How viable is it to read Moll Flanders as a feminist text?

Charles Prichard Mr. Terrence Wright Moll Flanders How viable is it to read Moll Flanders as a feminist text? Daniel Defoe chose to write a book with a woman as the leading character of it. In fact, he writes it from the perspective of this woman. In order to do this and make the book seem more realistic, Defoe has to get into the psyche of the female mind and therefore adopt a persona that views the world the way a woman would see it. Of course, Defoe would have to use his own opinions of a woman's thoughts to influence his writing. By making this woman the leading character, it is essential for him to give her a strong character, one that will be able to carry the book and make it appealing to the reader, who at the time Defoe was writing was part of a male-dominated society. This puts Defoe in a position where he has to write about a woman who is going to be independent of herself and therefore does not see the male as the dominant sex. Has Defoe given himself no choice but to try to be feminist? Moll Flanders, which is a name given to her through her partners in crime, is surrounded by women from the start. Indeed, there is no real male influence in her life for her first few years. Born in a prison in Newgate, there is no real mention of her father and her mother gives her away almost immediately. After passing through the hands of a group of gypsies, she ends up in

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Reactions to Patriarchal Oppression in Jane Eyre.

Reactions to Patriarchal Oppression in Jane Eyre In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, the characters Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason are both oppressed by the patriarchal system of the nineteenth century Britain. Each woman refuses to conform to a patriarchal society, but the manner by which each rebel against culture determine a very different future. By depicting opposing reactions to the oppression, Bronte successfully depicts the plight of women in the nineteenth century. By the time Jane Eyre is nine years old, she has built up a great deal of resentment of the injustice she receives at Gateshead Hall. She decides to rebel against the harsh treatment that she receives from her family. They consider her desire to learn and her independent thoughts to be disobedient and her punishment becomes so intolerable that she could no longer restrain herself. She attacks the rich and spoiled John Reed, behaving "like a mad cat" (475) and is locked away in a remote, haunting chamber known as the red room. At Lowood Institution, under strict rules and regulations, and with the help of another orphan, Helen Burns, Jane learns that it is wrong to rebel against society. Helen states, "It is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear (506)....It is not violence that best overcomes hate-nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury"(508). Jane

  • Word count: 1186
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Feelin' Like a Bug!

Brian Zamora English 1B Mr. Haley 3 January 2005 Feelin' Like a Bug! Bugs are everywhere and you can't avoid them. Whether you love them, or you hate them, one thing is certain, you can't live without them. The Webster dictionary defines the bug as an insect that have sucking mouthparts, forewings thickened at the base, and incomplete metamorphosis and are often economic pests. Being a pest is just one of their many qualities of being a bug. Bugs are also known to be worthless, sheltered, disease carrying vermin's. Another living creature that shares the same qualities of bugs is humans. Humans are also known to be worthless, dirty, and also spread a lot of disease. The author Franz Kafka reflects the characteristics of humans in his short story, "Metamorphosis," in which he captures the vermin-like qualities as a symbol of self-portrayal. In the story "Metamorphosis", Gregor Samsa undergoes a sense of worthlessness from his family and employer. Kafka portrays this feeling of worthlessness by turning him into a cockroach. Cockroaches are depicted as ugly valueless arthropods. We have no idea why they exist and what their purpose in life really is. When we see a cockroach, our first reaction is a feeling of disgust and our only intention is to exterminate the hideous creature. Take for example the hit TV game show, Fear Factor. In order to achieve high ratings from their

  • Word count: 1063
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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The Use of Point of View in The Metamorphosis and A Hero of Our Time

Jamie Marks Language A1: WL Assignment #1 November 8, 2002 0250-063 Word Count: 1,487 The Use of Point of View in The Metamorphosis and A Hero of Our Time The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov are both insightful and unique commentaries on human nature. Though the works are from entirely different times and cultures, both function to investigate and express the authors' cynicism of social convention. The Metamorphosis gives a vivid account of the repression suffered by its protagonist, while A Hero of Our Time offers a first hand look inside the mind of the oppressor himself. Kafka and Lermontov use point of view to illicit strong emotions from the reader in order to underscore man's inherent need to control and manipulate others. Kafka uses a third person limited point of view to create sympathy for the protagonist by showing the effect the controlling and repressive disposition of his family has on him. Throughout the entire text, the narration is extremely detached, but as the novella progresses it shows more insight into the devastating effects the actions of Gregor's family are having on him. Initially, the prose is alarmingly dispassionate, creating shock within the reader. Gregor has turned into a "monstrous vermin," and yet the narrator shows no emotional or vivid response from Gregor at all (Kafka 3). The Marks

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte-present an indispensable contribution into the world literature of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

Three brilliant novels-The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte-present an indispensable contribution into the world literature of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. All of them are written by the authors who earned their fame with a great number of literary works, and are full with emotions caused by numerous social interrelationships of the heroes. The aforementioned works by the stated above authors are full with lively situations that help to a great extent understand and analyze the real similar situations that happened in the lives of the readers. The Metamorphosis is a story by Franz Kafka about a man named Gregor Samsa who one day wakes up to find himself "changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin". The mutation occurs the night before in his "unsettling dreams" and appears to be solely physical because Gregor maintains all of his human mental capacities. At the beginning of the novel Gregor works in a company as a traveling salesman. He hates his job, but he is forced to work there in order to support his family-his father who became bankrupt, his mother, and his sister Grete, who was the closest person for him in the world. Gregor may be in separation emotionally from his family before his metamorphosis even takes place. Gregor's locked door indicates that Gregor was previously removed from

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Moral Conscience vs. Church Doctrine

Loresa D. Matarazzo Response Paper, Question #3 Principles of Lit. Study 350:220 July 21, 2004 Moral Conscience vs. Church Doctrine Contemporary readers would likely disagree with Elizabeth Rigby's assertion that Jane Eyre is an "anti-Christian composition;" however, in light of the prevailing religious doctrine of the Evangelical movement and turmoil regarding same during the mid-1800's, one can easily under-stand Ms. Rigby's reasoning for this indictment at the time. There are at least three characters within the novel associated with Christianity; namely-Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns and St. John Rivers, and it is made clear in the text that Jane refuses to pledge herself to the doctrine espoused by any of them. It is not difficult to object to Mr. Brocklehurst's hypocrisy and to find him detestable. With regard to Helen Burns, it is impossible not to develop fond feelings for her, but it is also not possible to ignore Jane's skepticism with regard to Helen's martyr-like religious doctrine. The character of St. John Rivers embodies another fundamental Christian view--that man must sacrifice on earth in order to reap his rewards in heaven; this view, Jane also eschews, as she is resolved to find happiness here on earth. She detests Mr. Brocklehurst, and, although she has warm feelings toward Helen as well as St. John, she clearly challenges their

  • Word count: 753
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Essay on the key theme of alienation in the first two parts of the novel.Wide Sargasso Sea

Essay on the key theme of alienation in the first two parts of the novel. Wide Sargasso Sea The theme f alienation runs deep at the core of this novel and is presented as being overt and covert, physical and emotional, social and existential. The first two parts of Wide Sargasso Sea are narrated by the two central protagonists respectively, both of whom experience and deal with alienation in different ways. However, neither narrator really belongs to their surroundings and this sense of not having a defined identity and not fitting in is key to the theme of alienation. Part 1 of Wide Sargasso Sea is narrated exclusively by the central protagonist, Antoinette Cosway. 'The Paper Tiger Lunatic' of Jane Eyre, Antoinette is here given a voice and a background that will help the reader understand her subsequent decline into madness. Physical, social, and emotional alienation in her childhood are shown to be at the root of her later insanity. All three facets of alienation in her childhood are shown to be at the root of her later insanity. All three facets of alienation are present on the opening page of the novel. Firstly it is clear that the family has been socially ostracized by white Jamaican society. The military metaphor, "they say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did. But we were not in their ranks..." suggests that they are living in a society at

  • Word count: 2122
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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