In
Their Eyes Were Watching God and/or
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, how does gender (society’s vision of what it means to be male and female) affect characters’ identities, decisions, and/or lives? In the society presented in the novel, what does it mean to be a man? a woman? Do the society's expectations of masculinity and femininity affect Janie's and Maya's life in any significant ways? Are there any other characters that seem driven by societal expectations of gender (say, Joe Starks, for instance)? How has society's concept of gender roles changed over time? How has it not changed?
This blog post will relate to “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
ReplyDeleteThroughout Maya’s life, she is exposed to strong women who defy society’s expectations of a traditional mother. Her Momma defies this stereotype by owning and operating a successful general store and providing for her children without support from a male. Maya’s true mother is also a defiant woman who beats men that curse her, while dancing and gambling. These two women really inspire Maya to ignore sexism present in her society, which leads her to doing many unpredictable things. Maya also comes in contact with men who fail to fulfill the expectations of society to be strong and providing. Her Uncle Willie is a crippled man who cannot provide for himself, and therefore lives with his mother. Maya observing these things kept her from making gender roles important in her life. Society’s perception of gender roles has definitely became more tolerant over time, but the roles presented to Maya of women cooking and cleaning and men working are still present in our culture today.
This blog post will relate to “The Things They Carried.”
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, there is a specific role that the men of the war expect women to fall into. They are discussed as objects of pleasure, and one woman during this novel defies this standard to change the men’s view. Mark Fossie decides to bring his girlfriend, Mary Anne, over to Vietnam. At first, she fills the gender role splendidly by helping take care of wounded men. But eventually, she starts to venture out into Vietnam, joins the Greenies, and is never seen again. Mary Anne leaving greatly affects Fossie, although he is supposed to be a man during war. Men are put under just as much pressure as women in this society, though, because they are being sent off to war. The men have to be careful to never seem afraid, and they constantly have to kill or risk being killed. To be a man in this society is to head off to war and be successful there, as well as to come back with medals. Neither of these gender roles have really changed over time.
This blog will relate to "Their Eyes Were Watching God".
ReplyDeleteWithin the first four chapters of this novel it shows that women are held as property during Nanny's time. They should be the homemakers of the family and wear dresses to symbolize their femininity. These women, due to their race, come from a place where none other would wish to be. They are given no respect and are used as work mules to satisfy the ones who think themselves higher than the women. Nanny had come from a hard place and she wishes to put Janie in a better, more secure life to protect her. But being a women in this society shows that the men think the women should praise their husbands, as Logan Killicks expects Janie to do. After Janie leaves this town and returns on her own in overalls, there is gossip. Life then does not differ substantially from life today. Women are expected to work to satisfy whilst still somehow holding an image of a petite flower. Although, at the same time, gender roles have changed in ways. While women are still predominately in certain jobs or homemakers, men are more and more seen as gentler and caring regardless of the stereotype of men having to be tough and uncaring.
Growing up in the south, Maya was expected to be a respectful young lady. This meant she was supposed to be polite, kind, and courteous to everyone. She was supposed to hold her tongue and treat everyone with respect. When she didn’t, she was seen as uppity and was physically punished by her grandmother. It seemed as though her grandmother lived her life almost exactly the way women were supposed to act during that time. She held her tongue as she was being mocked by the poor white folk. She raised her children to respect god, just like she was raised. And most of all, it seemed as though Maya’s grandmother was almost always polite to everyone she met, even the ones that didn’t deserve it. Today gender roles have changed in an attempt to give women equal chances to succeed in today's society. Women are no longer expected to stay at home, rather they are encouraged to go out and become politicians, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. What has stayed the same is the idea that women should be polite and kind. Back in Maya’s youth, the expectations were that women were to be kind and courteous, and boys were supposed to be tough, mean, and be able to hold their own. In today’s age it has changed that so both men and women are expected to be kind and respectful. We as a society have changed gender roles into more of a melting pot, where men and women share the same load and work together towards a common goal.
ReplyDeleteThis post refers to “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, gender plays a huge role in the plot and in characterization. There is a fine line that defines how a character is supposed to be and how they really are. The biggest example would be Janie. She grows up in a society where the people around her have a big influence on her life. There are expectations placed upon women especially that pressure Janie into fitting in and not standing out. Women are expected to obey their husbands without talking back and Janie struggles with that because of how Joe Sparks treats her. Joe Starks struggles with the social expectation that a man has to have it all. He is suppose to be at the top of the totem pole with success, wealth, and a wife to call his own. The society’s expectations of both men and women definitely impacted the character actions in a huge way. Today in our society the expectation of gender roles are less extreme. Women have come a long way in to being more independent and self-serving. Our society as a whole still expects different things out of men and women but also have become more accepting.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, it is obvious from the beginning that women are seen solely as property and have no other purpose to the men other than to be the "homemakers". The whole town seems to believe that men are in charge and women are only around to serve them. Much of Janie's characterization relies on her strong willed independence. While all of the women were sitting on the porch in their dresses, Janie walked by in muddy overalls. On page 2, the gossiping women quote, "What she doin coming back here in dem overhalls? Can't she find no dress to put on? Where's dat blue satin dress she left here in?" Janie prides herself in being different and breaking stereotypes. Joe Starks believes that men are far superior to women and all women do should be for men. His goal is to control everyone around him. Society has changed greatly since the time this book was published, yet there are still many parts of the world and even in our own country that believe in seperated roles of men and women. In the South particularly, many families still hold traditional roles of the man working and the woman taking care of children. Overall, society has become more accepting of men and women playing different roles.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post relates to "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
ReplyDeleteMaya notes throughout the novel that she grew up in a sexist society. As a result of this sexist society, Maya was bound to a confining role of simply doing as she was told. Throughout her childhood she was forced to silently watch on as the "powhitetrash" insulted her and her grandmother. Maya also claimed that Shakespeare was her first love. Maya's love for reading is evident even early on in her childhood. But the reality of Maya ever pursuing a career in writing in the society that she lived in as a child was almost impossible. After all, Maya was expected to be a housewife and at best help her grandmother manage their general store. In this society that Maya grew up in, she was expected to be polite and courteous to anybody and everybody out of fear from being ostracized from the community or worse, a victim of a racial crime. Men in this time were expected to support their family and become real "men" by protecting their family from harm and be the breadwinners of the family by earning money. Men were also expected to be tough as well as mentally and physically strong. It is also obvious that Maya's grandmother's goals in life were hindered by expectations of gender roles. After all, being a housewife would probably be a tiring job for anyone and her grandmother has obviously grow bitter from having to conform to so many expectations for women in society during her time. Gender roles have obviously changed as sexualities other than heterosexually are being brought to attention. For example, it is more acceptable for homosexual males to be more feminine and vice versa for homosexual females. Additionally, men are typically expected in this more modernized society to do more feminine tasks such as doing dishes, laundry, or taking care of babies and children. Females are also learning to do male roles such as changing a tire, changing oil, or delving into more challenging careers such as doctoring or business. However, there is always room for improvement when it comes to gender roles in society.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, all three of Janie's marriages showed the dominance of men over women. In her arranged marriage with Logan Killicks, he treated Janie more like he owns her, rather than a wife. On page 31, Logan said "You ain't got no particular place. It's wherever Ah need yuh. Git uh move on yuh, and dat quick." This proves he believes he had complete control over Janie. In her marriage with Joe Starks, he believed he was far superior to her in every aspect. On page 71, Joe said "When Ah see one thing Ah understands ten. You see ten things and don't understand one." This proves that he believed men (particularly him) and women (particularly Janie) are not at all equal, and even that men are smarter than women. In Janie's marriage with Tea Cake, he treated her well but even then he "just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss" (pg 47). Overall during that time, society as a whole accepted that "men were superior to women." Nowadays, more and more people are accepting gender equality. Women are now getting jobs that used to only be done by a man, and people are more accepting of that.
ReplyDeleteDuring , "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya is raised by her grandmother who, even though is African American and all things socially are against her she still managed to keep a store running successfully without a man in the picture. Her real mother is also not the typical African American woman in that time, she was okay with going about life with a carefree and lavish mindset. Both of the women influences in her life did not follow the gender norms. Maya was raised by her Momma to be a respectable young lady and to hold back from saying anything offensive or not proper and if something did slip, Maya was punished by feeling the disappointment from grandmother. Back in this time, most jobs involving business and anything not housework were held by men but both Maya's grandmother and mother achieved anything a man could do. As time has gone on, the opinion of the mother being the one to stay at home or do the dirty work at home is still strong, but the idea is slowly going away. There are plenty of strong women leaders today who hold the same jobs as men and are completely successful in doing so.
ReplyDeleteThis post refers to "Their Eyes Were Watching God".
ReplyDeleteIt is clear from the beginning that gender has a big part in the characterization of the novel. The women in the novel are expected of certain things, how they dress, what roles they should play in their society and how they should treat the men. Knowingly, these are all things men are expecting out of the women and with that, the women are still not given the respect or treated in any way they should be. Just from the novel itself you can see how times have changed from society then to society now. Some will stereotype women today and will still expect certain things like what careers or roles women should have in their society. However, nothing is to the great extreme as it used to be. I feel as the years go on and people pick up different views on gender roles in different society's and gender equality in general it will still be something that continuously changes, even in ways never expected. All in all, years from now, I believe this topic will be a never ending process of change, with possible changes that are drastically different than they ever have been before.
Over the last 100 - 150 years, society’s idea of gender roles has changed significantly. The roll of women staying home to take care of the kids, cooking the meals, and cleaning the home has transformed into women pursuing jobs and careers that were traditionally reserved for men; such as welding, banking, and doctors. Unfortunately, some aspects have not changed as dramatically. Women are still paid less, on average, than their male counterparts doing the same job. In addition there are still several fields that have a bias against female workers such as construction and manufacturing. In “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” the society presented is male dominated with the man doing all the work outside the home to make the money for the family, while woman are expected to cook, clean, sit looking pretty. Janie’s life was affected significantly by society’s expectations of masculinity and femininity when she was married to Joe Starks. Janie could not do anything that was traditionally done by men such as playing checkers, or shooting guns because she was a woman. She was only viewed as a thing of property and was not to have her own opinion, but to always agree with her husband. Joe wants to be secure in his masculinity by being rich and powerful.
ReplyDeleteI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteGender roles have changed a lot from the time this book was written. In fact, the same year it was written is known as the decade change for women.
Women were expected to wear dresses, only speak when spoken to, cook for their husbands and children, stay at home when the men would go to work.... So many different things that put them below men and made them seem weak. Societies concept of gender roles has changed a lot though. Women now have jobs, play sports, don't need to dress the same as before, and even more. However, they have also stayed the same in some ways. They can't get some jobs, are still payed a little bit less, and although they don't have to, women are expected to act a certain way that is different from men. In "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Maya is put down all of the time for being a girl, along with her grandmother and mother. She has to stand there quietly all of the time while people are mean to her, her grandmother and mother just for being women. I believe that this is one of the big things that pushed her to achieve all that she did.
In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" it is very clear that gender roles were very dominate in society. In the very beginning of the novel women criticize Janie for wearing overalls and not a dress. Also, Nanny marries Janie off to Logan Killicks like property showing that woman are nothing more than property. While married to Joe Stark gender roles were quite clear, Joe never allowed her to play checkers and always expected her to listen to everything he told her to do, and when Taylor asked Janie to make a speech Joe said wives shouldn't make speeches. In present day society there are some changes that have been made in Womens' Rights, women are no longer seen as property and aren't expected to just clean the home and take care of the children, women can now hold jobs in any field, but women still make less than men.
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ReplyDeleteIn the time period when Maya was a child, she experienced difficulties that shaped her into the woman she became. She was expected to be kind, proper, and genuine towards everyone, which often led to her putting others before herself. Maya's grandmother raised Maya to believe that being a female, she was supposed to do everything she was told to do without a complaint or being a burden to others. The worst part about this point in time is that not only is society degradingly sexist, but it is awfully racist too. Maya had to grow up with both of these weights on her shoulders, but it made her a better, stronger person even at such a young age. She learned to know when it was appropriate to stand up for herself, and when it was better to just keep her thoughts and words to herself, no matter how difficult that challenge might be. The concept of society's gender roles have significantly changed since the 1930's-40's like in this novel and even in the 50's and 60's. Men were known to be superior to women in their roles of going to work and making money while women were expected to simply do what they were told with little to no authority. Today's society is thankfully different. Women get to choose what they want to do with their life, whether it means they want to be a stay-at-home mom, or get a career following their education.
ReplyDeleteThe male and female roles expected in the south in the '30's and '40's deeply affected Maya's life. To be a black man in the south meant to spend your live laboring hard for basically no pay. They spent their whole lives working for the white community and earned enough money to barely survive. They were expected to get married and support their families. A few men would try to get a college education and get a higher paying job. As a black woman, their job was to be a mom. They had to get married and have kids. They were solely responsible for raising the kids and taking care of the house. These roles affect Maya while growing up because she realizes she doesn't fit in the traditional role. She expects more from herself and wants to excel. Society's views on these roles has changed dramatically. Women are definitely seen as more equal now. They have the same opportunities as men to get a good education and a good job. Women are seen as more than just someone who raises the kids and cooks. They can fill any role in society they want. Although there are many changes, sexism is still extant in society. Some people still believe women are trying to do too much and take over men's jobs.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God", early on in the book we can see the gender roles of Hurston's society. Janie walking past her neighbors in overalls instead of a dress stirs up everyone in the area. We see that women are expected to act as lady-like as possible. While Janie is married to Joe, she is treated as property. Joe won't let her do anything un-ladylike and Janie has to comply just because she's a women. Janie has a very modern day mindset and wants to be independent.
ReplyDeleteSociety has changed the gender roles a lot since this story takes place. Now, it's completely acceptable for women to be independent and work, instead of being the home maker. Although, one thing that has not changed in society, is the general concept that men are above women. In the workforce, men on average make more. Women are still expected to stay home and take care of the children instead of the men. Even so, a women can thrive and live a very happy independent life today, a life that Janie wished for at the beginning of the novel.
In "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Maya Angelou is is growing up in a time where not only are blacks beginning to gain more influence in society, but women are too. She shows this by stressing the importance of her grandmother, an African American woman, and her ability to own and run her own shop that is fairly popular amongst white people. When the "powhitetrash" people enter the store Maya's grandmother has more influence on them than Uncle Willy or other men do despite her being a woman. Maya's grandmother stresses the importance of not only acting like a lady and being polite, but also being strong against whites and forms of racism by maintaining a positive attitude and acting more civilized than others. Her character shows the strong independent attitude of women during that time period, and how she passes those traits on to Maya.
ReplyDeleteIn the book " I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" the gender roles are more different then they are today. Women were mostly looked as caregivers or house maids. The men on the other hand are known as the hard workers. Races also put in a big impact to the gender roles. As an African American they weren't given that good of jobs as the white people did. Maya's grandmother has taught her to be respectful and polite to others if they are being rude or racist towards her. When the white people came into the store her grandmother showed that she is always polite even though they were being disrespectful to her. Parents today are just like Maya's grandmother. In today the gender roles have changed quite a bit. The only time it hasn't changed is by how woman are still the ones that take care of the house and the children most of the time. Women now able to work where ever they want. In some jobs the women are out working the men.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" Maya is raised to be respectful. Her grandmother punishes her for any rude or disrespectful behavior. Maya's grandmother was polite and religious just like a proper lady of that time should be. But she was unlike the other women because she did not stay at home and do chores and care for children. Instead she ran a successful business. Maya's grandmother's Store thrived and showed the strong, independent women Maya's grandmother truly was. I think this helped Maya ignore the stereotypes and strive for her dreams and goals. Today, there are still some stereotypes and barriers women have to overcome. But overall women are given a much better chance to be successful.
ReplyDeleteI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
ReplyDeleteGender definitely decided your role in society back in the day and in Maya Angelou’s book. Females were supposed to cook, clean, and raise children. Men were in charge of providing for the family and contributing to the growth of society. In the book, Maya was always taught to be respectful and polite to everyone no matter what. She was raised to be civilized and strong when it came to society but she wanted to be more than the traditional expectation. People like Maya led to the shift in culture and gender driven roles. Nowadays society still mostly relies on men for the more grueling jobs and women for the housekeeping type things but its way more relaxed and not as defined. It’s not uncommon for the roles to be switched or even equal.
In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya is surrounded by people who defy society's traditional views of what it means to be a man or a woman. It was uncommon for a woman to own and operate a store, even more uncommon for a black woman to do so. Although Maya's Momma's was a god-fearing woman (which was to be expected of a Southern woman), her strong will was enough to shatter the stereotypes held by other Southern citizens. Her Uncle Willie's physical handicap also broke the stereotype that the man of the house was expected to be the provider. Her mother was a head-strong woman who didn't take anything from anybody. Her father was refined and dignified. All of these people helped Maya to form her own views about society and what her place was in the world.
ReplyDeleteGender stereotypes are completely relevant in our society today. Women are still expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children and house. Men are expected to work, provide for the family, and discipline the children. However, these standards are gradually diminishing and becoming more lax. As Roma said previously, today we can see the roles of female and male be reversed or of equal status. It is more common today to see a stay-at-home dad or a female C.E.O. than it was in the 30's and 40's
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, gender roles have a major impact on the characters. In this society, most think that being a man means that you have to control everything and that you are the strongest. Also, most think that being a women means that you are not smart enough to act on your own and you must follow orders. This way of thinking has a huge affect on Janie. For example, Janie's second husband, Joe Starks, is completely driven by society's expectations and he believes that he has to control the whole town while he forces his wife to work in the store because she is not smart enough to do anything else. Also, he further shows this by saying she is incapable of making a speech. This affected Janie's identity because she was stuck in a store all the time trying to please society and she was unable to go off on her own and learn new things. Then, when Janie marries Tea Cake, they forget about societies expectations and Tea Cake teaches Janie how to play checkers and shoot a gun. This is what led Janie to not care about what society wanted from her. For our society, gender roles have changed in a few ways. For example, it is now very common for women to work outside of their homes and to get a full education. Also, it is not unusual for some men to become stay-at-home dads. Some things that have not changed is that women are more delicate and can be more emotional where men are taught to be tougher and not express their emotions.
ReplyDeleteThis relates to "I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings"
ReplyDeleteAfter Maya is raped by Mr. Freeman she believed that she was not pure anymore and purity is everything to a woman's image in the South. She began to think of herself as a vile creature and no longer an innocent girl. This was the reason she didn't tell anyone when she came back to Stamps. She believed that if she did they would all look at her as a disgusting sinner and not a woman. So she has to go on with this very dark secret just because she thinks that if she tells she'll be stripped of her womanhood.
Society's view on what it takes to be a woman really hasn't changed to much. They are still expected to cook, clean, bare children, and of course be pure (not to mention they're expected to have jobs nowadays). If a woman makes her own decision to 'hook-up' with a male that she is not married to she is looked down upon and viewed as a lesser citizen. If a male does the same thing he will be congratulated by other men and not shamed as a woman would be. There has been some empowering of women everywhere, but in a world where 'where's my sandwich' jokes are viewed as funny there is still more to go.
Gender vision plays an important role not just throughout the entire story but it starts at the beginning of “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Janie is walking through town, wearing overhauls. In the time period that this story takes place, women are thought and expected to dress and act very lady like and Janie thinks more modernly. All of this happens after Joe is dead because he doesn’t let her think in a modern way and forces her to act lady-like at all times.
ReplyDeleteNowadays society has different take on how women can act and what they can do. Women can have full time jobs, wear what they want and it is excepting for women to divorce their husbands which is completely different than what society thought then. Janie was either thinking for herself or thinking about the future since the way she thought is the way our society thinks.
In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, influence from gender greatly impacts Maya's life. Growing up as a black girl in the South during a time of segregation and inequality, Maya is taught and expected to be a polite and kind girl who treats all people with respect. If Maya opposes this expectation, her grandmother (referred to as Momma) physically punishes her. In the society presented in the novel, men are expected to work and make money for families, while women are the ones who are expected to stay at home and care for the children. Maya's grandmother challenges these expectations by operating and running her store without a male figure. What is special about Maya's grandmother is that she takes over both of the expected roles of a male and a female, as she also cares for the children and their disabled uncle, Willie. One way gender significantly impacts Maya's life is the incident with Mr. Freeman. A reader can infer that Mr. Freeman sexually assaulted Maya because she is a submissive female. In fact, Maya often makes references to being "ugly." Society's visions of gender roles has changed over time as in the present day it is more common for women to have a dominant role of making money and working to support for families. One thing that has not changed in society about gender roles is the idea of male dominance and rape, as it will probably continue to be a dark part of humanity and never change.
ReplyDeleteIn I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya grows up in a world where beauty is defined to being white. She believes that that being black means being ugly, and thinks of her appearance as a "black ugly dream". Prejudice definitely has an effect on the lives of Maya and her family, and on Uncle Willie doubly. Maya and her friends and relatives will always be subject to prejudice merely because they are black; Uncle Willie has to endure even more hardship, since people are also wary of him since he is crippled. Prejudice is difficult to overcome, and Maya must realize that even though she is black she's young and people should realize that blacks are like everyone else. Society during the time period had a cookie cutter mindset where if you weren't the same as everyone else it were to be turned down upon.
ReplyDeleteMaya being a young girl, sees her gender to be very limiting. She thinks she can't be heroic due to her gender. She endures rape and other limitations because she is female. In the narrative being a girl can be just as limiting as being black. The worst part is that gender at the time was often more of a struggle than an embrace.
This blog post relates to the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, gender plays a huge role in affecting people’s decisions and lives. Janie is raised in a society in the south where everyone in her life influences the decisions she makes. Nanny convinces Janie to marry Logan Killicks just because he has land and would give Janie some security for living. However, Janie is an independent woman who does not want to listen to orders from her husbands and do their work or be treated like an object instead of a woman. In this novel, women are supposed to obey what they are told to do by their caretakers, Nanny, or their husband. However, Janie struggles with receiving commands or orders because she is independent and wants to do things her own way. Joe Starks is driven by expectation of being a man to lead the town, but Joe becomes head strong when he is supposed to have “everything”. Society affected the decisions Janie made especially when she started to become like her second husband Joe and woman thought she was too good to be doing work like them. Society’s concept of gender roles has changed over time. Women have become more independent and do not need a man to tell them what to do. Women in society live their own life and can build success, with wealth, without having a man by their side.
In “Their Eyes Were Watching God” gender dictated what you did in society. Women are expected to be like housewives by staying home and cooking meals or having feminine jobs. Being a woman affected Janie because it limited the opportunities for her. Janie was expected to marry Logan because her grandma told her she was expected to. Men definitely had most of the power in this society. Men were considered leaders and they provided the financial income for the family. They also did the jobs that involved a lot of labor. Joe Starks controls Janie in the time he was with her. Joe forced Janie to work in the store, cook, and clean. He also controls Janie by making her put her hair up so others cannot see it. Gender roles have changed over time so that women have more respect, and can take on their own roles of responsibility in today's society. It still seems that most women still clean and cook in most families in today's society, but it is not to the same extent as in the novel. Women still aren't paid the same as men for the same job but it has definitely gotten closer from what it once was.
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ReplyDeleteThis blog post refers to "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Throughout the novel gender roles heavily influence Janie’s life. Ever since Janie was a little girl she was well aware of a woman’s place in society. Women were considered the weaker sex and were expected to be the homemakers. In the novel women were fundamentally defined by their relationship to men. Women of this time could only gain power through marriage to powerful men. This is why Nanny wanted to make sure Janie was married before she died. If there weren’t expectations of femininity Janie would have never married Logan. Joe Starks, Nanny, and Logan Killicks are all characters in this novel that are driven by societal expectations of gender. Starks expected Janie to sit in the store all day while he went out. This way Starks knew where Janie was at all times. Another example of this is how Killicks and Starks expected Janie to cook dinner for them every night. Nanny also proves herself to be driven by gender roles. Before her death, Nanny sat Janie down and explained to her that she needed to marry Logan because she needed a man to provide for her. Janie ultimately ends up breaking traditional gender roles, despite Joe, Logan, or Nanny’s attempts to put Janie in her place as a homemaker. Over time to the idea of women leaving the home and joining the workforce has become more accepted by society. Yet again, there are still jobs where men and women are doing the same work and men are getting paid more. There are still places around the world where women are the homemakers. Overall society is slowly moving away from gender roles.
ReplyDeleteSociety’s version of what it means to be a male or a female has changed greatly over time. In the time of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya not only grew up facing racism but also sexism. She was born in a world where people thought little of women and found them incapable of completing men’s tasks. Women back then were expected to stay at home, take care of the children, clean the house, and cook meals for their families. They were not expected to get an education and a job. Males on the other hand were had to provide money for their families and were offered more opportunities in their lives. Maya’s grandmother demonstrates how you do not have to follow society’s expectations on gender. By owning the only store in the black community of Stamps Maya’s grandmother demonstrates that woman are capable of anything. She shows Maya how to stand up for herself and prove society wrong. This impacts Maya greatly and gives her the motivation to become a streetcar conductor. Women like Maya have changed our society today. Through their motivation they have changed many women’s lives. Today we are given the freedom and the equal opportunities as men although we still must battle some people who look down on us for being women.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Eyes Were Watching God", Janie never was able to reach the expectations of a real women. In that society the women were always the ones to be in the kitchen. For Janie it was hard to please the men she was married to such as Joe and Tea Cake. She was taken for granted when she sent Tea Cake out to fetch some fish ad he didn't return for days after. The respect for women was not yet put into play in this time of history. In the modern day society more respect is given to women and girls, although sometimes disrespect is disguised in a joke or comment to a lady. For instance males in this modern day in age make jokes that their girlfriend/wife should be the one in the kitchen making their sandwich. Men must become men and serve their women for once.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," sexism plays a major role. Women are stereotyped in a plethora amount of ways. It could be how they should dress, what household chores they do, or what jobs they possess. Although in this novel Maya is raised by her Momma who proves the stereotypes to not always be true. Women are not usually portrayed to own their own business, but in this novel Maya’s Momma does. She often has myriad amounts of business too. Maya’s Momma is a role model like none other. She shows Maya that although women are shown to do only certain things they are capable of so much more. Maya is also taught to be respectful and caring for others even if they may not be doing the same. Society has changed tremendously with sexism and racism. In modern day society gives women a great amount of respect. They are able to dress how they wish, they are able to hold jobs that before were only granted to men, and they are given freedom and equality rights. However sexisms still somewhat plays a role in our society, it is not nearly as harsh as in times such as when the novel was written.
ReplyDeleteZora Neale Hurston shows that women in the time were treated different based on gender as well as race. Considering that Janie was a mixed woman in the south, she was treated differently starting at an early age. When Janie was 16, her grandmother warned her that she would face gossip against her just because she was mixed and wanted Janie to marry soon. As a woman in the marriage, she was supposed to do whatever her husband asked of her as well as stay in the house, and not go anywhere where people would create a negative opinion of the man, an example would be when Tony’s wife came to the shop to ask for food. If the woman wasn’t working then they were supposed to gossip with the other women, like when Mrs. Turner visits Janie. The men were supposed to be the breadwinner and control the wife. They were allowed to do whatever they wanted and go where they wanted. These gender roles controlled Janie in the sense that she didn’t want to follow them and she wanted to be more independent, but what people thought of her was more important than going against society’s rules. In today's society, like my peers have stated, there is less sexism and racism but it still is happening.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie often holds back from expressing her opinion solely because she is a woman. The book gives examples of times where men gather on the porch of the store to tell stories, and Janie often enjoys listening to them. However, she cannot laugh along with the men at the store since she has to uphold her role of a woman based on societies standards. It doesn't help that her husband Joe is a person that thinks women are incapable of doing the things men can do. Thankfully, society's view on women has changed over the years and they are now being accepted to do jobs that used to only be held by men. Sure there is still some discrimination and sexism present, but modern society is making an effort to bring women to equality with men.
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ReplyDeleteGender plays a huge role into determining what decisions people make in their lives. Janie has the people around her make her important decisions for her because she grew up in the South were that was common. Nanny has Janie marry Logan Killicks because he can provide money and security for her. Janie does not like him however because he is not romantic and doesn't treat her like a woman. She then leaves him for Joe Starks. Starks appears to be the man that she loves. However, when he becomes major, he tells her what to do and bosses her around. Because of this, Janie is forced to spend every second helping her husband, while not living the life she wishes to live. Men at that time were expected to make a decent income and provide for their families. Women were expected to do whatever their husbands said and do it with a smile. Gender roles have changed greatly over the years. For example, today it is common for women to have jobs of their own that pay money. During Janie's lifetime, most women were just house moms and stayed at the house caring for their family.
In "I Know Why Caged Bird Sings" gender roles play an influential role in Maya's life because the women in her life have defied the expected role expected of a black woman. Her Momma had white men in debt to her, which is a rarity in the society of that time. She was even referred to as "Mrs." which was scandalous in the southern society of the time, but was only laughed off. Also Maya's mother and grandmother defied their roles as women and of race. They had sway over all of Chicago even the police department and they were able to get away with everything including harming a white person. With these women influencing Maya's beliefs and perceptions, traditional gender roles have no real hold on Maya which leads to her following her own dreams. While society's concept of gender roles have changed it is still prevalent today in the work place and at home. Many still believe women are inferior to men, but women have steadily gained more influence over time and have continued to do so.
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ReplyDeleteWithin the novel Janie fights to be taken as not just another house wife, but as a strong independent woman. During the time period women were seen as nothing more than a common house wife. Women were to cook, clean, and care for their husbands and not do anything more. At the town meeting Janie was asked to make a speech, but Joe Starks had prevented it because she was only a woman. The men in the society are in charge of providing money and food for their families, but expect their wives to do everything else for them. It is because of the idea that women cannot support themselves on their own that Janie is forced to marry Logan Killicks, due to his amount of land and ability to provide for her. Both Joe and Logan were consumed with the idea that women could not do the same things as men, and that women need to be sheltered and not brought into a "mens world." Throughout the years women have been brought into full stream of society. There are laws to protect woman's rights and make sure they are equal members of our society. One instant of women still being second to men would be that there still has not been a female president. There's a lot of men who think a women would not be capable of being president for no other reason than gender.
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ReplyDeleteTheir Eyes Were Watching God tells us that women have gender roles that society expected them to follow. The women were supposed to do all the housework and take care of kids, while the husbands went to do the work and raise money for the family and ensure their survival. Nanny wanted Janie married before she died because Janie would be better off in life. When Nanny caught Janie kissing Johnny Taylor, she married Janie off to Logan kellicks, who was a successful farmer, because she wanted Janie to be happy. When Janie was married to Kellicks, he made he made her do all of the housework like cooking and cleaning. When Janie runs away with Joe, Joe basically regarded her as property. He wouldn't let Janie talk at the town meetings and wouldn't let her do anything not "lady-like." These show that women were supposed to follow their husband’s orders. Today we have laws and legislation to make women equal in every way of life, so they won’t be treated like property.
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ReplyDeleteIn the novel Janie's grandmother, Nanny, was treated like property at a young age. Nanny didn't want that sort of life for Janie. Before Nanny died Janie married Logan Kellicks. While married Janie did all the housework and nothing else. Janie's second husband, Joe Starks treated her more like property the anything else. During the marriage Janie was in charge of the store (orders from Joe). She was not allowed to attend town meetings or input her own opinions when alone with her husband. Today women do not have to take orders from men without complainant as Janie did with Joe Starks. Women are still known today as the mother of the house to keep it clean and tidy.
I Know Why The Caged Bird sings
ReplyDeleteIn the book Maya's grandmother, Momma, was different then the average woman in society at this point in time. Momma had owned her own store and had constant business. This role was unheard, woman where supposed to clean and watch after the childeren. Maya's grandmother influenced her greatly. Maya then grew up with the morals that she is independent and she can do whatever she puts her mind to. An example of this is when Maya recieved the job at the train station. Today women are almost held up to the same standard as men. Also today, many people view stay- at- home moms as woman were back in this time period.
In "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" gender roles are a huge impact throughout the book. In the book, women are shown as being housemaids and the caretakers of the house. The book is full of stereotypes involving what women dressed like and what their responsibilities were. Not only that, but Maya was expected to be respectful to others at all time. If she did not comply, it would result in a beating from her Momma. Momma showed Maya that women could own their own store and run a business. She showed Maya that a women did not have to live the life that was expected of them. Momma was and independent women who had white men in her debt. This was almost unheard of especially considering she was a black women in the South. However, today the traditional gender roles are not the same. Women are able to do many of the same jobs a man can do. In today's society its not considered weird or nontraditional for a women to do the same job as a man.
ReplyDeleteIn I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, gender roles are shown in this book as starting to change, allowing men and women to start being able to do things that they wanted to do instead of having strict expectations on what they should provide for their families. Maya’s Momma is an example of the flexibility of the roles, being she was a successful business owner in Stamps, though this was uncommon for women. Maya’s mother also showed that she was able to hold her own with little help from a male. That being said the standard role of men getting the food and the women preparing it still was in place. This was shown at the annual summer picnic, where Maya described the men fishing in the pound then giving it to the women to prepare to eat. Maya was growing up in changing times in society, where gender roles were slowly drifting away.
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ReplyDeleteIn this society it is known to obviously favor whites over african americans and male over female. The men in the society are known to be providers while women are objects of desire. Many cases come up of rape victims in this society and for the african american male to take the blame. The expectations of society on Maya definitely play a role in how others define her and how she defines herself. She is growing up in a world where men are aloud to take charge and have all authority, women have little rights, and for her to make her mark on the world she would have to experience sexual encounters in order to only be recognized.
In "I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing," Maya grows up in a family that is very tradtional, but she inspires to be her own because of her Mom. Starting at the time when she was eight she was raped. So we know she was already confused about sexuality so she does not truly understand the difference between love and rape, this greatly affects the way she acts by the time she leaves her mother. To be a man or a woman you have to follow all the traditional roles that are given to you, but Maya's mom is different she goes past womanly roles, she runs her own store and works as both a mother and a father figure for Maya so she can learn about and make her own rules about sexuality. When you compare todays culture to ours women have taken roles traditionally by men and men have done the same, everything back then was segregated against. Now everybody is equal and we have learned to live together in perfect harmony. As we can see Maya uses her sexuality to keep her moving in life and keep her mind focused on her dreams and aspirations
ReplyDeleteIn "Their eyes were watching God" gender roles play a big part. Women are seen as typical housewives who are left to do all the work to make the men happy. Women are kind of like pack mules in the novel because they carry the workload while the men are out at jobs to carry on their own role as the providers. The women are basically seen as a man's personal property instead of a human being. The women are forced to wear dresses to show their femininity which is why gossip starts to spread when a girl returns in overalls. Gender roles are definitely expressed throughout the novel to typical roles of male and females both.
ReplyDeleteIn Their Eyes Were Watching God, to be a woman meant to be the homemakers, they were expected to wear dresses and obey their husbands. "What she doin' coming back here in dem overhalls? Can't she find no dress to put on?"(pg.2) Janie does not follow this stereotype. She is her own person, and isn't afraid to express her opinion and do what makes her happy. Jody Starks believes that the men are the far superior to women, and he sees them as property. Men provide for the women, and the women should accept what they are told. Now of days, women are almost equal to men. Women can get jobs that used to be only seen as a man's job, and they can support themselves and not rely on men.
ReplyDeleteThroughout I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings the idea of gender roles affects what Maya does as a character. She is seen in society as a woman, and by men of that society as just an inferior nuisance. Already being an African American citizen, Maya is looked down upon. But when added that she is also a female, the respect given towards here is lessened even more. The sad reality is that many people still today have an unchanging disrespect towards women simply because of their gender. Men are still seen as the providers and women as the caretakers of the household. When the two roles are switched it's still seen as this odd occurrence.
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ReplyDeleteSociety's expectations of females greatly affects Janie's life. When she is a teenager, she is expected to be married, so she is. Even though she is in no way ready for this big change, it is "whats right." Her first husband expects her to do absolutely nothing but cook, clean, and make his life easier by doing chores. In her second marriage, Janie's identity becomes "The Mayors Wife." The Mayor, Joe Starks, believes that in order to be as masculine as possible, he must have as much power as possible. Sometimes when he is so busy making himself a man, he doesn't realize that he is putting Janie down in the process. Women today are still considered more likely to take care of the house, cook, clean, etc. But it is also not uncommon that women are in leadership positions that were formally all held by men.
In the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" the women are expected of many unnecessary things: the way they dress, the roles they play in a "relationship", and the way they treat men. Knowingly, these are all things men expect out of the women and with that, the women are still not given the respect or treated in any way they should be. In today's society we, as men, have stepped it up many notches within giving women the respect they deserve. Well, most of us as men. There are still those few individuals in every group that treat women still as objects to this day. Though it is not nearly as severe as back then, some men deserve to be called "pigs". This will be the problem of our daughters, grand daughters, and generations to come in the future. It is an everlasting topic that rapidly changes as more people take a stand and change the way that they treat women.
ReplyDeleteSocial classification because of gender is a main theme in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. By Janie's second marriage she has learned how to bite her tongue and refrain from talking back. Although she is insulted by Joe because she is a women she is not expected to fire back, but later in that marriage she stays true to her character and will insult him back only to be hit. Throughout the book Janie is expected to do as much work as the men, but still receives less rights. The masculine men feel they are expected to be in charge and make all the decisions. Because of that Janie is always being ordered around. A character that falls victim to social expectations is Tea Cake. Tea Cake feels that he needs to assert his ownership over Janie by hitting her. Tea Cake knows Janie does not deserve it, but he does it anyway. Many traditional people do not believe in change and still feel that women should hold domestic careers. Gender equality has obviously improved over time, and there are roles that women hold now that are unprecedented.
ReplyDeleteThis comment will relate to the novel "I Know why the Caged Bird Sings." In the novel "I Know why the Caged bird sings", gender roles play a very large part such as what type of job you have, where you fit in in society, etc. Maya is also largely influenced on the women around her. During the time period this book was written in males were favored over females and white people were favored over African Americans. Because Maya is a female African American she been discriminated against and always looked down upon. The sad truth is that even today people are still being discriminated against because they are a different gender or ethnicity. This is because some people still see them as "inferior" human beings or even just different than them. You mainly see this discrimination in religious groups, and in certain parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya grows up in a society where the women are seen very differently then men. This is especially true in how they look once they start to mature. As Maya begins to grow up she sees all the girls her age growing into women. She looks at herself and realizes that she looks nothing like them. She doesn't have curves. In fact she even thinks she looks more like a boy than a maturing girl. All the other girls have boys that think they are attractive and she does not have anyone telling her she's attractive. When someone finally does take notice of her she doesn't know what to do. She panics and ends up ruining any chances with that boy. Later in her life she feels like she needs to prove herself. She feels like she needs a boy to like her or at least do things with her. She needs to prove that she isn't an ugly- boyish looking girl. I think trying to fit in with the stereotype of how women look was one of the reasons may wasn't sure about herself and rushed into things with the boy.
ReplyDeleteIn "Their Eyes Were Watching God" gender differences play a large role in the life of both Janie and everybody else. In Janie's case she stayed at home to cook and clean almost all of her life while the men went out and worked and made money. Not until the end of the book did Janie start to work in the "Muck" of western Florida. In the society that the novel took place in the men were traditionally the ones who made money while women stayed home. Society's concept of gender roles has changed a lot. Today almost everybody works but women stay home with children more often than men. Now we even have women running for President when men were in charge of everything back in Janie's time. Gender roles played a large part in Janie's life and have changed very much since then.
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ReplyDeleteGender roles are very clearly defined during the times when Maya was growing up, particularly in the town of Stamps. Her Momma was one of the few exceptions to traditional gender roles being that she owned a store. Other than her grandmother, all the women that Maya knew were maids, cooks, or some other sort of simple job that it seemed like was “within their abilities.” This would lead to a huge culture shock when Maya met her mother who would never accept to do servile jobs when she could use her brain to earn money and enjoy herself. This would eventually be one of the factors that leads to Maya following her dreams to become a street car conductor.
"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" - Maya Angelou
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, gender plays an important role in how a person is perceived and treated. Women and men have very different roles in society. Maya feels out of place when she is young because she is made to believe that she must be pretty and be liked by boys to be a women. She feels uncomfortable in her own skin because as she matures she doesn't look like other girls her age. She feels like an awkward tom boy.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie being a woman affected her decisions and eventually, her life. Since she is a female, her grandmother took her as a burden and got her married at a young age since that was what the society expected women to do when they hit a certain point in life. Women, in this novel, are expected to get married into a stable home, do housework, and have a job. These expectations affect Janie because they help her grow as a person. Being a woman, she faced challenges, especially with Joe Starks, that made her realize what means more to her: society's expectations or her individual desires. In a way, it is these societal expectations that caused Janie's three marriages. She learned a bit from each marriage until she knew who she would truly be happy with.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Maya is said to be "tenderhearted" because she is a girl and that is to be expected. She was expected to be a dainty little thing that needed coddling and protecting. The expectations for Maya is to be a woman to give in to any whims of men. I think that the expectations for men and women have changed quite a bit. It is now the norm for a man and woman to work and is starting to have it for equal work and equal pay. What hasn't changed is that is woman is the weaker of the two genders and men is still slightly better. I believe that this is changing still and everyone is becoming more equal.
ReplyDeleteI think in "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings" gender roles are broken because of Maya's grandmother. She's owns the only general store in black Stamps. Also she's kind of the pillar of hope in the town. She also broke some racial barriers bwcause even white people owed her favors.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Marguerite is shown to believe herself to be less than a woman. This is because she isn't shaped like the others around her. She doesn't have "good" hair, or curves, and she frequently describes herself as having large hands and feet. She is clumsy with small objects. She isn't dainty like the other women. She knows she is not beautiful. This has a tremendous impact on the events of her life, many of them positive. Because she is not vain, Marguerite is never obsessed with needing a man's approval, and this helps her to become more goal-oriented in other areas of life. Instead of chasing men, Marguerite sets her sights on bettering herself, succeeding in school, and getting the conductorette job she dreamed of for months. Another way that gender roles impacted the novel is that despite Mr. Freeman and her own fathers, Marguerite had a great many men in her life who were examples of how men should act, like Uncle Willie, Bailey, and Clidell. These men, who were of character and treated Marguerite as an equal worthy of respect, showed Marguerite what she should expect in a man, and because of this, Marguerite will never settle for a man who is of less character and virtue than she is.
ReplyDeleteBeing female or male there is a difference in the choice you make and how you are seen. In the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" being a female you are consider property to the male. Janie's husband always made her choices for her like that she couldn't think for herself. By when Logan told her to go and cut wood or when Joe made her work in the store and he never let her say anything. Society will put a label on you when you are the mayors wife. Being a female you had to wear a dress and you had a certain role.
ReplyDeleteIn "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Marguerite is deprived of feeling that she is a sting woman. She is stripped of her rights and confidence. On top of that, she has begun to believe that she is not the vision everyone has of "beauty". Maya isn't brought down by this though. Although it may be an issue for her and her self ester, she begins to expand her talents and knowledge. Getting better grades in school and becoming a stronger independent woman. One thing that I respect out of Maya, that i truly believe not as many woman do today than should, is set higher standards in men for herself that what she had experienced. One she is introduced to men who are the perfect example of how a gentleman should be, she sets standards for herself that she will never settle for less.
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