Willa Paskin's Game Of Thrones

Macbeth is known to withhold the strongest theme of gender compared to any of Shakespeare’s other works, gender disconformity articulating the entire plot. Men and women are separated in the text through themes of social expectations, men to be authoritative while women are expected to be compliant and empathetic. The theme articulated shows how these expectations act as barriers towards men and women. Women attempt to change their perception of gender in order to coordinate devious acts while men are influenced to channel “weak” emotions into anger. Contemporary society is still assembled of the same social expectations for women and men evident in Macbeth, which thanks to movements such as feminism, have been slowly dissipated in order to create a society that allows the social, economic and political equality of the genders.

Historically, roles of men and women were established to ensure the power of the head of the household. In the early centuries, the head of the household was always male. Shakespeare reflects and at times supports the English Renaissance stereotypes of women and men and their various roles and responsibilities in society. In Macbeth, Shakespeare supports this idea by developing the constant theme of power through masculinity. The idealistic role of men in society goes along with the idea that significant power results in higher ranking in the social hierarchy of this time period.

Structurally, Walcott creolizes the epic genre and makes it his own. Homeric epics deal with battles and honor, which reflects the culture of the Ancient Greeks. Walcott is doing the same; he is reflecting the experience of the new empowered people of the receding empire and telling the struggle of his own tribe. The reader often comes across a reference that resonates with something read in the classic epics, and it would be unfair for Walcott to expect the reader to refrain from these associations and allusions made in the text. By Walcott expressing the struggles for identity in the Caribbean in Omeros, he is also expressing the hybridity of the islands by these associations. The names Walcott decides to use in his epic does not

Men are expected to be the main focus and have more power than their female counterpart. Women are not seen being on the same level as men as they are expected to stay quiet and work at the home. In chapter 5, Joe and Janie are having a party with the other people in the town. Everyone (mostly the males) wants Janie to make a speech. Before Janie can saything, Joe makes a comment of he didn’t want Janie to talk, in fear of stealing the spotlight. “Janie made her face laugh after a short pause, but it wan’t too easy. She had never thought of making a speech, and didn’t know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say something one way or another that took the bloom off of things. But anyway, she went down the road behind him that night feeling cold. He strode along invested with his new dignity, thought and planned out loud, unconscious of her thoughts ” (TEWWG

In Twelfth Night by Shakespeare was written during the Early Modern Period, this was a time where men were more prominent when it came to being in charge. The play Twelfth Night shows this when one of the main characters, a girl named

They have the power to sway opinions but not completely change them because doing so comes at a great price. Men ultimately make the final decisions in Watsons' text but when the females break free from their perceived place in the home it can completely change the situation.

In today’s world, specifically in the twenty-first century, men are known to dominate society—especially in a workplace. This domination portrays women to be fragile individuals; however, after reading Marie de France’s “Lanval,” readers learn that the gender roles are interchanged—women are men and men are women. In “Lanval,” Queen Guinevere, King Arthur’s wife, is depicted as an authoritative woman—specifically over Lanval, the knight. Queen Guinevere wants Lanval to take part in an adulterous relationship—she wants to be his mistress: “Lanval, I’ve honored you sincerely, / Have cherished you and loved you dearly/All my love is at your disposal/ What do you say to my proposal? /Your

In the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, there are a couple instances where power corrupts and can cause problems. For example, when Macbeth realizes all the power he could attain, he corrupts by killing King Duncan in order to own all the power. As Macbeth is on stage alone, he talks about how even though King Duncan was a great king, it's time for him to take over because his only desire is to be king. As he speaks he mentions “I have no spur to pick the prides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and fails on one another”(1.7.25-28). By Macbeth following through with the killing of Duncan, we can conclude how much the death of Duncan affected his family more than anyone else. This being that he is no longer there for his family. Lady Macbeth corrupts by wanting to become queen for power, she convinced her own husband Macbeth to kill Duncan. This is where we see gender roles take action. As Macbeth is afraid to kill King Duncan, Lady Macbeth says, “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life…” (1.7.45-47). Not only do we see the female portraying more of a masculine characteristic, but we also see that idea that power is viewed differently when Lady Macbeth says this. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth ultimately seem to not be able to live without higher power.

Society has created the concept of gender and how men and women have certain roles to follow. Some of these characteristics have been broken in today's society but many still exist. As people start to accept who they are and who they want to be, normal stereotypes do not stand out as much as they used to. By doing this, we are turning over a new leaf, where men and women are intermixing qualities and characteristics. Now a days, there are women who have become the providers and some men who have become the nurtures. Not being tied down by certain roles and expectations gives those who want to do more the chance to step out and be comfortable changing those said roles and expectations. In the novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, she portrays some characters as having opposite gender roles and expectations. Two characters who show this the most are Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Both of these main characters are portrayed in a unique way throughout the novel and portray traditional roles and break them throughout the Hunger Games.

The Walking Dead is a televised American drama series about a group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse developed by Frank Darabont. The series stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma after the world yields to a zombie plague (Griffiths, 2011). Dazed and confused from months in the hospital he wanders out to figure out why he cannot find anyone alive. He makes his way home only to find his wife and son missing. He sets out to locate his family and finds many other survivors on his journey (Tucker, 2010). The Walking Dead coordinates with many social themes such as

Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, begins with the protagonist, Macbeth, being faced with a supernatural prophecy. The temptation of power further corrupts Macbeth as the play progresses, until his murders catch up to him. Despite the time in which a man lives, he is surrounded by opportunity and the constant battle between the loss and acquisition of power. For those deep in search for power often experience the blurring of the lines between right and wrong. In the 17th century, gender roles were strict and unmoving. Men symbolized the power and strength, while the women represented the caring and submissive traits of human nature. Shakespeare utilizes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s marriage to further toy with the audience’s minds and inverts the gender roles.Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s marriage demonstrates inverted gender roles; but as Lady Macbeth utilizes her influence over Macbeth, her driven attitude leads him down the path of corruption.

Kinzel and Solnit both aimed their articles at the male population to point out an issue that is usually swept under the rug. A man being the intended audience strongly affects the argument because they are the ones that the authors have a problem with. They want to get their point across but need to do it in a way that does not anger the reader. Kinzel shows her great understanding of the issue by talking about how women are capable of this type of attitude. She even describes her behavior in situations like this “I’ve always called it “lecture mode,” and I even have this habit where I take a deep, semi-dramatic breath before it shifts on, and I begin, on the exhale, with, “Well--” I always begin with “Well--” and I always conclude with, “Does that make sense?” (Kinzel). By acknowledging this male readers are more receptive to her message and more likely to be open minded.

With social and cultural stereotypes in this era, men were viewed as more powerful while women were portrayed as weak. William Shakespeare tries to interpret the roles between genders by having characters of the opposite sex. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses rhetorical devices to demonstrate Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s switch in traditional gender roles, which arise from the consequences for each character’s actions and speech.

When observing gender in our society, women and men are stereotyped with specific roles. Men have always been seen as the family’s main source of income whereas the women take care of their home and children. However, Shakespeare challenges these gender roles in his play with the three female characters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. While all three are independent, powerful women and even lead their armies into battle, the men seem to be foolish and weak such as King Lear and Albany. Furthermore, Mira cel Batran makes a point in her essay, “Feminist Reading of William Shakespeare’s King Lear”, that although women are regarded as dependent on men, Shakespeare explains that it can be the exact opposite. The men seem to depend on the women such as King Lear depending on Cordelia and Albany depending on Goneril. Shakespeare, in his play, King Lear, portrays women who are strong and intelligent and men who are weak or overpowered by female characters, challenging the societal belief that women are inherently less than or dependent on men.

A Game of Thrones is set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, a land reminiscent of medieval Europe. Fifteen years prior to the novel, the Seven Kingdoms were torn apart by a civil war, known as the “War of the Usurper." Prince Rhaega Targaryen kidnapped Lyanna Stark angering her family and of her fiancé, Lord Robert Baratheon. The Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen had Lyanna' father and brother executed when they demanded her safe return. Her second brother, Eddard, joined his boyhood friend Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn in declaring war against the ruling Targaryen dynasty. The civil war ended when Prince Rhaegar was killed in battle by Robert Baratheon. The wealthiest family around The Lannisters