How the women in two stories are treated by the men in their lives Essay Example for Free

How the women in two stories are treated by the men in their lives Essay Examine how the women in two stories are treated by the men in their lives Two short fiction stories which show how women are treated by the men in their lives are The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion and Weekend. The first story is a pre-1914 story called The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion and it is written by Thomas Hardy. The story is set in 1801 and it was published in 1891.The other story is a more modern story as it is set in the late twentieth century and was published in 1981. It is called Weekend and it is written by a feminist writer called Fay Weldon. The main theme of The Melancholy of the German Legion is how a woman is treated with little independence and how the main female character, Phyllis Grove, tries to find her own freedom by forming a strong friendship with a German soldier that escalates into a relationship. Phyllis is a shy, young character who lives in a secluded manor house with her father, Dr Grove, who was a professional and well-respected gentleman. There now appears to be a lack of money in the Grove household. She is very wary of people due to her sheltered life of solitude, which is mainly the result of her fathers own seclusion, her social condition was twilight. She doesnt appear to have a job as she is the unmarried daughter and she has to look after her father. This was very common for women in the nineteenth century as they didnt have the freedom to go to work and make a career for themselves. Women who were of a low social class would have done very menial jobs, such as maid or dairy maid. Martha is the female in focus in the story Weekend. The story appears to be set in the late 1980s to the early 19990s. The social class of the family in focus is working class as they do not appear to be poor or extremely rich. Martha is a middle-aged market researcher who is married to Martin, a freelance designer and together they have three children called Jolyon, Jenny and Jasper. She has a rather hectic lifestyle looking after three children, running a home, holding down a full-time job and being at her demanding husbands beck and call there was the car to unpack and the beds to make up and the electricity to connect, and the supper to make and the cobwebs to remove. The main theme of this story is how hard Martha has to work and how little recognition she receives in return. She has to play the role of the happy little housewife to please her domineering husband and informs us of how hard her life was made by her husband, the man who is meant to love her. Despite the way she is treated by her husband, she is educated to university standard and she is most probably going to overtake her husband in earnings. The main male characters in The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion each treat Phyllis in a different manor. Her father, Dr Grove, seems very over-protective of her and likes his life of seclusion. This may be because he lost his wife and feels that it is his duty to make sure that no harm comes of Phyllis and that he thinks he knows what is best for his daughter. When Humphrey Gould asked Mr Grove for his daughters hand in marriage, Mr Grove accepted without even consulting Phyllis. Mr Grove considered this to be a good move for his daughter as Humphreys family had a respectable social position in the community and he could provide for her. Even though Mr Grove treats his daughter with the respect she deserves, he still refrains her from having her freedom and the right to chose who she wants to marry. Humphrey Gould himself was a thirty-year-old bachelor from an old local family, who was neither good-looking nor positively plain. He seemed extremely happy to have Phyllis as his wife-to-be and gave the impression that he would take good care of her and had great respect for her. He treated her as a lady with great respect, but despite the good image we get of Gould in the beginning of the story, we soon see a different side of him. He goes away to Bath and doesnt keep Phyllis informed of his whereabouts and she is left questioning whether the engagement is still on or not. When he eventually returns he tells her that he has married another young woman, who he describes as being a dear young belle. This action wasnt very thoughtful on his behalf and even though Phyliss didnt really want to marry him and didnt love him, she still fells slightly betrayed. The only male in The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion who doesnt treat women as though they are objects and treats Phyllis with the amount of respect and freedom she truly deserves is Matthaus Tina. He was a German soldier in the York Hussars regiment and was staying close to where Phyllis lived. He had travelled to England with his brother Christoph, due to The War of the Second Coalition, and had left his mother in his native town of Saarbuck. After Phyllis had first met Matthaus she couldnt stop thinking about him and described him as so striking, so handsome, and his eyes were so blue. He was twenty-two and had quite a high position in the German Army as a corporal. He treated Phyllis as though she were equal to him and there was no hint of a divide between them due to her being female. He respected her fully and never let her down, unlike Humphrey Gould who broke off the engagement. He may have treated her with more respect and freedom than the other main men in her life as he was German and in his country they may have been more hospitable towards women. Martin is the male in focus in Weekend and his is a very obnoxious character. He is married to Martha and he is a freelance designer and there are clues in the story which suggest that he is in his forties, for example he watches the BBC2 news, which is typical of a middle-aged person. Martin treats Martha as more of a servant than a wife and he puts all of the responsibilities onto her. He seems to think that he is too good to be doing housework and odd-jobs and Martha is left to do long lists of chores, prepare tea and sandwiches for the family: then she would strip four beds, the chores seem endless. Martin is also very particular about how he like things to be done, which means extra work for Martha. Martin thinks mash is stodgy and ordinary and instant mash is unthinkable, which means Martha has to take a long time to sautà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ the potatoes and he thinks pork is a dull meat if its not cooked properly, so she has to spend ages cooking it just how he likes it. Martha doesnt say much in the story as she cant get a word in edgeways because in his eyes he is the man of the house, even though Martha runs the household. She doesnt have much of a chance to voice her opinions directly, but she does voice them in her thoughts as the story is mainly written in first person narrative with her as the narrator. She helps us to get inside her head and with her use of lists she helps to inform us of just how many things she has to do. She seems to scared to disagree with Martin and goes along with whatever he says I expect your right, just to keep the peace. Martha and Phyllis are similar in many ways, even though they are in different situations and from different backgrounds. They are both overpowered by the men in their lives who are closest to them and they are both deprived of having their own lives. Neither of the women seem to have a say about what happens in their lives, for example Phyllis was told who to marry by her father and Martha was told what to with her life by her husband. Despite the number of similarities between the two women there are also some differences between them. Martha put up with her way of life and didnt question it much, but Phyllis did decide to change things. She chose to carry on the affair with Matthaus Tina as she saw a break from her regimented lifestyle and went against her fathers wishes. Phyllis became quite rebellious when she was planning to escape to Saarbuck with Matthaus and Christoph. This is something that Martha would never have considered doing. Both of the women are victims in each of the stories, but I think that Marthas suffering was worse than that of Phyllis as hers was constant and she never got a break from it. Phyllis is treated better than Martha in that respect as she had someone in her life who was treating her very well. That person was Tina as he was the only one who saw the true Phyllis and respected the true Phyllis. To me, Marthas victimisation is worse than that of Phyllis as in 1981 Martha should have had more chances and opportunities due to the development of society, than Phyllis did in1801. I felt very sympathetic towards both of the female characters due to the fact that they are seen as victims and I also felt sympathetic towards Matthaus Tina. I felt sympathetic towards him as he did so much for Phyllis and did his best to keep her happy. It was very sad when he was killed at the end of the story and I again felt very sympathetic towards Phyllis as she lost the one person she truly trusted. The rest of her life is touched by the scandal, even though she was blameless for what happened. The type of language used in each of the stories is suited to the time that it was written and they are very different to each other. The language in The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion is formal and uses traditional English, such as unsrupulous and melancholy, as that type of language would have been used in the nineteenth century. It contains more complex sentences than that used in Weekend and they are sometimes harder to comprehend. The narrative in The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion starts in first person, which is Hardys narration to introduce the characters and scene to the reader. It then progresses into third person narrative to involve the reader in the story, before returning to first person narrative to tie of all loose ends in the story, for example Matthaus date of death. The use of third person narrative enables the reader to see more deeply into the story and become more involved in what is happening. The narrative style and language used in Weekend is less formal than that used in Hardys stories. There are many non-sentences, such as Katy versus Janet, which do not contain a verb and are more of a thought .There are many compound sentences that use words such as then, but, and, so, which helps Martha to express how many jobs she has to do. This use of language is well suited to the date in which the story was set. The role and rights of women changed quite a lot in the period of time between when the two books were written. In 1801, nobody had the chance to vote and your right to a say depended on your position in society. Men with homes got the vote in 1867, all men got the vote in 1916 and women didnt get the vote until 1926. This meant that for along time women were seen as being lower than men and were provided for by their husbands. Other turning points for women in this time span were that they were able to get jobs and were protected by The Sex Discrimination Act,1975. This explains why Martha had a job and Phyllis didnt, but there is still no explanation to support why Martha was treated so badly in modern day Britain. My conclusion is that Fay Weldon was trying to get across that some traditions never change.

The Grapes Of Wrath Essay: The Malice of Society -- John Steinbeck

Malice In Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family represents the thousands of migrant families who came to the west with the fantasy of obtaining a peaceful life after the Dust Bowl. Conversely they are faced with something resembling the epitome of human cruelty. Business owners and Californians do what they can to keep the Oklahoma families from breaching the invisible line that divides the privileged and the poor. This line, which only exists in the mind, causes people to loose their sense of humanity. The following quote describes the attitude of the wealthy: â€Å"And in the little towns pity for the sodden men changed to anger† (Steinbeck 434). In the beginning of the novel, Steinbeck describes the devastating Dust bowl that settles â€Å"on the corn, on roofs,† and blankets â€Å"the weeds and trees† (Steinbeck 3). His use of imagery instantly installs the picture of destruction into the reader’s mind. The Dust Bowl is the beginning of the hardships that are to come for the migrants. There is an anecdote of a turtle who struggles to get to the other side of the road. The turtle struggles up the embankment like the families struggled to get to California. When he was trying to cross the highway he was nearly hit twice, which is similar to the business owners and Californians running over the Oklahoma people. This small chapter symbolizes the entire journey of the Joad family, in turn it symbolizes the journey of all the Oklahoma people. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The crops eventually fell and â€Å"the owners of the land came onto the land† (Steinbeck 31). The Oklahoma families are forced to leave the land that they lived on for generations. There isn’t any negotiating. It was either flee or die of ... ...ld be compared to the story of Moses and the Hebrews. The Californians and the wealthy business owners symbolize the Pharaohs while the migrants symbolize the enslaved Hebrews. However the happy ending to Moses’ story doesn’t correspond with the ending of the Joads or other families. In the end, they are still impoverished, homeless, and hungry. While Egypt suffered plagues, the Californians and business owners suffer none. There isn’t any reason for the vindictiveness of the Californians and wealthy business owners to cease. Steinbeck uses the story of one family to ultimately cry out to everyone that â€Å"food must rot, must be forced to rot† (Steinbeck 349). The ones forcing poverty upon the migrants are the same ones sitting comfortably in their chair reading The Grapes of Wrath. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

Indian Farmers Agony

Indian Farmers Agony: Brimming Rice and Half PriceDr. Arvind Kumar,Associate Professor( Economics)Govt.M.G.M.P.G.College, Itarsi Dr. Archana Sharma, Associate Professor(Zoology) Govt.M.G.M.P.G.College, Itarsi In the universe, omnivorous human breed is best among all creatures, created by Almighty. Genesis extricated from the globe because of unavailability to sate their vital need. Existence of human life extremely depends upon agriculture. Food is inevitable for human life†¦ Numerous record and vocal famines in human history, have accounted millions of millions premature deaths. Therefore, foodstuffs have ever been primary concern of humanity. Therefore, our dependence upon agriculture is of utmost importance. Golden epoch of farmers and career Agriculture; backbone of economy: Farmers is an axle, around which all agricultural and industrial activities revolve. There is higher correlation between agriculture and development —whether it be household consumption, industrial, and governmental utilization or need to earn foreign cash to import national necessities. Present scenario: Nervous farmer; of late, nobody wants farming as profession cheerfully. It is very unfortunate to know that ‘ANNADATA' (Provider of food) under arrest of serious financial stress, many farmers in India, have committed suicide owning to debt. Crime Records Bureau of India in its 2012 annual report acknowledged 13,755 farmers suicide (11.2%) of overall suicides committed in India. Although The National Mental Health Association of the USA States †No matter the race or age of the person; how rich or poor they are, it is true that most people who commit suicide have a mental or emotional disorder†. Suicide is not a matter of economics. Same inference drained by the data released by World Health Organization in 2011.whereas agrarian country ,India's suicide rate was 13 per 100000; at the same time as that of industrialized nations,were often higher or comparable, South Korea 28.5, Japan 20.1.,etc. ( HINDUSTAN TIMES April 24, 2017).†¢ All above reports seems to be partially true; only to small extent. It is practical, financial stress can fetch not only mental agony but also in various cases, emotional stress as well. Financial paucity is core cause of, numerous political- socio-economical -psychological disorders. It is just a matter of time†¦..when these theories diminish and go to a nightmare. †¢ Climate change; price – output paradox: Most of the farmers in India are marginal farmers. Government of India's annual report 2016-17 Estimated average size of holding, 1.15 hectare. Farmer's heavy reliance on weather brings uncertainty of yield. Weather plays vital role for especially marginal farmers. If typical weather is friendly, harvest is good; otherwise, almost poor output is predictable. Most suicide of farmers had reported from water- scarce states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh etc. †¢ Increasing input cost of production: Agriculture input cost is increasing, rather than output revenue. Management and hiring laborers and latest tools and techniques is costlier to the farmers. Apart from this, usual seeds and crop protecting insecticides and machineries to grow crop and harvesting, such as-tractors to plow, tube- wells to irrigate are nightmare for farmers. Thus, horrific scenarios worry farmers. †¢ Marketing of agricultural production: Majority of farmers are still illiterate. They are neither strong enough to fight with strong gamut of intermediaries, traders and corrupt marketing machineries nor organized to do so. Their crop in the mandis or market place sold manipulatively before their eyes and they are mere spectator. Thus, primarily twist their arm and force farmer to rush localized moneylenders for debt and fulfill their urgent need of time. Climate change plays vital role in farmers well being. Dilemmas of farmers been portrayed as†¦. Influence of population; there is very crucial correlation between agriculture and population. Condorcet and Godwin produced such works, which promised to create heaven on earth. Mercantilists as well as Physiocrate,—-Mirabeau, had always regarded numerous population advantageous . Godwin was so confident and optimistic that he proclaimed, â€Å"Government even in its best state is an evil†. He anticipated such a society in which after breaking the bonds of property, of passions and marriage would live happily on only half a day's work. Such optimism have some force, and hold true even after a long time†¦.After a rapid growth in the population over the years, there is plenty of food grain in the world, if managed , distributed, skillfully and impartially, keeping humanity above all— cast, creed and beyond geographical boundaries , to the needful of every people of the earth. Farmers have always obtained either semi- crop, due to several explicit and implicit factors. Semi- prices due to socio- economical and political reasons. He is always lagging behind in the facilities of education, health and transportation even after a long time of independence. Meanwhile tries to minimize input cost of labor, this comes at the cost of engaging whole of his family members for the sake of survival of the family, resulting uneducated, unskilled progeny. During the next cycle of division of farms among the heir of farmer's, descendants work either as manual labor or just a marginal farmer to be anxious, wait and watch, hoping government help and waivers. In Such a horrible scenario, after toiling day and night, it becomes very burdensome to earn bare- bread without butter .Coming out from the vicious cycle of poverty is not possible without welfare and sensitive government. Thus, government intervention to revive farmer's economic condition is urgent need of time and always solicited. Government efforts and intervention: Our government has ever been reacted positively on farmer's woes and wounds.Relief packages; As and when required government-provide relief packages to the needy farmers. Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, or Gujarat or any states of India all helped sometimes or any other. Debt- waiver schemes: At the time of crop failure, due to any natural calamities, such as over pouring and scanty precipitation or drought, respective state governments and Indian government or both many times waived off farmer's loan. Soil health card: For better productivity, soil health card issued to the farmers for their farms.Integrated scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM) effective since 01.04.2014National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS)Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) SUGGESTIONS: As discussed above, it is obvious that, farmers suffer a lot, from vicious cycle of climate change and price determination mechanism of input and output. If Climate favors, brings fortune in the form of good productivity and yield of crops. All together, due to weaker retaining power of their farm product; bring their bumper crops at a time in the market increase supply, resulting poor pricing; due to application of demand and supply laws of economics; connivance of intermediaries, scheming traders and bureaucracy; what is the outcome of this all-copious crop? Farmers bitter experience of unproductive farming, securing semi price for abundant crop. Half- baked price for full- baked rice. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address farmer's despair in India. Following measures may taken to embalm their miseries— 1) Rainwater should be harvest with full vim and vigor on large scale. Rainwater harvesting tools and techniques should be subsidized and easily available to the farmers.Education and advertisements, Should imparted among the citizens of India to save even single drop of water. Although, this is herculean task and need a lot of finance, yet would prove very fruitful in long run. 2) Twenty -four hours subsidized electricity for irrigation should be provided to the farmers 3) Dependence on chemical fertilizers should gradually mitigated and be substituted with organic fertilizers to sustain fertility and productivity of land. 4) Ceiling of minimum farm size norm, for cultivation should be determined. Below this farm size limit, cooperative farming should be mandatory. 5) Farmland must be saving essentially from any misuse. Every possible attempt should carry out to save agricultural land. High- rise buildings in place of independent dwellings be preferred and permitted like China, to save extra land. Agricultural land should not utilize rather saved from industrial and residential land misuses. 6) It is evident ,due to unawareness and self esteemed

The Future of Africa Third World Countries Falling...

The Future of Africa: Third World Countries Falling Further Behind Rory J. OConnors article uses Africa as an example to show how third world countries react to the developing technology of this time. Africa, once called, the dark continent because of its inaccessibility to physical explorations by Westerners is still inaccessible today, both by residents and outsiders via the virtual world. (270) All the advances in technology and more to come in the future will continue to separate countries, like Africa, if they are not currently at the same level of advances. With a population doubling the size of the United States, Africa does not even come close having the technology needed to work with other countries. Although there are†¦show more content†¦In Zaire its fourteen dollars a minute. In Uganda its eight dollars. The businesses who reside there complain about this on a daily basis. (272) The conflict citizens of Africa encounter differentiate from other countries which leads to separate themselves from around the world. The citizens of Africa do not know how to use the little technology they have, much less understand the use and tools of the internet. Africa needs more supplies and teachers if they want to advance technologically without being left out compared to other countries. With lack of knowledge, money, supplies and without the use of the internet it is easy to see that Africa needs help unless it was to be completely forgotten to other countries. For example, OConnor makes the point, Africa has to overcome their obstacles before using the internet. This suggests that Africa t has to be able to run a country efficiently before fitting in with other countries with the internet. Other countries need to help Africa solve such issues as malnutrition and deadly viruses. In addition, Professor Akwule, professor of communications at George Mason University, believes the lack of education separates Africa from other countries. In addition, Professor Irving, head of the National Telecommunications Information Administration, states, Youve got to get people to open up their markets. 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