ENG 3298 Blog

 "the old people tell us that her husband is more important to a woman than her parents. A woman is with her parents for only a part of her life they say, but she is with her husband forever. He also feels he is the most important. If a wife is not good to her husband, there will be retribution in heaven."  Pg.634 The Daughter of Han Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai Word Count: 277      Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai is of the saddest yet. Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai story talks about women and how they are viewed in a family. Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai's story talks about her life with her husband and focused on the aspect of how he sold his daughter to terrible people who sell women and children to brothels. Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai sold his daughter for opium. Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai's husband is terrible to her and forces her to find her daughter and get her back because he didn't care he was high. Ning Lao T'ai-t'ai's husband also burned her with his fa...

"I'll forget about my hands, if I have to be crippled, then I'll accept being crippled. In this world, there are many worthy people with crippled hands or no hands at all." Pg.116 Nein Cheng Life and Death in Shanghai  Word Count:276      Nein Cheng's text was one that truly intrigued me and inspired me as a woman and a person. Cheng was ambushed, questioned, and tortured so that she would confess to being a part of the cultural revolution. In the very beginning, she started off strong in her belief stating she had nothing to confess even though it would have helped her not to be tortured by the guards. Cheng could have very easily given up and chosen the so-called easier path even though we don't know why they wanted her to confess. Whether they wanted it to kill her the reader will never fully know, but her being a smart strong woman she stuck to her truth and her story. Even though being locked up in a cell with no windows, her hands were in constant pain, ...

 " Now, you stop crying, it getting ridiculous. Nobody needs that little girl." Pg 103    Emilie Carles " A Life of Her Own" Word Count: 254      Emilie Carles story depicted her, her family's life, and the life of villagers around her, in dealing with challenges and life in general. Emilie Carles talked about the challenges mainly with poverty, and how hard life and work were for many of these people. Carles had talked about the importance of bulls/ cows in the village and her family's life. How these animals were very important for life and making a prosperous life. Emilie Carles talked about the fact that cows and bulls were often held in higher regard than even family, and how they were more often cried about death rather than family members and relatives. This even went the same for her and her family with the death of her little girl which her father didn't care about as she added nothing to the family wealth, demonstrating the importance of this ...

  "I visited Harrington House then the headquarters for information about the wounded and missing until  I tracked him down..." Pg. 82 Vera Britain, From The Testament of Youth  Word Count: 252      Vera Britain's quote reminds me of how her family life was, how she was basically the strength of the family. Vera Britain's story is one that is extremely sad, in which she lost her brother and some of her friends. This quote demonstrates Vera Birtains will and determination to find out what happened to her brother in order to give her and her family some piece, as they were only told her brother died in action. This demonstrates how she was the strength of her family in order to try and give her family closure and to try to help them move on. Not only did she find out but then when she found out how he died it was too terrible to tell her family so she keep it all inside demonstrating her strength in sparing her family from the horror of his death.  ...

"Life was gradually becoming a reality from which I had no intention of hiding behind everyone's back." Pg.77 Nina Berberova  The Italics are Mine  Word Count: 270       Nina Berberova was a woman who found her voice and her freedom although it was different from the gender norm of the time. She was seeking a life of profession that confused gender norms and overall her life until she found her given profession poetry. Berbervoa's ideal profession made her hide her talents from the world and even feel as though she needed to hide them from her family. Berberova's life felt as though she had to hide, which was something all women thought they had to do. Even In her day an era everyone was in a time in which they felt as though they had to hide things in order to survive. Berbervoa didn't want a normal "nest" or family norm/ way of life, she wanted her way of the profession without being forced into gender norms.     This era was difficult, esp...

Documentary, Daughters of de Beauvoir Word Count: 427 Daughters of de Beauvoir was a documentary dedicated to highlighting one of the most influential women,  Simone de Beauvoir. The documentary itself highlighted this fact by using multiple sources of women telling their stories about her and readximg her most in fluential book “The Second Sex.” In which each women discussed how impactful the book had been to one another and what it did for women at that time. These women believed that this book jump started her career and changed everyone forever.  ANN OAKLEY “ I found myself reading an enormous amount of literature, because that sort of question leads you to ask really quite basic questions about why the roles of men and women are different, and in the course of pursuing those sorts of questions, I read The Second Sex. I found it very inspiring, which is I think what many other people, other women have found, because I suppose of the very strong statement that it contained ...

  "Clothes and cosmetics had never interested me overmuch, but I nevertheless took some pleasure in dressing as I wanted to" Pg.55 Simone de Beauvoir The Prime of Life Chapter 2  Word Count:257       This quote gives a unique perspective on the author Simone de Beauvoir. This perspective allows the readers to understand that while we might now in this day an age see her as normal that in her era she was different. Different in a way in which the world had looked down upon her for her differences. Simone de Beauvoir was a woman who wanted to work, made budgets, and enjoyed her freedom. She was someone who wanted to be more, than just someone who could get married and have babies.       Simone de Beauvoir's idea even plays out through her relationships with her family and society. She was seen as inappropriate for her relations with Sartre, which for the time they were. Simone de Beauvoir's own family cast shame on her and Sartre as well a...

"The custom of letting obedient children be seen but not heard was so agreeable to me that I went a step further: Obedient children should not see or hear if they chose not to do so." Pg.50 Maya Angelou Chapter 1 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Word Count: 266     This quote demonstrates the portrayal of Maya Angelou's life or account of life experiences. Maya Angelou's I know why the caged bird singing demonstrates her life as a child in which she was under a lot of oppression. Maya Angelou always had to be in tip-top shape according to her mother and she always had to present herself accordingly. Maya Angelou had to be obedient and observant caged in a prison of an obedient child. This prison is also clearly evident when she and her grandmother were outside and the other girls were messing with her grandmother, and Maya Angelou was forced to just sit there and play her role of obedience.      I think that Maya Angelou gives a unique perspective on be...

"I wasn't greatly interested in women who, no matter how admirable, were known in the final analysis because of whom they had married, and the Duchess of Windsor, as my mother informed me, wasn't all that admirable. "What did she do to deserve a biography." Pg.1 Introduction Phyllis Rose Word Count:257 This quote demonstrates the purpose and why the author made this collection of works. In order to represent real, strong, and true women. The author was interested in showing off works of women who were much more than their portrait by marriage. She wanted "wild women" stories that were genuine and could have many other people connect to them in order to grow towards a movement of courageous women. Women who were normal with true raw stories could touch others in ways that made women feel powerful at a time in which they were shown as weak.  T he author is trying to use these stories in order to break free of all the images of perfect women in a positive ...