Gender in Literature Essay Examples and Topics

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226 samples

Women in Literature: Oedipus the King and The Odyssey

Two major works of literature, 'Oedipus the king' and 'The Odyssey', provide some of the best examples of how the role of female characters is portrayed in different ways and how these women influence the [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1190

Stereotypes of Women in “Pride and Prejudice”

In this novel of manners, the author describes the character development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, and depicts the society of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century England with its values and flaws. One of the [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 995

Trifles and The Story of an Hour Comparison

To illustrate, the theme of female subordination plays out in The Story of an Hour through Louise's confession that Brently's supposed death indicates freedom for the wife.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1365

Poetry and U.S. Women Movement

The phrase "The personal is Political" establishes the notion that most problems that women are said to have are not their fault.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1095

“Here’s to You Jesusa” by Elena Poniatowska

The story begins with a depiction of Jesusa as an elderly woman with a rather harsh and rude character; this description is accompanied by the author's explanation of her relationship with the main protagonist and [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1410

“The Married Life” by Pundita Ramabai Sarasvati

In her chapter, The Married Life, Pundita Ramabai Sarasvati illuminates the issues of child marriages and the violation of women's rights, exposing them to early traumatic experiences and constraining them in their independence and autonomy.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 669

“The Second Shift” by Arlie Hochschild

Hochschild concludes that Peter is resistant in sharing housework due to his awareness of the role of men in his social world which emphasises that a man's role in the family is to provide for [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1838

“I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen

Olsen, portrays the hardship and low status of women in society, poverty, and the realities of working poor women. Olsen's mother understands the aimlessness and pointlessness of her life caused by the necessity to work [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 584

Gender Roles in “Bridge to Terabithia” by Paterson

The theme of gender roles is consistently present in the novel, starting with character origins and becoming the central concept as they mature to defy archetypal perceptions of feminine and masculine expectations in order to [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1448

“Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros

The woman named Felice, takes Cleofilas with her to San Antonio which aptly proves to Cleofilas that it is not necessary for a woman to have a man to survive in life, "...she did not [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1411

Shakespeare’s Othello as a Subaltern Play

Othello is considered a subaltern play that illustrates the conflict between the moral voice and silence of female characters and the treacherous voices of male figures.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 327

“Cinderella” and Joyce Carol Oates

The Brothers Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm, were the first to put the age-old story of Cinderella to paper as a means of preserving the rich oral history of their German homeland in the early 1800s.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 930

“Liberty’s Daughters” by Mary Beth Norton

Only in recent decades have U.S.historians begun seriously to evaluate the mobilization of women and to consider the ways in which relations between men and women changed in the era of the American Revolution.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1270

Women’s Gender Roles in American Literature

The stories written by Constance Woolson Fenimore, Mary Wilkins Freeman, and Jaqueline Bishop highlight the harmful gender roles and discrimination that still remains a major topic for disputes and illustrate the fate of oppressed women.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 947

Feminism in “A Doll’s House” by Ibsen

Benhabib's chapter, "Feminism and the Question of Postmodernism," highlights the connection between feminism and postmodernism in contemporary society. Nasrin examines the role of feminism in enforcing justice and human rights activism.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 353

Women in Chinese Literature of the 20th Century

The literature also reveals to the audience a gender picture of the world - the statuses of men and women at a certain period of time, their behaviors, stereotypes, and potential conflicts.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1101

“A Midwife’s Tale” by Ulrich

Addressing women's role in the society of New England, as it is described by Ulrich, it should be stated that it is traditionally connected to housekeeping and caring about children.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 569

“The Pearl That Broke Its Shell” by Nadia Hashimi

Shekiba is the victim of a society where women are judged almost exclusively on their worth as wives and mothers of sons and she was discriminated alongside her crippled father."The clan did not want to [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 693

Gender Roles in ‘Mr. Green’ by Robert Olen Butler

Green Butler uses the character of the grandfather to develop the theme of gender roles within the culture. The character of the grandfather is extremely sound for the cultural beliefs the author conveyed through all [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Willa Cather and Feminism

Ability to work and/or supervise oneself as a woman is also quietly depicted through the girl who is able to work in the absence of her father. Cather depicts most of the women in her [...]
  • Pages: 13
  • Words: 3061

“The Second Sex” by Simone de Beauvoir

Beauvoir regards women as human beings but women are always portrayed as the 'other' opposite to a man."A man is in the right in being a man; it is a woman who is in the [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 976

Kate Chopin’s Feminist Short Stories and Novels

Two short stories were written by Chopin, A Story of One Hour and The Storm well as her brilliant novel Awakening should be regarded as one of the best examples of the feminist literature of [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 294

“It Takes Two” a Book by Cynthia Enloe

In the article, Enloe explains the construction and reconstruction of masculinity by the local military and the US military to maintain the high morale among their soldiers.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 574

Gender Inequality in Early American Novels

However, this situation began to change in the later part of the eighteenth century, especially after the Revolution that questioned many traditional practices and opened the way for changes.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1490

Women in Le Fanu’s and Du Maurier’s Gothic Fiction

Nonetheless, the attribute was appealing and inspirational to Mrs.de Winter, who wished to possess Rebecca's traits and power over her life.Mrs.de Winter and the housekeeper admired Rebecca leading to obsessing over her even after Rebecca's [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1470

“Woman at Point Zero”: Abuse Against Women

By further analyzing the statement and the book as a whole through the cultural rhetoric and trauma framework, it becomes apparent that she is a victim of systemic patriarchy.
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2746

Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby”

To begin with, Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" partly reflects realism, as it tells an everyday life story and describes the episode of the life of the Valmonde family.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 282

Topics in the “Fly Girls” Book by Ken O’Brien

Journalist Ken O'Brien depicts the struggle of 5 brave women who were among the first representatives of their sex to receive a pilot's license and competed on an equal footing with men in a profession [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 596

Julia Serano’s “Trans Woman Manifesto”

The decision to show one's femininity in revealing clothes and photographs despite the dangers of Trans sexism is rather a sign of solidarity and courage against the same dangers.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 565

Jonathan Swift Satire Analysis

A similar point was made in Swift's work, in the part where the author tries to reassure the reader that children under the age of 12 are not a saleable commodity to eat.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 549

The Incorporation of Feminism in Literature

By focusing on the character, the book portrays the demand for feminism in society to allow females to have the ability and potential to undertake some responsibilities persevered by their male counterparts. The belief in [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1476

Emotional Revival in Feminist Writers’ Short Stories

This paper aims to discuss the emotional revival of heroines in the short stories of Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman."The Story of an Hour" is a very short story that describes a woman's experience [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1788

The Novel “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison

Objectification of women, the lack of female names, gender-specific stereotypes, and marginalization of women indicate the gender insensitivity of the creators of this literature.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1710

Amy’s Monologue in “Gone Girl” by Flynn

This paper will argue that the speech is memorable and persuasive due to the relevancy of the topics it portrays, the language that was used, and the overall aim of the monologue.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 645

Conan Doyle’s Gender Conception

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is one of the most influential books of the 19th century and continues to be popular today.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 654

Solitude in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

For centuries, the idea of human isolation and solitude has been considered a phenomenon that poisons a human being, as the sense of belonging to a community and family is frequently considered a pillar of [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 333

Unhitched by Judith Stacey

In the introductory chapter, the author underlines the necessity to unhitch the concepts of love, commitment, marriage, and parenthood and redefine a current understanding of family and fidelity.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1718

“The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. Le Guin

The part that I felt enlightened and surprised about simultaneously was the dialogue between the Faxe and Genry. The discussion about the known and unknown gave me the feeling of relief, for I have realized [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 365

Femininity and Masculinity: Understanding Gender Roles

The understanding of how gender roles are portrayed in the media and the general perception of the expected behavior for men and women communicated non-verbally in the society is the basis on which children build [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 877

Women’s Social Role Over Time, Reflected in Literature

This essay argues that the evolution of the social role of women that took place from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Early Modern period was slow and lacked significant changes, as the patriarchal structure remained [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 295
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