In my essay I used the short stories "Everything Stuck to Him," "They're Not Your Husband," and "Neighbors" by Raymond Carver. All of these stories had the common theme of the roles society gives to men and women. My thesis was men and women's behaviors around each other are not always socially accepted and that is what often causes the idea of self to be unattainable.
In "Everything Stuck to Him" a father and daughter are discussing how life was like when the girl was a baby. He tells her about a certain incident when her mother and he had an arguement and he almost left them. The story he tells supports my thesis because he did not actually leave. Gender criticism, the school of criticism I used, discusses how people often do things because society wants them to. The father came back to his family because they depended on him and he depended on them. Society would rather a man take care of his family than leave them.
In "They're Not Your Husband" a man tells his wife to lose weight because he overheard two men talking about how fat she was. He tells her to try many diets, but when none of them work he tells her to stop eating for a couple of days. She stops eating to please him. People at work tell her she is getting pale and losing too much weight. She tells her husband what they said and he tells her "They're Not Your Husband." She continues the diet. She is weak and conforms to what her husband wants. She would be labeled as loyal to a gender critic. Although he does not accept her she accepts him when people at her job call him a joker and character.
In " Neighbors" a man and woman have to watch their neighbors apartment. They often have said that they wished they were their neighbors and they feel now they can actually be them. The husband steals their medicine, liquor, and wears both of their clothing. He stares out of the window imaging he is the woman looking out of her window. The woman also feels she if the wife of the other couple. At the end of the story the woman locks the key to the neighbors apartment in the apartment and the couple is doomed to live their own lives. (CT)
In "Everything Stuck to Him" a father and daughter are discussing how life was like when the girl was a baby. He tells her about a certain incident when her mother and he had an arguement and he almost left them. The story he tells supports my thesis because he did not actually leave. Gender criticism, the school of criticism I used, discusses how people often do things because society wants them to. The father came back to his family because they depended on him and he depended on them. Society would rather a man take care of his family than leave them.
In "They're Not Your Husband" a man tells his wife to lose weight because he overheard two men talking about how fat she was. He tells her to try many diets, but when none of them work he tells her to stop eating for a couple of days. She stops eating to please him. People at work tell her she is getting pale and losing too much weight. She tells her husband what they said and he tells her "They're Not Your Husband." She continues the diet. She is weak and conforms to what her husband wants. She would be labeled as loyal to a gender critic. Although he does not accept her she accepts him when people at her job call him a joker and character.
In " Neighbors" a man and woman have to watch their neighbors apartment. They often have said that they wished they were their neighbors and they feel now they can actually be them. The husband steals their medicine, liquor, and wears both of their clothing. He stares out of the window imaging he is the woman looking out of her window. The woman also feels she if the wife of the other couple. At the end of the story the woman locks the key to the neighbors apartment in the apartment and the couple is doomed to live their own lives. (CT)
7 comments:
Che-Rice, I like the agrument you presented. Through many works, I have seen how society does rule in the lives of people; therefore, one is not able to become their own person, but rather a product of society. In "They're not you Husband" it is clear that the women is not her own person. She is torn between her co-workers and her husband. Not once does she do or think about what she wants; she focuses on what society says about her. Great work! I love you CHE-CHE!
oh that last post was by me, Suave Winner
I have never heard of this author, but after reading this I think I would like to read some of his work! These three stories are great to use with gender criticism, especially since they already revolve around stereotypes and the roles of a typical man and woman. I think the man in the story “They’re Not Your Husband” sounds like a horrible person and I don’t think any of the girls I know would let him take control of their lives. Good job with your summaries! (Happy Wilbur)
The stories you mentioned seem really interesting. It is exetremly depressing to think that people are willing to give up their ambitions, morals, and dignity to conform themselves to fit into society. I think gender crticisim was the perfect choice for the works you chose to write about. The sterotypical situations presented are perfect displays of the flaws of men and women. Good Blog, I enjoyed it!(Elaborate Eucalyptus)
Hey Che Che!!! Great thesis! I found the short story "They're Not Your Husband" really interesting and sad that first a husband would stoop so low to say those things and secondly that a wife would listen to him when it severly affects her health. It seems to be a story that I think many girls could relate to in the sense of feeling pressured to look a certain way and being blinded to the risks of going to such extremes such as eating disorders. The way you presented your criticism was excellent! It was to the point and well organized. You displayed the roles that men and women play in society very well! Good Job! Lots of love! Jack Farmer
Cherice! Your author could not be a more perfect choice for the use of gender criticism. It seems like Raymond Carver is countering gender criticism itself through his works. Your author goes well with mine (Dorothy Parker) on their feelings towards woman's stereotypical foolishness and man's stereotypical ignorance. The fact that a woman would conform to something so horrible just so her husband would be pleased is awful, but is sometimes sadly true. What's even sadder is that the husband believes he is doing nothing wrong just because he is her husband. Nice blogging skillz haha. Much love, Magnetic Force
Ok, I'm not going to lie: I had never heard of Raymond Carver before I read your blog. However, all of these stories sound so intriguing! I feel like we all talk about how people do things because society wants them to but it is usually for smaller things, like the clothes a person wears. All of these stories seem absurd, but that is why they are so interesting. Plus, they are not so absurd that you can't see situations like them occuring in real life (people are crazy sometimes). "Neighbors" is a freaky story, and I think it says a lot about people who covet the lives of others. I really liked your topic!! Good job Cherice!
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