Response to Journal Articles
Article: Chicken Hips
1. Central Theme: In Chicken Hips, Catherine Piggott explores the concept of cultural construction of beauty. From Piggott’s story, it is clear that the Gambian people consider women to be beautiful when they have broad hips, swinging breasts and round thighs (paragraph 17). The Gambians despise thin–bodied women, which explains the nickname given to the author (chicken hips) due to her slender body. The people also celebrate being fat, and it does not bother them to have large portions of food in their meals (paragraph17). This is a stark contrast to the culture in North America (Canada) whereby the people consider slenderness as an aspect of beauty. When Catherine goes back to Canada, she has to lose weight first because Canadians like their women to be slender.
2. People in the reading: The main character in Chicken Hips is Catherine, the author. The story develops as Catherine interacts with people with diverse cultural views on beauty. She highlights the cultural differences between the two groups. The Gambian and Canadian people also serve a useful purpose in the story by developing the theme advanced by the author.
3. Conflict: In Chicken Hips, Catherine Piggott presents a compelling tale of how two different societies view beauty. For example, while, in Gambia, Piggott observes that the people appreciate thick and curvy women. This is in contrast to Canada, her birthplace, whereby plump women do not receive full appreciation. The Canadian people are health-conscious; hence plump people are thought to be overweight.
4. Setting: The story revolves around Africa (Gambia) and the western world (Canada). The two parts of the world hold contrasting views especially with regards to the size of people.
5. Lesson learned: At the end of the story, it is clear that people should be content with themselves. In most occasions, people change for the wrong reasons; they do not change for self-love, but to conform to the standards set by others.
. Central Ideas: Anjula Razdan, the author of this article published in 2003, explores the meaning of true love. Razdan observes that the chief desire in any marriage, whether arranged or planned by the couples themselves, is to live happily after the marriage (paragraph 3). In a progressive society, like America, people choose their partners for love (paragraph 4). In the societies that practice arranged marriages, their hope is to find suitable partners for their children with the aim of developing a strong bond of love, with time (paragraph 4).
2. People in the Reading: The story revolves around Razdan, his parents, researchers and the wider society. Razdan sits pretty making a judgment on the best means to tackle matters of the heart. Razdan’s parents hold a view that challenges the topic under discussion. Razdan’s parents hold the view that arranged marriages are the best- a view that contrasts the author’s ideas. The researchers quoted shed some light on the statistical accounts which support the contrasting views on marriage in the story.
3. Conflict: Indians practice arranged marriages while, on the other hand, Americans have the freedom to choose their partners. For example, the author parents had an arranged marriage. However, it is dumbfounding to observe that more than fifty percent of the marriages in US end up in divorce. This is intriguing because the people choose individuals whom they deem fit to marry. On the contrary, Indians whose marriages are pre-planned, go on to stay together as couples for long periods without undergoing divorce. This juxtaposition makes the reader to question the two opposing positions on marriage.
4. Setting: The story is set in America, the modern epitome of modernity. The author also makes a reference to the Indian culture whereby the people practice arranged marriages. Razdan uses the setting to show that although the American people are culturally advanced to grant individuals freedom and rights, the freedom can be misused when it comes to making marriage and divorce decisions.
5. Lesson Leaned: The notion of finding a perfect partner can be elusive; however, it is essential to find suitable partners whom we can give each other a chance to build love with time.
. Central Ideas: In How I Met My Husband, Alice Munro unfolds the idea of love as one of the major themes. Although he is legally married to Alice, Chris and Edie fall in love (paragraph 4). When Chris leaves town, he promises to keep in touch through letters (paragraph 7). However, Edie waits for years without receiving a single love letter from Chris. Eventually, she falls in love with the mailman and gets married.
2. People in the Reading: Edie is the chief character in the story, and most of the events revolve around her. She is the victim of illicit romance which makes her keep on checking the mail to see if Chris sent a letter. Other crucial characters in the story include Chris, Alice Kelling, the Pebbles’ and the mailman. Chris is the centerpiece of a love triangle that involves Edie and his wife. In the long run, Chris neglects Edie to concentrate on his marriage with Alice, and eventually Edie gets married to the mailman. Alice is the bitter wife who fights for her marriage. For example, she confronts Edie about the allegations of having sex with Chris. The pebble’s family host Edie and they stand by her through thick and thin.
3. Conflict: Edie is a cunning person who likes to tell people what they want to hear. She says anything to keep other people happy. For example, she tells Chris that the dress is fabulous contrary to her private feelings. Another aspect of conflict come to the fore when, at some point, Edie, Chris and Alice get caught in a love triangle. Although Chris and Edie momentarily fall in love, Chris is a married man. One day, Edie and Chris meet in secret, and this prompts a rumor that they shared illicit moments together. However, Chris and Alice leave almost immediately after the spread of the rumors.
4. Setting: The story takes place in a rural setup, outside an unidentified city. It occurs sometime after the World War II, most probably in the late 1940s to the early 1950s. The author uses Edie to narrate the story at old age, which brings an aspect of reflection in the story.
5. Lesson Learned: Although How I Met My Husband is a flashback into the life of young Edie, the story imparts the sense of owning up our past and the importance of appreciating every little step in life. The story has a central theme similar to Anjula Razdan’s What’s Love Got to Do With it. Both stories revolve around the story of love.
. Central Ideas: In this article, Douglas Todd explains why it is not easy to be born a boy. Boys now suffer from low ambition and low self-esteem, but no one is doing something about it. This is not a coincidence; rather it results from the demands placed on boys by the education system, as well as the cultural surroundings .
2. People in the reading: The author compares the lives of boys and girls in Canada. The author also uses local research findings about schooling among kids of both genders to piece together the article. The use of research findings focusing on a large population helps to drive the author’s ideas.
3. Conflict: The article presents a dilemma; the boy child is receiving little attention nowadays. For instance, Todd argues that boys continue to drop out of school and develop poor study skills due to the overconcentration on the girls. In some instances, this has more to do with favoritism than with hard work. However, as for now, there is little that the writer can do to defend the diminishing perfomance of boys in school. As a result, the author calls on the people to do something about the boy child because no one seems to be concerned with him anymore.
4. Setting: The setting of the story is in Ontario, Canada, where the author derives statistics used in the article.
5. Lessons learned: There should be a balance when planning for education of both girls and boys in school. The overconcentration on girls may demotivate boys and lead to poor perfomance. However, it is not too late to focus on children of both genders.
. Central Ideas: In Why My Mother Can’t Speak English, Garry Engkent explores the challenge of male chauvinism. Garry’s mother does not know how to communicate in English because her husband forbids her from learning the language. Garry’s father did this for selfish reasons-he thought that she would leave him after learning English (paragraph 6). He also makes sure that she does not get an opportunity to learn.
2. People in the Reading: The main character in this story is Garry’s mother, with Garry’s father playing the role of a protagonist. Mostly, the story revolves around the two characters. Gary’s father sticks to his guns, and erroneously maintains that his wife should not learn English, something which cost an opportunity to learn English. Gary’s mother is the victim of her husband’s insensitivity, and she remains illiterate.
3. Conflict: The story portrays a conflict in interest between Garry’s parents. For example, he mother misses out on an opportunity to learn English once per week due to interference from the husband. The husband insists that learning English is not necessary because of the fear that the wife will leave him. He also insists that the wife’s place is in the kitchen, and he can translate anything for her. This is an archaic means meant to make her stick with him. The wife also did not like learning English because
4. Setting: The story setting takes place in outer areas of a city in Canada whereby the family had emigrated to a few years earlier. Both parents hold jobs within the town and can afford amenities such as a family car.
5. Lessons Learned: It is always beneficial to allow women to take part in activities which will make their lives improve. Men should also learn to respect women, and fully grant them their rights.
Works Cited
Douglas, Todd. In a Girl's World, It's Tough Beng a Boy . In J. Reinking, R. van der Osten, S.A. Cairns, R. Fleming (Eds.), Strategies for successful writing (4th Canadaian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
Engkant, Garry. Why My Mother Can't Speak English. In J. Reinking, R. van der Osten, S.A. Cairns, R. Fleming (Eds.), Strategies for successful writing (4th Canadaian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.
Munro, Alice. Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You: 13 Stories. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011.
Razdan, Anjula. UTNE. May 2003. 03 November 2012
