Final Paper

When I signed up for this course, I was expecting famous authors such as Hemingway or Faulkner or at least something more modern like Albert Camus but the first day of class surprised me. I did not consider any of the assigned books to be literature; in fact I thought the exact opposite. I learned that I hate Eve Ensler but also that there are many female authors that are often overlooked. I remember on the first day of class you asked us all to name some women who have written pieces of literature and only a few us could name a handful of names one being J.K. Rowling. I never noticed this in bookstores and libraries but it does seem that men have written more of the most famous novels, poems, etc. I have to admit some of the books we read cannot compare to Joyce or Homer but at the same time some of them did have their moments that prove me wrong.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez was written very well. I remember the first time I read As I Lay Dying when I was thirteen was the first time I ever thought a novel sounded beautiful. William Faulkner’s style was graceful and intimate with great description and spontaneity. In the Time of Butterflies was a breath of fresh air from the previous novels we had read. I liked how she alternated the narrators (just like As I Lay Dying) and the way she expressed the tension in the characters lives through both militant and feminine voices. Some of the stories in Krik? Kriak! were written very well too. Danticat described both the beautiful and the impoverished parts of the Dominican Republic perfectly. I could see the exact colors of the flowers or how dim or bright the light is in her surroundings. Fun Home does not need much visual expression but even though it did not read chronologically, her writing flowed well enough so that her adult and childlike thoughts flowed together seamlessly.

Our discussions did not revolve around style and syntax much but the books we read involved a lot of character description. All books involve some sort of pain to trigger a transformation or change in the end but the books we read were more violent. In Push, In the Time of the Butterflies, some of the poems in 19 Varieties of Gazelle, One or Two Things I Know for Sure, and more, women were sexually assaulted and/or beaten. There is only one reaction to rape but the only way our discussions were not repetitive is by the degree of rape and also the character’s strength. Precious in Push, had been tortured in every possible way since she was a baby but because of her upbringing and built in anger, she grew up and forgave her enemies in a matter of years. In When the Emperor was Divine, the woman was never personally assaulted but being trapped in the confines of an internment camp while worrying about the safety of her disconnected family tortured her for years. Every character is different even though their stories can have some common themes but overall women express mutual ideas.

Women and girls define themselves by instinct. We are meant to be mothers and protectors therefore celebrating family, lamenting abuse, and venting our regrets and anger. The past and our ancestors are also very important. In Two of Three Things I Know for Sure, Allison describes her mother, aunts, and grandmothers as homely working class women who become tired and aged by the time they are in their late twenties. However, no matter what class or the amount of affection among family and friends, platonic and romantic love helps define women. Education is what separates us from the expected housewife or statistic and encourages women to grow past or expectations. All at the same time, staying beautiful and feminine with a confident glow gives women a leg up to progress through any adversities in order to ultimately express poise and triumph.

Let Me Tell You a Story

In a book about her premature journey into adulthood, Dorothy Allison vents her frustrations and disturbed thoughts in order to share her pain and find closure by writing this book. On a personal level, Allison needed to release her anger to the world. She was physically and sexually abused up to her teen years and degraded by her family in a desolate part of Greenville. All of her ancestors, men and women were laborers with calloused hands and tired bodies. Her mother, grandmother, aunts, etc… were just as everyone expected them to be: homely, tired, broken mothers. It was as if they were born defeated with no hope of escaping the life they inherited. It is almost hard to believe that Allison left and avoided her doomed fate. Other than that, she publicized her story knowing that there are other broken women that can relate to her experiences. At one point in the book she even says, “…to go on living I have to tell stories, that stories are the sure way to touch the heart and change the world.” She grew up to become a feminist activist in any way she could from enrolling into an all male karate class to just dressing and acting differently. Although she is an activist for women’s rights, she is a lesbian because she fell in love with a woman (which she tells her sister on page 53) which is one of her many abilities to find and express herself realistically. She says, “I would rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me.” When most people hear feminist lesbian, they think of a butch, man-hating woman but that is not Allison. She worked for women’s rights while avoiding her family’s failures and cruel stereotypes by experiencing and finding the world. Allison loves to tell stories and, “I can tell you anything. All you have to believe is the truth.”