Adrienne Rich Claiming An Education Essay

Power comes with responsibility. To take responsibility for oneself is to empower oneself, and vice versa. The more power one has, the more responsibility they must also possess. The more responsible for themselves someone is, the more power they have over themselves. This is put especially well in Adrienne Rich’s essay, “Claiming an Education,” when she speaks of the unequal treatment women were receiving from a male-dominated society, and how if a woman is to have power over herself where she doesn’t have it, she must claim responsibility for herself. The essay, originally given as a speech at a women’s college, revolves around this idea of claiming what belongs to you, and seizing responsibility for your life. I believe this is a goal that everyone should strive for. We should all take responsibility for their individual selves, unafraid of taking hold of what we want or of …show more content…
We live in a world administrated by adults. What we learn in high school is what adults have decided we should learn, and how we see the world has its foundation in how our parents see the world. As a result, it’s so incredibly easy to fall into the trap of letting one of these many things define us. Teens are at the transition point. Young children have less responsibility for themselves, due to being under the authority of parents and elders who give them fundamental knowledge and life skills. They are less accountable, and so need someone to be accountable for them. Teenagers exist right between these two stages of life, on the way from being told to having the privilege of telling. This is the time in life when a person steps up and claims their voice, their responsibility, and therefore, becomes empowered. Yes, we a teens are lacking in experience compared to adults and, like any other person, we need guidance. But all the same, we have the exact same right to claim personal responsibility as everyone else