Africana studies

What Shakespeare does in his comedic play Twelfth Night is that he deconstructs notions of gender and social class; however, he also stresses the futility of going against said social norms especially in Elizabethan society. Throughout the play, clothing is shown as a prime marker for, among other things, identity and social class. Some characters use clothing as a means of climbing up the social ladder; whereas others happen to flip the gender script by using clothing to highlight that gender…

In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, author Mark Haddon tells the tale of a young Christopher Boone, and his journey to uncover the mystery of who killed his neighbor’s dog, Wellington. Christopher narrates this story in a unique way, giving readers a glimpse into the mind of a fifteen year-old boy who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a type of autistic disorder. Christopher uses unconventional quirks, such as his excellence in mathematics, his keen photographic memory, and…

Victorian society was characterized by the strict norms imposed upon its populace. All were expected to adhere to their designated societal role – men the workers, women the caregivers. In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen probes the problems of the roles assigned to women in a male-oriented society. For women, their sharply defined roles did not allow for individuality, forcing them to sacrifice their identity in order to fit into society. A Doll’s House assess the dichotomy between who women are…

Rational: The Curious of the dog in the night-time is a novel written by Mark Haddon. This book, published in 2003. The main character is Christopher, who has a mental problem suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome. I am going to write a day, Christopher’s diary when he finds out his favorite teacher (Siobhan) has left and she sends a letter to him. I will start a Christopher’s diary with a quite good day and when he receives a letter, which the color of this letter is his favorite. Then I’ll show…

Studies that women are not paid equally to men. Several corporations have been the groups of women who claim they were discriminated against because of their gender. Man can be also discriminated against because of their gender. If a company decided to…

This novel challenges the modern standards of beauty and their inherent racism. This is a novel by Toni Morrison. The story rotates around Pecola. Pecola is a young girl from black the background. Author begins by mentioning the fact that Pecola ails from a dysfunctional family unit. A drunkard father and constant fights between the parents was the order of the day in her life. She is suffering from inferiority complex (Morrison 32). She believes that she is not very pretty and this could be…

Portfilo Assignment About ME: I am currently in grade 11 at Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School. The courses that I am currently taking are Learning Strategies, Math, College English and the Literacy Course. The extra-curricular activities that I joined in grade ten are Counting On You throughout the school year and winter break so that I could prepare for the Ontario Secondary Literacy Test but after that, I quit since I had a lot of exams/tests coming up after that. When I grow up I want to…

For years, men and women have strived to stay within social norms. These socials norms included stereotypical roles of men and women. Now, in 2018, women are gaining more rights and typical gender roles and other social norms are starting to fade, although they still have an effect in all of our lives. Shakespeare, who lived and wrote nearly 200 years before us, tried to break these “rules” of gender roles. Shakespeare plays with traditional gender stereotypes through the characters of Romeo and…

In his essay The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex, Sigmund Freud asserts that "anatomy is destiny"(Freud 178). Anatomy defines the sexes and their fate regarding their desires, sexualities, and evidently, their gender. All humans are born with a set of reproductive organs that allows them to be categorized into certain groups as a result. According to Simone Beauvoir, "science considers characteristics as secondary reactions to a situation" (Beauvoir 23-24). Beauvoir uses the key word…

In this day and age, social injustices occur on a daily basis due to discrimination against one’s race, gender, sexuality, skills and more. These common occurrences promote the idea that more equality will better a nation which raises the question, would total equality actually benefit society? Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron succeeds in addressing this question and exposes the consequences of complete equality. His short story takes place in an egalitarian society where the government…