American Literature

In Kate Chopin s The Awakening, the central character Edna Pontellier comes to represent the feminist struggle for self-actualization and individual freedom from the norms and rules of the governing 19th century Creole society in which she finds herself. However, in examining Edna s  awakening  to feminism and her death as a result of the incompatibility with her desires with the world around her, the majority of the women who create the sphere of Edna s life are too often forgotten or simply written them off as byproducts of the world from which Edna is seeking escape. In the characters of Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, Edna and the reader are provided with the alternatives of female existence as part of Victorian Creole society. Adele, the ultimate  mother-woman  is all which Edna fails to be and become in the eyes of her peers. Adele is at home with her domesticity and seems to take the joy and pride from raising her children that finds outlet for Edna in only artistic or romantic passions. Mademoiselle Reisz, an aged and embittered spinster, has sought to separate herself entirely from both the romantic and domestic passions of either woman. She lives for herself and her music alone and in doing so fails to attain a true life. Both women are in their personalities and passions the opposites of Edna, but they as much as she struggle too within the confines of their society. Fit within the molds of womanhood   motherwife and spinster   they are restrained by the same conventions which Edna bucks underneath. However, unlike Edna they are able to maintain themselves equally within worlds of their own choosing and the expectations of the outside world simply through their acceptance of these roles. In this manner, Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz represent as clearly as Edna the struggles of feminism under the strain of a society completely constructed of and for masculine ideals, and more subtly represent the modest rebellion and triumphs of the individual 19th woman over her circumstances.

Adele Ratignolle represents from her introduction into the narrative all that Edna Pontellier is expected to be but is not. Edna is not one of the  mother women   fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood   women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals  (Chopin 10). Adele on the other hand was  the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm  (Chopin 10). Happy in her marriage, contented and given purpose by her continual pregnancies and the needs of her family, Adele Ratignolle could well seem the very antitheses of what Edna slowly comes to seek in her journey toward individuality. Tamara Powell points out that this contrast between the two women is important to the underlying conflict of gender roles and inequality,  Edna is described as not a mother-woman (8), and this description is helpful in understanding why Edna eventually must end her life  (Powell 277). More important though, in many respects, is how in the personification of Adele s role, it would appear that she would be the least likely to sympathize with the lost Edna. However, Adele, above all others, seeks friendship with the disillusioned Edna and recognizes in her friend the struggle for something beyond the boundaries of the life of wife and mother. That Adele is able to fulfill perfectly and contentedly the two roles that elude Edna, wife and mother, should be an indication of their incompatibility as friends. However, it is in her roles as wife and mother that Adele s strength and individuality find their niche. As Kathleen Streater notes,  Chopin uses Adeles character to show readers another form of resistance Adele reveals her strength and feminist identity by working the patriarchal system to her advantage  (Streater 408). Her acceptance of these roles and the meaning that she takes from them, illustrate Adele s ability to transform the weakness of the 19th century ideal of femininity into a form of self-actualization that works from within the structures of society to reclaim and rewrite the very definition of womanhood that she represents.

Throughout the majority of the story, Adele Ratignolle is pregnant with her fourth child. For her, the production of children becomes a central tenet in her life and existence and acts in a way for her to measure her own life,  Madame Ratignolle had been married seven years. About every two years she had a baby  (Chopin 11). While her continual pregnancy may be to some a sign of her conforming to the roles laid out by society, Adele ability to not merely revel in the love she has for her offspring but in the experience of pregnancy shows not submission for realization. Adele is not shamed or apologetic about her womanhood, even  concerning her  condition  (11) and embarrasses her friend with her forwardness in making the nature of her bodies reproduction known to all,  Never would Edna Pontellier forget the shock with which she heard Madame Ratignolle relating to old Monsieur Farival the harrowing story of one of her accouchements, withholding no intimate detail  (Chopin 12). In her uncensored recollections of her past pregnancies and deliveries, Adele is embracing the very basic difference between men and women. Aside from social and cultural distinctions placed upon the sexes by history and politics, the fact of anatomical difference and a woman s sovereignty within the realm of the creation of new life is something which is largely lost to Edna. As she moves farther and farther away from convention, she also moves away from this most biological of distinctions. Adele on the other hand embracing wholly what makes her different from men she can be a mother because of her femaleness and in her procreation is embracing, in some respects, more fully the basic reproductive power of women.

Despite the description of the  mother-women  and Adele s connection to this type of femininity, at no point does Chopin seek to downplay the force of Adele s personality or the strength of her character. She is, no doubt, a product of her society but illustrates that such a society can and does produce subtle anomalies on an individual level. Such anomalies of spirit, operating within the system itself, represent a more lasting concept of rebellion that the brilliant flare and distinguishing of Edna s own flame. Streater explains that  Adeles position as a feminist is difficult for some readers to discern, and this difficulty betrays the double-bind women often find themselves in to become a wife and mother is, on some level, to capitulate ones self to patriarchal systems, but this should not render a womans feminism suspect  (Streater 406). Adeles obvious sexuality and the manner in which she embraces it, gives Adele a power that Edna, in the end lacks. Adele is, Streater rightly asserts,  confident, powerful, and sexual  (Streater 408) and in this combination she is able to live within her difference and embrace it, thereby persevering where Edna falls under the weight of trying to reconcile the world to her inner self. With Adele, Chopin reveals an identity that confuses, and thus belies, static stereotypes, and, importantly, she reveals Adeles ownership and authority of the mother-woman role beyond the male-prescribed definitions (Streater 409).

Mademoiselle Reisz is on the other end of the spectrum from Adele she has shunned marriage and motherhood, instead keeping her own company and turning within herself. However, Reisz carries the same strength of self-acceptance as Adele. Though Reisz  was a disagreeable little woman, no longer young, who had quarreled with almost everyone,  she also exhibited in her quarrelsome nature  a temper which was self assertive  (Chopin 32). She knows herself and society. In her manner, there is little uncertainty. Like Adele, she knows her own mind, but unlike Adele has chosen to play outside of the role assigned to her by a male-dominated world. Never married, living alone, and keeping company with only those of her own choosing, Reisz is not a typical woman. Adele illustrates the  mother-woman  role while  Mlle Reisz - odd, ungainly, and loveless - is an animated object lesson for all women who scorn marital and maternal roles (Bradley 52). Living in a society which views her as a a living lesson against individuality, in their adoration of a feminine ideal, Reisz is both victim and participant. She has remained in New Orleans of her own will and lives among the very people who alternately pity, dislike, and admire her. Whereas Adele is the image of femininity, Reisz downplays her womanhood almost denying its existence adopting  stereotypical traits most commonly associated with masculinity  (Streater 412).

Unable to find her individual self and purpose within the confines of normal society, Reisz largely keeps her own and in this has been able to strip away the sexuality of her gender. In her androgyny, Reisz attempts to free herself. On the one hand, she is unable to escape the confines of the world around her. Zoila Clark remarks on the complex reactions of women to the force of the circumstances around them,  like colonized people, women internalize their oppression psychologically, and this forces them into subordinate roles. These types of oppression are subtle and work through fragmentation and mystification (Clark 339). In this respect, Reisz is no different. In denying her femininity, she feels the need to adapt to a more masculine image as the only alternative to the  mother-women  image of people such as Adele Ratignolle. But, much like Adele, in living in an extreme and preformed role, she comes to know herself and the world around her more fully than Edna Pontellier who struggles to find balance between the two extremes.

Equally like Adele, Reisz recognizes her fulfillment of this traditional role of outcast and sees the faltering rebellion of Edna. However, she appears to want to live both vicariously through Edna and to also save her from herself. Approaching Edna at a party, Reisz felt the should blades of the young woman, remarking,  The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a said spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth  (Chopin 110). Reisz predicts the difficulty faced by Edna in attempting to redefine herself, as she herself had done the same. In their examination of the recurring image of the  lady in black  throughout the story, Joseph Church and Christa Havener points out the parallels between the lady and the lovers relationship to one another and the relationship of Mademoiselle Reisz and Edna,  the lady in black, however, unconsciously, works to avoid subsumption in otherness and seeks to maintain her bodily being by trying vicariously to appropriate the embodied sensuality of the lovers, just as Mademoiselle Reisz attempts to do principally with Edna (Church  Havener 197). Ednas suicide at the end of the story underlines the primary differences between the women Reisz continues to live her life contrary to social expectations, while Edna drowns in the embrace of the open water.

Like Adele, Reisz is able to find herself in the extremity of her role and is anchored by it. Edna is anchored by nothing, having tried to create an equilibrium between society and her own self that cannot yet openly exist. Neither Adele Ratignolle or Mademoiselle Reisz could ever be portrayed as the martyr of feminism which Edna Pontellier was and has increasingly become. Both women are conventional in their roles, spinster and motherwife, keeping with the expectations and rules of society but from within these roles they have emerged as individuals who have in their acceptance of themselves found a center from which to grow.

The advent of the modern digital telecommunications era has made it easy for information to spread quickly from one corner of the society to another. As a result, the media, particularly television and radio broadcast media, newspapers and online sources of information are playing an increasingly bigger role in shaping public opinion (Carilli  Kamalipour, 1998). It is therefore inevitable that cultural beliefs and practices have been impacted upon by the media both on a global scale and here in the United States of America. This essay discusses the impact of the media on culture in the United States of America analyzing both the positive and negative influences of media on culture. It also looks at some of the outstanding stereotypes as existing due to media influence.

The last quarter of a century has witnessed unprecedented advances in technology. Since telegraphy was invented, the art of communication as aided by scientific and engineering discoveries has evolved to include radio, television, newspapers and magazines and now the most phenomenal of all the internet (Jenkins, 2006). The society is continuously depending on the media for opinion and ideas for determining which direction it takes. The overall result of dependence on the media to determine not only what is moral or ethical, but also what is culturally acceptable has diminished cultural diversity and at the same time eradicated a lot of unsuitable beliefs and practices (Carilli  Kamalipour, 1998). However, this dependence has had its upsides and downsides on humanities cultural dispensation.

Perhaps the biggest and most important advantage the media has had on culture in the United States of America is, as mentioned above, the extermination of unsuitable and backward cultural beliefs and practices (Carilli  Kamalipour, 1998). The United States was very culturally diverse on account of her demographic history. The main cultural entities are settlers from Europe who actually founded the modern nation, the native Americans who were already living there, African Americans brought as slave labor, the Hispanic populations among others. Media influence played a big role in persuading all cultural groups to shed away cultural beliefs that undermined the rights of either other groups or individuals (Jenkins, 2006). It was not uncommon, foe example for women to be treated as unequal to men but massive media campaigns have restored gender parity to such levels as we have today (Jenkins, 2006). In fact, American society has been transformed from distinct cultures as existed before to an almost uniform society.

Nowadays, the media is considered as the opportune channel for learning and gaining exposure to the world (Jenkins, 2006). As more and more people derive meaning, interpretation and significance to certain cultural and social phenomena through the media, the American societys interpretation of cultural issues affecting their everyday life and health have changed. For example, people now know the benefits or dangers of including or excluding certain foodstuffs from their diet. People also know the dangers of certain practices like female genital mutilation (Jenkins, 2006). Polygamy was previously culturally acceptable in many African cultures and by extension the African American culture. However, media portrayal of polygamy as unwise, immoral and unfeasible under the modern dispensation has made the practice vanish almost completely.

One disadvantage of media influence on cultural systems in modern day America is the rise of cultural imperialism (Bresler, 2004). The media, especially through news, television and film entertainment and advertisement portrays certain cultures as more superior to others. For example, the media has been hugely responsible for the portrayal of tall and slim as a standard of beauty for women (Saltzman, 2004). Before this consensual adoption, voluptuous was for example, the accepted standard of beauty among African Americans, just like it still is in most parts of Africa. Cultural imperialism not only leads to the obliteration of some otherwise very good cultural practices and beliefs but also the erosion of other cultures, eliminating the diversity that should instead be celebrated (Saltzman, 2004).

Another disadvantage of cultural effects on culture is the decline in moral standards within the society. The media, particularly through advertisements, entertainment programs and the film industry have projected certain practices relating to violence and sexuality as trendy (Jenkins, 2006). Because of this, the morality and upholding of chastity as was a virtue in most cultures in American society before the dawn of the information age has disappeared almost completely (Jenkins, 2006). This is mainly due to the fact that setting up policies that will effectively regulate the media is almost impossible since it will kill innovation and render the people unable to make choices over what they actually want to view.

Perhaps the most sensitive area of media influence on culture is its effect on young children. From a very young age, young children in America are being subjected to violence and sex on television (Jenkins, 2006). This exposure definitely shapes their values and attitudes regarding these characteristics of society. Exposure to unfriendly programming has been shown to abet the development of anti-social behavior in children as they grow up. Such children also have a higher probability of developing sedentary lifestyles, the tendency to overvalue material things and the inability to pay attention to other spheres of existence like classes, exercise and household chores (Jenkins, 2006).

The media, through its machinations, has led to development of stereotypes in some cultural entities in American society. For example, the media has systematically stratified American citizens according to their employment status, levels of income and race (Saltzman, 2004). Regarding race, the media has portrayed African American youth as a bunch of unruly gangsters who deal drugs and break into shops (Saltzman, 2004). These stereotypes are then systematically absorbed by the society right from high schools, to universities and then on to the job market. The victimized youths prospective for a bright future in the mainstream economy are ultimately shattered. Poorer neighborhoods in the United States have been portrayed as primarily characterized by poverty, ignorance, illiteracy and diseases such as HIV and AIDS (Saltzman, 2004). This not only lowers the dignity of their inhabitants but also their individual self and community esteems and integrity, compromising their motivation for seeking actualization through active participation in the social institutions put in place for that. It is also a cause of class friction and hatred.

It is not African Americans alone for whom stereotypes are developed. Other minority groups like the Hispanic, Asian Americans and even some white people are all victims. This stereotyping has far-reaching societal and economic implications often forming an opportunity window through which the elite and affluent continue to exert their dominance and monopoly of social, economic and political institutions (Saltzman, 2004). Statistics show that over 48 percent of all wealth in the United States of America is held by only one percent of the entire population (Bresler, 2004). To maintain the status quo, the affluent are likely to continue using the media to covertly promote racism and stereotyping.

The media in the United States has continuously played a significant role in the development of sex and gender stereotypes (Saltzman, 2004). The role of the woman in the society has been unjustly designated to child birth and rearing plus the undertaking of basic household chores. A surprisingly significant majority of men in the US believe that they are better cognitively and sexually equipped to undertake the major responsibilities in the social, economic and political circles (Bresler, 2004). This wrong perception of gender roles has the potential to deny the society invaluable contribution from gifted women. Fortunately, the society has woken up from such insensitivity tough much ground is to be covered. A significant level of parity has been restored around the two genders. The other stereotype built surrounds lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people (Saltzman, 2004). They are perceived as less equal and significant in the society but in essence such discrimination is unwarranted and only hinders the concerned victims right to liberal life, personal choices and the right to enjoy equal rights as any other citizen (Bresler, 2004).

In conclusion, the media revolution has a lot of potential to help the society reach unprecedented levels of civility and awareness. Almost by an equal measure, the media has the potential to gravely harm the society. There is therefore a need to educate the masses on what bits of information and opinions to absorb from the myriad projected by the media on a daily basis. Mass media, particularly television and radio, should be screened to monitor what type of content they air in an effort to safeguard young children who are in their formative stages from the harm that may therein arise from exposure to violence, racism, stereotypes and sex.

Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Susan Glaspells Trifles both reflect the sufferings of women in a strongly patriarchal late 19th century and the early 20th century America. The two works also present strong feminist statements about equality as well as demonstrate Freudian psychoanalysis on the subject of repression. The first is a story of a woman who is locked up in a room to recover from a sort of a mental illness, while the second story is about a woman who is accused of the murder of her husband. Both Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Glaspells Trifles portray how the suffering of two women finally crushed their very selves yet made them find their own voices and eventually brought them freedom.

SUFFERING AND HELPLESSNESS
Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Glaspells Trifles are both grounded on the theme of human suffering, particularly the suffering and helplessness of women during the early 20th century in America. The female narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper suffers the pain of being isolated in a haunted house (Gilman 1) and forbidden to work until she is well again (Gilman 1). Her sufferings are mostly mental, and outwardly projected upon the most prominent yet horrid (Gilman 2) and unclean (Gilman 1) yellow wallpaper draped all over the wall in her room and behind which she is quite sure that there is a figure of a woman (Gilman 8). This woman seems to be stooping and creeping (Gilman 3), which are both symbolic of her suffering. It is this woman that the narrator somehow unconsciously identifies herself for at nightthe yellow wallpaper becomes bars (Gilman 4). However, it must be clearly noted that the narrators suffering in Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper seems to have been so repressed that she does not recognize it in herself and outwardly projects it in horrifying hallucinations of the yellow wallpaper. This is slightly different from the women in Glaspells Trifles who believe farmers wives have their hands full (Glaspell, Mrs. Hale), which means that they seem to be destined to suffer. Mrs. Hale also describes Minnie Foster before her marriage as someone who used to wear pretty clothes and be lively (Glaspell, Mrs. Hale), implying that women usually strip themselves of everything fun and happy upon marriage and this is likely caused by their husbands. In fact, John, the husband of Minnie Wright is described as a hard man (Glaspell, Mrs. Hale) while Minnie herself was like a bird herself (Glaspell, Mrs. Hale), a reference to the bird whose neck was broken when the women found it.

DISCRIMINATION AND MANIPULATION
The women in both stories have also been explicitly and implicitly discriminated against and manipulated by the men. In The Yellow Wallpaper, discrimination against women is expressed when the narrator mentions that John laughs at herbut one expects that in marriage (Gilman 1), implying that women are destined to be the object of mens ridicule even in the sanctity of marriage, or perhaps because of it. Moreover, the constant nagging of John in Section Three to make the narrator stop thinking about leaving the house and about her own brewing insanity also demonstrates the fact that she is being manipulated. In Glaspells Trifles, the discrimination is more explicit as Minnie Wright in particular and women in general are sarcastically labeled by the Sheriff as held for murder yet worryin about her preserves (Glaspell, Sheriff) and that they just wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it (Glaspell, Sheriff) followed by bursts of laughter from the men. The women in the story, including the accused Minnie Wright and the two other female characters, are all discriminated despite the fact that two of the men are their own husbands. The aforementioned quotes in this section are strong feminist statements of equality. If these had been inculcated in the minds of the women of Gilmans and Glaspells time, they, just like Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, would have accepted these as abashing yet normal. However, in the present times, the modern, high-spirited, confident woman would most likely challenge such statements of discrimination in the name of womens rights.

INDIFFERENCE
The indifference of society, as shown in both works, is one factor that somehow partly or completely allows the suffering of women and even acts as its catalyst. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator mentions that nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little she is able which is to dress and entertain, and order things (Gilman 2) and that it does not do to trust people too much (Gilman 9). These so-called people somehow represent a cold and indifferent society of the late 19th century America. This indifference also shows itself in Glaspells Trifles when Mrs. Hale describes the Wrights house as a lonesome place which is down in a hollow, and one doesnt see the road (Glaspell, Mrs. Hale). Such a description implies that nobody seems to care about Minnie Wright who is always left alone in the house. Even her friends, like Mrs. Hale, dont seem to bother to visit her.

A DIFFERENT FREEDOM
According to the Psychoanalytic Theory of Freud, which was at its early stages of development in the early 20th century, repressed emotions will always want to find their way out and will always want to break free of the individuals subconscious either through projection, identification and insanity (Abrahamsen) as in the case of the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper, or through aggression (Smith) as in the case of Minnie Wright in Trifles.

Based on the aforementioned theories, the repressed need for freedom and the constant mental suffering caused the narrator in Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper  to eventually turn insane, start to creep smoothly on the floor and creep over her husbands unconscious body every time (Gilman 10). Yet, terrible as it may seem, the insanity is regarded by the narrator as her ultimate escape and passport to freedom in an otherwise happy world where all the once repressed thoughts and wishes are given expression. The same is true with Minnie Wright in Glaspells Trifles who gained a different kind freedom by hanging her husband with a rope, which demonstrates the idea that the rope that she herself was once bound with like a victim is now used against the perpetrator himself.

CONCLUSION
Both the narrator in Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Minnie Wright in Glaspells Trifles are oppressed, discriminated, manipulated and most of all, unloved. Their lives have been filled with mental suffering and peppered with moments of psychological disturbances. They both have the repressed need for love and affection  the silent screaming voice from within them  which, after being listened to for a long time, eventually exploded into a violent climax for both characters. Nevertheless, such twin events symbolize nothing but their freedom not exactly from the physical bondage but more importantly from the mental and spiritual bondage caused by repressed emotions. Both Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Glaspells Trifles, both of whose titles the main characters have identified themselves with, reveal not only the suffering and discrimination of women in patriarchal America and the indifference of society towards it but also and most importantly, the different and rather pathetic kind of freedom that most of these women would usually resort to.

The writings of Amiri Baraka and Allen Ginsberg represent two aspectsof tensions
 which were ongoing in American Literature. Barakas (also known as LeRoi
Jones)writings are a reflection of racial tension, and Ginsbergs response tends to border
on nostalgia.In supportof the two previous statements concerning Baraka and Ginsberg
one can examine the poem In Memory of Radio, by Amiri Baraka, which pokes fun
at  popular white personalities represented in the media. His reason for this is to
asserthis dissatisfaction with the status quo which at the time of this writing was,
basically, the white middle class.Ginsbergs poem, A Supermarket in California, in
contrast to Barakas poem, tries to re-establish and justify the old way.

Furthermore, if we take a look attwo other poets, i.e., James Merril and James
Wright, who also wrote during this period, we find evidence that ongoing  tension in
American Literature varied from one poet to another.James Merril was a product of a
wealthyelite,and James Wright wasa product of the working class both, however, were
white poets. Also, these poets further the contention that subject matter used in poetry
 writing boils down to individual perspective.

Every literary advocate is the consequence of his own particular social
environment, and what he writes about, inevitably, concerns his personal response to
personal experiences. Of course, the poet may write about the broader issue which may
not have anything to do with his personal experience like Wright who was from the
working class, yet he wrote about the underdog in American society. Merrils concern,
 also, took his poetic response outside his class.

Amiri Barakaand Simon Ortiz, obviously, havegenuine concerns along the
ethnic lines where poetic tensions tend to move toward issues revolving around
 ethnicities. In thecase of Baraka it deals with the plightof blackAmericans, and with
 Simon Ortiz, it becomes a case with the native American. This is not a peculiar event.
 In fact,thishas beenevident in literature since antiquity. Euripides in ancient Greece,
Shakespeare in Elizabethan England, and Molier inFrance represent just a few creative
writerswho challenged social trends.

This is my letter to the world, That never wrote to me, Emily Dickinson

Writing a comparison between these two poets is a hard task. Both are considered prolific poets and masters in their own turn and rights. Both of them had great contributions to literature at large and greatly enriched the treasure trove of sterling literary pieces. It is without a doubt a daunting task and a page would not suffice such a discussion. To start with, the most obvious similarity between the two writers is their subject in their poetry. Both are considered naturalists or nature poets. They write about nature and its grandeur and majesty. They both offer great insights to the mostly overlooked and unnoticed elements in nature and the message that each has to give. The differences between them are also numerous. The most glaring of them for me is their attack with the subject matter. Whitmans pieces are exploratory and grand and it tends to be larger than life in a very effervescent manner, while Dickinsons poems are highly personal, introspective and internal. Also, the persona or the I in the poems differ too. Whitmans personas are usually didactic, while Dickinsons persona uses narrative and exposition and not necessarily preachy. Again, a page would not be enough to cover a comparison of the two.

Personally though, I find myself more inclined to Dickinson. Her poems are very personal in an almost confessional way, as opposed to Whitmans sometimes very moralizing or aggrandizing personas. Dickinson touches a nerve with her voice in the poem. Perhaps this is reflective of her own reclusive and secluded life. Her loneliness and solitude seeps through the poem, making the reader feel and examine his or her own personal loneliness. For me, she is the more effective and entertaining poet.

Homosexuality was never a major concern for me, neither at the personal nor at the social level. Although I was and am aware that there are people who prefer their same sex over the other, the whole concept of homosexuality did not play an important role in my life. Nor do I feel it should, for by understanding homosexuality, one can lose any possible fear one might have of it and see beyond one aspect of the human being to the entire person beyond.

As children, one does hear about those that are different, especially amongst boys, who will use hurtful epithets to single out kids who are most likely just shy and introverted, different in their own way, but not in that way. Girls are no less pointed about it, albeit less likely to attack someone over the perceived difference. Boys who dont like sports or roughhousing and girls who prefer sports and playing with boys to playing house or with dolls are considered to be wrong in some way. This goes back to gender roles, i.e. boys are physical and aggressive and girls are passive and nurturing, but more often than not these gender roles are confining rather than liberating.

We all have a wide range of attitudes on the spectrum of masculinefeminine and even that phrasing might be limiting for it conceives humans as being eitheror along a linear scale, rather than inclusive in a holistic way. Women can enjoy sports and the company of men and still be feminine just as men can delight in cooking and romantic comedies without being any less masculine. Societys opinions might be right in general and yet very often wrong at the individual level.

With the growing openness in society about homosexuality, the past two or three generations have grown up with celebrities coming out in different fields, from Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King in the 1970s and 1980s to Neil Patrick Harris and Ricky Martin in the past year or so. Therefore the powerful taboo against homosexuality is somewhat lessened now, and for children in recent times, they have what children before them didnt have visibly successful homosexual role models.

But that doesnt mean that coming out about homosexuality, even in our day, is easy. There is still a heavy stigma attached to homosexuality and its presence as the ongoing debate concerning the marriage rights of gay people can attest, the opponents of homosexuality are a visible and vocal crowd. To know that ones sexuality can become the target of such attacks, and in many cases be a source of real pain to loved ones, is a heavy threat and burden.

In adolescence, a persons burgeoning sexuality can be both awesome and terrifying. The coin of adolescence--self-doubt--rears itself and often forces the person to question some of their feelings. In the confusion caused by hormones, peer and family expectations and simply self-discovery, a person might wonder if he or she is different, possibly confusing feelings of friendship and care for a friend of the same sex with sexual love for that person. Many get past those moments of doubt, if they have them, by focusing on other activities or thoughts until time and perspective show them the truth. Others get locked into obsessing about it and suffer for their doubts. And a few discover that yes, they are attracted more to their own sex. The world as they see it, and the role they may play in it, changes drastically from that point on.

Personally, there have been moments of fear about homosexuality in me, brief surges across the nerves concerning what might happen if a homosexual became strongly attracted to me. How will I react What do I say or do I believe the fear came from the unknown, from not understanding what that person feels in terms of their viewpoint about sexuality. I can confidently say these moments of concern have not led me to homophobia, but they have helped clarify the idea that they are like me in the sense that they have a reason for their feelings, as I do for mine.

As with most explorations, books are key guides. And fiction, more often than not, is the most insightful and accessible path to understanding people, attitudes and perspectives foreign to ones own. The Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown (a one-time partner of Martina Navratilova) was possibly the first highly-successful popular novel based around the topic of homosexuality. In Browns novel, Molly Bolt distinguishes herself at an early age for being notably different. Her adventures as a child, dealing with sexuality in a childlike way, illustrate the fascination with and myths about sex that many children grow up with, almost as if peeking from behind their hands to see if the monsters really exist.

Molly has her first lesbian experience with Alice, the Renaissance princess. For Callie, the relationship is pretty much one-sided, with Alice accepting sexual overtures and some sexual pleasure, but remaining separate, disconnected from the experiences, as if they were happening in her sleep. The experience described by Brown with Molly is a metaphor for the loneliness and isolation a gay person experiences in their pursuit of a relationship, for not only is it hard for gay men and women to find a life partner (the odds are much reduced when compared to the heterosexual population), but they also have to deal more often with the reality that their partner may be embarrassed or afraid to reciprocate what the gay person feels sincerely, to openly admit Yes, Im gay. Given Browns own sexual preference, this metaphor is probably grounded strongly in personal experience.

The pattern that Molly and Alice share is that of We are lovers, but no one is to know. The common result when this cautious state of affair (so to speak) comes to light is exemplified by Polina, Alices mom, who encourages her daughter to be more like Callie, but completely shuts Alice away from Callie when informed of their lesbianism. The conclusion is made obvious Better to love in secret than in honesty.

Molly moves past the loss of Alice to continue her maturation in what can only be described as a bit of a romp, sharp with wit and attitude. In Molly one see a woman not defined by her sexuality, but by her intelligence and values. Unconventional, a risk-taker and admirable without being perfect, Brown makes Molly an example of a person, not a stereotype. I understood Molly, and in that understanding I learned more about what I think is worthy in another person. Molly is not a lesbian character, but very much a character amongst whose aspects include being a lesbian. Theres a big difference there, for it reaches deep into the truth that we are all different and many times the differences are difficult to define because they are very difficult to see.

By contrast, the protagonist of Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex is physically different, albeit in a hidden way. Because of the brother-sister marriage of her grandparents, Callie Stephanides has a genetic mutation that makes her a hermaphrodite, one who has both sets of genitalia. Raised as a girl because the duality was not uncovered in childhood, Callie fails to develop normally and so she is taken by her parents to a specialist in sexual disorders, who is thrilled at finding another hermaphrodite to study. Callie wants no part of it and runs away, living on the road until she emerges as Cal, a young man.

But that transition was not smooth. After a few rejections, Callie falls into the hands of a promoter of odd sexuality, who sees in the hermaphroditic nature of Callie a way to make money. In that ambiance, Callie dabbles in drugs, friendship and ennui, until she makes her escape and starts leading her life as a young man, eventually reuniting with his parents and beginning a life abroad.

Cals transition to becoming a man is shown to be based primarily on sexual desire, for we see that Cal increasingly finds women more desirable than men, though he seldom deepens his relationships with them, fearful of being rejected for his physical difference. In terms of exploring the dual nature of his body, this focus on sex almost exclusively means that his exploration of the differences in gender are not really profound. Most of the novel deals with the past rather than with CallieCal, exploring the events that lead to his burdened with guilt, thinking that his physical difference is somehow a punishment for what his grandparents did. In effect, it was a roll of the dice, one with a higher probability of coming up as it did, but chance nonetheless. It might have been more interesting to see CallieCal explore the nature of gender differences by having Callie live her life as a young woman, away from the sexual freak show aspect portrayed and discover in her own way that being a man suited her best, not mainly because of sexuality, but because it fulfilled him in a way being a woman didnt. Equally interesting would have been Callie becoming Cal and then, after living as a young man, deciding to return to being a woman because it fulfills her best. To be able to explore the unknown aspects of the other gender, as CallieCal could have, is an adventure in self-discovery worth reading.

In The Women of Brewster Place, by Gloria Naylor, the stories of a group of black women are entwined because of their living in the tenement apartments at Brewster Place. The stories are largely tragic unwanted pregnancies, beatings, failures with men, rape and death are jammed together. But underlying all the stories are a sense of disappointment and betrayal, by parents, by lovers and husbands and by society. The range of backgrounds of the women go from rural and urban poverty to middle-class, with each woman rejecting what was in favor of pursuing something more. That they have all ended up in Brewster Place is a sign that they have largely failed at finding that better place they sought.

Two of the women, Lorraine and Teresa, are lovers that portray the imbalance gay couples often have (as noted with Molly and Alice) Teresa doesnt care what the neighbors think of her sexuality, but Lorraine cares all too much. The tension leads to an argument that has Lorraine leave the apartment at night and be gang-raped. If this is a metaphor, the meaning seems to be to either accept yourself or suffer deepening pain or even agony.

The women of Brewster place a large value on being with their man, on finding the right one and hanging on to him. The track record shows that the men they chose were not worthy. One of the women, Cora Lee, loves babies and prefers shadows, men who come and go, so she can keep having babies. Oddly enough, she doesnt like them as much when they are children, so her search for more beings to love seems doomed to eventually fail forever.

In Brewster Place, sex is a common theme in these womens lives, dominating much of their lifes decisions. However, more important factors are their gender, for it appears to seriously restrict their options for progress, and race, for it marginalizes them to a point near dependency. This reality is hard to accept, in fiction and fact, and where the women of  Brewster Place are battered by it has echoes in many of our towns and cities.

What these women are seeking is comfort, caring and companionship, whether in men, babies or another woman. That they can find it only in an old man and between themselves seems to indicate that sex is an impediment to true intimacy, or that true intimacy can only come from a relationship between equals, something not seen in the novel. It would appear that only Teresa and Lorraine came close to achieving that elusive intimacy, except for their varying stances on expressing sexuality. If they, with the difficulties gay people have in finding a suitable partner, came closest, it throws sharp relief on the poor nature and potential of the other relationships in the book.

Unlike Rubyfruit and Middlesex, my ideas of gender and sexuality did not change or were challenged by Brewster Place. Of the nine principal characters in the three books, five were heterosexual women (all in Brewster), and of the other four, three suffered feelings of insecurity about their homosexuality. Of those, the only one who didnt fully accept herself or himself was raped, though one could claim that Callies treatment in her teens was a form of rape (exploitation.)

Fiction can open eyes and minds, even hearts, to realities thus far unseen. I delighted in Mollys sardonic joie de vivre and wondered at how Cals nomadic life as an adult man would lead to his finding a secure relationship. From Teresa and Lorraine I could peer into the sharp emptiness of not being fully accepted, but was left wanting for Lorraine to face herself as Molly and Callie did. Naylor chose to show the uglier side of life there, which is no less true than what Brown or Eugenides portrayed.

Over time, homosexuality has become a more acceptable way of life and its presence in mine may have increased as a result of that acceptance. If somehow this leads to more people finding a degree of personal happiness and freedom from fear that was formerly denied to them, then I applaud that. If in turn it becomes a more violent and brutal path to attacking and harming individuals for their personal sexual preference, then the sooner society quells that rising tide of anger and fear, the better. In my case, I can approach the whole topic of homosexuality with less trepidation than in my formative years, secure in the knowledge that there are gay couples who struggle for acceptance of each other in a way I can identify with, that their might be people hiding a physical difference that means very little in terms of who they can really be and that somewhere out there is a woman or a man who will remind me of Molly. And I will smile and laugh often as we talk about whatever comes to mind.

Man is a social being and with this lay the very foundations of the formation of a society based on how man views his needs as catered by the world around him. Man moves according to the responses made the social factors which he interacts with. Long before the world has learned to look beyond physical appearance and orientation racism, heterosexism and black sexuality has made a large barrier over social functions and meanings. Gender and race affected the allocation of rights, roles and privileges of a man and a woman in the society. It is for this matter that a man is considered distinctly separate from a woman, much more if skin color and sexual preferences are given focus. Black political agenda has been the course of most advocates for equality thus, the creation of literary masterpieces that paved the way top understanding the real essence of eradicating social barriers. Indeed, our own interpretations of the things around us affect how we respond to the world and how the world reacts in return.

Patricia Hill Collins has creatively infused in her book entitled Prisons for our Bodies, Closets for our Minds Racism, Heterosexism, and Black Sexuality explode the various factors contributing to the oppression of African Americans. She looked critically on how class, race and gender redefined the lives of the blacks. She provided an intensive analysis of whatever it was that prevented the society from seeing how the African American women become targets of certain policies on social welfare and how the African American men were unjustly incarcerated.

Collins was able to tackle both the issues on racism and gender sensitivity by carefully exposing the different privileges and limitations set to African American men and women.

In a general view, Collins made use of the book to advocate for the liberation of the blacks suggesting ways on how to challenge sexism, racism and homophobia. By observing her own communities and the society she belongs at large, the author Collins emphasized the need for the African Americans to search for avenues in order for them to freely express themselves and share their stories and experiences on the idea of racism, homophobia and racism. Collins argues that the birth of liberation for the blacks has been realized yet the battle against discrimination is yet infant and fresh. Thus, Collins disagrees with the societys act of combining femininity with submissiveness along with financial dependence and masculinity with wealth.

Now that legalized racism is behind us, she argues, more subtle forms of racism remain as its legacy, both externally imposed upon and internally recreated by Black communities. She uses as evidence not only the statistical findings of social science (the high proportion of incarcerated young Black men, the dwindling resources of inner city schools) but also the ambiguous testimony of film and television, which reflects us back to ourselves while at the same time expressing ruling interests that distort the common good. On the other hand, she notes a tendency in Black political theory to abstract from issues of gender and sexuality, a striking example of which is the hostility of African American churches to homosexuality. (Grosholz, p. 12)
The idea that society dictates how men are able to acquire a more comfortable life than women is indeed harmful stressing not just the womans weakness but also her deprivation of good life because of her physiological make up. Collins was right when she advocated for

freedom of the African Americans from the bondages of cruel racism and sexism. The issue on race may be very evident in the society where Collins belonged but the concern on sexism is flourishing and threatening the world at large. It is to this point that women found their way out of inferiority complex from men. History has shown the transformation from subtle liberation to complete freedom as women becomes an integral part of every endeavor where men are expected to succeed alone. Collins purports personal character should weigh more than the value of achievement. It is in this light that we should begin to see the value of good virtues and personality enhancement beyond material accomplishments. What is the use of a man of wealth and luxury if his happiness is rotten with pride and social skills deficiency

On the other hand, Gloria Naylor has magnificently woven the lives of her women characters that lived in one community. Theresa, Lorraine, Cora Lee, Mattie Michael, Luciela Turner, Mae Johnson and Melanie brown make up the short novel entitled the Women of Brewster Place. Naylor projected the characters as soft-centered, easily pleased, hard-edged and brutally demanding. People who lived in Brewster Place are all products of migration from the South and the Mediterranean. Naylors story revolved around the concept of how a community is built by people of different origins and how they have transformed Brewsters Place into a place they could call their home. Naylor further fused into the story how generations come to blend at one point in life and what happens if people of different orientations are posed to live together. The story went beyond the lives of each character combining them altogether to stress the significance of personal connections. As one individual finds comfort from the other, Brewsters Place was never a paradise for the residents but it was enough to mold their dreams and hopes for a good life.

In the lines The young black woman and the old yellow woman sat in the kitchen for hours, blending their lives so that what lay behind one and ahead of the other became indistinguishable it was clear how Naylor depicted the vanishing of individual differences as residents represented by the old yellow woman and the young black woman as they become one.

The two views on racism, heterosexism and black sexuality focused mainly on the lives of the African Americans. Collins tackled the importance of eradicating the barriers for social progress which are mainly sexism, homophobia and racism. She suggested for the strength to fight these issues and begin enjoying freedom as destined every man. On the other hand, Naylors emphasis on migration was an issue during the early African American times which depicted how these people scoured for paradise and freedom. Both authors were able to instill the importance of accepting others without giving too much emphasis on how different they might look and believe. The characters in Naylors masterpiece were separated by skin color, age and class yet in the end they found each other their own comforting shields against lifes struggles within the Brewsters Place.

Indeed, a perfect society is within the grasp of each and every one of us as we judge not others by appearance, age and personality. The real essence of living is being in harmony with the world around us particularly the people whom we share it with. Wealth and comfort does not really matter in the end Whats important is that we lived our lives to the best that we can because we looked past race, gender and economic status. Thus, we can say that living is contributing to a society that leads us to the real meaning of life.