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Gender Roles In Judy Brady's Why I Want A Wife

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In the essay, Why I Want a Wife by Judy Brady, Brady is describing and giving her opinion of life as a wife and mother, particularly a woman, in the 1970’s. In this essay, Brady is writing about the demands and requirements placed on a woman and wife in the 1970’s. The main idea of the essay is to emphasize the role of men and women in society and how unequal the roles are. Brady expresses her negative views and opinions of gender roles in this story through the use of tone, the idea of feminism, and use of pathos. Throughout the essay, Brady uses a sarcastic tone in order to express her negative opinion toward the gender roles in the 1970’s. In the essay, Brady assumes that the reader knows about the inequality of gender roles in society. In the beginning of the essay, Brady states “…I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?” (1). Brady stated this in the beginning of the story in order to set the story of the reasons why men marry women. Brady’s opinions of gender roles through the use of tone can be seen later in the essay. Brady states “I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean… and change of scene” (2). In this quote, Brady uses a sarcastic tone and the …show more content…
In this essay, Brady uses pathos in order to appeal to the audience and have the reader feel that the inequality of gender in society is wrong and should be changed. Throughout the essay, Brady “lists the jobs that are required of wives” (“Analysis of the Essay.” Berzahs. 16 Apr. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. https://berzahs.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/analysis-of-the-essay-“i-want-a-wife”-by-judy-brady/). At the end of the essay, Brady states “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” (3). In this quote, Brady wants the reader to react negatively to the way men and society treat women. Brady also wants the reader to change the social norms in society and gender

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