Examine with reference to language how Attia Hosain Essay Example

Examine with reference to language how Attia Hosain Paper Even though it was custom, she wishes she hadnt gone through all the trouble as the people at the party didnt care much for custom or seemed to have forgotten it. The olive is yet another symbol of her disapproval. Her spitting out the olive symbolises her complete rejection and instant disapproval of western society. Though we wonder why she hides and does this. If she disapproves so much, why does she even remain and endure the discomfort when she could be satisfied in the comfort of her own home. Animal imagery is used to convey her thoughts about the people and also about the situation she was in. We will write a custom essay sample on Examine with reference to language how Attia Hosain specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Examine with reference to language how Attia Hosain specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Examine with reference to language how Attia Hosain specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She refers to them as strange creatures, even though they were her own people, she observed them like as if they were from another planet. She compares the womans claws dipped in blood to her own, which were unpainted and cut very short. In rural India, food was said to be enjoyed better if had with the fingers, as then none of the taste would be wasted on the spoons and forks. She has kept her nails short so as to not let them get dirty, as she has to eat with them. Her modesty was like a controlling device, which put a leash on her thoughts. Even though the dancing was suggesting indecency, she could not bring herself to think indecent thoughts, as women from her culture were not to think, act or speak indecently. The bride, just like a child, keeps relating the things and persons at the party back to her motherland. We realise that she must have been very enclosed and we learn this from her old fashioned way of thinking. The tone of the story changes as her feelings evolve. We see how her nervousness edged towards panic and with uncertainty a shy glance and then coldly self conscious. The pinpoints to discomfort soon changes to discomfort multiplied. At first she was in cold defence but now she is completely silent. We also see how the word discomfort is repeated several times to emphasize how uncomfortable she is in a place away from her home. From shock and distress, she turns to disgust she grows more and more in anger and bitterness. Even when it comes to the music system, at first the machine fascinates her but then her mind soon changes as she starts to hate the shrieking and moaning and discordant noises it hurled at her. Indian music is said to soothe the soul but when she hears the western music, she declares it as harsh clamour which produced discordant noises. In the end her feelings turn to anger, hatred, jealousy and bewilderment. Her violence turns to actions. She gripped her chair, struggled and through clenched teeth, tells her husband to leave her alone. All through she is trying to stand for Indian cultures and generation-old foundations yet here she seems to have given up at the end of it all. She cannot take it anymore. In Hindu custom, in the jaimala and even the agni pradakshina, the bride and groom garland each other in formal mutual acceptance and they walk around a sacrificial fire called pheras in which they vow never to leave each other and take on the world. She vows to accept him however he is, yet here he and his ways disgust her and she now sees him as a destroyer. If the Taj Mahal of India did not want a change of scene and experience then she should have stayed at home instead of going along for the party and embittering herself while ruining her husbands evening as well. Her preconceived expectations of her people are shattered as she sees them already adapted to a culture she disapproves of. Home away from home was what she expected to find instead all she finds is insecurity and loneliness and a longing that she had not wished that she would be on such a threshold of marriage. An inferiority complex is what she suffers from as she grudgingly admires the woman with a wine glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other/wondered how it felt to hold a cigarette with such self-confidence. She feels out of place when she cannot even relate to the talk of women of dress and appearance, which sounds so unfamiliar to her world where instead of relating clothes to time and place, the Indian woman would relate it to occasion. They are in a world of their own and she is all alone in hers in private emotions, discomfort and disapproval. We see the conflict in the brides mind, as she wants people to be around her yet she doesnt want them to talk to her in fear that she wouldnt be able to relate to them. Silence somehow was a refuge for her. She cannot bring her self to come with terms with the fact that these people had severed their Indian roots to abide to the western. With their bilingual talk and talk of showing their limbs and skin, which she found shameful. In the Indian culture it was only appropriate for the woman to show her face and hair, which was the essence of her personality, and the rest of her body was to be covered. She pulled her own sari closer when the sari of another woman had slipped off. She uses various strategies to protect herself. Conversation is crippled, at first cold defence with short replies and then silence. Her sari too acts as means of protecting her body from the snares of others and from the world as she pulled her sari closer. She asks for an orange juice as a protection against the persistent questions of Will u have a drink? Pretence is her only escape; she does not even drink the orange juice that is given to her she only puts it to her lips. In India, it is improper for women to drink and she is confused with the peoples reversal of values. East is east, west is west, and never the twain shall meet. I personally believe that this is not true in many cases. Here the bride could have made more of an effort but she had been narrowed by one field of vision and traditions. Her rigid attitude and maddening air of righteousness prevents her from seeing the good in people, because under all the behavior, they may be nice human beings. The hostess was very charming and did her best to make them feel comfortable. I sympathize with the bride, as she does not even know how to react to such ways and people who are supposed to be Indians. Shes a fish out of water with her dressing and customs. She is not only in awe but she is more offended. The bride is too sure of herself. Indian womanhood was shaped on how the Indian physkee should react. She cannot expect to live with old values in this world. One is expected to change attitudes according to time and place. Normally when we are around different people, we try to adapt to their ways in order to fit in. What is admirable about this woman is that she does not give up her beliefs, even for the sake of her husband in order to feel more comfortable and fit in. Her customs do not saturate even though she is in contact with a different culture who actually came from where she came. She wants to be a good wife and share in her husbands happiness but her will power not to indulge in ways she does not accept shows that she will not perspire when her beliefs are questioned. Though she is very rigid in her attitude, and unchanging in her ideas, I empathize with her as I myself would find it very difficult to adapt to new ways so soon. Maybe if there were some sort of induction day then she would have reacted better. I take pity on her repressive Indian condition. She thought that marriage would be an escape from the fixtures her family held her in but what a disappointment it turned for her. She thought that it would be an adventure, which she would go along happily for. Little did she know that it would be her mothers traditions and strictures that would be holding her back in this new place as well. She would have felt less left out if her approach were less judgmental and more to live and let live. Attia Hosain has indeed made a statement about the Indian woman. The Indian woman is strong, just, faithful, beautiful, a good wife, a good mother, and a role model for women of all cultures.

Julia Caesar Essay

Julia Caesar Essay Julia Caesar? Essay Timothy Lee English 2HP 1 Mrs. Taylor 1/26/2012 Julia Caesar? Throughout the entire civilized western world, we’ve come to acknowledge the right that no man or woman is greater than the next. However, this is a fairly early belief which existed even during the Elizabethan period, when Shakespeare wrote various different plays, such as Julius Caesar, where William Shakespeare places very few female characters. Contrary belief states that Julius Caesar was akin to all other Shakespearean plays in that it should be known as a play without women. However, Julius Caesar cannot be considered a play without women because the two women roles in the play, Calphurnia and Portia, provide suspense for the story, act as supporting characters, and because they often foreshadow the future. Julius Caesar cannot be viewed as a play without women due to Calphurnia and Portia’s role of providing suspense to the Audience. Calphurnia’s first role into the story is when Caesar is debating whether to go or not to the Senate house. Calphurnia tries to convince Caesar not to go to the senate house as a result of a series of supernatural occurrences which Calphurnia takes as a bad omen for Caesar to stay in the house. Calphurnia hears that there have been horrid sights on the streets of Rome and even has a dream where, according to Caesar, â€Å"she saw my statue / Which, like a fountain with a hundred spouts/ Did run pure blood. And many lusty Romans came / Smiling and did bathe their hands in it./ And these does she apply for warnings and portents/ And evils imminent†. (Act II. Ii. 77-85) Due to Calphurnia’s trials and constant tidings of omens foreshadowing Caesar’s death, the reader gains a sense of suspense by being drawn into the dispute b etween whether Caesar will save himself through Calphurnia’s warnings or whether the conspirators will kill Caesar. Portia also adds to the suspense when she realizes that something isn’t right because she knows that Brutus knows that his â€Å"petition† will not be answered. She sends her slave, who understands not what to do, and yet Portia gives off a faint signal as though as if she will be able to stop something. She understands that something is horribly wrong and realization of this situation and her confusion reflects the audience’s anxiety at what the outcome will be, and in turn intensities the audience’s suspense. The women in Julius Caesar play a huge part in the play because they act as supporting characters through their positions as bringers of Enlightenment. They support the main characters by abiding their commands, while also giving advising what to do. The women characters often provide advice that contains wisdom beyond the perspective of the main characters. For example, Portia supports Brutus because she shows how much she loves him while showing the audience that Brutus’s actions are completely turned upside-down because of the plot to murder Caesar. She notices that Brutus cannot and does not sleep, nor does he eat. Portia also cannot be categorized as an in-significant character in the play because she is the purity that Brutus looks to in the midst of his dark deeds. Calphurnia provides support for Caesar when she tries to prevent Caesar from going into the senate house. In this way, she displays her wisdom to the audience, though Caesar does not take heed of her warnings . However, because of Calphurnia’s warnings, Caesar has at least a moment of hesitation before going out to the senate house, where he is then murdered. It can also be said that for a character to be considered a â€Å"major† character in a play, one has to portray his own opinions and emotions toward the audience. In Julius Caesar, we clearly see that the women characters bring out their