Wu Zhengda Student ID: 515370910142
Instructor: Pamela Mansutti
VY100 Fall 2015
Section 6
A forced gender role, a reflection of the society
Alice Munro, a famous Canadian writer, tells a story about a tomboy’s resistance to womanhood in a society filled with gender biases and stereotypes in her “boys and girls”. The time background of the story is 1940s, when women were considered inferior to men and were looked down upon.
Instead of pointing out this reality straightforward, Munro uses metaphor, which makes the story more thought-provoking .For example, the protagonist in the story is an unnamed character, while her younger brother is given the name Laird. It can be inferred that the protagonist symbolizes all women in the sick society, and the name Laird, which is a synonym for “lord”, indicates the social stereotype that the male child was considered superior to the female child.
In the article, the mother represents the whole female group that encounters the dilemma of whether to follow the mainstream of the society or to accept one’s inner true thoughts. Obviously, the …show more content…
She is almost satisfied until the salesman answers “I thought it was only a girl”. “Girls keep their knees together when they sit down.” is what her grandma always comments on her. The worst is when she asks a question and her grandmother replies “That’s none of a girl’s business.” However, she still slams doors and sits in her way because she feels that it keeps her free and comfortable. The protagonist expresses her resistance by continuing to do things against the stereotype, "thinking that by such measures she kept herself free" That is to say, she is not ready to accept and claim her gender identity, though it is the convention of the
Instructor: Pamela Mansutti
VY100 Fall 2015
Section 6
A forced gender role, a reflection of the society
Alice Munro, a famous Canadian writer, tells a story about a tomboy’s resistance to womanhood in a society filled with gender biases and stereotypes in her “boys and girls”. The time background of the story is 1940s, when women were considered inferior to men and were looked down upon.
Instead of pointing out this reality straightforward, Munro uses metaphor, which makes the story more thought-provoking .For example, the protagonist in the story is an unnamed character, while her younger brother is given the name Laird. It can be inferred that the protagonist symbolizes all women in the sick society, and the name Laird, which is a synonym for “lord”, indicates the social stereotype that the male child was considered superior to the female child.
In the article, the mother represents the whole female group that encounters the dilemma of whether to follow the mainstream of the society or to accept one’s inner true thoughts. Obviously, the …show more content…
She is almost satisfied until the salesman answers “I thought it was only a girl”. “Girls keep their knees together when they sit down.” is what her grandma always comments on her. The worst is when she asks a question and her grandmother replies “That’s none of a girl’s business.” However, she still slams doors and sits in her way because she feels that it keeps her free and comfortable. The protagonist expresses her resistance by continuing to do things against the stereotype, "thinking that by such measures she kept herself free" That is to say, she is not ready to accept and claim her gender identity, though it is the convention of the