Magical Realism in Context: Analysis of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wi

Magical Realism in Context Analysis of A Very old Man with Enormous Wings From the beginning of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, the ordinary begins to confront the extraordinary. This short bosh by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the most famous Latin American authors, was introduced to the world in 1955. By examining the witching(prenominal) and realistic elements of this short story, the theoretical term given up to an emerging art form of the mid- twentieth century can be employ to a work of literature. Marquez does not waste time ushering in the magical elements of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. The main character of the story, Pelayo, was coming back to his house after throwing away many crabs that had come out into his house. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda thought that a stench from the many crabs was the cause of their daughters fever. The whole world had been sad, with the sky and sea turning to a single ashy thing. As Pelayo returned from his task of removing the crabs from the courtyard, he noticed a moving and groaning presence in the rear of the courtyard. At first glance, this presence was perceived by Pelayo as just an old wanderer. Upon further examination, Pelayo noticed that there was one extraordinary feature to this man (Marquez 525). To him were attached huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked. Pelayo looked at the old man closely and very soon overcame his surprise, in the end finding him quite familiar. He was able to arrive at this conclusion by noticing the strong sailor voice with which he spoke. Even though the language the old man spoke was incomprehensible to Pelayo, Pelayo concluded that the old man was a lonely castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by a storm. Seeking... ...t everyday life and the mundane, one gains new appreciation for his or her surroundings. He or she learns to view the world in a way that glorifies the mundane and breathes life into our natural surroundings. This mid-twentieth century art t erm can be applied not only to literature, but also to life. Works Cited Flores, Angel. Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction. Magical Realism Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C. Duke UP, 1995 109-117. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Jerome Beaty. N.Y. W.W. Norton & Company, 1996 525-529. Leal, Luis. Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature. Magical Realism Theory, History, Community. Ed Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C. Duke UP, 1995 119-124.

Teachers and Students Essay -- Teaching Education Essays

Teachers and StudentsThe education habits of students are rooted in them from the earliest days of their educational careers. The different influences on students, whether it be wrong educational institutions, or outside is huge. The teacher of a classroom is the first and most pertinent influence in a students educational career. Teachers provide students with the sanctioned skills they would need to survive not only in the academic world, but also the world beyond. The relationship between teachers and their students is the key element in creating an educational atmosphere that is both pleasant and effective. The experience of a student at trail, especially at a younger age, in most cases sets the main household of the skills of that student. Teachers who provide a solid base most likely did so because they were able to relate to the classroom as a whole, and also to students as individuals. This is truly important in the learning process. The teacher is the leader of the clas sroom. S/he is the one to decide the lesson plan for the students, and the best way of implementing that lesson plan in a given day. The excitement and enthusiasm that a teacher is able to create in the classroom, assists students in learning the subject not only with more overbearing energy, but also helps them be interested in topics that they would normally not be interested in. Often times theres a debate about the bulge of whether teachers treat different students differently, either because of their ethnic background or their gender. David Thomas discussed this issue in his article, The Mind of Man. Thomas argued that girls performance in school is better than boys not because girls are smarter and boys are not, but because they are treated diff... ...bjects and life outside the classroom. Also, teachers should not be blamed for the poor performance of boys (or girls) in their classroom on the basis that they treat them differently. After all, boys are boys, and girls are g irls. Girls are conditioned to be calm and boys are conditioned to be active. This is something that the children already have within them when they enter the classroom. It is up to the teacher to be flexible enough to work with both different types of personalities in a given day. A great challenge...but not impossible Works Cited Rose, Mike. Lives on the Boundary. The Presence of Others. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York St. Martins Press, 2000 105-118 Thomas, David. The Mind of Man. The Presence of Others. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York St. Martins Press, 2000 120-124

Satellites :: essays research papers

Satellites orbit the earth doing our bidding in waysthat enrich the lives of almost all of us. Throughelectronic eyes from hundreds of miles overhead,they lead prospectors to mineral deposits invisbleon earths surface. Relaying communications at thespeed of light, they shrink the planet until its mostdistant people are only a split second apart. They broadcast world weather to our living room TV andguide ships through storms. Swooping low overareas of possible hostility, spies in the sky maintaina superintendence that helps keep peace in a volatileworld. How many objects, exaclty, are orbitingout there? Todays count is 4,914. The satellitesbegin with a launch, which in the U.S. takes placeat Cape Canaveral in Florida, NASAs WallopsFlight Center in Virginia, or, for polar orbiters,Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Onesatellite in 20 is cripple by the jolt of lift-off, ordies in the inferno of a defective rocket blast, or isthrust into improper orbit. A few simply disappear intothe immensity of space. When a satellite emergesfrom the rockets protective shroud, radiotelemetyregularly reports on its health to round-the-clockcrews of foothold controllers. They watch over thetemperatures and voltages of the crafts electronicnervous system and new(prenominal) vital "organs", alwayscritical with machines whose sunward side may be300 degress hotter than the shaded part. Once asatellite achieves orbit--that delicate condition inwhich the hassock of earths gravity is matched by theoutward fling of the Page 2 ------ craftsspeed--subtle pressures make it go astray. Solarflares make the satellite go out of orbit. Wisps ofouter automated teller machine drag its speed. Like strands ofspiderweb, gravity feilds of the earth, moon, andsun tug at the orbiting spacefarer. Even thesunshines soft caress exerts a gentle nudge.Should a satellite begin to wander, ground crewsfire small fuel jets that steer it back on course. Thisis done sparingly, for exhaustion o f these gasesends a crafts useful career. Under such stresses,many satellites last 2 years. When death is only asecond away(p), controllers may command the craftto jump into a high orbit, so it will move up awayfrom earth, keeping orbital paths from becomingtoo cluttered. Others become ensnarled in the

The Uncompromising Code of Bartleby the Scrivener Essay -- Bartleby Sc

The Uncompromising Code of Bartleby the Scrivener There are certain amicable codes that we are expected to follow. They are too numerous and obscure to know-but for the most part, they dont need to be known. The unspoken, unwritten set of rules we are obligated to live by are subtly imbued in us from birth. When we live outside those boundaries and follow our own desires, we are walking on thin ice. An eccentric choice in wardrobe or erratic habits can make the difference between being considered an individual who thinks outside of the box, or just a plain old lunatic. When someone refuses to adhere to our social codes, they become suspect. But what drives them, enables them to refuse in the first place? Melville seemed to have a good idea of what it feels like to be in such(prenominal) a position. The American Tradition in Literature discusses how like Bartleby, Melville was a scrivener, or writer. Melville also refused to copy out the ideas of others, or even his own, in resp onse to ordinary demand. He too preferred to withdraw(Perkins 1564). So far it sounds like Melville was almost certainly creating something out of himself. Additionally, Melville distrusted the economic compulsion of society he resented the financial aid of his wifes father(1564). This story comes from an artist reliant on only himself, true to his own nature. Bartleby is merely an exaggeration of this individual way of thinking. Melville presents a distorted throw of independence from civil constraint, one that goes so far that it results in a sort of social anarchy. But considering the scriveners background, it isnt hard to understand how he came to be such a social miscreant. Bartleby comes to his employer from a dead l... ...o the boss every once in a while-or to our spouse, our family, people on the street. No, you cant cut into my lane. No, you cant check out out front of me even though youve only got the one can of beans. No, you cant change the channel, or ask me to p ick the children up from practice. How easy to give up. How easy to let the responsibilities proportionality with another. We already know what rewards the other men have received for their admirable and semi-socially acceptable behavior. Neurosis, alcoholism, ulcers, and envy. All things considered, it seems that Bartleby is the most sound of them all. Works Cited Perkins, Barbara, and George Perkins, ed. The American Tradition in Literature. BostonMcGraw-Hill College, 1999. Perry, Dennis R. Ah, humanity Compulsion Neurosis in Melvilles Bartleby. Studies in Short Fiction 24.4 (1987) 407-415.

Theme Huckleberry Finn Essay :: essays research papers

The book Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, has many themes that appear throughout the text. One such theme is that people must run low outside of guild to be truly free. If one lives outside of society, then they do not have to follow all of its laws and try to please everyone. They would not be held back by the fact that if they do something wrong, they would be punished for doing it.This theme relates to Huck Finn in a major way. When Huck is with the widow and is learnedness how to be civilized, he is always feeling uncomfortable. He doesnt like it much and wishes to go back to his normal life out in the wilderness. However, when he thinks active not doing something that the widow is trying to make him do, he remembers where he is, in society. If he doesnt do these things he pull up stakes be an outsider and society will not accept him as much. As he is on the river, he lays back and relaxes all the time. Whenever he goes back into society, he finds that he can not live withi n its limits so he always denies who he really is and makes up some false identity all the time. When he finally runs from society at the end, one last time, it was clear that he believed that society was too much for him. Also that they would try to make him civilized again, which he didnt want, so he goes off alone to finally be truly free of his troubles and restraints.This is also seen in the character Jim. While Jim is with Miss Watson, he is a slave. She isnt the one who make him that way, it was society. She was good to him and never did him any harm, but the fact is that no matter how good she was to him, he still was only a slave. When Jim runs away, he finally sees that thither was a way to be truly free and that was to not live within society. When Jim is in the woods on the island, he just starts to realize what it is to be free and what it is like to live on his own. After he meets Huck in the woods he also realizes what it is like to have a friend. night club kept him from having both of these, freedom and friends.

The Moon :: essays research papers

The Moon is Down Chapter One Here we learnthat a small townspeople has been interpreted over by ace of the manyNazi groups during World War Two. Mr. Corell The towngood guy, the way I view it, sent the town postmen andpolicemen on a boating trip, keeping them from the invasion(we learn later that The town good guy is really aback-stabber later in the book). later on the invasion, theNazis request a meeting with the towns city manager, MayorOrden. Joseph and Doctor Winter, two of Mayor Ordenscolleagues, await the arrival of Nazis too. The two meet senior pilot Bentick, a rank lower than Colonel Lanser who isthe one who had requested the meeting. Bentick searchesthe home. During the meeting Annie, Mayor Ordens cook,becomes very aggravated by the soldiers who wait outsidethe front porch of the Mayors home, and throws a pot ofboiling water at them. Chapter Two In this chapter,Steinbeck explains the characteristics of each of the Nazis.Major Hunter, an engineer, arithmatician, and see minglyindifferent to the fact that he is a soldier. Captain Bentick, afamily man, was old and kind. Bentick also has certainadmiration to the English. Captain Loft, a young man, tookmuch pride in the fact that he was a soldier. He dreams ofhis own death on the battlefield, where he is respected.Lieutenants Prackle and Tonder were snot noses,undergraduates, lieutenants, trained in the politics of the day(Quoted out of the book there seemed to be no senseputting it in my own words since it was right there, andcouldnt have been worded any better). Colonel Lansertakes much pride in what he does. To me, he sees biography as anorder given by a higher rank that must be taken out. It is alsoin this chapter that Captain Bentick dies by one AlexanderMorden, a town dweller. Chapter Three The chapter beginswith a discussion between Annie and Joseph, who aretalking about Alexander Morden and the death of CaptainBentick. Joseph reveals to Annie what he for certain thinks willhappen... Theyll sh oot him. Annie is rejecting the horriblethought. Unfortunately it is true and Alex will be tried. MollyMorden, Alexs wife, met with the Mayor because of arumor that had been circulating in the town. You wouldntconvict Alex would you?, the replies, No. To theMayors anger he found that he did have to sentence Alex todeath luckily he managed to shirk the awful duty. ChapterFour This Chapter is very brief, it simply goes into Alexstrial, where he IS convicted, and shot in a public area.

The Moon :: essays research papers

The Moon is Down Chapter One Here we learnthat a small town has been taken over by one of the manyNazi groups during World War Two. Mr. Corell The towngood guy, the way I view it, sent the town postmen andpolicemen on a boating trip, keeping them from the invasion(we learn later that The town good guy is really aback-stabber later in the discussion). After the invasion, theNazis request a meeting with the towns Mayor, MayorOrden. Joseph and Doctor Winter, two of Mayor Ordenscolleagues, a continue the arriver of Nazis too. The two meetCaptain Bentick, a rank lower than Colonel Lanser who isthe one who had requested the meeting. Bentick searchesthe home. During the meeting Annie, Mayor Ordens cook,becomes very aggravated by the soldiers who wait outsidethe front porch of the Mayors home, and throws a pot ofboiling water at them. Chapter Two In this chapter,Steinbeck explains the characteristics of each of the Nazis.Major Hunter, an engineer, arithmatician, and seemingly achromatic to the fact that he is a soldier. Captain Bentick, afamily man, was old and kind. Bentick also has certainadmiration to the English. Captain Loft, a young man, tookmuch pride in the fact that he was a soldier. He dreams ofhis own stopping point on the battlefield, where he is respected.Lieutenants Prackle and Tonder were snot noses,undergraduates, lieutenants, trained in the politics of the day(Quoted out of the book there seemed to be no senseputting it in my own words since it was right there, andcouldnt have been worded any better). Colonel Lansertakes much pride in what he does. To me, he sees life as anorder given by a higher rank that must be taken out. It is alsoin this chapter that Captain Bentick dies by one AlexanderMorden, a town dweller. Chapter Three The chapter beginswith a discussion between Annie and Joseph, who aretalking about Alexander Morden and the death of CaptainBentick. Joseph reveals to Annie what he surely thinks willhappen... Theyll shoot him. Annie is re jecting the awfulthought. Unfortunately it is true and Alex will be tried. MollyMorden, Alexs wife, met with the Mayor because of a rehearsal that had been circulating in the town. You wouldntconvict Alex would you?, the replies, No. To theMayors anger he found that he did have to sentence Alex todeath as luck would have it he managed to shirk the awful duty. ChapterFour This Chapter is very brief, it simply goes into Alexstrial, where he IS convicted, and shot in a public area.

Black History: Facts and People

The way vague people down been represented throughout tale has affected the way black people are treated in the American society, their values, and their identities. Yes, black men were treated disgustingly and horrifically, but Black women constitute been the most everyplaceworked and unappreciated people and had to fight much, much harder than black men.sex and race are sued to ascribe to people a different rank, role and status, so long will they have a deferent historical experience from that of the dominant group (pg xix Lerner) many an(prenominal) of these women were brutally raped and were seen as proportion rather than human beings.They were not allowed to receive any sort of education callable to fear of them escaping. As women in the United States started to excel, black women had to fight harder to arse about the same level of appreciation. Race was always seen first before anything else even for women. The primary motivation for establishing black women studies a s well as the key obstacles to its asylum as an academic discipline was done by fighting for respect in academia, their rights as women, and their struggles.Black women have significantly progressed in academia over the years. During slavery, black slaves were not allowed to learn or teach education and if caught could be severely punished or killed. Black women in academia were not taken seriously or be acknowledge for their work even if it was astounding. In the book by Lerner, Black Women in White America, black womens name and publications would be buried deep to ensure never to be found.The papers of outstanding figures such as Mary McLeod Bethune, Charlotte Hawkins Brown, and Nannie Burroughs are scattered in various libraries, have never been edited nor even partially published. Their published work was never read or even on the shelf due to the fact a black women had written them. The political position in America of black women has been historically tormented. Black Women s Studies emerged because of the failure of Black Studies and Womens studies.Black feminism in particular, postulate to be perceived as intersectional and not just one-dimensional. Black women had to prove their work much to a greater extent in a white-male dominated field where theyre incessantly questioned for every detail. No white historian can ever again approach his work without recognizing that there were black people in the American bygone whose contributions and whose viewpoint must be consideredthere is a female aspect to all history, that women were there and that their special contributions to the buildings and shaping of society were different from those of men (pg xix, Lerner).It wasnt until black women like Lucy Terry Prince or Phyllis Wheatley, the second woman to publish a book in America, in 1773. (pg 4, Hine and Thompson)Black women who were teaching this course had to be extremely resolute and due it being a committed and passionate job. Even though black wom en studies was growing it was only until the 1970s where it was seen as an actual study.Facing the racialism of white women and the sexism of black men, black women had to fight the fight on their own. At the end of slavery and the civil war, many white women still had the racist expectation of not wanting to be inclusive with the black community. Womens rights were a huge conflict in the early 1900s. The women who were fighting for equal rights to vote would be seen as Feminist. Feminism advocates women to be seen as equals to everyone else.The only problem with this was that even though they called themselves feminists they were not fighting for all women, just the white women. In 1920, Congress passed the nineteenth Amendment granting American women the right to vote. This excluded black women from voting meaning they were the minority in the country when it came to voting, they were the only group not allowed the same rights as everyone else when it came to voting.It was until 1960 when black American women were granted the right to vote through the African-American womens suffrage movement. Women in America were split up into groups due to their race that allowed white women to be more superior to black women regardless of their same biological makeup.Black women have consistently had the lowest status in society- the economic and social-political status ranking consecrate consisting of white men, white women, black men, black women. (pg xxiii, Lerner). They were always the last ones to be considered because they were seen as caretakers, cooks, cleaners, or objects during slavery whereas a black man was considered to be crack equipped based on their physical strength.Many black women were forced to become mammies to their white masters. Their jobs were to take care of the family, cook, clean over their own families. Many of the black women were put into the Fancy Girl Market, which was a sexual slave market. During slavery, black women were not allowed to be educated and would have to succumb to their everyday intent of obeying their masters. They formed their own black communities in the salve quarters where they taught their children, especially their daughters, how to behave and follow rules when it came to their white masters.Their sense of closeness and kinship helped strengthen their bonds due to the lack of opportunities they were allowed. Black women were also selfless when it came to protecting their own families by obeying their masters in hopes of their children not being sold. Their protection over their own families is ironic because they were trying to give their love and affection to the families they worked in order for their own families close.

Are Harry Potter Harmful for Children

Are elicit Potter Books Harmful for Children? As uttermost as Im concerned, the Harry Potter serial publication ar quite suitable for children to read. As we all know, this set of books is written about a boy who is a wizard, and he fights with the devil for the justice, during the process it also show us how to treat our real friends and our family.Some pargonnts and censors consider this book damaging for children to read and try to ban it, because of the manipulation, lying, violence, witchery (which they think is against god) and rebellion in Harry Potter books are unfit for children to read, for they will imitate the same thing and listen something adults dont want them to acquire that early. hardly I have to say it is just a book, in todays world if a child wants to know these things, all he need is just to go online and google it, so if they want to protect their children, why dont they ban the Internet?If you think that because there is witchcraft and devils in the nov els which supports satan and defies God, I have to say that you are definitely wrong. If you have ever read this set of books, youll find out that its just the background and a part of this novel. The witchcraft is just the background which the fountain set to entertain readers. , because this field is very attracting and can satisfy childrens curiosity. And it also keeps childrens minds open. This world is nothing like the real world, so they can imagine often of things which can develop their imagination and creation. When J. K.Rolling wrote about this darkness part, she also mentioned the right part. And it is a tale of good triumphing over evil. I think we cant see this series from just one perspective. We cant deny it for the author writes about the darkness and the devil then forget that from all perspectives, what she real emphasize and want readers to learn is the braveness, the justice, the friendship, the love, and the family. It taught our children, blush adults how to become an upright person. For example, when Harry Potter, Hermione and Ron play chess, for the friendship and the justice Ron sacrifice himself to save Harry.In this real world, many adults cant do the same thing when they converge with difficulties. If we banned this book, what about Snow gaberdine? It i also filled with wicked, blackness things. Instead, we taught our children the correct and proper way by telling Snow White when they are very little. Therefore, why cant we treat the Harry Potter series the same way or even mentaler. It is also a tale for children to learn the world by means of using the metaphor, changing the scene to the magic world. The dark part is not the point, but the love, the moral part that hit the nab on the head.If parents really worried about the darkness part, he/she can read the book for children while explain these for children instead of banning it. Although the censors think that their efforts are benefiting children, in the long run it is d estroying them. We are destroying our childrens imagination. We put them in the same frame we set up for them. We decide which kind of books they read, which friend of children they make friends with, which kind of games they play, etc. If all these matters had to be approved and set up by adults, each child would be a mindless, characterless character.There would be no rummy qualities to distinguish one from another, all children being of the same mold. If our children grew up with out creativity or imagination and only knew what was approved, this world would become numbing, vapid and meaningless. The Harry Potter series is encouraging the growth of a childs imagination, allowing our children to grow into fully functioning, creative adults. As for the religious part, they say the book encourages witchcraft. I think they are too mean, too extreme. There are lots of fairy tale and legend for children about witchcraft or magic.We cant ban and ping all these things. It is the same w ith Harry Potter. Just because Harry Potter is so popular and attractive to children, so they afraid the witchcraft will take the designate of god, and they try to ban it. They say its harmful for children actually on behalf of their own interest, not really for the childrens sake. In conclusion, the Harry Potter books are not harmful for children. On contrary, it will enhance childrens moral standard and imagination. Therefore, we should really recommend our children to read it.

Is Macbeth a Tyrant or a Tragic Hero? Essay

A tragic hero is someone whos fatal flaw, combined with other external factors, bring about ones demise, which is demonstrated by Macbeth in Shakespeares ferment Macbeth. Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous, brave and noble man who was haunted by superstition and an overpowering ambition. Factors that contributed to the degeneration of Macbeth include the prophecies told to him by the witches, the influence and economic consumption of his wife, skirt Macbeth, and finally, Macbeths deep driven intent to become king. Although seen as a daring and valiant hero at the beginning of the play, Macbeths evil desires and long metre ambition causes his downfall. Even though Macbeth seems like a malevolent and murderous tyrant towards the end of the play, he is ultimately a tragic hero. The prophecies given by the witches contributed to the degeneration of Macbeths character. The witches foretold that Macbeth would become Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and the fag of Scotland. If not fo r the prophecies, Macbeths curiosity and ambition to become King might never have aroused.To be king stood not inwardly the prospect of belief to him before he had heard the prophecies, however, when hearing the prophecies of becoming king, horrible imaginings of murder, though fantastical, had come across his mind. As the play progresses, Macbeth increasingly relies on the prophecies given by the witches stirring up Macbeths curiosity and ambition which factor in corrupting his character and sending him to his dusty death. The manipulation and influence of Lady Macbeth was also a factor of Macbeths downfall. When Lady Macbeth reads her husbands letter, she is afraid that Macbeth is not evil enough to do what he must to seize the crown. She wishes her husband a tender return so that she can pour her spirits in his ear and chastise with the valour of her tongue. Although Lady Macbeth seems like a lovely and polite lady, she is in fact a vicious and manipulative woman full of malice .She is also a horrible influence on Macbeth telling him to look like the free flower, but to be the serpent undert as well as telling him he was a coward when he was afraid to murder King Duncan. After Macbeth had slaughtered King Duncan, he was filled with a guilty conscience, regretting his wrong. His wife however, thought he was infirm of purpose. This was the first murder that Macbeth had experienced, however after the first murder, killing seemed to be the only solution to maintain his reign as king.

Feminism in India

Feminism in Indiais a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and support equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for Indian women.It is the pursuit ofwomens rights at bottom the society ofIndia. Like their feminist counter bits all over the world,feministsin India seek gender equality the right to work for equal w dates, the right to equal get at to health and education, and equal political rights. 1Indian feminists also turn in fought against refining-specific issues within Indias agedsociety, such asinheritance lawsand the practice of leave immolation known asSati.The history of feminism in India put forward be divided into three sorts the first phase, stemma in the mid-nineteenth century, initiated when male European colonists began to speak out against the social evils of Sati2the second phase, from 1915 to Indian independence, when Gandhi incorporated womens movements into theQuit India movementand independent womens organizati ons began to emerge3and finally, the third phase, post-independence, which has center on fair treatment of women in the work force and right to political parity. 3 Despite the progress make by Indian feminist movements, women musical accompaniment in modern India still face m either issues of discrimination. Indias patriarchal culture has made the process of gaining land-ownership rights and access to education challenging. 4In the past two decades, on that point has also emerged a disturbing trend ofsex-selective abortion. 5To Indian feminists, these ar seen as injustices worth struggling against. 6 As in theWest, there has been some criticism of feminist movements in India.They stool especially been criticized for focusing too much on women already privileged, and neglecting the needs and representation of poorer or pull downcastewomen. This has led to the foundation of caste-specific feminist organizations and movements. 7 Contentshide * 1Defining feminism in the Indian context * 2History * 2. 1First phase 18501915 * 2. 2 warrant conformation 19151947 * 2. 3Feminism Post-1947 * 3Issues * 3. 1Birth ratio * 3. 2Marriage * 4Theology * 4. 1 Hindi feminism * 4. Islamic feminism * 5Impact * 5. 1Employment * 5. 2Globalization * 5. 3Education * 5. 4Modernization * 6Notable Indian feminists * 7See also * 8References * 9Further reading * 10External links - editDefining feminism in the Indian context Tribal widow and single women protesting inJawhar,Maharashtra Womens role in Pre- colonial social structures reveals that feminism was theorized differently in India than in the West. 8In India, womens issues first began to be addressed when the landed e demesne commissioned a report on the status of women to a group of feminist researchers and activists. The report recognized the fact that in India, women were oppressed downstairs a system of structural hi geological erarchies and injustices. During this period, Indian feminists were influenced by the Wester n believes being conducted about violence against women. However, due to the difference in the historical and social culture of India, the debate in favor of Indian women had to be conducted creatively and certain Western ideas had to be rejected. 9Womens issues began to gain an global prominence when the decade of 1975-1985 was decl ared the coupled Nations Decade for Women. 2 Historical circumstances and values in India be possessed of caused feminists to develop afeminismthat differs from Western feminism. For example, the idea of women as powerful is accommodated into patriarchal culture through religion,10which has retained visibility in all sections of society. This has provided women with traditional cultural spaces. Further more than, in the West the nonion of self rests in competitiveindividualismwhere con logical argument are described as born free yet everywhere in chains. In India the individual is usually considered to be just one part of the larger socialcollecti ve. Survival of the individual is dependent uponcooperation, andself-denialfor the greater good is valued. 10 Indian women negotiate survival through an array of oppressive patriarchal family structures age, ordinal status, race to men through family of origin, marriage and procreation as intimately as patriarchal attri thoes.Examples of patriarchal attri justes implydowry, siring sons etc. ,kinship,caste, community, village, market and thestate. It should except be maintaind that several communities in India, such as theNairsof Kerala,Shettysof Mangalore, certainMarathaclans, andBengalifamilies exhibit matriarchal tendencies. In these communities, the head of the family is the oldest woman rather than the oldest man. Sikhculture is also regarded as relativelygender-neutral. 1011 The heterogeneity of the Indian experience reveals that there are multiple patriarchies, contributing to the existence of multiple feminisms. Hence, feminism in India is non a singular theoretical or ientation it has alternated over time in relation to historical and cultural realities, levels of spirit, perceptions and actions of individual women, and women as a group. The widely used definition is An awareness of womens oppression and exploitation in society, at work and within the family, and conscious action by women and men to change this situation. 11Acknowledgingsexismin daily life and attempting to challenge and eliminate it throughdeconstructingmutually exclusive notions offemininityandmasculinityasbiologically determinedcategories opens the way towards an honest society for both men and women. 11 The male and womanly dichotomy of polar opposites with the former oppressing the latter at all times is refuted in the Indian context because it was men who initiatedsocial reform movementsagainst divers(a)social evils. Patriarchy is just one of the hierarchies. Relational hierarchies amid women within the same family are more adverse.Here women are pitted against one a nother. Not all women are powerless at all times. 12 There have been intense debates within the Indian womens movements about the relationship between Western and Indian feminisms. Many Indian feminists simultaneously claim a specific Indian sensitivity as well as an international feminist solidarity with groups and individuals worldwide. 913The rise of liberal feminism in the West in the 1970s focused deeply on demands for equal opportunities in education and employment, as well as ending violence against women.To a large extent, the emerging feminist movement in India was influenced by Western ideals. These called for education and equal rights, but also adapted their appeals to local issues and concerns, such as dowry-related violence against women,Sati, sex selective abortion and custodial rape. Some Indian feminists have suggested that these issues are not specifically Indian in nature but rather a reflection of a wider trend of patriarchal oppression of women. 9 - editHistory Kamini Roy(poet and suffragette) became the first woman Honors fine-tune in India in 1886.Unlike the Western feminist movement, Indias movement was initiated by men, and posterior joined by women. The efforts of these men included abolishing sati, which was a widows death by burning on her husbands funeral pyre,214the custom of child marriage, abolishing the disfiguring of widows, banning the marriage of upper caste Hindoowidows, promoting womens education, obtaining profound rights for women to own property, and requiring the law to acknowledge womens status by granting them basic rights in matters such as adoption. 15 The 19th century was the period that saw a majority of womens issues come under the smudge and reforms began to be made. Much of the previous(predicate) reforms for Indian women were conducted by men. However, by the late 19th century they were joined in their efforts by their wives, sisters, daughters, protegees and other individuals directly touch on by camp aigns such as those carried out for womens education. By the late 20th century, women gained greater autonomy through the formation of independent womens own organizations.By the late thirties and forties a new narrative began to be constructed regarding womens activism. This was newly researched and expanded with the vision to create logical and organic links between feminism and Marxism, as well as with anti-communalism and anti-casteism, etc. The Constitution of India did guarantee equality between the sexes, which created a relative lull in womens movements until the 1970s. 3 During the formative years of womens rights movements, the difference between the sexes was more or less taken for granted in that their roles, functions, aims and desires were different.As a result, they were not only to be reared differently but treated differently also. Over the course of time, this difference itself became a major reason for initiating womens movements. Early 19th century reformers argu ed that the difference between men and women was no reason for the subjection of women in society. However, later reformers were of the opinion that indeed it was this particular difference that subjugated women to their roles in society, for example, as mothers. Therefore, there was a need for the proper care of womens rights.With the formation of womens organizations and their own exponentiation in campaigns, their roles as mothers was again stressed but in a different light this time the argument was for womens rights to speech, education and emancipation. However, the image of women with the mother as a symbol underwent changes over time from an emphasis on family to the creation of an archetypal mother figure, evoking deep, oftenatavisticimages. 3 editFirst phase 18501915 The colonial venture into modernitybrought concepts ofdemocracy,equalityand individualrights.The rise of the concept ofnationalismand introspection of discriminatory practices brought about social reform mov ements related to caste and gender relations. This first phase of feminism in India was initiated by men to uproot thesocial evilsofsati(widow immolation),16to allow widow remarriage, to forbid child marriage, and to reduce illiteracy, as well as to order the age of consent and to ensure property rights through legal intervention. In addition to this, some upper caste Hindu women rejected constraints they faced under Brahminical traditions. 3However, efforts for improving the status of women in Indian society were somewhat thwarted by the late nineteenth century, as nationalist movements emerged in India. These movements resisted colonial interventions in gender relations particularly in the areas of family relations. In the mid to late nineteenth century, there was a national form of resistance to any colonial efforts made to modernize the Hindu family. This included the Age of Consent controversy that erupted after the presidency tried to raise the age of marriage for women. 217 editSecond Phase 19151947 Womens procession during Quit India Movement in 1942 During this period the struggle against colonial rule intensified. caseism became the pre-eminent cause. Claiming Indian superiority became the tool of cultural revivalism resulting in an essentializing pretending of Indian womanhood similar to that ofVictorianwomanhood special yet recognized from public space. Gandhilegitimized and expanded Indian womens public activities by initiating them into the non-violent polished disobediencemovement against theBritish Raj.He exalted their feminine roles of caring, self-abnegation, sacrifice and tolerance and carved a niche for those in the public arena. Women-only organizations likeAll India Womens Conference(AIWC) and the depicted object Federation of Indian Women(NFIW) emerged. Women were grappling with issues relating to the scope of womens political participation,womens franchise, communal awards, and leaders roles inpolitical parties. 3 The 1920s was a n ew era for Indian women and is defined as feminism that was responsible for the creation of localized womens associations.These associations emphasized womens education issues, developed livelihood strategies for working bod women, and also organized national level womens associations such as the All India Womens Conference. AIWC was closely affiliated with the Indian National Congress. Under the leadership ofMahatma Gandhi, it worked within the nationalist and anti-colonialist freedom movements. This made the mass mobilization of women an integral part of Indian nationalism. Women therefore were a very important part of various nationalist and anti-colonial efforts, including the civil disobedience movements in the 1970s. 3 After independence, the All India Womens Conference continued to operate and in 1954 the Indian Communist Party form its own womens wing known as the National Federation of Indian Women. However, feminist agendas and movements became less active right after Ind ias 1947 independence, as the nationalist agendas on nation building took precedence over feminist issues. 18 Womens participation in the struggle for freedom developed their critical consciousness about their role and rights inindependent India. This resulted in the introduction of the franchise and civic rights of women in the Indian constitution.There was provision for womens upliftment throughaffirmative action, motherly health and child care provision (creches), equal pay for equal work etc. The state adopted a patronizing role towards women. For example, Indias constitution states that women are a weaker section of the population, and therefore need assistance to function as equals. 15Thus women in India did not have to struggle for basic rights as did women in the West. The utopia ended soon when the social and cultural ideologies and structures failed to honor the newly acquired concepts of fundamental rights and democracy. 3 editFeminism Post-1947 Post independence feminis ts began to redefine the extent to which women were allowed to engage in the workforce. Prior to independence, most feminists accepted the sexual divide within the labor force. However, feminists in the 1970s challenged the inequalities that had been established and fought to reverse them. These inequalities included unequal wages for women, deputation of women to unskilled spheres of work, and restricting women as a reserve army for labor.In other words, the feminists aim was to abolish the free religious service of women who were essentially being used as squalid capital. 3Feminist cast-consciousness also came into focus in the 1970s, with feminists recognizing the inequalities not just between men and women but also within power structures such as caste, tribe, language, religion, region, class etc. This also posed as a challenge for feminists while shaping their overreaching campaigns as there had to be a focus within efforts to ensure that fulfilling the demands of one grou p would not create further inequalities for another.Now, in the early twenty-first century, the focus of the Indian feminist movement has gone beyond treating women as useful members of society and a right to parity, but also having the power to decide the course of their personal lives and the right of self-determination. 3 - editIssues Despite on-paper progresss, many problems still remain which inhibit women from in force(p)y taking advantage of new rights and opportunities in India. There are many traditions and customs that have been an important part of Indian culture for hundreds of years.Religious laws and expectations, or personal laws enumerated by each specific religion, often conflict with the Indian Constitution, eliminating rights and powers women should legally have. Despite these crossovers in legality, the Indian government does not interfere with religion and the personal laws they hold. 19Religions, like Hinduism, call for women to be faithful servants to God an d their husbands. They have a term calledpativratathat describes a wife who has accepted service and devotion to her husband and her family as her ultimate religion and duty.Indian society is largely composed of hierarchical systems within families and communities. Thesehierarchiescan be broken down into age, sex, ordinal position, kinship relationships (within families), and caste, lineage, wealth, occupations, and relationship to ruling power (within the community). When hierarchies emerge within the family based on social convention and economic need, girls in poorer families suffer twice the encroachment of vulnerability and stability. From birth, girls are automatically entitled to less from playtime, to food, to education, girls can expect to always be entitled to less than their brothers.Girls also have less access to their familys income and assets, which is exacerbated among poor, rural Indian families. From the start, it is understood that females will be burdened with st renuous work and exhausting responsibilities for the rest of their lives, always with little to no earnings or recognition. 20 India is also apatriarchalsociety, which, by definition, describes cultures in which males as fathers or husbands are assumed to be in charge and the official heads of households.Apatrilinealsystem governs the society, where gunstock and inheritance are traced through the male line and men are generally in control of the distribution of family resources. 12 These traditions and ways of Indian life have been in effect for so long that this type of lifestyle is what women have become accustomed to and expect. Indian women often do not take full advantage of their constitutional rights because they are not properly aware or informed of them. Women also tend to have poor utilization of voting rights because they make low levels of political awareness and sense of political efficacy.Women are not often encouraged to become informed about issues. Due to this, p olitical parties do not invest much time in female candidates because there is a perception that they are a wasted investment. 15 The female-to-male ratio in India is 933 to 1000, present that there are numerically fewer women in the country than men. This is due to several factors, includinginfanticides, most commonly among female infants, and the poor care of female infants and vaginal birth women. Although outlawed, infanticides are still highly popular in rural India, and are continuing to become even more prominent.This is due to the fact, most especially in rural areas, that families cannot afford female children because of thedowrythey must pay when their daughter gets married. Like infanticide, the payment of dowry is alsoillegal, but is still a customary and prevalent occurrence in rural India. 21Women are considered to be worthless by their husbands if they are not able to produce a male child, and can often face much abuse if this is the case. 22 editBirth ratio Between the years of 1991 to 2001, the female-male ratio of the population of India fell from 94. 5 girls per 100 boys to 92. girls per 100 boys. 5Some split of the country, such asKerala, did not experience such a decline, but in the richer Indian states ofPunjab,Haryana,Gujarat, andMaharashtra, the female-male ratio fell very sharply (the female-male ratios in these states were between 79. 3 and 87. 8). 5This is evidence of natality inequality, and an indication thatsex-selective abortionhas become more pervasive. The Indian parliament has banned the use of sex determination techniques for fetuses due to this, but enforcement of this law has been largely ignored. 23 editMarriageMost of the average Indian womans life is spent in marriage many women are still married before the legal age of 18, and the incidence of non-marriage is low in India. Childbearing and raising children are the priorities of early adulthood for Indian women. Thus, if they enter the workforce at all, it is far late r than Indian men. Urban Indian men reach the peak of their labor force participation between the ages of 25 and 29, while urban Indian women do so between the ages of 40 and 44. 4Because of this, women have less time for the acquisition of skills and fewer opportunities for job improvements.There is a poor representation of women in the Indian workforce. Females have a ten percent higher drop-out rate than males from middle and primary schools, as well as lower levels of literacy than men. Since unemployment is also high in India, it is easy for employers to curb the law, especially when it comes to women, because it is part of Indian culture for women not to argue with men. Additionally, labor unions are insensitive to womens needs. Women also have to settle for jobs that comply with their obligations as wives, mothers, and homemakers. 421 - editTheology editHindu feminism In theHindureligion, there has been partial success in terms of gender equality reform laws and family law. While this is a major advancement relative to other religions in India, it is still not a complete triumph in terms of feminism and relieving oppression. 19Gandhicame up with the termstree shakti(women power) for the concept of womanhood. In the Hindu religion, Gods are not exclusively male. Hinduism sheds a positive light on femininity females are considered to compliment and complete their male counterparts.It is important to note that the deities of both knowledge and wealth are female. 15 There has been some criticism fromDalitgroups that Indian feminism tends to represent upper caste and upper class Hindu women, while ignoring and marginalizing the interests of Dalit women. Debates on caste and gender oppression have been furthered byOther Backward Class(OBC) members of different political parties, arguing in state assemblies that lower caste womens interests are best represented by women from these castes. 7Working towards this end, women within Dalit castes have formed organi zations such as the All India Dalit Womens Forum and the National Federation of Dalit Women and Dalit Solidarity, which focus on the gendered implications of caste based violence and oppression, such as the ways in which Dalit women suffer from urban poverty and displacement. 7 editIslamic feminism The Hindu and Moslem communities in India were treated differently by the government in that separate types of concessions were made for each community in order to accommodate their separate religious laws and regulations.The case ofShah Banobegun in 1985 was one such example ofRajiv Gandhiattempting to make concessions for the Muslim community to in turn secure support for the Congress. Shah Bano, a 73-year-old Muslim woman, was divorced by her husband after forty-three years of marriage. According to the Sharia or Muslim Law, her husband was not required to pay her alimony. Shah Bano challenged this stopping point in the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in her favor and ordered h er husband to pay her a monthly maintenance allowance.This caused chaos amongst the Muslim clerics who denounced the perspicacity and suggested that their religion, Islam was under attack in the country. In a fear of losing overall Muslim support, Rajiv succumbed to the pressures of the Muslim community and his own party and backed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill that overruled the Supreme Courts decision. This caused an outcry from Hindu nationalists who found the appeasement of minorities by the Congress for political purposes wrong and opportunistic. 24 Feminism was challenged by various minority groups for not entirely addressing the needs of minority populations. It was suggested that mainstream feminism was upper caste and Hindu in its orientation and did not address the concerns of minority women. This led to the formation of the Awaaz-e-Niswaan (The role of Women) in 1987 in Mumbai in largely Muslim part of the city. The Muslim community has been su bjected to personal laws that often were considered harmful to the rights of Muslim women. 25 - editImpactWestern-educated Indians introducedequalityin the early nineteenth century. However, the term did not gain meaning or become an operational principle in Indian life until the country gained independence in 1947 and adopted a democratic government. 15TheIndian Constitutionthen granted equality, freedom from discrimination based on gender or religion, and guaranteed religious freedoms. 19Also, viifive-year planswere developed to provide health, education, employment, and welfare to women. The sixth five-year plan even declared women partners in development. 15 editEmployment In general in the uneducated and rural section of the Indian society, which forms a major percentage of the total population, women are seen as economic burdens. Their contributions to productivity are mostly invisible as their familial and domestic contributions are unfairly overlooked. Indian women were con tributing nearly 36 percent of total employment in agriculture and related activities, nearly 19 percent in the service sector, and nearly 12. 5 in the industry sector as of the year 2000.The unfortunate reality is that the high illiteracy rate among women confines them to lower paying, unskilled jobs with less job security than men. Even in agricultural jobs where the work of men and women are highly similar, women are still more possible to be paid less for the same amount and type of work as men. 26However in the urban section of Indian society, women are empower with laws such as IPC 498a which are heavily biased against the men in the society. Educated women are sometimes accused of using such laws to unleash legal terrorism on husbands by disgruntled wives. 24 editGlobalization Feminists are also concerned about the impact of globalisation on women in India. Some feminists argue that globalization has led to economic changes that have raised more social and economical chall enges for women, particularly for working class and lower caste women. Multinational companies in India have been seen to exploit the labor of young, underpaid and disadvantaged women in free trade zones and sweat shops, and use Young lower middle class, educated women, in call centers.These women have few effective labor rights, or rights to collective action. 2728 In addition to this, multinational corporations are seen to advertise a homogenous image of ideal women crossways the country is argued to cause an increase in the commodification of womens bodies. This is also manifested in the form of nationalist pride exhibited through Indian women winning international dish aerial pageants. According to some feminists, such developments have offered women greater sexual autonomy and more control over their bodies.However, many other feminists feel that such commodification of female bodies has only served the purpose of feeding to male fantasies. 27 editEducation Girls in Kalleda R ural School,Andhra Pradesh. Some of the main reasons that girls are less likely to reach optimal levels of education include the fact that girls are needed to assist their mothers at home, have been raised to believe that a life of domestic work is their destined occupation, have functionally illiterate mothers who cannot educate their children, have an economic dependency on men, and are sometimes subject to child-marriage. 26 In 1986, theNational Policy on Education(NPE) was created in India, and the government launched the program calledMahila Samakhya, whose focus was on the empowerment of women. The programs goal is to create a learning environment for women to realize their potential, learn to demand nurture and find the knowledge to take charge of their own lives. In certain areas of India, progress is being made and an increase in the enrollment of girls in schools and as teachers has begun to increase.By 2001 literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female popul ation, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy within India. 29Efforts are still being made to improve the level of education that females receive to match that of male students. 26 editModernization Modern influences are affecting the younger generations in parts of India, where girls are beginning to renounce the more traditional ways of Indian life and break gender stereotypes.In more flourishing parts of the country, the idea of dating, or more specificallyopenlydating, has come into play, and the terms girlfriend and boyfriend are being used. Some women have landed highly respectable careers, and can be seen acrossBollywoodbillboards and advertisements. However, this is not the norm throughout the country such modernizations and the women behind them face serious resistance from anti-liberalists. The country is still severely male-dominant and unwelcoming to such movements that go against sex and gender traditions in India . Hasselrlis, Kaj. Making a Statement. Herizons23. 2 (2009) 33-35.