Self-worth

The role of women is something that is still talked about today. The true role of a woman to some is a wife and mother, or while others feel they should be equal to men especially in the work force. Woman today, at least in our country, have their own identity and are seen as an individual. This was not the case in The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna realizes that she does not know who she truly is and she needs to leave her husband and family in order to figure that out. Of course for her the only solution was suicide. To me, this is such as foreign concept, how could a person not know who they are. Women were seen as less than men, and they were more of “play things” which can be seen in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Nora was just seen as doll to her husband, he would give her money and treat her like a child but she was not her own person.

I do not understand how a mother can be so selfish as to leave her children as Nora and Edna did. Your children are supposed to be your most prized possession and protecting them is the most important thing. These women seemed to only have children because that is what was expected of them. Who were they if they were not mothers? Nobody. Nora and Edna were both so dependent on men their entire life that they did not know who they were on their own and they had trouble dealing with it. Edna searches for herself in other people besides her husband, while Nora decides that she does not love her husband anymore. I like the bold move that Nora made, however I think that Edna committing suicide was a very cowardly thing to do, and she took the easy way out. The only problem is that in today’s society it would be frowned upon for a mother to leave her children for her own selfish desire, but in the time period the novels take place it is a bold statement.

Unfortunately women are still put into categories and if they are not doing what is expected they are labeled and outcast (this does apply for males too.) In the article, “Part of a Whole, But Still Me” by Alexandra Franklin she reminisces on the past when she was different and was not into all of the “girl things.” Her mother wanted her to wear lipstick and dress up, while she found it more important to be smart, but she had to choose between being pretty or being smart. Once she gets a boyfriend she begins to question whether she was in love or whether it was sympathy, and furthermore felt like she had sold out. She turned to anorexia to try and solve the way she felt about herself. She put everything she had into her boyfriend because she did not know how else to find worth. She slowly began to figure out who she really was, and she was still able to be with Dan. She found the college that was right for her, one apart from her boyfriend. It is not that she gave up on being an individual but she realized that it was okay to be part of the whole, because she loved Dan. I think this article really shows how girls lose their identity in today’s world. So many girls/women put all there worth into a guy, and usually not one who is going to give them anything in return, and then they do not know who they are without someone to lean on. They constantly need a guy to depend on and that is where they seek their identity, but I think this article shows that you can love someone and still figure out who you are on your own.

The Beauty in Diversity

All cultures have different expectations from the people in them. They all have “different moral codes.” This is discussed in the article “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” by James Rachels. It is time to accept that not everyone is going to have the same rituals. Darius, the king of Persia, realized this when he saw that the Greeks would always cremate the bodies of those that died, while the Callatians would eat the bodies of their dead fathers. This brings up the question why can is be considered “okay” in some societies and completely repulsive in others. I think that the quote the article starts out with describes this situation perfectly, “Morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits.” Everyone bases off what is right and wrong because of how their society sees it, in most cases. Some people will think outside of the box and make up their own minds about what is morally accepted. People get the idea that the culture they are part of is the best one there is, as if it is the only way of life. If people would start to accept that there are differences and there is no way of changing it, but we could just open our minds and realize that it IS okay to have differences. People get so caught up in the world they live in and don’t bother to look at what is outside their lives.

This reminds me of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo wants to be the best of the best in his town, but when he is forced to leave he has to realize that things are done differently in other places. He is afraid of change out of everything, when things begin to run differently upon his arrival home he does not know what to do. The Christians have taken over and the things that used to be important don’t really have any more value. It does not matter to them the amount of titles a man holds, or how many wives he has. Okonkwo is unable to deal with this change, and unfortunately it leads to death. I think this is a good example of what would happen if no one accepted change. If we all were hell bent on living our lives our way then there would be no room for change, and we definitely would not be living in the country we are in today.

It is important to be open to changes around us, even if they do not seem like the best choice. We need to learn to accept that everything is not going to be the same forever, and why would we want it to? However, I do not think that it makes it okay to push cultures on other people. I am a Christian, but I do not agree with those that go around preaching it on others and saying that if you don’t do it this way then you will go to hell. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. We should listen to what others have to say before making our decisions about other cultures, and until we recognize that people ARE allowed to have their own opinions and way of life we won’t get anywhere.