Category: Social Issues

Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace is a novel based on Grace Marks; a servant convicted yet pardoned of murdering her employer. Atwood critiques the society that produces patriarchy, captivating the social issue of women being subordinate to men. Consequently, Atwood blames the oppressive Victorian Era that contains women within stagnant social positions. Within the novel, the…

The history of equality can be traced back many years. Aristotle and Plato, Greek philosophers, had many views on the balance between the free-thinking worth of individuals versus the needs of society to be led by the best and smartest. For Marxists, the backbone of Marxism is equality the root of all inequality is capitalism,…

Plato and Aristotle both shared the understanding that democracy is unjust and full of corruption. It goes back to the understanding that some rulers gain power when they are not deserving. Aristotle argues that the person who should rule is the one who is a best fit in order to rule effectively. Both plato and…

he ChrysalidsHumans have bias opinions towards distinct behavior or appearance within their society. This is commonly shown in The Chrysalids by John Wyndham first published in 1955. John Wyndham demonstrates how humans are willing to discriminates the slightest different between one another. Waknukians used terms such as deviation, deviance and offence to describe any person,…

The roaring twenties were controlled by the American Dream chasers. In order to achieve social acceptance, much is sacrafisted. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby on the foundation of the American dream. Through personal experience he touches upon the collapse of the materialistic obsessed bourgeoisies. Fitzgerald uses corruption as a main theme and speaks…

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, many lessons were embedded into the story on how society acts towards the different. Modern society has set an unbreakable code that individuals must follow to be accepted by others. Those who do not follow the rule of being standard would be hated and left alone, solely due to the fact…

The 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote was ratified 1920, yet today, almost 100 years later, women still face injustice in America. The House on Mango Street is a year in the life of Esperanza, a 12-year old Chicana (Mexican-American girl) and one of these such young women. It features her journey…

“The Handmaid’s Tale” written by Margaret Atwood is a feminist novel shedding light on the precarious position of women in a society that not only devalues their humanity but also virtually criminalizes womanhood itself. Within the novel’s pages lies a stark depiction of a harsh world where women are denied the most basic freedom of…

In Nickel and Dimed gender is often determined by identity. In class we discussed how gender is a masculine and feminist construct. Barbara Ehrenreich’s characterization of various jobs in the book and the roles that gender play in the experiences depicted in the book are that as a lower class citizen people look at you…

Manju Kapur is one of the prominent writers ruling this era. She is also one of the women writers in India, whose women protagonists, not only try to maintain a balance in life, but also break the shackles of tradition and prejudices. The factor behind their strength is their extroverted nature which assists them to…