In a man’s world, as most worlds seem to be, it can be difficult for a woman to achieve a sense of autonomy. Some women fantasize of Utopias where she can stand on her own, such as in Pisan’s The Book of the City of Ladies. However, when living these fantasies women are sneered at, much like the those in Herland by Gillum. Still, women in dystopia do not seem to have the thought of being independent on the horizon, much less in their actions. This is displayed in Huxley’s Brave New World and The Giver by Lowry. These women are well-behaved and almost content with their roles of mothers, wives, and individuals which are comparable to androids; robotic with a human appearance. These works demonstrate that women will never truly be independent
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The diction used to characterize the (presumably female) nurses in Brave New World are harsh in their tone, illustrating a tension between themselves and the Director. “The nurses stiffened to attention” (20) as if they were afraid of a Director that dictated every second of the day with commands the nurses silently obeyed (20). We see examples of their timid nature by their body language The women in this work have no dialogue at all, only actions where the silently “obey his command[s]” (20). Declaring that this was a man’s world where women are taken for granted and have no independence among men. Because the nurses are dominated by a male that controls their every move, they are not at liberty to embrace their independence in the workplace. This is an exaggerated version of an environment in which a male takes all control, but not all dystopias are this …show more content…
This society perpetuates the idea of conformity across all ages after twelve years old and all genders as well. Although at the same time maintaining a lack of autonomy. In this community, all careers are assigned to both males and females in the “ceremony of twelve” (18) which continues the concept of sameness here and throughout the book. However, there are undesired careers only available to women for example: Lilly, Jonas’ sister, stated “I hope I get to … be a birthmother!” (21) to which her mother replies “Don’t say that! … There’s very little honor in that assignment!” (21). Even in a post-gendered society, the only career looked down upon is limited to females. Because women are the only people that can give birth and those chosen to give birth are unable to control their assignment, women are inherently robbed of their choice to procreate. Although this is a small detail in an otherwise equal society, this is the only job in which the employees are looked at harshly within the book. They are referred to in ways similar to descriptions of livestock, “somewhat lazy, … but her body [is] strong” (53). The tone associated with this in The Giver is ordinary, but the underlying idea of looking at women as less than men is still here. This mirror’s our society in the context that in the twenty-first century, women have come
The diction used to characterize the (presumably female) nurses in Brave New World are harsh in their tone, illustrating a tension between themselves and the Director. “The nurses stiffened to attention” (20) as if they were afraid of a Director that dictated every second of the day with commands the nurses silently obeyed (20). We see examples of their timid nature by their body language The women in this work have no dialogue at all, only actions where the silently “obey his command[s]” (20). Declaring that this was a man’s world where women are taken for granted and have no independence among men. Because the nurses are dominated by a male that controls their every move, they are not at liberty to embrace their independence in the workplace. This is an exaggerated version of an environment in which a male takes all control, but not all dystopias are this …show more content…
This society perpetuates the idea of conformity across all ages after twelve years old and all genders as well. Although at the same time maintaining a lack of autonomy. In this community, all careers are assigned to both males and females in the “ceremony of twelve” (18) which continues the concept of sameness here and throughout the book. However, there are undesired careers only available to women for example: Lilly, Jonas’ sister, stated “I hope I get to … be a birthmother!” (21) to which her mother replies “Don’t say that! … There’s very little honor in that assignment!” (21). Even in a post-gendered society, the only career looked down upon is limited to females. Because women are the only people that can give birth and those chosen to give birth are unable to control their assignment, women are inherently robbed of their choice to procreate. Although this is a small detail in an otherwise equal society, this is the only job in which the employees are looked at harshly within the book. They are referred to in ways similar to descriptions of livestock, “somewhat lazy, … but her body [is] strong” (53). The tone associated with this in The Giver is ordinary, but the underlying idea of looking at women as less than men is still here. This mirror’s our society in the context that in the twenty-first century, women have come