The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Oscar’s life is a short and wondrous one. He was Dominican and American and people usually called him ‘Loser.’ He loved reading comic books and liked women but did not know how to treat women. People usually think that kind of person cannot have any relationship with a woman but that is wrong. Surprisingly, he had many experiences with women but those were not normal and successful. He was a man who lived with love and died with love. It seems romantic but in the story, it was totally not. His relationship was very non-traditional.

Fuku is the ancient curse from Dominican culture, and Oscar’s family had that curse before Oscar was born and continued to have it. Trujillo is the dictator of Dominica, and he was the Fuku to Oscar’s family, because Oscar’s family was one of the ones that received hurt from Trujillo’s despotic government, and Oscar’s mother’s family met tragedy. The father was sent to the prison and her mother and two sisters were dead. Also, Oscar’s mother lived with her side of the family but she was the victim of a lot of family violence. After she escaped from Dominica, she was raised in New Jersey, USA. She raised her kids by herself, she worked a lot for her kids even though was dangerous. This shows how she is strong as a mother and a woman. Oscar was described as a very weak person and man in the story because when a woman who Oscar fell in love with, she rejected Oscar’s love, and he decided to kill himself. He failed but this shows how he is weak and makes foolish mistakes. The mother of Oscar and Lola, who is Oscar’s sister, do sexual discrimination. Lola is a smart and pretty girl but the mother cares more about Oscar because he is the son and Lola is not and she wants Lola to take care of Oscar. Her action shows how different she thinks power relationships between men and women are, but reality is totally different because Oscar is weaker than the women. 

When I read this book, I felt really sorry for Oscar’s family. The end of the story is not a happy ending because Oscar chose love but because of that, his life did not end in a good way. As I said he is lived with love and died with love. In this book, the women show more power than men, because Oscar’s mother raised Oscar and Lola by herself and Lola was described as a very smart and strong woman. Also, Oscar has many struggles from women. This story shows men are not always strong and women can be strong. 

Feminism

Kate Chopin is a writer who represented women’s literature in the 20th century. “The Story of an Hour” is one of her writings, and it represents the position of women at that time. Many people think she is feminist and her grandson said about her opinion of feminists, “Kate was neither a feminist nor a suffragist, she said so. She was nonetheless a woman who took women extremely seriously. She never doubted women’s ability to strong.” As you can see, Kate had compassion for many woman. She was interested in the life of women and the struggles of how women find their identities. Therefore, her writing “The Story of an Hour” occupies an important position in women’s literature.

“The Story of an Hour” shows exactly the position of men and women. In the story the main female character Louise Mallard is described as Mrs. Mallard, not her real name Louise. It shows that married women cannot hold their name and have to be called someone’s wife or daughter. When she heard about her husband’s death, she saw the beautiful view of spring outside, but inside the room is full of grief and sorrow about her husband’s death. This shows how different visually and auditory the inside room’s atmosphere was from the outside room’s atmosphere, also those differences reflected her mind’s division. The view of spring represents her freedom in her life without her husband. However, she still feels fear of new life. When she said “Free, free, free!”, her life is totally changed from the past and she feels reborn without any emptiness and fear, and those feelings are express by her physical sense. Her reaction makes it seem like she doesn’t like her husband but this is not true. She loved her husband, but she felt free from the pressure society puts on women. The problem is an androcentric society with a patriarchal marriage and her husband seems like he tried to be a good husband with kindness purpose. She wants to refuse the social system’s pressure and rules, then wants to get her own inherent will. 

Feminism is a difficult and sensitive subject. Today, many people try to speak a lot about feminism and try to find women’s rights, but unfortunately society still weak about women’s rights. When women speak their opinion, men find them stubborn instead of strong. Kate Chopin’s many stories contain feminism, and she frequently got the question, “Why are women less free than men?” I did not know about the feminism and never felt anything about the issue before, but recently I got interest in feminism and I think I have to be getting interested about this issue, because I am a female. In this story, the main character Louise shows how her rights get pressure from society and how society’s rules limits on women’s rights, and these days still nothing has change. In this story, Louise’s feelings makes it seem like she is selfish and does not love her husband but her feelings represent one of the powerless women under the influence of society. I believe that men have never felt this before. 

Female Superhero

Most people describe the physical strength of a hero and heroine. Heroes and heroines always have to be strong and save people. The design of my female hero is not like a superheroine who has a super power. She is a normal person and does not have any super powers and is not physically strong like other heroes and heroines. However, her braveness and infrangible moral strength are enough to be a heroine. Her power is her ability to be decisive and to not hesitate in a moment of danger. She is Resolute Woman.

Resolute Woman has leadership and knows how to treat people well and to persuade others to do what is right. When someone is struggling or in danger, she rescues the person with her power. She knows what justice is and wants justice to be realized, as well to do what every superhero does and save people. I want for all people to know what is right and what is wrong, and to emulate my hero. My hero is respectful of other people’s rights and is considerate of others’ feelings. Her kindness, thoughtfulness, and braveness can represent positive aspects of people to others. 

These days, I can see many heroes and heroines in our society. People jump into the subway tracks to save a kid, they help disabled people, and they volunteer for homeless people. I think a person who gives an answer to a person’s cry for help with courageousness and true heart is a hero and heroine. Anyone can become a hero or heroine for someone through a simple act. Merely they do not recognize it or do not know. My family is my hero because they always support me and make me happy. Resolute Woman represents the everyday hero and works tirelessly to right wrongs. She inspires those around her and proves that women are as strong as men.

True Grit

        I had never heard about True Grit before, but when I was watching this movie I really admired the life of Mattie, the main character. Mattie has strong confidence and is an active person, and she knows what she has to do. Her behavior can be seen as rude but really she just speaks her mind. I could see that she was claiming her right with confidence when she was bargaining for the horse and hiring the sheriff to catch a criminal. After watching the movie I just fell in love with her braveness but I could not be like her even though the period I live in is better than the one she lived in. 

In 1870, the western exploration period showed how cruel and confusing society was. Most people killed each other for survival without guilt, and the woman’s right was very weak. The only way to make money was to kill a wanted criminal like in a quest. During this time people focused on survival and there was very little morality. The western period is an example of a time when men were stronger than women and had more rights. In True Grit, two men describe a woman as weaker than a man and would not accept a young girl on their journey. However, Mattie is a young girl, and she got respect from two men who go the journey with her. The reason why those two men respect Mattie is that they can feel the grit of Mattie and accept her. A person who wants to get respect from other people needs to be brave and protect their own rights.

Today, still women’s rights are weaker than men’s and often women get an unfair deal like getting paid less than men, being used for sexual appeal, and receiving sexual assault comments. Unexpectedly it happens a lot everywhere. For example, some companies do not want to hire women because they might be pregnant and will have to take time off work which costs the company money. Today, a lot of women show their power and protest their treatment through the movement for gender equality. Many people support gender equality but the position of women still has not changed. Mattie represents strong woman figures facing obstacles and many women want to be like her. Women today need to be like Mattie and can not give up.