CONTENT Page 2-4 5 6 7-8 Title Literary Criticism On The Way Up to Heaven References Appendices : Synopsis On The Way

Up to Heaven Collaboration Form

TSL 3102 Literature in English

LITERARY CRITICISM ON THE WAY UP TO HEAVEN Martin Luther once said, Although a woman is a beautiful handiwork of god, she does not equal the glory and dignity of the male. After reading The Way Up to Heaven by Roald Dahl, maybe the common perception about woman being imperfect and weak will be changed. The literary criticism that suits the short story is feminism. Feminism is support of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism (Macionis, 2012). The Way Up to Heaven took place in New York in around 1954. Based on Home Economics High School Text Book, here is what young women learned at school in the 1950s in America, Have dinner ready, prepare yourself, prepare the children, minimize all noise, be happy to see him, listen to him, make the evening his. This was happening to Mrs. Foster and became the main reason she wanted to be free from her husband. She did not want to be controlled by her husband anymore. The female and male roles are defined just like the traditional gender roles. The man will go out working and find the money while the woman will stay at home and do the house chores. In this story, we can say that Mr. Foster is a successful man as it stated that , Mr. Eugene Foster, who was nearly seventy years old lived with his wife in a large six storey house in New York City, on East Sixty second Street, and they had four servants. It also identified in the story that Mr. Foster is now no longer active in his many enterprises showing that before this Mr. Foster is a busy man. Mr. Foster had done a good job as a provider to the family as he can give a comfortable house for his family to live. Roobix Coob (2005) state that in 1950s, women were supposed to fulfill certain roles, such as a caring mother, a diligent homemaker, and an obedient wife. Mrs. Foster did all the womans roles as the narrator mentioned in the story, For over thirty years, she had served him loyally and well. There was no doubt about this. Mrs. Foster was and always had been a good and loving wife. This means that she is a very good housewife and she always obeys her husband. When she planned to visit her daughters family at Paris, it took months for her to persuade Mr. Foster to allow her to go. Besides that, the author never mentions her first name in the story; he always refers to her as Mrs. Foster. In contrast, he does mention her husbands full name of Mr. Eugene Foster. By only allowing us to view the protagonist as Mrs. Foster, the author illustrates that women were given definition in society only through their husbands. Women had no role of their own.

TSL 3102 Literature in English

Mr. Foster and Mrs. Foster have the traditional husband and wife relationship. Mr. Foster is the family leader and Mrs. Foster will follow her husbands instruction. In the beginning of the story, we can see that Mr. Foster is overpowering Mrs. Foster. Mr. Foster aware with Mrs. Foster pathological fear of missing flight, but he act likes he does not care. Sometimes, he is just being late on purpose just to drive her crazy. The writer stated that, He had disciplined her too well for that. The discipline that the author describes speaks of the power that men had over their wives. By describing Mr. Foster in this way, the author illustrates the power position customary in society in the mid-twentieth century. The things started to change until the end of the story. The foreshadowing of Mrs. Foster true self in the story as mentioned by the writer, It was really extraordinary how in certain people a simple apprehension about a thing like catching a train can grow into a serious obsession. It is to point out the fact that Mrs. Foster often take a small thing and turn it into an unnecessarily large thing but ironically, have the hearts to let him own husband died and make it like nothing had happened. At last, Mrs. Foster is overpowering her husband. She know that her husband is stuck in the elevator but she pretend that she did not know and send a letter for him every week like nothing happened. In her way to Paris, it stated that She felt remarkably strong and in a queer sort of way, wonderful. She felt relieved because at last she knows that she is free from her husband. Maybe Mr. Foster is dominance husband at the beginning of the story but it changes when Mrs. Foster is succeed to dominate him by doing nothing to help her husband that stuck in the elevator. From the story, In spite of the cold the atmosphere was peculiarly oppressive, and there was a faint and curious odour in the air that she had never smelled before. The curious odour here is maybe the smell of a dead man after six weeks left in the elevator. Mrs. Foster shows that it is not only man can overpower woman, but woman can also do the same thing and even worst. The attitude toward man held by female character is one of the elements in the feminism literary theory. Mrs. Foster is a good wife but actually she keeps her true feelings from her husband. She is afraid to tell her husband how much she want to spend her time with her grandchildren and watch them grow because she knew her husband will never agree about it. In addition, she always finds excuses to be separated from her husband. The author stated, She hated to leave the airport. She didnt wish to see her husband. Through the conversation between Mr. Foster and Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Foster is so eager to leave the house since it is the only way she can create the distance with her husband. She knew that her husband is stuck in the elevator but she did nothing as it is the only chance for her to be free. She only wants to be with her daughter and grandchildren and she felt that she cannot achieve his dream as long as 3 TSL 3102 Literature in English

her husband is still alive. The author stated, There was something deliberate and purposeful about this action; she had the air of a woman who is off to investigate a rumour or to confirm a suspicion. And when she returned a few seconds later, there was a little glimmer of satisfaction on her face. The phrase a little glimmer of satisfaction on her face clearly described her feeling after knowing that her husband had died and she is now free. She did not want to miss out the only chance for her to be free and to be independent from her husband and live by her own with her daughter and grandchildren. For me, Mrs. Foster had gone through a lot with Mr. Foster. Mr. Foster as a husband thought that he has a power over Mrs. Foster. He did not see Mrs. Foster as his wife, but as his doll that obey his instruction. Mrs. Foster keeps her feeling for over thirty years and I can sense that she is not so happy with her life. Her main aim is to be free from Mr. Fosters control. In The Way up to Heaven, the author systematically lays out his story and beckons the reader to follow him through Mrs. Fosters ordeal. In the end, it seems as though she has won her battle against the evil and the oppressive husband is gone. The literary theory feminism was portrayed clearly in The Way Up to Heaven. We can feel how Mrs. Foster is struggling to be independent from her husband. Do not see woman as a weak gender if you do not know what they capable of.

REFERENCES 4 TSL 3102 Literature in English

1. Macionis, J. J. (2012). Sociology. (14th ed., p. 310). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. 2. Bressler, C. E. (2011). Literary criticism. (5th ed., Vol. 2, p. 143). United States: Pearson Education Inc. 3. Kirszner, L. G., & Mandell, S. R. (2007). Literature : Reading, reacting, writing. (6th ed., p. 2089). Boston: Thomson Wadsworth. 4. Barbara, B., & David, W. (2006). Access literature : An introduction to fiction, poetry and drama. (1st ed., pp. 1484-1485). Boston: Thomson Whadsworth. 5. Lamb, V. M. (2011). The American woman in the 1950s: from the ideal woman to the woman in crisis, The 1950s and 1960s American Woman: The transition from the housewife to the feminist. 5-28. 6. Coob, R. (2005). Analysis based on popular media. A Woman's Role in the 1950s, Retrieved from www.associatedcontent.com 7. Holt, J. (2005). The Ideal Woman. 8. The way up to heaven: A feminist reading. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://thebluestockings.com/2008/04/the-way-up-to-heaven/ 9. Brewer, H. (n.d.). List of gender stereotypes. Retrieved from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15910/1/List-of-Gender-Stereotypes.html 10. The way up to heaven. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.roalddahlfans.com/shortstories/wayu.php

Synopsis On The Way Up to Heaven

TSL 3102 Literature in English

Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of being late. Whenever she is in danger of missing a train or plane or an engagement, a tiny muscle near her eye begins to twitch. The worst part is that her husband, Mr. Eugene Foster, seems to torment her by making sure that they always leave the house one or two minutes past the point of safety. On this particular occasion Mrs. Foster is leaving to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Paris for the first time ever, and she's frantic to think that she'll miss her flight. By the time her husband finally joins her at the car, she's too far behind schedule. Luckily the flight is postponed til the next day, and Mr. Foster persuades her to come home for the night. When she's ready to leave the next day, though, her husband suggests that they drop him off at his club on the way. Knowing this will make her late, she protests in vain. Just before the car leaves, he runs back in the house on the pretense of picking up a gift he forgot for his daughter. While he's gone Mrs. Foster discovers the gift box shoved down between the seat cushions. She runs up to the house to tell him that she has the gift... and suddenly she pauses. She listens. She stays frozen for 10 seconds, straining to hear something. Then she turns and runs to the car, telling the driver that they're too late and her husband will have to find another ride. She makes her flight and has a wonderful visit with her grandchildren. She writes her husband every week and sends him a telegram before she flies home six weeks later. He's not at the airport to meet her though, and when she enters the house (after taking a taxi home) she notices a curious odor in the air. Satisfied, she enters her husband's study and calls the elevator repairman. It had jammed and she left him in the elevator.

Collaboration Form 6 TSL 3102 Literature in English

NAME I/C NO. MATRIC NO. GROUP COURSE LECTURER IN-CHARGE

: KHAIRUNNISA SHAROM : 930815-01-7032 : 2ATE1106017 : 1 PISMP TESL 3 (SK) : LITERATURE IN ENGLISH : MISS NENNY DJUHARA BINTI JOHARI SEMESTER: 1

DATE 18.2.2013

TOPIC Received the coursework from lecturer in-charge.

NOTE Coursework should be send by 8th March 2013

SIGNATURE

(Miss Nenny) 20.2.2013 Understand the task made a discussion with classmates. (Auni Salma) (Ainur Adhwa) (Nur Haniffa) (Arina Zafirah)

22.2.2012

Searching for a suitable topic.

Searching on the internet about short story that is related to feminism.

(Khairunnisa)

23.2.2013

Select a short story entitled The Way Up to Heaven. Make a mind map from the materials.

Organize the information according to priorities Detailing the description (Madam Siti)

1.3.2012

Write a draft for the essay. (Khairunnisa)

6.3.2012 7

Discuss the draft answer with TSL 3102 Literature in English

Miss Nenny give some

Miss Nenny 6.3.2012 Typing the final essay.

comments on my draft . Do correction in the older draft. Read and check the essay to avoid grammatical mistakes. Jolyn correct some punctuation errors. Kamil correct the APA style in the reference.

(Miss Nenny)

( Khairunnisa)

7.3.2012

Ask classmate to peer check my essay.

(Jolyn) (Mohd Kamil)

8.3.2012

Submit the assignment (Miss Nenny)

TSL 3102 Literature in English