There is no shadow of doubt that it is hard to be a woman, especially a good-looking one. Since ancient times the statement that women are mothers and their only duties are raising children and preparing food for their husbands has settled. They are slaves not only for men but for their society too.
Women are like that because they are the other part of this humanity, the weaker one, the second sex. That’s why they are not supposed to be on the same level with men. It is definitely true that a woman has to do twice as much work as a man to at least be as good as him. Luckily, nowadays it’s not so hard and women succeed in most of the things they start.
Many good writers devote their works to the problem of women in the society. They tell about their struggle for independence. They tell about their fates and how they overcome all the hardships in their lives. Women remain strong and try to get a good place in this world.
An outstanding writing by Alix Shulman “Memoirs of an ex-prom queen” is a great example of a young girl growing into a mature woman. This story describes what it means to be female and beautiful.“Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen” is a novel about a young Midwestern Jewish girl who was born during the War and lived in a mid-western middle class town. It is 1950’s, the time when women’s fears and desires are not the things which are talked about.
The main character of the novel, Sasha Davis, represents a kind of a girl not common to that age. That is an image of a girl who, due to her intelligence, is able to pursue some of her dreams.Little Leather Library of classics can persuade a girl that beauty is more vital than anything else. After reading “smart” books girls strongly believe that pleasing a man should be their highest ambition.
Shulman stresses on this point by saying that for the main character “there was only one thing worth bothering about: being beautiful”. Unfortunately, it means that the only way to show that a woman means something in this world is to obey the men and by using beauty get everything.There is a lot of controversy over this subject, but women’s ambition to be beautiful and use beauty in their own needs has become a stereotype. Everybody knows that if a woman gets a good job it is all thanks to her beauty or sexual relationship she has with her boss.
There is no hint to her intellectual abilities.As Shulman shows in her novel there is almost the same tendency in 1950’s with girls. The exalted position that girls have can convince them that they can get away with everything. Especially when talking about this novel, how can a Prom Queen get a bad reputation? “.
.. being Queen, I dared to believe I could get away with it. There was something regal about going all the way”.
Maybe for some people Sasha Davis is a dream girl, who has beauty, tenderness and ability to obey. Such girls let the man have a power over them and use them when they feel no answering pleasure. It is typical in 1950’s, it is even now. Men are the power and women have to do everything to please them.
Although the men in the novel appear most often as nuisances, threats, or disappointments, a female does do anything to keep their good opinion. For the attention of men, the sacrifice of one’s own ambitions is made again and again.The gender roles have clear bounds not only in this novel but in everyday life too. Boys have a privilege to do everything they want and they can get away with bad things they do.
Girls, on the other hand, are restricted. If they do something bad everybody will remember this. In this novel, being driven down a deserted dirty road by a group of guys from the school and forced to touch Jimmy’s “thing” is a normal thing. The assault cannot be revealed because the girl’s (not the boy’s) reputation will be ruined.
Boys can throw mud at girls, knock them down or pull their hair, with impunity. Teachers at school blame girls for going near the boys when girls complain of boys’ violence.Fortunately, nowadays there are no rules which divide young girls and boys into different positions in the society. They are equal in their rights.
If an argument happens the right one is not the boy only, but the one on whose side the truth is. It can be either a girl or a boy or none of them.One more important thing about the novel should be mentioned. The thing is that it is not only the main character’s fault that she is being like this.
Child’s raising plays a great role in forming an individual. Parents are ideal for their children and children assume that they are taught in the right way and there is no different one. From their standpoint everything they do, they do perfect.Shulman says in her novel that Sasha’s mother contributes to the narrowing of her daughter’s ambitions, communicating how important beauty is by continuously praising—to the exclusion of her other attributes—Sasha’s beauty, mentioning many times that Sasha is the prettiest girl in her class.
Girls are afraid not to correspond to the norms of the society. They are like gorgeous dolls made for pleasure, but there seems to be nothing inside them.Comparing that time to the present there happens to be mothers like Sasha’s. They tell their children that they are the best, the prettiest and the smartest.
Maybe for few people this raises their self-esteem, but it is generally known that a child can become very selfish and irresponsible, because he or she is sure to be doing everything correct.Moving further into adult years Sasha’s experiences illustrate the narrowness of female roles in the 1950s. When deciding on making a career every girl realizes that her opportunities are very limited, that her best option is to marry. She is expected to quit school and stay at home, raise kids and do everything about the house, support her husband while he finishes his education.
But in a world where employment openings are advertised under “Help Wanted, Female” and “Help Wanted, Male,” a girl can qualify only for jobs that are menial and poorly compensated.Through Sasha’s two marriages, Shulman shows women’s position in the family. When becoming a mother, the life is dominated by that role. The husband sees his wife differently when she is a stay-at-home mom, and his romantic interest wanes.
This is so typical for nowadays too. Men look for soothing interesting and it seems they have it when they are dating a pretty, smart girl. But once it comes to marriage and the daily routine starts, everything changes and it seems that these people are different now. Daily arguments become global problems in their families and that leads to unhappy life.
They are not satisfied with what they have.It hardly needs a commentary that modern women have more rights, more freedom. Now they can choose what they want and make decisions. As a result of this freedom men are likely to act in a strange way.
The women’s desire to be admired by men, to be the center of attention in public can cause harmful effects. Sometimes a very dangerous conclusion can be drawn that if women practice modesty, that is, if women dress and acte in a shy, reserved manner then sexual crimes will not occur. It is the victim (woman) that is being blamed here. If she does not dress so provocatively, speak so flirtatiously, or look at a man steadily, then, well, she will not be in such a situation.
A woman’s dress, speech, or mannerisms never deserve to be responded to by harassment, raping, stalking, etc…Shulman emphasizes the pressure on women to be and remain beautiful. But that doesn’t mean that all the women have to be this way. Unfortunately, not everybody got this gift of being pretty and that doesn’t mean that they are worth nothing in this world. Such people can surely be happy and maybe even happier than their good-looking friends.
They have a chance to get a different position in their society, free from stereotypes and not to be a one from the crowd. Women have something more than just a good looking face. Maybe Shulman was trying to show how ridiculous it is to believe that beauty can do everything.In this novel we have got a woman intelligent enough to devour volumes of philosophy, a woman who “gorges” herself on knowledge and thinking, only to have it defeated by her own vanity, a vanity that is carefully constructed by Shulman as the product of her closeted, small-town environment.
Sasha’s experiences in a men-dominated society, especially as a teenager, are not too far from the world we live in today. Women are still expected to get married and have children, and if they balk at the idea, though not said aloud, many still view them as abnormal.Some people assume that it is good to be living in a time where women are now able to talk, instead of keeping their secrets bottled up. They gained some respect from men for doing a good job not only about the house but at prestigious jobs.
Nowadays there are women politicians, economists, drivers. They live in this world with almost the same rights as men do. But is this the reality or only our imagination and desire to place women on the same level with men?Men still rule in most families, they are spearheading companies. Preference is still given more to men than women.
But that doesn’t mean that women can stick with what they have and just go on living the same way. Everybody decides what is right to do for him or her and that’s there lives which they have to live on their own without anybody ruling it. Does beautiful mean happy?I. Introduction.
It is hard to be a woman.II. Body1. A story about a young girl Sasha.
2. Only one thing worth bothering about.3. Should anything be done to keep men’s good opinion?4.
Boys have a privilege to do everything they want and girls are restricted in their desires.5. The role of parents.6.
Female role in the 1950s7. Is it provocation?;III. Conclusion.1.
Sasha’s image nowadays.2. Can beauty make you happy?;;;;;;Thesis: beauty is more vital than anything else.;;;;;Rough draftThere is no shadow of doubt that it is hard to be a woman, especially a good-looking one.
Since ancient times the statement that women are mothers and their only duties are raising children and preparing food for their husbands has settled. Women got their right to vote only two centuries ago. They did not talk about their wishes; they did not show their opinion. They were slaves not only for men but for their society too.
Women are like that because they are the other part of this humanity, the weaker one, the second sex. That’s why they are not supposed to be on the same level with men. It is definitely true that a woman has to do twice as much work as a man to at least be as good as him. Luckily nowadays it’s not so hard and women succeed in most of the things they start.
Many good writers devote their works to the problem of women in our society. They tell about their struggle for independence. They tell us about their fates and how they overcome all the hardships in their lives. Women remain strong and try to get a good place in this world.
An outstanding writing by Alix Shulman “Memoirs of an ex-prom queen” is a great example of a young girl growing into a mature woman. This story describes what it means to be female and beautiful.Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen is a novel about a young Midwestern Jewish girl who was born during the War and lived in a mid-western middle class town. She was surrounded by all the female stereotypes of the day, but because of her intelligence was able to pursue some of her dreams.
Sasha’s fears and desires are all the things that we think but don’t talk about. As a young child she is a tomboy, known for climbing the tallest trees. She also has a fancy for reading the Little Leather Library of classics that her father gave her. However, after reading “smart” books she strongly believes that her beauty is more vital than anything else, that pleasing a man should be her highest ambition.
Sasha believes that “there was only one thing worth bothering about: being beautiful”. Unfortunately, it means that the only way to show that a woman means something in this world is to obey the men and by using beauty get everything.There is a lot of controversy over this subject, but with great regard we must confess that this women’s ambition to be beautiful and use beauty in their own needs has become a stereotype. Everybody knows that if a woman gets a good job it is all thanks to her beauty or sexual relationship she has with her boss.
The same is with Sasha Davis, the night when she is voted a Prom Queen. Her exalted position convinces her she can get away with anything: How could a Prom Queen get a bad reputation? That night in Joey’s car Sasha thinks, “…
being Queen, I dared to believe I could get away with it. There was something regal about going all the way”. Later, though, she realizes Joey’s power to injure her. She lets him have this power over her and use her when she feels no answering pleasure.
Maybe it is hard to believe, but Sasha is not the only girl who acts this way. It was typical than, it is even now. Men are the power and women have to do everything to please them. Although the men in the novel appear most often as nuisances, threats, or disappointments, Sasha will do anything to keep their good opinion.
For the attention of men, she sacrifices her ambitions again and again, only dimly grasping a sense of herself at the end of the novel.The gender roles have clear bounds not only in this novel but in everyday life too. Boys have a privilege to do everything they want and they can get away with bad things they do. Girls, on the other hand, are restricted.
If they do something bad everybody will remember this. In this novel there is an episode when Sasha is driven down a deserted dirty road by a group of guys from her school and forced to touch Jimmy’s “thing.” Sasha doesn’t reveal the assault because she is frightened that her reputation (not the boy’s) will be ruined. Boys can throw mud at girls, knock them down or pull their hair, with impunity; teachers at Sasha’s school blame girls for going near the boys when girls complain of boys’ violence.
One more important thing should be mentioned. The thing is that not only it is Sasha’s fault that she is being like this. She was raised this way and she doesn’t know how it is to be different. From her standpoint everything she does, she does right.
Sasha’s mother contributes to the narrowing of her daughter’s ambitions, communicating how important beauty is by continuously praising—to the exclusion of her other attributes—Sasha’s beauty, mentioning many times that Sasha is the prettiest girl in her class. Girls were afraid not to correspond to the norms of that society. They were like gorgeous dolls made for pleasure, but there seems to be nothing inside them.Sasha’s sexual experiences further illustrate cultural practices that sustain rigid gender expectations.
As a teen, Sasha accepts that boys will be sexual predators. She comes to dread the struggle that takes place on every date but considers it inevitable. Moreover, she never questions the idea that the best jock is the best date. When she is voted prom queen, she sees nothing remarkable about parading before the judges and the assembled audience while her body undergoes inspection.
Broad humor pervades episodes such as Sasha’s tussles with boys in parked cars and her arguments with a meat chef who wants sexual favors at the hotel where she waits on tables.Sometimes a very dangerous conclusion can be drawn that if women practiced modesty, that is, if women dressed and acted in a shy, reserved manner then sexual crimes would not occur. It is the victim (woman) that is being blamed here. If she would not dress so provocatively, speak so flirtatiously, or look at a man steadily, then, well, she would not be in such a situation.
A woman’s dress, speech, or mannerisms never deserve to be responded to by harassment, raping, stalking, etc…When Sasha moves into her young adult years, her experiences illustrate the narrowness of female roles in the 1950s. As she decides on making her career she realizes that her opportunities are very limited, that her best option is to marry. She is expected to quit school and stay at home, raise kids and do everything about the house, support her husband while he finishes his education. But in a world where employment openings are advertised under “Help Wanted, Female” and “Help Wanted, Male,” Sasha qualifies only for jobs that are menial and poorly compensated.
Through Sasha’s two marriages, Shulman shows women’s position in the family. When Sasha becomes a mother, her life is dominated by that role. Her husband sees her differently when she is a stay-at-home mom, and his romantic interest wanes. Just as in earlier phases of her life, Sasha feels subject to male experts in her role as a mother.
Shulman emphasizes the pressure on women to be and remain beautiful. But that doesn’t mean that all the women have to be this way. Unfortunately, not everybody got this gift of being pretty and that doesn’t mean that they are worth nothing in this world. Such people can surely be happy and maybe even happier than their good-looking friends.
They have a chance to get a different position in their society, free from stereotypes and not to be a one from the crowd. Women have something more than just a good looking face. Maybe Shulman was trying to show how ridiculous it is to believe that beauty can do everything.In this novel we have got a woman intelligent enough to devour volumes of philosophy, a woman who “gorges” herself on knowledge and thinking, only to have it defeated by her own vanity, a vanity that is carefully constructed by Shulman as the product of her closeted, small-town environment.
Sasha’s experiences in a men-dominated society, especially as a teenager, are not too far from the world we live in today. We are still expected to get married and have children, and if we balk at the idea, though not said aloud, many still view us as abnormal.Some people assume that we are luckier to be living in a time where women are now able to talk, instead of keeping their secrets bottled up. They gained some respect from men for doing a good job not only about the house but at prestigious jobs.
Nowadays there are women politicians, economists, drivers. They live in this world with almost the same rights as men do. At least we try to believe in this and convince other people to believe in this too. But is this the reality or only our imagination and desire to be on the same level with men? Men still rule in most families, they are spearheading companies.
Preference is still given more to men than women. But that doesn’t mean that women can stick with what they have and just go on living the same way. Everybody decides what is right to do for him or her and that’s there lives which they have to live on their own without anybody ruling it. Everybody also decides for himself in which way he or she will get the happiness, by using there beauty and self confidence or their brains.
This frank story of one woman’s intellectual and sexual awakening is so superbly written and devastatingly – sometimes frighteningly – on target that readers will treasure this beauty for many years to come.
