Herland-Women

            Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, presents many theories of sexism and ideas of male superiority throughout the novel. At the beginning all the men are surprised when arriving to Herland that only woman inhabited the land. The men thought in this way because the land was well maintained and efficient, which they did not expect from women because of their ideas of women being inferior. However, later in the novel most of the men learn to appreciate and respect women for their power and ability, which they never believed women possessed. Beliefs of men superiority has drawn back to colonial times in America and much earlier in countries around the world.

In my AP United States History class throughout all the chapters we have learned about women roles in society, sexism, and women’s rights movements. Throughout history women have been labeled as inferior on many levels. Early on women’s roles consisted of work in the domestic sphere, with jobs of childbearing, cleaning, cooking, and generally taking care of the family while staying at home. Later, as women began to work more social jobs in the working sphere, such as factory workers and teachers, women began to push for equal rights. Women fought for equal pay, the right to vote, and many more equal rights women had the right to obtain. Even today there are many feminist and women’s rights organizations that fight for equality between the sexes.

Herland- Motherhood

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman emphasizes the important aspect of motherhood, as an essential duty women have in their lives. However the women, whom live in this nation, also have strictly different views on the role the woman has in the child’s life. The women in Herland perceive motherhood as the ultimate honor, to bring children to life during their lives. Although, once the women conceive and deliver the children, which can only be done once in a woman’s life, the nurturing and development as the child grows is left to another individual. The nation of women believed the development and the education of the future beings of Herland is too important for an ordinary woman to handle, and this is why specialist teach the children instead of the original mother.

           Herland’s outlook on motherhood drastically varies from the ideas of motherhood today and in the history of American society. Childbearing has always been the main duty of a woman, but it is also seen as an expression of sexuality between a woman and a man. Once life is created, the mother starts the job of nurturing and helping the growth of a child until adulthood. The parents of the child are the ultimate social teachers and educators in the child’s life. The mother child bond is viewed as very important and continues as a social norm. This idea of motherhood varies from those of the women in Herland significantly. 

"The Snake" and American Literature

      “The Snake”, by Theodore Roethke is a poem in which a person observes a snake in the wilderness and wishes they were as the snake were free. The snake is describes as “laying limb… quickened and was gone,” (Roethke) this also describes the deeper meaning of the snake as free, free to do what it wants and go anywhere, freely. Roethke explains in the poem that he rather be in the form of the snake, than living in his human form. However, this does not signify the man literally wants to be a snake, he instead is disclosing that he desires freedom, as an animal possess.

The aspect of freedom connects to American literature, as this topic and theme is distinguished in much American work. The topic of freedom was written through poetry, novels, song, and other works in American literature. The fight freedom in America started in colonial times as America fought for its independence from England in the American Revolution, then it became a controversial matter during the Antebellum period with the enslavement of Africans and African-Americans, and it has continued throughout American history with writings from all the periods. American authors have always used freedom as a focus in their work because it is a relevant topic in many people’s life and has changed the country multiple times.

The Great Gatsby Connection #4

     Looking back on my American Literature project research,  the novel The Great Gatsby by F, Scott Fitzgerald is included in both my definition of American literature and also in a few articles I have researched. In an article found on Ebsco host by Thomas Hischak, The Great Gatsby is mentioned to be one of the successful Hollywood pictures influenced by American literature featured in 2013. This book fits in the American literature category for multiple reasons. First off the author, Fitzgerald was from America and wrote the book in America and secondly the book was a response to the 20s time period in American history, including descriptions of popular events, such as luxorious parties, and the wealthy class division during this time. Although the novel is a correct portrayal of some aspects of the 20s, not all the people smoked cigars, wore flapper dresses, and went to roaring parties weekly. 

     With the movie having premiered this past summer, I had watched the film prior to reading the novel, which might have influenced the way I read and interpreted the book. Others, whom had read the book before watching the movie, explained that they thought the book was fairly hard to follow and understand. However, I thought it was easy to read and I followed the story with ease. Although watching the movie first may be helpful, it confused me often and was hard for me to distinguish characteristics from the book and the movie. I think I would have better enjoyed the book if I had read the book before seeing the movie.  

The Great Gatsby Connection #3

     The Great Gatsby has many aspects of the American dream and the self-made man throughout the novel. Many of the characters in The Great Gatsby live what some call the American dream. The American dream, during this time, is living wealthy luxurious lives with fancy parties and dazzling flapper dresses. Almost all the characters focused on in this book live this lifestyle and portrayed as wealthy. However, not all the characters were born into this kind of fortune. Gatsby is one of these characters, he is a self-made man. Gatsby describes in a life story how he was born into an extremely poor family, whom he did not even consider his own, and from the start work to get away from them and become a better man. He started to work when he came across a captain, whom had the wealth he desired, after many years with his idol the man died and Gatsby earned the wealth he greatly deserved. Although he did receive the money from someone else he is still considered a self—made man because he worked for his money to gain the life he desired.

     In English we learned about the American dream and the self-made man, which we later wrote a developed paper on from personal experiences. In my paper I wrote about the self-made man my great-grandfather had become and the journey it took him to reach this goal. My essay was very similar to The Great Gatsby’s example of a self-made man because my great-grandfather started out poor and through work he also met a man, whom he later bought the business from and became the man he is today. 

History Connection with the Great Gatsby #2

     I am about half way through The Great Gatsby and I have noticed many historical connections, which we have learned or will learn in my AP United States History curriculum. Mr. Gatsby when describing his life story to Nick discussed much about the war. Gatsby fought in World War I and was apparently successful from the coin he shows Nick of appreciation, which he was given for his admiration in war. Another major historical reference, which takes place often in the Gatsby household, are the extravagant popping 20s parties. The 20s are known for their luxuries of the wealthy men and women, swinging flapper dresses with feathers on ladies heads, and outrageous parties. These parties are accurately portrayed by Fitzgerald showing both the participants whom attended and the entertainment, which took place.

     Although we have not learned about these subjects in AP history yet we will in the future. World War I is a huge topic we will learn later and after the war we will soon get to the 20s. However, in the 20s, which was in the prohibition period, and throughout the novel the characters constantly drank. We have learned in history the affects alcohol consumption had on men, women, and the whole society. For example, during the temperance movement women tried to ban alcohol because of the horrible things men would do when under the influence, such as beat their wives, abuse their children, and not go to work. As I finish The Great Gatsby I will look for more connections from both history and English class.

The Great Gatsby: Blog #1

     Before I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I knew some previous knowledge from others discussing the book and from the commercials for the movie. I was aware that the book was about the luxurious 20s and about extravagant parties the people threw, but I did not realize the deep plot and the aspects of self-made man in the work until I started reading it. In many of the characters descriptions of a self-made is not shown, but in one of the main characters, Gatsby, examples of a self-made man are strongly present.

     So far in my reading many of the wealthy characters, such as Daisy and her husband, did not get wealthy from being a self-made man and they did not work for their praise. Daisy married Tom and became very rich. Tom did not work for his money either because inherited much of his money through his family. Both of these characters are not examples of a self-made man because they did not work for their wealth through self-improvement and determination. However, later in the book I think some characters will appear that have achieved the American dream from work and focus, which are perfect examples of the self-made man.