Symbolic gendering is a method stereotyping people based of suggested role in society in the play “the marriage proposal “we see flips this stereotype by making the male character complain and whine throughout the plot while the female character is very aggressive and assertive during their confrontation a lot of newly released tv shows and movies’ targeted to teenagers also flip gender roles to show their audience that gender shouldn’t be a deciding facto on how one acts we see this a lot in marvel movies. the play isn’t necessarily outdated as it does show in today society how over complicated and celebrated a proposal is a made into a big event
Daily Archives: December 19, 2022
Alexie
In “This Is What it Means…” by Sherman Alexie, he describes the type of government that exists on reservations, such as the one that Victor and Thomas live in. Victor goes to see the counsel in order to receive financial assistance to go to his Dad who recently passed away in Phoenix. During this interaction, Alexie shows elements of this type of government. The first is that they are a tight-knit community of appointed individuals. They were selected by the community to assist the community. The other aspect of this government that is shown is that they are very poor. Victor asked for only $100 dollars and the counsel was not able to assist him, and they suggested that he seek help from someone else in the community, which did in fact end up working. As for Thomas’s experience within this community/government, he had been treated as an outcast. This is shown when Victor described him as the kid with a bunch of stories that no one wanted to listen to. This is also evident when they recall the story of Thomas falling and breaking his arm while the boys laughed at him and teased him.
The Proposal
Increasingly, in the new age of social media, marriage proposals have become more about the people watching the couple than the couple themselves. People have become hyper-fixated on getting the perfect photo to share to all their friends and family. The pressures that have been placed on people by social media may make people feel as though their lives must look “perfect” at all times. This translates to all aspects of like, including relationships. As Kitchener mentions, many times couples will have conversations about marriage prior to engagement to retain the element of surprise needed to execute a perfect romantic moment worthy of a proposal in today’s day and age. This begs the question of wether or not the proposal is even necessary.
“Symbolic gendering”, mentioned by Kitchener, also plays a large role in why heterosexual couples feel the need to plan elaborate proposals. The ideas Kitchener discusses in her article directly translate to Chekov’s play. The couple in the play are very obviously not well suited to each other, yet end up engaged to be married by the end of the story. Their adversity is ultimately overshadowed by Natalya’s excitement at being proposed to. One can image the expectations that are placed in young women’s minds about a such an event from the time they are children. This prompts Natalya to beg her father to make Ivan return to the house to ask for her hand, regardless of the hurtful things that had been said prior. The drama of the perfect proposal is seemingly more important to the couple than the reality of what it will mean to be married.
Chopin
In my opinion, this question can only be answered depending on the context. Realistically, a white person will never understand the troubles that a black person deals with when it comes to racism. No matter who it is, the only way to understand would be to deal with the same circumstances, which is almost impossible. In this story, to elaborate, Kate Chopin gives the right perspective, as it is easy to tell through her writing that it is from the perspective of a white person. The facts that come down to experience are not elaborated on too much, and we only see emotions from the characters that anyone could explain to a degree. It is a basic concept to have your race revealed to you and would shock anyone to find out they aren’t who they thought they were. However, life after would require someone who understands the situation to write about. How her environment changes, etc.
Armand
Armand was taken aback. The hatred that burrowed itself within him was at a crossroads. His own hatred, was towards himself all this time. He thought of his wife, his child. The impact he wanted to give all along was all about himself. He wanted to give Desiree a better life, although his negative views were wiped of reason. Who was he really? Why did he try to wipe away Desiree’s past, when he shared the same heritage? Was he the one who truly wanted to switch his identity?
As he gazed upon the flames in front of him, he reached his hand out, an ember encasing his cloth.
Alexie
The rulership that takes place within “This is what it means…” is known as a tribal government or sovereignty. These governments are ruled by the culture or tribe that exists in the space. In this case, the Native American tribes would choose their own people to be in charge, as seen when Victor visits the council. The council offers him money for his trip to pick up his father’s ashes, most likely funded by the outside government. The problem is that this enforces a culture only seen on the reservation. The Native Americans become accustomed to living under these conditions of colonization and make decisions that help them collectively, such as the small funding they provided to Victor, showing that they themselves are forced into their current living conditions because of a lack of money. These issues present themselves to Thomas, and his life on the reservation exists as the “Lone Storyteller”. He is separated from most of the group and lives his life trying to express his true identity relating to his culture.
“Mine Eyes Have Seen”
“Mine Eyes Have Seen” holds a mirror up to the injustices that minority groups have faced through history. It, however, shows characters reacting to these injustices in a virtuous way. The reaction of the characters to the news of Chris’ draft is meant to uplift society and encourage citizens to look toward a brighter future instead of the dark past.
After finding out that his number was called, Chris laments at the past hardships that he and his people have faced in his country. He feels that he should not have to put his life on the line to defend a country that has never defended him or his family, as explained by Dan in the beginning of the play. The other characters explain that he has a duty to serve his country, regardless of if his country is serving him. Those around Chris who have been especially persecuted, Dan, Jake, and Ms. O’Neill, seem to be the loudest proponents of him fulfilling his duty to his country. I believe that, in Plato’s view, this story and its lessons would be in favor of his republic.
Erasure Poem (Saguaros by Javier Zamora)
The Proposal
Marriage proposal is how people want to propose. Everyone does it differently. Some guys go way overboard when they propose to their loved one. Some guys just ask the question straight up. Getting married is a big step in every person’s life, when you decide if you want to spend the rest of your life with that one person, grow together, and start a family together. In the play “The Marriage Proposal” by Anton Chekov, Lomov went to ask permission from the father Chubukov, for his daughter Natalya marriage proposal. The father said yes. The only reason Lomov is asking for her hand is because he thinks he is getting old. Lomov came to their home and started talking to Natalya, but they ended up arguing about the Oxen Meadow, who did it really belong to. Then they started to argue about whose dogs are better too. The father got involved and told them to kiss and to hurry up and get married. Nowadays social media plays a big part in people’s lives. People like to post their life on social media, especially marriage and how they got a proposal. Marriage proposal is up to how the person wants to ask their loved one to get married.
Chopin
Kate Chopin was a white Creole writer from Louisiana. While her race may not have been a factor in her writing, it is possible that it influenced her view of race in America. Chopin grew up in a time when America was still struggling to come to terms with its racial past. The Civil War had only ended a few decades earlier, and the country was still struggling with issues of reconstruction and race relations. Chopin’s story, “Desiree’s Baby,” deals with the issue of adoption and the feelings of a white woman who adopts a black child. While the story is fictional, it is based on real-life events and may reflect Chopin’s own views on race (Chopin, 345). It is possible that her experience as a white Creole woman influenced her view of race in America, which may have contributed to the complicated and often contradictory attitudes towards race that are found throughout her writing. However, it is also possible that Chopin’s experiences simply reflected the attitudes of 19th century America, which were complex and evolving. It is impossible to say for certain what role race played in Chopin’s writing, but it is an important consideration when reading her work.
