The Role of Women in Modern Society Essay Example for Free

The Role of Women in Modern Society Essay Margaret Atwoods controversial dystopian novel, The Handmaids Tale, leaves the reader with the lingering question of what if?. Set in the near future, what is known to be the United States, is overtaken by puritan conservative Christians, creating the Republic of Gilead. Assasinating the President and congress, this religious extremist movement suspended the constitution and took complete control over the government. Women in Gilead lost their rights, and served only one purpose; for reproduction. A large population of the women were infertile due to previous constant exposure to pesticides, nuclear waste, and leakages from chemical weapons. They were either labelled Unwoman and sent to Colonies to clean up toxic wastes, or be house servants; Marthas. The small number which made up the fertile population were taken to camps where training to become handmaidens for the upper-class people took place. The women of Gilead were denied all basic human rights, and although the main focus of this novel is of what may occur in our future, The Handmaids Tale is an extension of the patriarchal societies of our past, and of those which are of existence today. Read more:  Women in Modern Times In the Republic of Gilead, the women were stripped entirely of their freedom and identity. Unlike some of the men, they loose the right to work outside the home, or even go out. Their only outing is for daily grocery shopping and mandatory attendance at public events. The women have no say in the choices of daily life, such as what to wear, or eat, who to be friends with, or the choice of sexual partners. Shall one be impregnated, she has no choice of having an abortion, nor the right to claim ownership of the child. The women have no real identities, for what they wore, and where they stood in society, was who they were. The handmaids were distinguished by their fairytale figure in a red cloak (Atwood 9), and served only for the purpose of reproduction. Some of the infertile women were kept in the house as servants, Marthas, dressed in a dull green, like a surgeons gown (Atwood 9). The Wives of the Commanders of the house were recognized by their blue wardrobes. Their main purpose was to raise the children the handmaids produced, and to maintain the domestic sphere. The ones outfitted in striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimpy (Atwood 27) were women of the poorer men, Econowives, and held the resposibilty of all three functions; a Martha, a Handmaid, and a Wife. A concept strongly present in the society of the Republic of Gilead is that of misogyny: the hatred of women. The jealousy is all centred towards the Handmaids by the infertile women of Gilead. The Wives envied the Handmaids due to the fact that, not only were they fertile but also because they stole away their husbands, the Commanders. Many of the Wives were blunt with their feelings and reacted in such ways; Stabbed her with a knitting needle, right in the belly., and using toilet cleanser[wich] worked like a charm. (Atwood 12) The second source of jealousy derives itself from the caretakers of the Handmaids, the Marthas. They are nothing but servants in the household, and have less freedom than the Handmaids, no outings, nor any sexual experience. Due to the resentment and bitterness heavily weighed on the Handmaids, many take the only freedom which exists; the freedom to refuse to handle any of the pressure and take the only control of their life- to end it; She hanged herself.it was better. (Atwood 329) The patriarchal society portrayed in The Handmaids Tale is one of which existed for centuries, and is still present, though not to such extreme. In Hebrew times it was considered normal for a man to have sex and even conceive children by his servants, especially if his wife was infertile. Such a story can be traced to the Bible in the book of Genesis. Rachel, one of Jacobs wives, is infertile, suprisingly, since her sister, Leah, who is also married to Jacob, bears him many. Envying her sister, Rachel gives Jacob her maid as a wife and says, Behold my maid Bilah, go in unto her, and she shall bear upon my knees, that I also may have children by her.(Genesis 30:2-4). Bilah gave Jacob many children and appeared to have no choice in the situation, showing women are valued only for their ability to reproduce, and their consent is not required. (FitzsimmonsWoods) Such situations not only occurred a century ago, but just decades ago, and some even still happen today. In various contries around the world, women are still being treated as though the only thing from which our society can benefit from them is by means of reproducing and domestic purposes.. The persistance in India of cutural practices that discriminate against girls and women means not only abuse of,  but, finally, the deaths of countless women. (PetersWolper 51) The high technology has assisted in the discrimination against women, instead of bringing relief. Parents can now detect the sex if a fetus within the first trimester, and, upon learning that the sex of the unborn child is female, many women choose or are forced to abort. (PetersWolper 51) ( The use of ultrasounds is also used for selective abortion of female fetuses in China (PetersWolper 97) Female children were fed less and were not given foods such as butter or milk, which were reserved for boys. While boys went to school, girls were forced to stay home to assist in house chores and the looking after of younger siblings. (PetersWolper 51) Even educated, well-placed professional women submit, for instance, to wife beating, , implicitly an acceptable form of control. (PetersWolper 52) Just as in India, successful women in the former United States were converted into nameless handmaids in the Republic of Gilead. The second country of which practices the unfair treatment of women, demeaning them to less than humans is Iran. Women in Iran, compared to men, are worth half as much by means of everything including inheritance and testimonials in court. Even compensation paid to a murdered womans family is half that of a mans. (PetersWolper 72) Men, who may be polygamous, are permitted to have up to four wives and an unlimited number of concubines. A married woman must be at all times willing to meet her husbands sexual needs, and if she refuses, she loses the right to shelter, food and clothing. A husband, father or brother has the right to kill his wife, daughter, or sister and go unpunished if he finds her committing an immoral or unchaste act. (PetersWolper 73) Like in The Handmaids Tale, the woman of Iran have no choice in the clothes which they wear. The veil and the Islamic dress code are central to the segregation of women. In an effort to confine women to the home, Khomeini declared that the 1936 authorization of freedom of dress for women was null and void, and that the veil and the Islamic attire were compulsory for women. (PetersWolper 74 ) Failure to abide in the dress code resulted in punishment in forms of having their face splashed with acid, cut with razors, and even sometimes death. (PetersWolper 75) Even, like in The Handmaids Tale, having any relation outside of the house was strictly forbidden. In 1991, a woman was stoned to  death after having been accused of having relations with a Guardian of the Islamic Revolution. (PetersWolper 76) In a neighbouring country, women also have little, if any say, to the decisions made in their lives. The women of Israel are fighting tradition in attempts to gain equal rights, wich right now is just a mere distant dream. The world according to Jewish law is divided into two spheres, the public and the private. Mans place is in the public sphere of political government and the market economy, while the womans place is in the private sphere of domesticity. (PetersWolper 91-92). The handmaids in Atwoods novel were held captive in their Commanders house, and lived a private, and lonesome life, while the Commander took outings when he pleased. Under biblical law in Israel, men were allowed to practice polygamy, where monogamy only applied to the females. Thus, even today, if a wife refuses to grant her husband a divorce or is incompetent to do so, the husband might be given special permission to marry another woman. If the situation were vise versa, the woman would remain bound in the marriage, should the husband refuse a divorce. (PetersWolper 92) This is of similarity, showing the little power woman held when in reference to the novel. Although it was evident that the Commanders wife greatly disapproved of the handmaid, and the sexual activity, she was powerless in its prevention. The Handmaids Tale is merely a representation, and a more extreme view, of the various patriarchal societies evident throughout the worlds history. Although it is no longer evident in Canada and the United States, such practices are still held across our ocean, in third world countries. Such laws have survived centuries, from our past to our present, and most likely into our far future. But no matter how many restrictions are applied to the female, they will never be able to be eliminated. A society cannot function without a woman, for a woman is the only one who propogates it.

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Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Ozzie Smith, and Tony Gwynn; What do they all have in common? They are all some of the most famous African-American baseball players to ever play in the Major Leagues. One man, though, made it possible for all of them to play in the Major Leagues. That man’s name is Jackie Robinson. Although Jackie Robinson faced many adversities throughout his lifetime, he persevered and became the first African-American in Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier and changing the world of baseball forever. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to Jerry and Mallie Robinson. President Theodore Roosevelt, who died twenty-five days before Robinson was born, was the inspiration for his middle name (42 Facts). Robinson’s first stint with adversity came just six months after he was born when his father abandoned the family and ran off to Texas with the neighbor’s wife. Robinson and his four older siblings were raised single-handedly by their mother. After his dad deserted the family, Robinson’s mother decided to sell what little they had and move herself and her children in with her brother in Pasadena, California (Robinson, Jackie). While his mother was at work, Robinson would go to school with his older sister, Willa Mae, but since he was not old enough to be enrolled, he would often times have to sit in the sandbox outside of the school all day. Robinson’s first encounter with racial scrutiny came when he was about eight year s old. He was sweeping the sidewalk when a little white neighbor girl shouted â€Å"Nigger, nigger, nigger!† at him. He was old enough to know how to respond and did so by calling the little girl â€Å"cracker.† Her father stormed out of the house to confront Rob... ...ican TV sports analyst. He broadcasted for ABC’s MLB Game of the Week in 1965 (42 Facts). On October 24, 1972, Robinson died from complications of diabetes in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 53. Many people say the diabetes worsened because of the stress he was under throughout his life. In June of that year, the Dodgers retired Robinson’s uniform number of 42 and all the teams in the league began to follow and also retire the number 42. Baseball would be extremely different than it is now if it was not for Jackie Robinson. He did not just break the color barrier, he showed this country that if you never give up, great things can happen. He brought whites and blacks together in a time where it was hard to do such a thing. Jackie Robinson will always be one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game. After all, he was pushed to be the greatest.

Reflection on Cognitive Development Essay

This reflective essay speaks about Educational Psychology, a good teacher, general principles of development, the brain and cognitive development, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective. Educational Psychology plays a very important role in our daily lives as it helps us to understand and develop strategies to improve the learning process. An effective teacher is one who is organized, not biased, patient, and flexible and knows how to teach medium and slow paced learners. The essay also speaks about Development; persons develop physically, socially and also personally. It also speaks about the different ways in which development takes place. The brain begins to lateralize soon after birth and therefore have specific functions to carry out. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development speaks about the four stages while Lev Vygotsky educates us on his sociocultural perspective. Educational Psychology is important to me as a teacher in training as it helps me to understand my students’ behaviour and the strategies that I can use to help them. Life is a process and therefore we go through changes from conception to death. This process is called development. We develop physically, socially, and also cognitively .The changes that occur early in our lives, are generally assumed to be for the better and to result in behaviour that is more adaptive, more organized, more effective and more complex (Mussen, Kogner, Kagan, 1984).I also learnt that development takes place at different rates and that is persons may be more coordinated than others and also be more mature in their thinking. Secondly, development takes place orderly as we learn to babble before we talk and the final one is that development takes place gradually, that is you know the letters of the alphabet before you can spell words. Finally, the one that stands out to me most is maturation. Maturation deals with the natural changes that take place in our bodies. The changes in the climate don’t affect the natural changes that will take place in our body only severe sickness or malnutrition. The brain is also important in cognitive development as each part is given a specific function to carry out. However, the different parts of the brain combine in order to perform human activities and construct  understanding. There are some terms that are associated with the brain and the first is synapses, as the word suggests they are tiny spaces between neurons and that chemical messages are sent across the gaps. Hippocampus really took me by surprise as the first syllable â€Å"hippo† is the name of an animal. However it means recalling new information and recent experiences. Myelination is also very new to me and it means influencing thinking and hearing. The basic tendencies in thinking help us to organize our thoughts and behaviours into coherent systems. Our thinking process and knowledge is now developed through adaptation and this is adjusting ourselves to the environment. Assimilation, accommodation also takes place. Sometimes it seems as if I am searching for some balance in my thinking and this is known as equilibration. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is not foreign to me as I did in Introduction to Psychology. I know that there are four stages and each stage has a different age group. The fist stage is the sensorimotor stage and children at this stage are usually zero to two years of age. The most significant things that occur at this stage are: the children develop object permanence, perform goal directed activities, use there senses and also uses imitation. The pre-operational stage is age two to seven years. Children are able to use symbolic function for example taking a broom and riding it saying that it is a donkey. There motor skills are being developed and therefore they would want to feed themselves. In the concrete operational stage children are able to think logically, can engage in a conversation and reversibility, classification and seriation takes place. The final stage is the formal operational stage and they are able to reason well and they also develop adult egocentrism and that is the heightened self consciousness that is reflected in adolescents and the belief that others are interested in their thoughts as they do. It also speaks about them having a sense of uniqueness and wants to be noticed by others. However some students will develop reckless behaviour including suicidal thoughts and drug abuse. In my opinion Vygotsky’s theory is much better than Piaget’s. He placed more  emphasis on the development of language than Piaget. He also states that language is the most important symbol in the development of language. As a child I use to talk to myself and now I know that it is private speech. I really believe that private speech guides an individual into making the right decisions and also into problem solving. The most important part of his theory is the zone of proximal development. My understanding of it is that at a particular stage in one’s life given guidance and support will help me as an individual to master something. Children first learn pronounciation and they shy away from those words that are hard to pronounce. For example my three year old son says ‘begetable’ instead of vegetable. I also believe that adults should use language in the child’s learning experience and don’t use high flown words because the child should be able to relate to what is being said. Vocabulary, grammar and syntax are developed at around age five. However parents can buy books, read to their children, take them on a nature walks and also answer their questions so as to develop their language.

The Civil Rights Movement During The 1960 S - 1224 Words

Throughout US history there has been a lot of political, social and economical changes, and all these changes have had positive and negative effects on the people of the US. During the 1960’s there were a lot of changes and one of these major changes was know as The Civil Rights Movement. The civil rights movement was a movement created by African Americans to achieve rights equal to white people and have equal opportunity in housing, employment, education, the right to vote, and to not be segregated. This movement had many important leaders that helped get rights for African Americans. The book â€Å"Tambourines To Glory† is based on a play that Langston Hughes wrote. The book shows the life of an African American back then as tough and†¦show more content†¦In the novel it talks about segregation of African Americans. The Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was created to help organize local campaigns along with National Association for the A dvancement of Colored People (NAACP) branches to win voting rights for blacks and to end segregation in public places. African Americans were not given good jobs, or good pay. Even though after the civil war they were allowed to â€Å"vote†, they still got threatened by racist groups. Civil rights activists were turning their attention to race discrimination in the urban North and West. Many younger activists, discontented with the slow process of change, were also becoming more militant. The 1960’s was a time period of revolution and change in politics and society in the US. This decade was a major era of protests, and one of those major protests was the Civil Rights movement. The civil rights movement was a struggle by African Americans in the mid-1950s to late 1960s to achieve Civil Rights equal to those of whites which was equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education, as well as the right to vote,and the right to be free of racial discrimination. During this time period African Americans were segregated and treated differently of white people. Even tho African Americans gained their rights after the war they still were threatened by racist groups such as the KKK. The vietnam war was happeningShow MoreRelatedThe Civil Rights Movement During The 1960 S1368 Words   |  6 PagesThe American South in the 1960 s and Ancient Thebes both had a rigid social and legal system that did not effectively and legitimately represent the majority of its c itizens. In both eras, an antihero rose up to defy the establish system. Dr. King, in the 1960 s, protested unjust laws and was jailed and viewed as an antagonist. 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The grass root movements in the 60’s was characterized by organizations of individualsRead MoreEssay about Frq Analysis1138 Words   |  5 PagesRuhani Malik Period 4 1960’s HW FRQ Questions Due by April 26-27, 2012 Be sure to provide a strong and specific thesis statement with a nice introduction to your essay. Also be sure to provide names, dates, book titles, court cases, statistics and any and all other relevant facts you can think of to support your answer. Staple this sheet to the front of your essay and be sure to follow the formatting rules discussed for previous FRQ’s. 1. With respect to THREE of the following,Read MoreThe 1950s and 1960s: A Time of Great Changes Shaping the America We Have Today1006 Words   |  5 PagesWhen most people think of the 1950’s or 1960’s, they think of Elvis, Greasers, jukeboxes, Woodstock, and rainbow peace signs and hippie love. 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