Rachael’s Blog

       After watching the documentary Writing Women’s Lives as well as reflecting on all of the works and themes we visited throughout this course, there is a rough timeline present of women’s literature. Decades ago, publishers didn’t think that anybody would want to read anything written by women, which made it very difficult for women to get their writing out. In addition, these women still believe that getting your work out to the people is getting even harder. They believe that the reason for this is because one, not many people are writing/reading anymore and two, the same people are being recognized.       Towards the end, one woman began to talk about the ups and downs of being a women writer and how happy it really makes you. She claimed that she would have more time to write if she didn’t have to worry about money - how she was going to sustain her family. Being a writer doesn’t promise you any income if you aren’t successful and being p...

       I chose to read and analyze Maya Angelou’s Awaking in New York poem because I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery that she used to portray a visual to the reader. The first quote that showed this imagery was the first line of the poem that stated, “Curtain’s forcing their will against the wind.” Not only does this paint a perfect picture in the reader’s head of a city apartment with the curtains flowing through the window, but it also personifies the curtains, acting as if they (an inanimate object) can fight against the wind. In addition, I thought that this was a good way for the author to begin the poem, considering the imagery that it includes and how it creates a setting for the rest of the poem.       The second quote that I pulled from the poem states, “I, an alarm, awake as a rumor of war.” This quote stood out to me for a few reasons, one being because she brought the story to first person by saying “I”. This brought the poem to a more ...

       After reading Story in Harlem Slang by Zora Neale Hurston, it is evident how Hurston feels about men, especially in Harlem. The first quote that I chose that represented this idea well stated, “How can I be broke when I got de best woman in Harlem? If I ask her for a dime, she’ll give me a ten dollar bill; ask her for a drink of likker and she’ll buy me a whiskey still. If I’m lying, I’m flying.” Jelly says this to Sweet Back as they are walking down the street. He is full of himself and is disrespecting women at the same time, saying that no matter what he does, all women want him. I think that the author chooses this quote for Jelly to say because this is how she sees men, or in other words, this is how she feels like men treat not only her but other women too.       Later in the story, Jelly was hitting on a girl on the street and she stated, “You barking up the wrong tree. I wouldn’t give you air if you was stopped up in a jug. I’m not...

Charlotte Perkins Stetson’s The Yellow Wall-Paper piece introduces mental health awareness into women’s literature. The first quote that I thought was interesting from the piece stated, “And it is like a woman stopping down and creeping about behind that pattern.” I thought that this was interesting because the author definitely purposefully used this imagery to show that women have to hide from society. Women feel as though they are constantly having a wall up for society and not being able to express themselves thoroughly. Mental health has never been a topic covered in women’s literature before this point, which makes sense because mental health is a more recent topic in general.  After reading Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper , I thought that the last line stood out to me and was a good way to leave off the piece. She stated, “It was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked.” I thought this was a good way to end the explanat...