Birdcage

Hung Liu was born in 1948 in Changchun, China, however, she grew up in Beijing. There, she experienced the Cultural Revolution under the power of Mao Tse-tung. Around the age of 20, Hung Liu went to live in the countryside where she had to work with peasants in the fields. When schools finally reopened, she started thriving chose to study. Later she became a teacher at an elite Beijing school. She also had a television show revolving how to draw and paint. Then in 1984, Hung Liu was off to San…

In this day and time, she saw no other escape route as a man ruled and a wife followed, obeyed, if you will. (Kirszner & Mandell, 2012). The final straw, that pushed Minnie over the edge was the killing of her only companion, the bird. The birdcage and the dead body of the pet bird with a twisted neck would be good evidence of the mental and physical abuse Minnie endured. Who would be so cruel to do this to a helpless bird; nonetheless, to their loving wife? These actions only added to her…

and usually solve the crime. This is the only major stereotype that is unseated because the women solve the murder mystery from Mrs. Wright trifles. They find all crucial elements that provided motive and explanation for murder such as the canary, birdcage, fruit preservatives and Mrs. Wrights quilt. To push this unseated stereotype back to male dominated literature, the men in this play are constantly condescending to the women. This is from the men not being able to perceive the importance…

Many ideological forces are at work in our universe, and there exists as many views, both good and bad, about race and sex as there are stars in the night sky. Often, emotions fill our minds with the bad, leading to beliefs in racist and/or sexist ideologies. The good, represents a scholarly or peaceful approach to examining and then accepting the differences, no matter how big or how small, that exist between every individual in our universe. Feminist theory is an example of such an approach…

remains a powerful and integral part of a person’s expression and social and gender identity and gendered items fragment that. In “Oppression” by Marilyn Frye, Frye compares the structure of a birdcage to the barriers of oppression experienced by many individuals. Following Frye’s definition of a birdcage, the gender binaries systematically set in our society also act as wire of oppression in reference to gender…

oppression of people caught between two “networks of forces and barriers that expose one to penalty, loss, or contempt” regardless of circumstance (Frye, 1983, p.130-131). Another illustrative example Frye (1983) used to describe oppression was a birdcage, formed wire-by-wire, through discriminatory policy and practice almost unperceivable to the untrained eye, but when put into perspective, it collectively traps (p.132). Black Americans, as a result of systemic oppression, compete on uneven…

In this module, we have studied Susan Glaspell’s one-act play “Trifles” (1916), Zora Nealle Hurston’s short story “Sweat” (1926), and Louise Erdrich’s short story “The Shawl” (2001). All of the literary works mentioned above all hold some examples of domestic abuse women had to endure during the 20th century. Glaspell’s “Trifles” portrays a clear message about the ways of the two main characters marriage, without them ever appearing on stage. Instead, she leave the audience to interpret the…

for any sign of a motive, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale conduct their own investigation in the kitchen. The two women happen to notice erratic stitching on Mrs. Wright’s quilt. While continuing to inspect the house, the women discover a disfigured birdcage, leaving them wondering if Mrs. Wright had a bird of her own. Upon further investigation, the…

For years, many females and males have found themselves trying to obtain a place in society where they are not undervalued and treated unfairly by society’s one sided stereotypes. Many desired the opportunity to free themselves from the usual dominated chauvinistic views. Susan Glaspell’s short story, A Jury of Her Peers (1917), describes the lifestyles of a group of females and males who are distinguished by the roles they partake and this at times lead to them being seen inferior members of…

Wright maintained for so long and then suddenly lost it. Did Mrs. Wright lose her mind, or did she finally become strong enough to fight back? Multiple clues discovered by the wives could have easily been used to indict Mrs. Wright. A broken, empty birdcage caused apprehension with the women as to the whereabouts of the bird. The next clue found by the wives was a quilt being pieced together by Mrs. Wright. The stitching pattern changed abruptly; the wives were able to read into Mrs. Wright’s…