Abstract Compares and contrasts the use of point of view, setting, theme, and ambiguity to describe the relationships of women and men in the upper-class society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as detailed in Wharton's short stories, "The Other Two" and "Roman Fever."
From the Paper "Edith Wharton is recognized as one of the most prominent writers in American literature, moving women's literary efforts into a new era in the early 20th century. Born into "an elite, conservative, old New York family" (1010), Wharton, as expected, married a member of the leisure class. Her work is often an unflattering depiction of the patriarchal society that she knew so well, and of the lengths that women will go to survive in that society. "The Other Two" and "Roman Fever" share similar techniques in storytelling: each effectively uses point of view, setting, theme, and ambiguous endings to craft a scathing picture of this culture, but each does so in a way that creates a truly unique portrait of the time."
Tags: ambiguity, edith, fever, men, other, point, relationships, roman, setting, short, story, theme, two, view, wharton, women
This paper compares and contrasts two characters from "The Great Gatsby" (Gatsby) by F. Scott Fitzgerald's and "The Age of Innocence" (Newland Archer) by Edith Wharton.
1,640 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 0 sources, 1999, $ 53.95
Abstract This essay takes a look at two characters from two classic American novels, Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". This paper has basically four parts: Introduction, analysis of Newland Archer, analysis of Gatsby, conclusion. The two middle sections include passages from the texts to enunciate points made in the paper. The conclusion focuses more on these characters comparisons rather than their contrasting traits.
From the Paper "Newland Archer and Gatsby are similar because they are both American males from New York. There are different types of New Yorkers, which is constrained by the time period in which they respectively live. This chronological boundary does effect what type of men they are, in the way that they relate to women, but doesn?t alter the American essence that these two men possess. Gatsby and Newland Archer are comparable Americans, but contrasting New Yorkers."
Abstract This essay is a comprehensive look at Edith Wharton's first successful novel, "House of Mirth". It. argues that the novel is less about the disparity in social class than it is about the juxtaposition between structure/predeterminism and free will. It includes several character analyses of the major players, including Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden, and cites several critical texts in an attempt to further argue its thesis.
From the Paper "One of the main problems with Lily's personality is that her desire to join the ranks of the elite society is at odds with her desire to escape the boredom of it. In the second chapter of the novel, she reflects on her lies to Mr. Rosedale, thinking, 'Why must a girl pay so dearly for her least escape from routine? Why could one never do a natural thing without having to screen it behind a structure of artifice?' This epigram fully illustrates the paradox of Lily's existence. She is almost fully committed at the outset of the novel to marriage to a wealthy socialite, even if she doesn?t love him. But always there is some part of her that yearns for the freedom to make her own decisions without being judged for it. The irony is that while Lily knows she would pay dearly for her little deviations from the elitist norm, she really has no idea how much she will pay in the end."
Abstract The following paper describes three women contained in three short stories written by Edith Wharton, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and Kate Chopin. The paper explores the lives of women at the dawn of the twentieth century and how society constrains these women from being their full human selves. More than that the brief exposition of the stories and their themes reveals their sociological bent inasmuch as each one captures a slice of lived experience that most literary works of the period passed over without mention.
Abstract This paper analyzes the poetry of Muriel Ruckeyser, as found in her book "The Book of the Dead", and that of Adrienne Rich, using her work entitled "Twenty-one Love Poems". The paper gives a biographical background on each of the poets, stressing their importance to the contemporary women's movement and to American poetry. Rich's poems are explored for their ideas on the relationships between women, and Ruckeyser's are studied in terms of their comparison to a documentary and in relation to her strong political view.
From the Paper "To many, Poetry is the voice of women. It is the way in which women can express their inner thoughts and feelings, to write the things that they can not say. Poetry is more than words on paper but someone's feelings and life poured into the readers mind. Poets let the readers climb inside their heads and taste what the poet feels, sees, and thinks.
Two major women poets that are in the inner ring of American feminist poets are Muriel Ruckeyser and Adrienne Rich. Though their poetry may be different in content, many of their messages are the same: we need to be heard. Ruckeyser's "The Book of the Dead" describes conditions and feelings of the Gauley Bridge tragedy through actual courtroom testimonies to words from actual citizens of the town. Adrienne Rich's "Twenty-one Love Poems" describes in many ways, her love of her companion as well as their struggles and times together."
Abstract A comparison between what amounts to half of two nations' population has no choice but to be broad. For that reason two areas have been selected in this paper in which to compare and contrast these groups of women. Since both nations are technologically advanced and have similar standards of living one might expect the opportunities for women to be similar. The paper shows that the two nations differ substantially on a cultural basis, however.
This paper reviews and analyzes the empowerment of women through forms of psychological and metaphorical dissociation, as depicted in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper."
Abstract The writer of this paper examines how through the various portrayals of women, literary works succeeded in depicting the oppression, discrimination and submissiveness of women in society. This paper discusses the manner in which literature has resolved certain issues of oppression in women, while also illustrating the manner in which male characters, in numerous works of writing, have come to accept the rights and privileges of women. The writer explains how the process of alienation from society and the inner self, in women, is evident in both the writings of Gilman and Ibsen. In both works, the female protagonists are shown to experience various forms of alienation. This paper delves into how the women, in both novels, managed to emancipate themselves from the oppression and discrimination that they experienced, in their own surroundings. The writer of this paper contends that both Gilman and Ibsen's writings reflect similar themes of dissociation of one's self. Gilman's female narrator resorted to insanity, a form of psychological dissociation, in order to escape the prison-like conditions of her marriage, while Nora, in Ibsen's novel, separated herself from her husband, a metaphorical dissociation, in order to gain her freedom.
From the Paper "Finding no recourse or way to express her true feelings and thoughts, the Narrator began reflecting on her oppression through the yellow wallpaper patterns on the walls of her room: "The front pattern does move-and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast...and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard." This passage can be interpreted in two ways: seeing the woman within the wallpaper patterns may signify her dissociation from herself psychologically by succumbing to insanity. However, this process may also be construed as her way of breaking out of the prison that is her marriage, the oppression she felt being dominated by John and the limits that marriage had put on her as a woman."
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the roles of black women in American society as portrayed by Ann Petry in "The Street" and Paule Marshall in "Brown Girl, Brownstones". The author begins with a general discussion of the status of black women in the 1940s, the time period in which these novels are both set. Then the paper individually analyzes the actions, motivations and experiences of each character. The paper concludes that these women's stories do in fact represent the plight of a culture in the first stirrings of tumult, a spiraling downturn for blacks as a whole and black women in particular.
Outline
Introduction
Silla Boyce as Brown Girl
Lutie Johnson in the Street
Conclusion
From the Paper "Perhaps the answer lies in that they had little or no choices but that they dared to hope, dared to dream of a better life in a world, in a time that did not want to see them succeed-a time when the world was at war and people of all nations were set against each other in a struggle for power. Hitler, in his pursuit of the ultimate race, was killing Jews by the millions in Europe. Here in America, considered the land of opportunity, and especially in New York City's melting pot of immigrants, the promise of a better life and the resultant struggles for power brought racism of all kinds to a simmer. Issues of black poverty and unjust treatment from whites were coming to the fore, probably because the situation for so many was becoming intolerable. When too many people start living a slipping-down life, grumblings will inevitably be heard. These novels themselves are masterpieces of grumbling, providing not only commentary on the situation brewing at the time but also deep understanding and wisdom of humanity's needs and limits, and finally, hopefully, a warning to us all."
Tags: silla, boyce, lutie, johnson, women, black, african, american, 1940s, world, war, II, racism, inner, city, new, york
Abstract This paper analyzes the lives of Puritan and Native American women. It contends their lives were some what similar, but they were fundamentally different from each other. The paper explains that Puritan women were far lower in the hierarchy of their society than were American Indian women and had no expectations that their status would improve throughout their lives.
From the Paper "Despite the fact that there were a number of important differences between Puritan women and women among the native peoples that Puritan settlers first encountered there were also at least some key similarities. This paper examines the ways in which the lives ..."
Abstract This paper introduces, discussees, and analyzes Plutarch's "Comparison of Pompey with Agesilaus". Specifically, the paper considers the historical significance of the document about the time, place, and environment in which it was created. The paper explains that the comparison of Pompey and Agesilaus is valuable for the insight it gives into both men, including their motivation, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.
From the Paper "A quick reading of the document offers several historical points, including information on the culture, religious beliefs, and social customs of the times. First, the author refers to a "false gloss on the oracle" in relation to Agesilaus and his reign. This indicates the importance of oracles and sooth-sayers during the time. In fact, civilizations relied on oracles for much of their decision-making, including laws and military actions. Indeed, Plutarch himself served Apollo at the Oracle at Delphi. Thus, oracles were extremely important in the environment of the time."
A comparison of the depiction of women in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Tale of the Wife of Bath", Ian Fleming's "From Russia with Love" and Sheri Tepper's "Beauty".
1,580 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 3 sources, 2001, $ 51.95
Abstract This essay explores how three influential writers, Geoffrey Chaucer, Ian Flemming and Sheri Tepper, from three different eras have depicted women in their writing. The portrayal of females by each writer is explored separately and then contrasted with that of the other writers. Specific examples and characters from these literary masterpieces are used to support the author's argument. The author provides an analysis of the different ways in which women have been depicted throughout the history of literature
From the Paper "The representation of women in literature has been the focus of much research conducted by both feminists and literature critics, particularly over the last thirty years. Sheri Tepper's Beauty, Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath and Ian Fleming's From Russia with Love, are all examples of escapist fiction in which the attitudes towards women play a key role in the theme of the story. Despite the claim that escapist fiction is isolated from the world in which its author lives, the values of both the author and the society in which he or she lives are reflected in their writing. The Wife of Bath, written in the fourteenth century, represents females as identical member of one group, all possessing the same faults and desires. Fleming, writing in 1957, depicts women differently again, categorising them into two extreme stereotypes ? the dominant, aggressive female and the submissive, naive female."
Abstract This is a literary analysis between women and literature itself. It compares three different female characters from three different stories. The stories chosen for the paper are from Henrik Ibsen's text: "Hedda Gabler", the character is Hedda Gabler, the second story is "A doll house", and the character is Nora, and the last story is in the story "Medea" and the character is Medea herself.
Abstract This paper examines the important contributions of women economically, domestically, and even politically to the Cree peoples of the Hudson Bay lowlands and to the Hidatsa peoples of the Western United States and Canada. The paper asks why and how these two groups of women came to assume enormous importance if not power in their respective cultures despite being largely consigned to domestic chores.
From the Paper "A Comparison of the Aboriginal Women of the Hudson Bay Lowland Cree and the Western Canadian and Northern Plains Hidatsa The aboriginal women of the Hudson Bay lowland Cree and the aboriginal women of the Northern Plains' Hidatsa share some similarities - but several differences, as well. The following paper will examine their respective social positions, their respective contributions, political influence, economic contributions and the impact they had upon their particular societies. More importantly, the succeeding paper will explore not only how, but why, the women of these two groups came to assume such enormous power in their aboriginal cultures - even if it may be said that the Cree culture was somewhat more patriarchal than its Hidatsa counterpart. In any event, as the next several pages should show, it is arguable - especially in the case of the Hidatsa - that the division of power within aboriginal society, far from marginalizing native women, gave them great power and importance."
Abstract This paper explains that the project will be a detailed analysis of two works by William Shakespeare, "Othello" and "Romeo and Juliet", focusing primarily on the feminist and philosophical elements of the two plays, as well as the significance of the historical context in which they were written. The author points out that feminists, who are preoccupied with the commentary being made in Shakespeare's plays concerning women, question whether his representations of women truly reflect reality. The paper includes an outline of the method by which the project will be completed.
Table of Contents:
Project Overview
Subject to be Studied
Intended Outcomes
Learning Objectives
Detailed Work Plan
Project Outline
Method
Literary Resources
On-Line Resources
Faculty Supervisor's Role
Proposed Timetable
From the Paper "The project proposes to examine the genius of Shakespeare as a dramatist who possessed a deep psychological understanding of women and who usually was able to anticipate a feminist perspective on women's issues and roles. Being a male author during the Elizabethan period, Shakespeare exhibited profound insights into the psyche of his female characters. Desdemona is unafraid to confront her father and is fascinated by the violent aspect of life yet she is also incapable of taking any real action to resolve her situation."
Tags:comparison, literature review, transformation history cultural
