Research Paper for Writing Class Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

For Writing Class - Research Paper Example It will analyze how Lerner used setting, symbolism, plot, and the characters of the mother and Emily to understand the theme of motherhood as a metaphor for womens multiple roles in a patriarchal culture. Using feminist criticism, the mothers experiences demonstrate that the patriarchal culture of American society have affected her struggles as a mother, which in turn, affected her daughters own struggles as a woman, and yet despite of social impositions, the mother and Emily manage to become independent and to develop their identities. The patriarchal culture shaped socio-economic conditions that made motherhood a personal struggle with conflicting goals. The mere title of the story demonstrates the physical tribulations of motherhood. She is standing, while she irons. Standing can be quite tiring, especially as the heat of the iron spreads around her. Furthermore, ironing is the metonymy of womens domestic duties. Mothers do not only iron, they also cook, do the laundry, take care of the children, clean the house, and at present, they are also forced to earn money, when their husbands are either gone or cannot fully provide for their familys needs. â€Å"Ironing† is a symbol that stands for the rest of multiple duties that mothers have to endure, because society imposes that they alone should be responsible for these domestic duties. Ironing is a symbol for the woman who is an eternal slave of the mans world. Baker argues that economic conditions impact womanhood, especially mothers. Economic conditions ar e not separate spheres from feminist concerns (Baker 655). The mother in the story is compelled to become both a traditional mother and a traditional father. Emilys father left them, because he â€Å"could no longer endure† â€Å"sharing want with [them]† (Lerner). He left her with four children to fend for, and the mother says that it was hard to do that in the

(b) First, rent, view, and enjoy the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding Essay

(b) First, rent, view, and enjoy the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Discuss the idea of two people from different cultura - Essay Example Through her honest representation of myriad issues encountered by immigrants coming to America, she compels the audience to seriously think about the gravity of the situation. The immigrants have to deal with a variety of problems because holding on to their home culture in a foreign land is not an easy task particularly when the children born there show no interest in their parents’ old cultural values and would rather identify with only one culture. In this essay, I will contemplate how Toula along with her love interest Ian Miller attempts to handle many arduous challenges from courtship to marriage and eventually defeats the cultural myths which are famous with her family. Toula’s family, in stark contrast to that of Miller’s, is full of zealous energy and obsessively committed to holding on to their Greek cultural values. The cultural lessons repeatedly told by Toula’s father have a preponderant effect on the entire family given how every little thing is done in accordance with Greek values. It is because of such obsessive commitment with Greek culture and zero tolerance for other cultures that marrying a non-Greek man is totally out of question in Toula’s family. In fact, saying that showing love interest in someone who is not from Greek background makes for a taboo subject would not be an overstatement. It is quite interesting how Toula and Miller are both adults and free to make their decisions as they like, yet Toula is weirdly caught up in the clutches of her culture and remains in acute distress since beginning her relationship with Miller. Though she willingly embarks on a romantic journey with the man she loves, still the deep guilt and remorse she experiences every time she is accompanied by Miller almost as if she is committing a crime compel the audience to think hard about the role played by cultural differences. The struggle to keep one’s culture alive is portrayed as a never-ending battle in the movie , one which has huge repercussions. The effects of this cultural battle are not pleasant of course because unfortunately, Toula has to deal with many challenges in her home after getting caught by her cousin with Miller in his car. Many obstacles are depicted in the movie in the way of the Western romantic ideal which stresses that an adult should have freedom to marry whomever he/she pleases (Haviland 209). Clearly, this ideal is not followed by Toula’s family which has little regard for anything that falls outside the territory of Greek culture. In some cultures as the one shown in the movie, both marriage and starting a family with someone are critically important issues which have to be left in the hands of the parents and not that person who is to be married (Lehman 53). So, finding someone on your own and that also from entirely different cultural background are the kind of things which if on one hand are the source of happiness for her, then on the other hand are also a source of scary grief given the way her father reacts. Though her mother does not get as hysterical as her father after finding out about Toula’s affair with a non-Greek man, yet she does everything in her power to motivate her daughter to abandon her plans of continuing a relationship with Miller for real. The movie is an attempt to highlight exactly such sort of unjustified attitudes and actions which stem from cultural differences and stereotypes, and work to destroy the dreams of people whose only fault is that they believe in the culture of love. It is suggested that such opposition