TASK 1 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

One of the theories of literary criticism is feminism. Many people had

misunderstanding that feminist theory focuses exclusively on girls and women and that it has
an inherent goal of promoting the superiority of women over men. According to Great
Baddow High School Media (2013), feminism is the belief that women should have equal
rights to men. In other words, feminism is where women fight to be in the same level as men.
Bressler (1999) stated that feminism’s goal is to change the degrading view of women so
that all women will realize that they are not a ‘nonsignificent other’, but that each woman is a
valuable person possessing the same privileges and rights as every man.

By personally committing themselves to fostering such change, feminists hope to

create a society where the female and male voice are equally valued. However, according to
Tyson (1999), the ultimate goal of feminism theory is to increase our understanding of
women’s experience, both in the past and present, and promote our appreciation of women’s
value in the world.

The two genres that I had chosen to analyse based on feminism theory are poem,
Sadie and Maud by Gwendolyn Brooks and short story entitled ‘Shame’ by Shirley Geok-Lin
Lim.

The poem Sadie and Maud by Gwendolyn Brooks was written in the forties when
ideals and expectations for women were more enforced and precedent to follow, especially
for black women (Petcher,2007). The poet compares two sisters by emphasizing their
lifestyle choices.

“Maud went to college.

Sadie stayed home.”

Sadie lives a life unapologetically when she breaks all the ideals and standards that
have been put forth for her to follow by society and the hegemonic groups that determine
what those standards are. Sadie bore two babies out of wedlock which, back then was a big
taboo for any women to do let alone, an African American one such as herself who is
already looked down upon due to her skin colour.

“Sadie bore two babies

Under her maiden name.

Maud and Ma and Papa

 Nearly died of shame.”

As a woman, we must always take care of our dignity because when anything
happened, woman is the one to be blame for. We must think deeply before doing anything,
whether it can bring lifelong shame to our family or not.

Maud the other sister, is the individual who follows the societal rules. The dominating
hegemonic groups have set forth very strict gender guidelines that must be followed and
Maud does just that throughout her life. But at the end of the poem it is determined that:

“Maud, who went to college,

Is a thin brown mouse.

She is living all alone

In this old house”

This is an example that following all the rules and socially constructed guidelines
does not equate to happiness in the future. Socially constructed ideals pretty much state that
if a women goes to college and gets an education, listens to her parents, and stays within
the imaginary moral box she is very likely to be happy in the future. Maud conformed to
society and was left to live alone in a house while her sister Sadie who is a rebel ends up
happy with two daughters.

In life, we cannot live under other’s expectation, because at the end of the day, we
cannot fulfil everyone’s need. We must always think about ourselves first because nobody
know how we feel other than us, ourselves. This poem demonstrate the impossible
standards that are set forth for women. Whether you follow the hegemonic ideals or not you
will eventually be shunned and looked down upon like Sadie or become alone and unhappy
like Maud.

The next genre is short story “Shame” by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim. Based on the title
itself, we can already have the overview about what the story is about because throughout
the whole story, the word “shame” has appeared numerous times, for example:

“… We women must accept our fate. If we want to have some fun also, stomach will
explode. Where can we hide our SHAME?...”)

The story starts with a foreshadowing of how girl should behave (in Peranakan
culture). Mei Sim, the main character was scolded and hit by her mother for not sitting
properly.
 “You no shame, close your legs… Mei Sim stared down her leg which she had
spread apart”

This story showed the feminism theory through women versus culture, the
Peranakan culture. In this culture, it is important for girl to take care of her dignity as well as
her pride. Girl should avoid anything that could scratch her image so that her family good
name will be maintained. Throughout the story, we can clearly see how the society provides
standard rules for everyone to follow and they have to behave according to these rules.

For example, when Mei Sim’s mother saw that Mei Sim offered Uncle Muti’s son to
touch her dress, she scolded Mei Sim immediately. Uncle Muti also scolded his son of being
rude and immediately left the house. Mei Sim was ashamed so she lied that it was the boy
who pulled her dress. Society expects a girl to behave like a girl which she must always
behaving politely and must be concerned about her manner all the time so that they will not
bring any shame to the family.

Based on my own personal experience, my family also has set the rules for what girls
can and cannot do. For example, in my family girls that still underage cannot ride a
motorcycle because it looks inappropriate and the society tend to think that the girl is
befriended with immoral peers. But the boys are allowed to do it.

In my opinion, it is not wrong to ask for equality for both genders. But, nowadays,
women sometimes demand for things that are irrelevant for them just like what had viral in
the internet. They did not think carefully about what the old people had fought just to make
sure women stand where they are now. Feminism can be both positively and negatively
affected. It depends on how the society except the term of feminism itself. In conclusion,
women can fight for their justice and men can stop torturing and downgrading women. Both
genders have their own importance towards society rather than being enemies towards each
other.