Discrimination against Women in Literary Periods Book Review

Discrimination against Women in Literary Periods
Analyzes Kate Chopin "Desiree's Baby" and Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants" to demonstrate that, at any given period, society discriminates against women.
# 152157 | 1,055 words | 2 sources | MLA | 2013 | US
Published on Jan 07, 2013 in Literature (American) , English (Analysis) , Women Studies (Women and Society)


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Description:

This paper asserts that short stories of "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin and "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway highlight that a female is victimized at every stage of life notwithstanding the fact that it is she who is making the sacrifices. In support of this assertion, the paper points out how the social conditions in Chopin's story, written in the late 1800s, viewed the sexual relations between two different races contemptuously because they were resented by the society. The paper then points out that, in his 1927 story "Hills like White Elephants", Hemingway illustrates how the dominating American male tries to impose his views on his female partner while she desperately tries to assert her viewpoints to secure a honorable position in relationships and in society.

From the Paper:

"In the story, "Hills Like White Elephants," the discrimination against the female, related to the biological factor and also the clash between the head and heart. The main themes of this story are, talking versus communicating and the problem of relationship. The style of conversation between the American man and his girlfriend indicates the latent rift between the two. The conversation is not hearty, but grudging and progresses under duress. With no meeting ground between the two on an important issue (presumably abortion) the man says so many things in a tone of frustration, pleading and placating. The female carried the fetus, the growing child in her womb, but the American man has no feelings about it, and his approach is carefree and thus he is discriminating against her by forcing his views on her through the process of emotional blackmail. This is again a clash of head and heart. The most important irony in this story relates to the attitudes of the man and the woman. The man is carefree, fun-loving and has his own hidden agenda about the intended abortion. He is trying to convince the sensitive woman, and tenders strange reasons why the option of abortion is suitable for the continuance of love-relationship of both."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Chopin, Kate. "Desiree's Baby." Awakening and Selected Short Stories. (The Floating Press 2009). 283-293 http://web.ebscohost.com.lscsproxy.lonestar.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_313819_AN?sid=56a49abd-c443-4496-9812-7a9f55afde05@sessionmgr4&vid=3&lpid=lp_283 Retrieved on February 13, 2012
  • Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." Portable Legacies: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. Eds. Schmidt, Jan and Crockett, Lynn. (Boston: Wadson 2009). 611-615.

Cite this Book Review:

APA Format

Discrimination against Women in Literary Periods (2013, January 07) Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/book-review/discrimination-against-women-in-literary-periods-152157/

MLA Format

"Discrimination against Women in Literary Periods" 07 January 2013. Web. 28 May. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/book-review/discrimination-against-women-in-literary-periods-152157/>

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