Virginity

gives Santiago's name, the twins set out to uphold their family's honor by killing Santiago. They carry out the plan not because they want to, but because they feel pressure to, thanks to machismo culture. Their society does not approve of women losing their virginity premaritally,…

As stated just before, the symbolic line has to do with the second sister losing her virginity. This is seen in: “She sees how their red silk flare / Of pedaled blood / Burns open to the sun’s blade. / On that green alter” (Stanza 5). The blood, along with the poppies in previous lines, help to clue in the reader that while the second sister is outdoors, she has lost her virginity. The sun is given as her lover, so it is possible that her lover was someone that she greatly admired. Also, the…

person, but the fault of everyone. It was not until after Santiago's death that the town seemed to somewhat realize to what extent that it had been trapped in its Machismo society. They knew it was their own faults, and not the fault of Santiago that ultimately caused his death. In the story, it is even shown how the town felt, "They didn't hear the shouts of the whole town, frightened by its own crime." (Márquez 118). The whole town itself feels its guilt, they know that is was their own…

The Fence to Adulthood: Sexuality in The Sound and The Fury Throughout William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury, the patriarchal construct of virginity controls women through the creation of fences -- both physical and metaphorical barriers. Traditionally, when a Southern girl reaches adulthood, she is expected to settle down and raise her children, obeying her husband as the family patriarch. These Southern power structures are like fences in that they have traditionally restricted women’s…

life forms is all Benjy sees when he looks at the world. When Benjy was born, Caddy was a virgin, so that is how Benjy remembers Caddy, how he likes Caddy. “Caddy put her arms around me and her shining veil, and I couldn’t smell trees anymore and I began to cry” (Faulkner 40). Caddy smelling like trees represents her virginity and when Benjy can no longer smell trees, he knows she is no longer pure. Benjy’s reaction to Caddy’s loss of innocence is to bellow and cry, a small portion of The…

in area of study than anthropology, a fact which I have only recently learned. On the first day of class I had preconceived notions about anthropology, I believed it was simply the study of cultures from a subjective manner, a very cut and dry study which would not take much elaborate thought. As classes progressed, particularly once we had moved onto the study of sex, reproduction and personhood, my understanding of the versatility of anthropology expanded greatly. I have realised that what I…

process of growing up. Losing your virginity is an event in the human life that is often associated with growing up. One example of how Holden’s internal conflict is depicted is the way that he dealt with Sunny. Sunny was a whore that was sent to him in the Edmont hotel by a bellhop named Maurice. When Holden first accepted Maurice’s offer of having a girl come up to his room he attempted to talk himself into it, reasoning that it would be good for him and that it would improve his ability as a…

from the city of Alexandria, the heart of knowledge and learning in Egypt. In “[doing] away with my generation’s virginity” (Page 64), Maria “taught us more than we should have learned” (Page 65). In this sense, Maria could be considered a teacher and mentor, a sharer of knowledge. Lastly, Cervantes is Spanish for followers of a prophet, in this case Jesus/ Santiago. Maria holds a great amount of respect for Santiago, “she had so much respect for him that she never again went to bed with anyone…

Bal, he describes the vow as “guaranteeing primal violence.” Bal says that since Jephthah’s vow contained the word “whatever” it is used as a military tactic, which means he is trying to find a scapegoat if he is not able to defeat the Ammonites himself. By not having the sacrifice before him when he made the vow Jephthah can be viewed as being dishonest because no one has seen the one that will be sacrificed and no one knows if he is going to go through with it once he does meet whatever comes…

complicates the established dichotomy between sluts and virgins, I cannot help but wonder why neither of these categories are defined explicitly. “The author,” Lerum and Dworkin (2015) explain, “provides a compelling four-category matrix illustrating this idea, subdividing virgins and sluts into two additional categories: agentic vs. victims. Within this framework, then, it is possible to better understand how women identified as virgins and sluts may both achieve respect (or a lack of respect)”…