Critical Literacy Essay

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Critical Literacy Essay

Introduction

My chosen two theories are feminist/gender theory and Marxism theory. Feminist theory is construed as an approach that analyzes gender inequality in society. Through in-depth analysis, the theory describes the themes of discrimination, oppression, stereotyping, and sexual objectification in contemporary art and art history. Feminists believe that women and men have the freedom to develop their human interests and talents without regarding the conflicting interest situation to the status quo (Frueh, 2018). The second theory to analyze is the Marxist theory. The Marxist theory describes the struggles existing between the social classes. Majorly, the struggles get exhibited between the capitalist or the bourgeois and the workers or the proletariat. Marxist view gets based on the existence of inequalities based on social class. Mitigating the inequalities requires large-scale changes (Parkin, 2019). Marxist theory tends to ignore societal factors like ethnicity and gender.

Importance of Analyzing the Texts Through the Theoretical Lenses

The text Thank You, Ma’am creates a framework through which gender bias exists in society. As such, it is important to analyze the text using the feminist theory because the woman who was seen by the boy as weak and could not able to withstand the strength of a man upon the trial to steal the large purse. Unfortunately, the motive of the boy failed. He lost his balance, and the woman gained the courage to kick him, hold his shirt and hook the boy to the extent of rattling his teeth. However, the woman’s action toward the boy after the occasion was unbelievable. The woman took the boy to her place, prepared the coffee, ate together and gave out ten dollars to the boy to buy shoes (Hughes, 1958). The boy never expected the treatment because he thought the woman would take legal action. Therefore, the text Thank You, Ma’am, describes the importance of women in the society who understand the child’s economic needs despite the boy’s immoral action.

Also, analyzing the text Necklace by Maupassant using the Marxist theory depicts the struggles between people of different social classes. Mathilda Loisel was a relatively poor woman married to an economically struggling man working in the ministry of education (Maupassant, 1888). The lady longed to get rich by envying Jean, who had a large house and jewellery. One moment the family of Loisel and her husband was invited to the ceremony, but she could not afford the jewellery. As such, she had to borrow the diamond necklace from Madame Forestier. Also, the occasion was full of ministers and people from high social class, creating a class antagonism between Loisel and others.

Messages Conveyed by the Author on Money and Women

Langston Hughes in the text Thank You, Ma’am tries to convey the message of the importance of women in society. Hughes examines the importance of women in society by describing the role of Mrs. Jones, an elderly woman who caught the boy who intended to steal from her. Instead of taking legal action, the woman took the boy to her house, prepared the coffee for him, and gave an advice and ten dollars (Hughes, 1958). Finally, the woman forgave the boy by advising him to use the appropriate mean for economic gain. According to the audience’s expectation, the woman could have taken the boy to the legal authorities for discipline but was human enough to understand the boy’s fate. Also, the author tries to justify how society perceives women. The boy took it lightly that he could easily snatch the purse from the woman’s hand due to the age and the gender characterized by less energy.

The author of the text Necklace sends the message of the class differences existing in society. According to the text, Loisel and her husband’s economic status provides an antagonistic economic situation with other people like the ministers in the ceremony. Loisel’s husband was a secretary in the ministry of education, but her wife admired the economic status of others. The two got an invitation to the ceremony but struggled to afford the new clothing, making Loisel almost miss the event because of the fear of having old garments (Maupassant, 1888). After the event, Loisel lost a diamond necklace belonging to Madame Forestier.

Role of Money/Class and Gender in the Text

Gender plays an amicable role in the text. Thank you, Ma’am. Mrs. Jones understood the status of the boy by taking a unique action of giving advice plus money after a failed attempt of purse snatch at night. The woman recognized the boy as a son and never wanted to take the boy into custody (Hughes, 1958). As a mother, advice and money to purchase new shoes made the boy appreciate the presence of a woman in society. Also, money made the boy attempt to snatch the purse from the old woman. The boy was broke and had only an alternative of stealing from the old woman for survival.

Class in the text Necklace has played a role in the event’s organization. The event contained ministers and lower-class people like Loisel and her husband. The lower economic class of the family, Loisel, made them struggle with the need to purchase the new diamond necklace that got lost. They spent their whole savings to replace the lost necklace. Notably, gender role in the text necklace is exhibited where the husband cares for the wife (Maupassant, 1888). Also, women tend to help women look good during the occasion, as exhibited when Loisel borrowed a diamond necklace from Madame Forestier.

The Stereotype, Societal Roles/ Expectations Within the Text Correlating with the Chosen Theories

Gender stereotypes in the text Thank You, Ma’am gets exhibited in correlation with the Feminist theory where the boy took advantage of Mrs. Jones by trying to snatch the purse from her at night. The plan failed, and the woman caught the boy after sliding to the ground. Also, the social role of women is exhibited in the text Thank You, Ma’am, in the situation where the old woman Mrs. Jones understands the economic status of the boy and refers to him as a son (Hughes, 1958). Giving ten dollars to purchase shoes depicts a woman’s feelings for her children. As such, Mrs. Jones played an amicable gender role described by the feminist theory as caring. The societal role is depicted in the text Necklace, where Loisel’s husband cared for his wife to the extent of offering the saved money to enable the wife to purchase new clothing (Maupassant, 1888).

Impact of Gender on my Life

Gender has impacted my life in several ways that have made me appreciate the existence of the female gender in the world. My education achievement is because of a woman who was a friend to my parent. The woman has an amicable connection with Mrs. Jones, an old woman and a character in the text Thank You Ma’am (Hughes1958). I was almost dropping out of school, fortunately, met an old woman who searched for the needy students that required finance to complete the A-level education. The woman took good care of me economically and socially as her child as Mrs. Jones helped the needy boy with ten dollars to purchase the shoes.

References

Frueh, J. (2018). Towards a feminist theory of art criticism. In Feminist Art Criticism (pp. 153-165). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429500497-9/towards-feminist-theory-art-criticism-joanna-fruehHughes, L. (1958). Thank You, Ma’am

Maupassant, d G. (1888). The Necklace

Parkin, F. (2019). Marxism and class theory: A bourgeois critique. In Social stratification (pp. 162-177). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429306419-27/marxism-class-theory-bourgeois-critique-frank-parkin