Among the interesting short stories we have read so far in this first literature course, many characters caught my attention. In this piece of writing, I will share my opinions about my favorite and least favorite characters from two different authors: Alice Munro and Raymond Carver. Their titles are respectively "Boys and Girls" (1968) and "They're not your husband" (1971).
As mentioned in the first paragraph, my favorite character is from Alice Munro's short story "Boys and Girls". I had presented about gender in it one class, and that is one reason, but not the principal motivation for me to approve this character more than the others. The unnamed girl seems to acquire similar attitudes and thoughts as the sexist men around her in the farm do so. Despite that, in the end, she still being polite, respectful when she accepts the condition that her father, here representing men's power, imposes to being "only" a girl. As long as we acknowledge sexism, we might feel sorry for her situation.
At that time there was no equality between the sexes, so girls were expected to do housework instead of outside work. For that reason, the little girl felt vexed with their family. She wanted to work with her father on the farm, but her wishes were blown up by male oppression. I liked this figure because of its strength and mainly because of the severe questionings that she brings up about the societal forces which shape children into gendered adults.
On the opposite side, there is Earl Ober, one of the characters that I least liked. He is from Raymond Carver's short story "They're not your husband". There are many reasons for disliking him. At first, he does nothing and seems to be embarrassed when he overhears two men making comments about his wife's appearance at her job as a waitress in a coffee shop. Secondly, the next day, for him being affected by the two men's opinions, he starts to impose control on Doreen's body, depreciating her, telling her to lose weight. That goes too far, and she loses too much weight. It shows the insecurity that he has about their relationship.
Furthermore, in the narrative, the reader can notice Earl's selfishness. He is out of work, and the whole family relies on Doreen's salary. His selfishness is also proved as we know that he wants Doreen to change her appearance not for her benefit, but for his. He is worried about what will others think about him because of his wife's look.
As mentioned in the first paragraph, my favorite character is from Alice Munro's short story "Boys and Girls". I had presented about gender in it one class, and that is one reason, but not the principal motivation for me to approve this character more than the others. The unnamed girl seems to acquire similar attitudes and thoughts as the sexist men around her in the farm do so. Despite that, in the end, she still being polite, respectful when she accepts the condition that her father, here representing men's power, imposes to being "only" a girl. As long as we acknowledge sexism, we might feel sorry for her situation.
At that time there was no equality between the sexes, so girls were expected to do housework instead of outside work. For that reason, the little girl felt vexed with their family. She wanted to work with her father on the farm, but her wishes were blown up by male oppression. I liked this figure because of its strength and mainly because of the severe questionings that she brings up about the societal forces which shape children into gendered adults.
On the opposite side, there is Earl Ober, one of the characters that I least liked. He is from Raymond Carver's short story "They're not your husband". There are many reasons for disliking him. At first, he does nothing and seems to be embarrassed when he overhears two men making comments about his wife's appearance at her job as a waitress in a coffee shop. Secondly, the next day, for him being affected by the two men's opinions, he starts to impose control on Doreen's body, depreciating her, telling her to lose weight. That goes too far, and she loses too much weight. It shows the insecurity that he has about their relationship.
Furthermore, in the narrative, the reader can notice Earl's selfishness. He is out of work, and the whole family relies on Doreen's salary. His selfishness is also proved as we know that he wants Doreen to change her appearance not for her benefit, but for his. He is worried about what will others think about him because of his wife's look.
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