Abstract This paper examines and reviews Catherine MacKinnon's perspective on pornography as expressed in her essay "Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech." The paper's author agrees with many of MacKinnon's views on pornography, yet does not accept them all. The reviewer does not feel that all pornography should lose its protected status under the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. The paper further discusses MacKinnon's views of pornography which are based on her feminist outlook. The reviewer concludes that while some of MacKinnon's arguments are valid, others seem extreme.
Outline:
What Catharine MacKinnon Has to Say
Work Cited
From the Paper "In a more understandable and non-cryptic paragraph on the first page of her essay, MacKinnon says that feminism is the "first theory, the first practice, the first movement," to really take the situation of every woman "seriously." Feminism, she explains, looks at the position of women's social life "as a whole," which is the first time the women's legal and social views have been put forward as a theory of humanism. "
Abstract This paper looks at the many similarities in Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", and Charlotte Bronte's novel, "Jane Eyre". The author discusses the gothic elements present in both books: the dark, the hidden, the secrets, and the brooding characters like Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester. The paper examines the element of the occult in both novels: ghosts, visions, the dead Catharine, and insane Bertha Mason Rochester.
From the Paper:
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Traditionally, Gothic elements were constituted by the ambiguous, the chaotic, the unenlightened, the supposedly irrational, the dark, the hidden, and the secret. According to literary handbooks, Gothic is a matter of d?cor and mood, of an obscurely pleasurable terror, of the nostalgic melancholy of ruins and of remote times and places. Conventions familiar in Gothic narratives include a vulnerable/curious heroine, a wealthy/enigmatic hero/villain, and a grand, mysterious dwelling concealing violent secrets."
Abstract Catharine A. MacKinnon's view of pornography is part of a radical feminist critique of prevailing legal and social norms. MacKinnon's argument is rooted in women's adverse position in society as this is reinforced by pornography which she equates with the graphic and sexually explicit subordination of women. The piece discussed is an excerpt from her, "Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law (1987)".
Abstract The paper focuses on decisions made by the main characters in
George Eliot's"Middlemarch" and D'Arcy MicNickle's "The Surrounded". The paper then explains Aristotle's beliefs of rational choice and virtue in his "The Nicomachean Ethics" and shows how Rosamond, from "Middlemarch" does not have a definite object of choice and she merely acts as she does because she feels compelled by her own weakness. The paper then compares this to Catharine, from "The Surrounded", who makes a definite choice that is based on rational reasoning and so she acts in conformity to Aristotle's ethics.
From the Paper "Aristotle's The Nicomachean Ethics is a long-standing philosophical work which discusses virtue and morality. According to Aristotle, virtue is directly connected with rational choice and the difference between a good and a bad character is given by the decisions an individual makes. In Middlemarch, Rosamond's decision to receive Dorothea's visit is a turning point in the plot. Rosamond is a manipulative woman, who pursues solely social advancement and longs for a genteel life in the ranks of aristocracy. She marries Lydgate in the same pursuit of financial interest and she soon loses interest in him when she realizes she has plunged him deep into debt. When Rosamond's flirtatious advances are rejected by Will Ladislaw, she is shocked and her vanity is finally bent."
Abstract This paper provides a brief explanation of the politics and personal relationship that led to the downfall of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, and mother of Elizabeth I. The author examines the king's intense desire for his wife, and his even greater desire for a male heir to the throne.
From the Paper "On Friday, May 19, 1536 , Anne Boleyn, former Queen of England, was executed for high treason and adultery, her head severed from her body by an expert swordsman, the only concession given her by her ex-husband King Henry VIII. How, in so short a time, had the woman that Henry had defied the religious tradition of England for, divorcing his wife and changing the history of religion in his country, whom he pursued relentlessly for years, fallen so far, so quickly? To understand one must examine Henry's desperate need for a male heir, understand the politics of the time, and the personality of Anne Boleyn herself."
Abstract This paper explores the idea that Ernest Hemingway may have been chauvinistic, through an examination of his novels. The author, however, argues that although Hemingway's main characters were always male and he portrayed his females as background characters, Hemingway was not a misogynist; rather, an author only capable of speaking in a male voice.
From the Paper "To give Hemingway his due he was a product of his times. No matter how critical the reader gets the fact is that Hemingway's women had more character than many others portrayed during his time. The woman may adhere to the traditional scenarios and Hemingway may have focused on the male protagonist more in comparison but truth be told that was his prerogative. It is not necessary for him to be a woman hater just because he writes a story about a man. The scholar?s, men and women alike have agreed that women have their place in the Hemingway novels. The men are not complete without the woman and just by portraying this facet Hemingway redeems himself."
Abstract MacKinnon petitioned the High Court claiming that pornography was a violation of Civil Rights, and she won the case. This paper looks at the arguments she presented and how her re-definition of pornography has social ramifications. It looks at other work she has done in the field of legislation against sexual harassment.
From the Paper "Beginning in the mid 1970s, MacKinnon pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. Beginning in 1983, with Andrea Dworkin, she conceived and wrote ordinances recognizing pornography as a violation of civil rights. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted her theory of sexual harassment in 1986. The Supreme Court of Canada adopted, in part, approaches that she created with the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) to equality (1989), pornography (1992), and hate speech (1991). (Website)"
Abstract The paper discusses the many factors which led to the execution of Joan of Arc by the British after she succeeded in driving them out of France during the Hundred Year War. The paper shows that many believed that she succeeded by the will of God and the mysticism movement of the time is also examined. The paper also shows that the issues that led to her execution ultimately involved the church, politics, and her popularity as a possible martyr.
From the Paper ""The voice told me that it is God's will to deliver the people of France from the calamity that is upon them" (Trask 25). The voices are those of Saint Catharine and Saint Margaret. They counseled Joan of Arc during the end of Hundred Years War. The Hundred Year War consisted of many smaller battles that drove the English out of France (Lerner 381). It is believed by many that Joan of Arc drove the English out of France by the will of God. The Duke of Burgundy captured Joan and sold her to the English, who took her back to England, where she was tried by the church for witchcraft and heresy. Joan of Arc's death suggested that many issues contributed to her execution."
Analyzes character of Agnis in the context of feminist critique of social & physical oppression & violence, philosophies of Nietzsche & Catharine MacKinnon, sexuality & morality.
2,925 words (approx. 11.7 pages), 10 sources, 1999, $ 103.95
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx as an articulation of a narrative strategy that lends legitimacy to the feminist social critique by way of the aesthetic power of representation behind modern female social and psychological experience. The plan of the research will be to set forth the pattern of ideas in The Shipping News in general terms and then to discuss, with reference principally to the character Aunt Agnis Hamm, means by which the novel articulates women's experience and legitimates that experience as feminist social critique.
The action of The Shipping News does not focus mainly on Agnis but rather on her nephew Quoyle, a lumbering hulk of a widower whose faithless wife Petal had done a lot of emotional damage to him and their two daughters before selling the daughter..:
Examines and compares the novels "Hope Leslie" by Catharine Maria Sedgwick and James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans" and the way they address the question of Native Americans.
Abstract This paper examines two classic 19th century American novels in order to identify the dramatically different manner in which each author views the cultural conflict between whites and Native Americans. This paper examines the role of race, interracial marriage, and the point-of-view of white vs. Indian characters through the characters in the novels.
From the Paper "Almost since the moment white settlers landed on the continent of North America, Americans have grappled with the question of how to coexist with the country’s native inhabitants. The debate on this subject reached a fever pitch in the 1820s as the nation struggled to formulate some type of comprehensive Indian policy. Should the Indians simply be herded westward, or should Americans strive for some type of coexistence? In 1827 Catharine Maria Sedgwick penned her novel "Hope Leslie" to counteract what she saw as the rising support for an aggressive Indian policy caused in part by the stereotypes of Indians presented in such popular novels as James Fenimore Cooper’s "The Last of the Mohicans." By examining these two novels, one can see how the authors present opposing views of the conflict between whites and Native Americans."
Tags: american, conflict, cultural, race, marriage, indian
Abstract This paper details the public life of Thomas Seymour, from the marriage of his sister Jane to King Henry VIII, to his execution for treason during the reign of Henry's son, Edward VI. Seymour's marriage to Henry VIII's widow, Catharine Parr, his relationship with his brother, the lord protector, his scandalous conduct with the future Elizabeth I and his corruption as Lord Admiral are all explored.
From the Paper "To this end Seymour had already begun upon a course of systematic bribery of the men of Edward's privy chamber, so that he might have access to the King and bribe him in turn. Seymour began to keep Edward supplied with pocket money, sums of five or ten pounds at a time, sometimes more. This money was delivered via John Fowler, Seymour's "inside man" in the Privy Chamber, with whose help Seymour was able to gain access to the King, albeit intermittently. Whenever he could, Seymour suggested that Somerset should be providing Edward enough money to be independent, and encouraged Edward to write to him if Somerset did not. Edward did so; in all, Seymour spent nearly ?200 on Edward and his household -ironically, the same sum left him by Edward's father. Encouraged, Seymour went so far as to consider abducting the King, although that scheme did not go far."
Abstract This paper discusses the development of women's rights over the course of the 19th century until 1920, when women were granted the right to vote. It discusses the context of issues regarding the transformation of women's social and political position in the U.S. The paper identifies areas of principal significance and influence on women's history subsequent to their obtaining suffrage.
From the Paper "This research provides a chronological account of major trends, developments and events visible in the history of women's rights and social status more generally from the 19th century to the time that the US Constitution was amended to grant women ..."
