Hangman's Beach Character Analysis

Great Essays
Thomas Raddall’s novel Hangman’s Beach is a historical fiction. Raddall teaches the reader about different cultures, war, men, and women. The expectations of women throughout history are engraved in this novel. We learn of how they are treated, the relationships they have, and the way men view and treat them. A woman’s role hasn’t changed much. They fought to be able to vote, have jobs, be able to divorce and choose their own relationships, and they succeeded. But, even in today’s society they are still fighting for respect from their counter sex, and they are fighting for equality for both genders. In this novel the reader learns of the expectations men had for women and how women were treated during a time of revolutions, the build of new …show more content…
He is the head of the household and has high standards for the women who reside under his roof. He makes it very clear what behaviour is appropriate and forces the women to lie for fear that he will think of them as crazy and “lock them up”. Joanna’s character is rebellious, she goes against her husband’s wishes and even lies to him. This goes against the very role of a woman and of a wife, as they are supposed to obey their husbands and be honest. While Johanna is more complacent, Ellie is the image of a woman who is ahead of her time. As an unmarried woman she should be innocent and naïve when it comes to men, the understanding of sex and the marriage bed. Although many women in this society may have known and understood such things even before they experienced it on their own wedding night, they weren’t supposed to talk about it openly or even at all. In doing so is inappropriate and jeopardizes their reputation. The fact that Ellie does this unapologetically shows how advanced she is for a woman during this time. Joanna is realistic in her reaction to Ellie’s blunt talk, as most women in her position would have been, “Joanna’s face went res, as if she herself were the timorous virgin, not this frank young creature beside her.” (73) even as a married woman she has kept part of her innocence, mostly at her …show more content…
Before women fought for their freedom and equality, they were expected to act and be a certain way. In his novel, Raddall expresses that women were made to be wives and caregivers. Pretty women would find love and live a happy life. At a time when no one was certain of anything, one thing stayed true. Women were slaves to the expectations and rules of society that men created. Raddall brilliantly uses history and a love story to mask the underlining issues of this culture. Women were not equal to men and would not survive without a man in their lives to keep them in

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    There are many ways the human body can be described. It can be literal, anatomical, or poetic. All of these wrapped up will sum up the essay “The Female Body” written by Margaret Atwood, who put words to the wonders and complications of a woman’s body. With an almost rhythmic writing style, Atwood addressed sexist views and rebutted with an intimate and intrusive account of the role women have within a male consumed society. Atwood successfully uses pathos and ethos argumentative points to bring attention to the hardships women face.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” The opening sentence in Pride and Prejudice has a fine, undeclared message. The obvious message being that a well-off man must be looking for a wife, but it also hides the truth that a single woman is in want of a husband. This novel relates to the play A Doll’s house. In these two readings a women’s idea of marriage is having a husband that can help guide, protect, and provide for them within their means. A man embraces the idea that his role in marriage is to protect and guide his wife.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Male Motives for Dominant Control in Hemingway and Gilman In both the “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, there is an institution of a domineering patriarchal system that is ruling over the women of both stories through their male partners. The male characters in both stories are evidently using their dominance to manipulate the women in way that benefits them only. Using evidence from critic reviews and the text of the stories, it can be proven that both the American and John are consciously condescending their female counterparts in order to reap benefits of their own.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Throughout history, women have fought for gender equality economically, socially, and opportunity wise. Women have tried to show that, in a multitude of occasions, females are just as capable of being successful and heroic like their male counterparts. The book The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, demonstrates feminist literary criticism by portraying women as property and puppets of men. The book, about a boy and his father who undergo obstacles after the destruction of civilization show through Feminist Criticism, the lowest form of feminist criticism. Thus, allowing us to see how male-dominated the book is and how minimal women were portrayed.…

    • 1615 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Oppression Of Manhood

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In her famous work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote about the oppression women in society face, and the ways in which they are denied an equal chance to participate in society and make the best choices for themselves. Many of Wollstonecraft’s arguments are connected not only with women, but with the conceptions of manhood prevalent at the time. Through revealing social norms and double standards towards women in society and references to other prominent writers of the age, Wollstonecraft shows that, while manhood was equated with freedom, reason, intelligence and superiority, the conception of manhood lacked responsibility and accountability. The pressure of remaining virtuous was placed solely on women, Wollstonecraft…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The roles of women reflected in the late nineteenth century up until the 1960’s were known to be portrayals of the perfect housewife or of one who lacked status. Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” both represent the gender role that was expected of woman in their time period and their restrictions to having their own identity. Mrs. Mallard and Girl are similar because they both lack their own true identity and have expectations from others as to how they should act and who they should be. A common theme shown in both stories is repression.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Ravensong, a novel by Lee Maracle, introduces two very different cultures and the prevalence of western culture and superiority. Within white town, women were characterized as inferior to men and had little to no say with regards to both private and public spheres. This was evident as Stacy visits her only friend at school, Carol. When Stacy goes to Carol’s house for dinner she is appalled by her father’s treatment of her mother. She watches them carefully as Mr. S is giving Mrs. S violent looks as a result of the fact that she spoke of a couple getting a divorce in front of their children.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When discussing gender roles or feminism in literary works, several would tend to gravitate to the idea of gender focusing solely on the plight of women. However, feminism and the restrictive power of gender roles heavily affect men as well. The dynamic of people believing sexism to only influence women is intriguingly played out in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Many of the analyses I’ve read explain how Gilman’s story shows societal pressures affecting women during that time and how they still have an impact on us today. While this popular theory is evident to be true, even by Gilman’s own admission, I would challenge this idea and push to say that while, yes, “The Yellow Wallpaper” does enlighten us to the…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gender Roles In Candide

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Voltaire’s Candide: Women’s Role in Society Women during the 1700s, the time period during which the novel is set, understood they had very little power; and it was only through men that they could exert any influence. Women at this time were seen as mere objects that acted as conciliation prizes for the gain of power and their sole use was for reproduction. Maintaining the duty of tiding the home and looking after the children, no outlet for an education or a chance to make a voice for themselves. Men acted as the leading voice in society, making all substantial decisions for women. The hierarchy of genders was ever so present and was based on the physical differences between men and women.…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bradstreet, Wollstonecraft, and the Role of Women in Society In the 17th and 18th centuries, women were expected to stay at home, raise children, and not have political opinions. Both Mary Wollstonecraft and Anne Bradstreet believed that they, along with all other women, were capable and deserved to do more than home making. The works of Bradstreet and Wollstonecraft demonstrate the role of women in society by explaining everyday life as a woman and arguing that women deserve the right to have opinions and a voice in government. Anne Bradstreet was eighteen when she arrived in Massachusetts Bay on the Arbella in 1630.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In reading world literature, it becomes abundantly clear that the reality of women being subjected to different and sometimes harsh treatment by society is not a regional or even a national truth. It is a theme that is extended from the beginning of time until present day in literary works. While there are many examples of this truth, Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is exceptionally poignant. Kincaid’s careful use of form and character identities work in perfect tandem to convey the truths of human femininity.…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Attaining independence through opposing gender roles in the 1600-1800 In the play Twelfth Night and the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen female and male characters experience a phenomenon that had rarely been seen before in this time period. Gender roles had been an important part of history since the beginning of time and seemed to be respected and followed by citizen of all kind in England during the 1600-1800. Society had expectations for women and men and how they were expected to act, the assumption that women and men had to act their certain ways had been challenged and faced immediate qualification. Men were anticipated to be strong, willing and brave while women had to essentially be background noise in the focus of their lives.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The women in the novel are told that they are important and more intuitive than men but at the same time told that men cannot control themselves when around women. These women had to fear for their lives and their bodies and sneak around men.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Without background information some readers may think that all of these different elements of the story shape it into a piece of literature that emphasizes the problems during the nineteenth century for women, but when they learn that there were other elements that affect the story as well the theme of this piece is…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many people think that males in our society today are brought up to define who they are as a person through the idealized version of heroics, the glory of competition, and, above all else, the idea that only winners are successful. Females, on the other hand, are brought up to define their identities through assembly, collaboration, unselfishness, home life, and community. This view of different male and female roles can be seen throughout literature. However, though both men and women have been represented throughout literature there is a clear commentary thread on the roles of women in society.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays