Essay #3

Atwood Forewarned
Gender discrimination is a common topic in many societies. Until recently, women in the United States of America faced severe discrimination and it is arguable that they currently do in the workplace. Even though our grandmothers fought for us to have equal rights as men, many women throughout the world do not experience such luxury. In some countries, the roles of women are strictly defined by religious laws. In Saudi Arabia, women live under scrutiny similar to that described in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Disgusted and intrigued by the idea that such prejudice still plagued our earth, I decided to look a little deeper.
The Handmaid’s Tale is a feminist, dystopian novel portraying the not so distant future of the USA. It starts with a staged terrorist attack that leaves most women sterile. Using the country’s panic, a group called “The Sons of Jacob” quickly takes over and forms the Republic of Gilead. Now run by a religious, militarized dictatorship, women and “Undesirables” are stripped of their rights and forced into modern slavery and citizens are sorted into new classes. Non-persons, or person’s who are stripped of their social and legal rights are sent to the Colonies to clean of radioactive waste where they quickly die.
Even among women there are new classes formed. Women are separated by race, their fertility, and what kind of labor they perform. Women are considered inferior to men in all ways. Girls are not educated and women are not allowed to read. If a woman held any position of authority, power, or fame before the Republic of Gilead, they have since been stripped of it and receive no public recognition. A person’s status is represented by the color they wear, both male and female. The story follows Offred, one of the many mistresses called “Handmaids” whom serve the ruling class in order to bear children. They are selected by a couple in the Ruling Class for the sole purpose of bearing children. This is all justified by a line from their Bible reading,
Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear fruit upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. (Atwood 88)
Once they have given the couple a child, they are sent back to The Red Center until they are chosen by a new couple. The Wife has the authority to send Handmaids away, or even to banish them to The Colonies if they please.
Women have no sexual rights. The act of sex is seen as degrading and humiliating for women. They are not allowed to have a relationship with a man. They, along with all other women, are not allowed to have sex with a man outside of The Ceremony. The Ceremony is the sexual act performed solely for the purpose of reproduction and involves the Handmaid lying prone on top of the Wife, while the husband has sex with the Handmaid. They are not allowed to pleasure themselves. If they are raped, it is their own fault for seducing the man. In one scene, a girl comes forward that she was raped and all the other handmaids gather around chanting “Her fault, her fault, her fault” because they have been brainwashed to believe as much (Atwood 72). If they are caught or suspected of committing any of these crimes, they are hung.
In Saudi Arabia, the regulation of women’s rights are even more stringent than those depicted in The Handmaid’s Tale. In Saudi Arabia, gender roles are regimented by the Islamic Law. Women are second class citizens; lower even then their infant sons. Men and women are segregated. A woman must enter a bus from the rear entrance (Lantos). Women are required to have a male guardian whom they must receive permission from in order to perform many daily tasks such as opening a bank account, getting a job, traveling, or seeking medical treatment (Al-Mohamed/Saudi). Women are not allowed to drive motorized vehicles and can be prosecuted if caught riding in a vehicle with a man that is not a male relative or employee. Women cannot vote, nor can they be put in a place of high political power (Al-Mohamed). They have no legal standing compared to their male counterparts. This means that if they request a divorce of custody of their children, they are not likely to win unless the husband wishes the same. Conflict with their male guardian can be detrimental to their health and well being, as the guardian has the right to refuse medical treatment for the woman as well as other rights (Lantos/Saudi).
Women’s rights are based on Islamic law which is collectively based on the Qur’an and the teachings of Muhammed. Women are required to be fully clothed, with the exception of the eyes and their hands, at all times when in the presence of males other than family. If they disobey these laws publically, they may have stones thrown at them, be harassed, spit on, or even beaten with sticks by the religious authorities known as the Mutawwi'in (Women’s). In public places, strict gender segregation is enforced. Women must either attend events during “women’s hours” or occupy a separate room. These rules are even enforced at weddings and funerals (Murphy).
The similarities between the rights of women in Saudi Arabia and those of the women in The Handmaid’s Tale were shocking. One main difference that I came across was the lack of a catastrophic event in Saudi Arabia’s recent history that propelled them into such tyranny. One thing I did come across often though, was that women were taught, and believe, that without their “Guardian”, they will be raped and tortured. This fear is partially true. If a woman is seen without an escort and is not in the regimented dress, she may be stopped by the religious police, harassed, tortured, and put through virginity inspections also known as rape. In addition, the authorities do nothing to combat sex related violence because they believe that it is the woman’s fault for seducing a man. Therefore, serial rapists and even first offenders go free and are never pursued. I believe that it is through this fear that the government maintains authority and control over women; keeping them from uprising. This same fear is used in The Handmaid’s Tale. For example, The Handmaids are afraid that if they do not get pregnant, their Wife will send them to the colonies. Or, if they pleasure themselves, they may have their hand beaten until it is useless or even cut off.
So why do we, and all other nations sit back and allow such severe discrimination to go on? It is complicated. We can invade any county just because we don’t like how they are doing things. Even though both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have filed extensive report on the abuse going on in Saudi Arabia, we still do nothing about it. Why? Because the situation involves much “culture sensitivity” (Handrahan). We don’t want to offend anyone, we also do not want to start unnecessary wars. It is like all the stories you read about someone getting beat up or raped in public, but no one comes to help because they don’t want to get involved. This is getting off topic, but I do believe that everyone should decide for themselves the ethical logistics of not helping out a person, or group of people that are in need.
As I researched women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, I came across country after country and religion after religion crammed with gender discrimination. From Mormons to Buddhists to Muslims, Indonesia to Afghanistan to Paraguay they all encompass sexist laws. While we won equal rights in the United States less than a century ago, others still struggle to gain even basic rights; ones that we never had to fight for. I believe that it is important for women and men to be aware of sex related violence and more importantly, everyone should be aware that we are privileged to have equal rights.




















Works Cited

Al-Mohamed, Asmaa. "Saudi Women's Rights: Stuck at a Red Light." Journalist and Women’s Rights Activist. Al Arabiya. Web. 22 July 2010. .
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Print.
Handrahan, L. N. "Gender Apartheid and Cultural Absolution: Saudi Arabia and the International Criminal Court." ProQuest. Human Rights Tribune, 31 Mar. 2001. Web. 25 July 2010. .
Lantos, Tom. "Discrimination Against Women and the Roots of Global Terrorism - Human Rights Magazine, Summer 2002." American Bar Association - Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice. Web. 21 July 2010. .
Murphy, Caryle. "Cleric's Support for Men and Women Mingling in Public Sparks Furor in Saudi Arabia -CSMonitor.com." The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com. 13 Apr. 2010. Web. 21 July 2010. .
"Saudi Arabia: Women’s Rights Promises Broken | Human Rights Watch." Home | Human Rights Watch. Web. 23 July 2010. .
"Women's Action 2.1." Equality Now. Oct. 1992. Web. 23 July 2010. .

Essay Three Ideas

There are, and have been, many totalitarian governments. They usually thrive for many years. I do not understand why. Why, when people are miserable and being controlled and oppressed do they stand by and allow the current situation to continue? How do these governments even rise to power to begin with? Then, once they are in place, even though the people hate them, they still stand by and support them even serve them! How come, even though the people outnumber the government and armed forces they will not take a stand? These are things that I want to learn because it seems that these governments rise to power too often and I do not understand why. We are not so numb to the world that we can’t see what is going on, so why?
I plan to take a look at different real government groups that have managed to assume total power, such as Iran or the Nazis, and compare the events leading up to the transformation of the government to the events in The Handmaid’s Tale. I hope to learn more about the thinking and lives of the oppressed. Through this I may be able to connect with many of Atwood’s characters better, not only Offred, but also Nick, the Commander, Aunt Lydia, and Serena Joy.
In addition, I would like to explore the roles of women in oppressed societies.

Favorite Book

An old crotchety man. A young enthusiastic women. These two polar opposites are the main characters of Wallace Stegner’s “All the Little Live Things”. The extreme contrasts in the personalities of Joe Allston and Mariam Caitlin result in both discord and amity. These conflicts are seen clearly in the many character differences between the two, as well as their quarrelling interactions. On a deeper level, Stegner creates two characters that ingenuously represent two differing environmental views.
Joe Allston, a retired literary agent, moved to the countryside where he grows a well-kept garden. Weeded, dead-headed, pruned, and edged you might mistake his gardens to belong to the retired head of landscaping for the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens. Perfect flower-beds do not come easy as Joe describes his never-ending battle,
Here in authentic Eden, where plants grow the way fire goes up a fuse, you can’t turn your back for two days without having the place taken over by things that wither or curl or frazzle the leaf, things that feed on the hearts of roses, things like mildews and thrips and red spiders and white flies and mealy bugs and borers, the blights and the rusts and the smuts. . . I was self-employed in a holy war against the thousands of pests that infest Eden. (54-55)

He fights to keep everything in his garden perfect. From an equal blend of perfectly balanced colors to a variety of leaf sizes and shapes. Towards the beginning of the book, gophers start burrowing around his garden. Joe gets his gun to end their peskiness. But in his eye, they are more than nuisances, they are his enemies. I started to realize just how personally he took their existence when he says, “Who the hell are these? Trespassers, shakers of the earth” (56). In this scene Joe is, as always, trying to shape and control the natural world to be aesthetically pleasing to him. It is his never-ending fight to tame and overcome nature. For to him, the sole purpose of nature is to serve mankind, and if it cannot be domesticated, it should not exist.
It is in this scene that Mariam is first introduced. As Joe looks down at a gopher he has just shot, he is startled by the “musical voice that says, ‘For heaven’s sake, what have you gone and done’” (57). This is the first of many times that Mariam will speak out against Joe’s methods of controlling the natural world. She questions his gardening style early on by asking, “Is it fair to plant a lot of plants that were never intended to grow here and then blame the gophers for liking them?” (59).
Mariam represents the naturally balanced earth. She is often described by Stegner with earthly language such as “young poplar leaves” (57). Mariam would like to let the earth go, let the foreign plants die and allow the indigenous plants to grow back. She is forever optimistic, not seeing the “bad” plants such as poison-ivy as bad but simply as other living plants. Even the thorns on the roses and the crab-grass are beautiful to her. Mariam is an untamable spirit her wild-soul expressed in her passion for nature. Although her simple outlook on life and the world around her can be depicted as ignorant, she really seems more naïve; she is untouched by the synthetic troubles so often blown out of proportion by the world. To me, she is the very image of our long lost, carefree youth.
Despite their conflicting personalities and quarrelsome interactions, not all of the tension between them is negative. Joe and Mariam mold and mesh in a conflicting way that is similar to that of elementary students who claim to loath one another but for some reason, fight after fight, remain best friends. Joe never quite understands Mariam, but her friendship is of great importance. In the garden one day, disgusted at finding aphids on his roses, Joe mockingly threatens to send Mariam the “ruined” rose, accusing her, “You like your roses with holes in them” (85). Once again Joes shows that he does not quite understand her. It is not that Mariam likes roses with holes in them; she simply sees each rose as equally beautiful to the next whether it is full of holes and being eaten by aphids or picture perfect on the set of a photo shoot. She sees beauty in all things.
Mariam’s inevitable death, although rivetingly horrifying, helps Joe to fight his own demons surrounding the loss of his son. Her death allows for some kind of closure in his life and guides him to move on. Not only does it help him to overcome a past traumatic death but also changes his very way of thinking. Stegner ends the novel with Joe reflecting on Mariam,
Not for a moment. And so even in the gnashing of my teeth I acknowledge my conversion. It turns out to be for me as I once told her it would be for her daughter. I shall be richer all my life for this sorrow. (345)

With “All the Little Live Things”, Stegner created a series beautifully represented, realistic conflicts. On multiple levels he creates turmoil from petty quarrels, to inner havoc, to the constant deep undertones of unchanging on-going environmental conflict. Because of the deep, intricate relationship between these two characters, it is by far one of my favorite novels.
Stegner, Wallace. All the Little Live Things. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin, 1991. Print.

Weak Thesis Statements

1.I’m going to write about Darwin’s concerns with evolution in The Origin of the Species.

-Or-

Darwin’s concern with survival of the fittest in The Origin of the Species leads him to neglect a potentially conflicting aspect of his theory of evolution-survival as a matter of interdependence.

A is the weak thesis statement because it does not make a claim.

2. An important part of one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view.

-Or-

Although an important part of one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view a persistent danger is that the students will simply be required to substitute the teacher’s answers for the ones they grew up uncritically believing.

A is the weaker thesis statement because it is too broad. B not only leads to what college is about, but also what it isn’t about.

3. By inventing terms, such as “loose fit” and “relaxed fit”, the jean industry has attempted to normalize, even glorify, its product for an older and fatter generation.

-or-

The jeans industry targets its advertisements to appeal to young adults.

B is the weaker thesis because it is too broad. BUT! I feel that A is going too in depth and the sentence would be better used in a support paragraph.

4. Othello is a play about love and jealousy.

-or-

Although Othello appears to attack jealousy, it also supports the skepticism of the jealous characters over the naïvete of the lovers.

A is weaker because it states what everyone already, or should already, know.

5. The songs of the punk rock group Minor Threat relate to the Feelings of individuals who dare to be different. Their songs are just composed of pure emotion. Pure emotion is very important in music, because it serves as a vehicle to convey the important message of individuality. Minor Threat’s songs are meaningful to me because I can identify with them.
-or-
The punk rock group Minor Threat uses emotional lyrics to appeal to their target audience, which considers itself individualistic and therefore the lyrics must convey a message of individuality.

A is weaker because it is going way too in depth. It not only gives the thesis statement but also begins splaying support for it.



Why are Offred’s visions of Luke important?

Offred’s visions of Luke are important to the theme of the book because they show what a strong and independent woman she is. While her visions show that she clearly longs for his companionship, she is not waiting for his rescue. She imagines different outcomes for Luke, most of which are not happy. But in none of these visions does she envision him coming back to save her.

This is a strong thesis because it is easily argued since the visions are left for interpretation. On the other hand I am able to use the text in order to explain what I mean. It is also fairly specific as it addresses a single instance in the book.

Midterm Letter

Dear Laura Darrow,

I am writing on behalf of my sanity. When I enrolled in this class, along with my other five credits, I had no idea how much work it would be. I don’t believe that is a bad thing though. While I am not an English major I have taken a few English classes; all of which have been dreadfully dull. I am pleased to say that yours is not. I enjoy how gritty many of the readings are. While at first I disgusted the idea of blogging and discussion boards, I now see that both are great tools. I don’t mean to suck up, there are things that I don’t like about the class such as the war theme, but I have gotten over it.

My biggest challenge thus far has been my ongoing battle with technology. For whatever reason, we always seem to clash. You may be thinking “then why in H*** did you take an online class”? Please, allow me to explain. My boyfriend is an Internet Technician for a local business. While he is extremely computer suave, he refuses to help me with my own computer problems (ok, maybe not refuses, but he tries to have me figure stuff out first). He encouraged me to take an online class so that I would get over my drudge against computers and alas, that has become my biggest accomplishment! I even frequent my email account now! Silly, I know. I have almost caught up with everyone else in the 21^st century.

Most of the classes that I take are science classes. This means that I have written many lab reports and thesis papers but very few literary analysis. Besides the occasional article pertaining to the course work, I only ever read my textbooks and the newspaper. None of these really require much analyzing as they are fairly blunt in what they are saying. Can you imagine trying to decipher an Anatomy and Physiology textbook written in poetry form? Or even as a novel? It just wouldn’t work out. While many of my classes require critical thinking, I am finding that the written analysis part of your class is working a different part of my brain. While challenging, it is nice to draw on skills that I started to learn long ago but have since forgotten about.

For the second half of this class, I hope to improve my analysis skills. More importantly, I would like to brush up on my all my writing skills. While I do not anticipate doing too much essay writing as a nurse, it is a skill that is important in everyday life whether writing for a grant or a job application; it is a necessity to life in our society. In addition, I forgot how much I enjoy writing and would like to continue blogging after this class is done. I am not sure what exactly I will blog about, but hopefully it will be interesting.

Thank you for putting up with my many technical and computer related questions,

Avery Cook

__________________________________________

Poems Martha Wrote
(But Lieutenant Cross Never Read)

Your face did not rot No matter how hard I tried To imagine The flesh Falling Off Revealing the Crimson Blood Stained skull beneath.

Your feet did not drop off No matter how long I made you stand In the snow Shivering Skin turning numb Black with frost bite.

Your hands did not weld together No matter how long I made you beg Squishing your flattened Palms into prayer Forcing you to your knees Pleading with me.

For all the hours You knelt Your knees did not lock Into that humbling position Nor did your lips obtain Third degree burns Despite the thousands of Adoring kisses You Gave Me.

But—Your heart It did not withstand My fierce blows. You grew fonder and fonder Of me Until with one Adulterous Wallop Your heart Froze Paralyzed With the anguish I bestowed

—Until it melted Sinking deep into the crevasses Of Our body Where no light entered And it hardened Into a Lifeless Hunk of Worthless Organ Never to climb back Up to its rightful home.

No—Your face did not rot Your feet did not fall off Your hands did not fuse together Your lips did not suffer burns Nor did your knees lock into a kneel But your heart—It melted And fell Hiding far, far— away

On the Rainy River

The chapter “On the Rainy River” takes place during the summer of 1968 when he receives his draft notification. He had up until that point, been and anti-war advocate by writing editorials for the school newspaper. He thought that he was above the war; that he was of more use as an intellectual. He was furious and believed that if the war should be fought by those who support it, not by those who are drafted into supporting it. O’Brien spent the remainder of the summer working on an assembly line at a slaughterhouse. While working he has nothing put time to contemplate escaping to Canada. He considers the risks of humiliation and being caught, but one day, the urge to run overtakes him and he goes.
He travels up the Rainy River which borders the USA and Canada and stops for a few days at a rundown fishing resort. Although the owner, Elroy, didn’t ask questions, O’Brien was sure that he knew exactly what he was up to. He then spends six days there doing handy work for Elroy. When it came time to bill him, Elroy figured that he owed O’Brien money. Although he refused it, Elroy left the money for him as an “Emergency Fund”(O’Brien 57). The next day Elroy took him out fishing on the river close to the Canadian border. O’Brien is overwhelmed by the decision that he is faced with and just cries while Elroy pretends not to notice. During this time, O’Brien is convicted and believes that the entire universe is watching him betray his nation and he is overwhelmed with the embarrassment of it all. He doesn’t ever jump out, but goes back home and later to Vietnam.
O’Brien starts off the chapter with a guilty conscious confessing that “This is one story I’ve never told before. Not to anyone. Not to my parents, not to my brother, not even to my wife” (O’Brien 43). It is as if he is going into confession, not really on his own free will, but because he cannot stand the shame of what he has to confess any longer. He feels he is a coward for trying to run and failing. But most of all, he feels that he is a coward for submitting and going to war. This chapter is about O’Brien reliving a time when he could have changed any number of things in his life and come out the other side with his dignity still intact for doing what he believed right. But instead, he gave into the high (stronger and more armed) power and went against everything he believed in and went to war.