the female sufferer. However, in her portrayal of men, Plath comes across as a misandrist, and hence readers are exposed to biased views from both the male and female perspective. All three writers incorporate controversial matters in their exploration of gender and identity and depict how sexual identity is constrained due to society’s norms and values, and events that had occurred and influenced opinion.

The concept of gender roles is a system that has been created and enforced by tradition. Society has discovered a way to categorize and condemn those who do not fit or pertain to the characteristics of their gender. In Middlesex, a novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides, characters dilute the idea of being predisposed to gender roles by challenging them and generating the idea of “loosely defined” gender superiority in the era of the American Revolution. The American Revolution when being observed from a gender conformity point of view may be seen as unruly towards those of the female gender. Women were stripped of any and all rights or freedoms that they may have had and were forced to engage in a patriarchal society which by definition is a family, society, or government ruled by male dominance. According to an article entitled “Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women” published by the Independence Hall Association, this tyranny over women was so atrocious that even the law did not recognize women as independent and allowed them no say over their civic, political, and economical constituents. In Middlesex, the American Revolution and the modern day attitudes toward women and gender formality can be blatantly seen, but characters such as Sourmelina “Lina” Zizmo, Desdemona Stephanides, Lefty Stephanides, and Calliope “Cal” Stephanides challenge these pretenses through the use of: disobedience, rejection, and self-establishment.

Distinctive voices convey personalities and attitudes by relating to social norms and defining events of their contemporary culture – they are a manifestation of various views and human experiences. Ray Lawler’s play summer of the seventeenth doll is a modern realist drama, which explores moral standards and social aspects of the 1950s. Essentially, the reader is confronted with unique views concerning the roles of Australian men and women in the 1950s and their responses to a changing lifestyle. From a working class status, the characters within the play are faced with traditional pressures and conventional gender positions that allows the reader to envision how certain personalities and attitudes react to change. Similarly in Judith Wright’s

In this text, Vinge imagines an alternative female society and a caricatured capitalist, sexist society to explore traditional, archaic gender roles and unorthodox, humanistic characters. In fact, many of her characters are presented with an overlap of qualities. Male gender

While the Victorian Age of literature is not heralded for its equal treatment of male and female characters, it does mark and interesting shift between the ideas of the role of

Throughout the story we see the protagonist struggle with the gender roles placed upon her by her society; specifically the role she is supposed to play as

Vic was everything a red-blooded woman could want: smart, sweet, sexy. And ten years younger than her. Paige longed to make her Vic-filled fantasies a reality, but if that happens... what then? Especially when her ex turns up unannounced with flowers and an apology.