The Elephant in the Room
Navajo code talkers were considered America’s “secret weapon” in World War II. US Marines used the Native American language as a code in order to relay secret messages during wartime. This code was vital to our victory in World War II because the Japanese easily cracked top secret military codes. Just as American soldiers relayed messages in code during wartime, women wrote in “code” in order to portray society's limitations during their time. They addressed these limitations in their literature. Writing about social issues was the only way women were able to voice their experiences living in a culture where they were treated as second-class citizens. Texts such as “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “The Valley …show more content…
In her short story, “The Valley of Childish Things,” Edith Wharton creates an analogy between an experienced man and society in order to portray how women are criticized if they contrast with society’s expectations. In a fictional valley where children enjoy games and study the same books, a lame and weather-beaten man crosses paths with a grown and experienced woman and scolds her for the way she’s aged. Wharton writes, “As she turned away, he added in the kindest possible way, ‘Really, my dear, you ought to have taken better care of your complexion’” (8). Wharton creates an analogy between the weather-beaten man and society in order to show how society’s expectations limited women. By telling the aged woman she “ought to take better care of [her] complexion,” the old man criticizes her experience and wisdom. Wharton’s analogy shows how women were expected to be unintelligent and inexperienced. Society limited them to these characteristics. In addition, the weather-beaten man’s comment on the grown woman’s complexion shows how women were expected to maintain their physical appearance. He scolds her for her complexion, but her wrinkling is a natural part of aging the woman has no control over. Essentially, Wharton portrays a very superficial society with her analogy between society and the grown man, where women who aren’t perceived as “beautiful” are scolded. The issues of Wharton’s time can be found in our
Navajo code talkers were considered America’s “secret weapon” in World War II. US Marines used the Native American language as a code in order to relay secret messages during wartime. This code was vital to our victory in World War II because the Japanese easily cracked top secret military codes. Just as American soldiers relayed messages in code during wartime, women wrote in “code” in order to portray society's limitations during their time. They addressed these limitations in their literature. Writing about social issues was the only way women were able to voice their experiences living in a culture where they were treated as second-class citizens. Texts such as “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “The Valley …show more content…
In her short story, “The Valley of Childish Things,” Edith Wharton creates an analogy between an experienced man and society in order to portray how women are criticized if they contrast with society’s expectations. In a fictional valley where children enjoy games and study the same books, a lame and weather-beaten man crosses paths with a grown and experienced woman and scolds her for the way she’s aged. Wharton writes, “As she turned away, he added in the kindest possible way, ‘Really, my dear, you ought to have taken better care of your complexion’” (8). Wharton creates an analogy between the weather-beaten man and society in order to show how society’s expectations limited women. By telling the aged woman she “ought to take better care of [her] complexion,” the old man criticizes her experience and wisdom. Wharton’s analogy shows how women were expected to be unintelligent and inexperienced. Society limited them to these characteristics. In addition, the weather-beaten man’s comment on the grown woman’s complexion shows how women were expected to maintain their physical appearance. He scolds her for her complexion, but her wrinkling is a natural part of aging the woman has no control over. Essentially, Wharton portrays a very superficial society with her analogy between society and the grown man, where women who aren’t perceived as “beautiful” are scolded. The issues of Wharton’s time can be found in our