Within each society, people build relationships that foster growth and development as people interact with each other. The relationships vary according to the work and social standards of the specific society. In other words, most people in a particular society will work together to develop a common idea that will help to bind people together as a community. Within these societies, there are those simple or common guiding principles that are practiced for extended periods and become an integral part of the culture and the traditions of the society. But, not all consensuses within the society will guarantee the expected level infallibility or even justice and people often face the challenges of trying to survive in a society that does not do much to mete out fair justice to the people. In literature, a number of authors write on the social phenomenon based on their personal experiences and the concerns of the public over the years. The stories in these literatures are the microcosm of the real society at that time. Throughout history, many writers have presented the underlined side effects of being restricted to one mainstream opinion in the society which leads to the lack of social tolerance and culture diversity across the society.
People often live with the expectations of the society and shape their lives according to the dictates of the society. Piercy creates a sarcastic and brutal critique of social and cultural expectations of the American society and the emphasis that they place on young girls. “Barbie Doll” reveals the impact of the society and the culture on the perception of women in the society. Additionally, writers unconsciously reveal the social and cultural challenges as social constructs of the literary world and connect these ideals to the lack of social tolerance of women. The treatment of women as sexual objects of beauty and vanity become clear in Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” because women become the objects of interpretation that helps to define their fragility. Accordingly, Piercy reveals the Barbie as the unconceivable molded plastic statuette that is symbolic of the poet’s culture and sexuality in the changing perception of women in the society. The image of the Barbie dolls, in general, have caused a number of controversial arguments in the society as parents believe that the culture helps to promote the ultra-slim figure of the dolls and sends a ridiculous image of the female’s body. As a result, the image leaves females with negative views of how to maintain their bodies to fit the mold of the popular cultural beliefs as the society does not condone the image that is less than the “ideal” image.
Robert Perrin, in his review, “Barbie Doll and G.I. Joe: Exploring Issues of Gender” shows the ways in which literature creates the ideal exploration of the issues that relates to gender in the society and the images of the “girl child” (Perrin 83). In the poem, Piercy implies that that the American Barbie Doll is a reflection of herself as the "perfect" woman. Such representations from the poem reflect the influence of the culture and history on the impressionable young women and the ways in which the society influences the perception of women. Additionally, the cultural and historical views of women lead to a greater understanding of the social identity of the readers and yet this is not relevant to the interpretation of women or how women have been treated in the past. Piercy suggests that women were instructed to assume the ideology in the discussion of an era that subjects readers to interpreting and reinterpreting the literature as the basis for the power structure. The historical interpretation stems from the dominant social and cultural meanings, the metaphors in modern science and the common stereotypical views that women are judged based on the expected Barbie-doll-like figure that symbolizes women as unreal figures. But, these figures are not ideally attractive to the typical women in the society and the readers realize that the society does not always accept the diversity of women in the society.
Interestingly, Piercy speaks to the confidence of the typical woman who wears "wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy" (Piercy 236 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) to represent her strength and create the image that contrasts with the “healthy tested intelligent” (Piercy 7 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) and “strong arms and back” (Piercy 8 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number). This shade of lipstick is arguably more of the persecpton of the society as the power of women and these women being educated or hardworking. Instead, the poet hints at the early introduction of sexuality in a child’s life and the ways in which women eventually become sexual objects who wield their power over the males through their sexuality. Over the years there has been a shift in the way the society envisions sexuality and the perception of women (Drakakis & Fudernik 497). Young girls in the past gravitated towards the ideal Barbie image as women thrive on history that attempts to allow people to functions based on their experiences (Drakakis & Fudernik 498). The doll is symbolic of the dominant cultural views of the ideal body image of women even as the body image changes “in the magic of puberty” (Piercy 5 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number). The main cultural belief in the society also promotes the image of women “in the casket displayed on satinwith the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (Piercy 19-20 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number)). The sarcasm in these lines reflect the discrepancies of the author in emphasizing the views that women should not be mystified or re-sacralize (Drakakis & Fudernik 498), but rather women should defeat the naturalistic explanations and factors that influence the perception of women in the society.
People who face the challenges of public opinions are often the victims of pressure and challenges in the society as these people attempt to meet the social expectations of mainstream opinion despite the fact that these beliefs conflict with their personal beliefs. O’Brien also connects the history of the society to the cultural practices in the society. More directly, O’Brien looks at the perception of the history of war and the ways in which soldiers make war memories with their cultural practices as they embark on their long and arduous journey. “The Things they carried” gives an historical overview of the period before the militarization and reveals the items that the soldiers take on their military journey. These items were more than the physical assortment of items that were expected to save the lives of these soldiers. Instead, they were a reflection of the documented account of the emotional and psychological weight of each of the items that the soldier carries. The soldiers carried these items with dignity and pride and reflect the ways in which people are restricted in their opinions of wars.
Most importantly O’Brien’s reveals his ability to recognize and connect the history in Vietnam’s War to his folklore visions. This critical assessment offers O’Brien the opportunity to make a significant assessment of the ways in which the soldiers carried themselves with pride, dignity and poise which was entirely different from the restrictions that the society sets for the meaning of war. In other words, O’Brien allows the readers to appreciate that the diversity in the culture of the countries at war differ significantly and this helped to shape the way that people view the psychological impact of war on these soldiers. O’Brien writes of the destructive elements of war and the psychological impact that war has on soldiers and how this leads to embarrassment and fear. Yet he alludes to the fact that despite the historical perception of war, it was not “all terror and violence. Sometimes things could get almost sweet You could put a fancy spin on it, you could make it dance” (O’Brien 1-3 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number). The contrast of the “almost sweet” suggests that the writer is sympathetic to the plight of the soldiers and further reveals that even in war, people are able to find peace and some amount of happiness.
The societal and cultural laws of courage had a significant impact on the soldiers who must develop courage to fight against the inner turmoil that comes with facing war. For many people, war was not always an interesting period and according to O’Brien “If you weren't humping, you were waiting. I remember the monotony” (O’Brien 12 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) and being deep in the bush and thinking of death. Carl S. Homer reiterates O’Brien’s need to remind his readers of the “hot, stupid shame” (Obrien page number as quoted in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) which finally helped to shape the currents of the author’s inner conflicts (Homer, 265). These moments created a conflict in the ways that soldiers and the average citizen see war as “the war was nakedly and aggressively boring. But it was a strange boredom. It was boredom with a twist that caused stomach disorders” (O’Brien 12 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) and psychological damage to the soldier. Interestingly, O’Brien uses his pen to explain the misconception of the historical views that people have of war as he points out that “the whole world gets rearranged” (O’Brien 17 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) despite the fact that there is a twisted sense of peace that comes with the inherent contradictions of war. But, the courage to fight in the Vietnam War becomes a part of the concern for the ideal and rational consistency that impacts the contemplation of the courage that rages in the heart of the war (Homer, 265). Nonetheless, the manhood of these soldiers deconstructs the ways in which people in the society view the issues of war and courage which allows the soldiers to carry with them a sense of dignity.
Nonetheless, the story shows O’Brien’s lack of knowledge of the history, politics, and cultures of Vietnam and this misconception is common amongst most people. Misconceptions on the cultural diversity of different groups can lead to war and conflicts and as such the author presents the ideas based on his American views of Vietnam and not necessarily truth of the country. Postmodern theorists argue that “The things they carried” leads to the questions of meta-fiction that lacks purpose and value as the author reinforces the ideologies of the post-modern theories and the power of social conditioning. For O’Brien, there is a clearer understanding of meta-fiction in the author’s “position on the US imperialism and the potential ethnocentrism in his work” (Clarke, 132). But as with all the writers in this review, there is a strong element of the construction and conventions that are associated with understanding the courage that helped to remove the fears that these soldiers faced (Homer, 266). The cultural beliefs and practices are important to the society as people must learn how to adjust to the different thoughts, beliefs, and practices of those who have different cultural beliefs. Lack of culture diversity may lead to cultural imperialism and the minority groups are more likely to become the outsider of the mainstream culture and these outsiders tend to suffer the social rejection of a society that cannot adjust to the differences in the cultures in the society. Additionally, the differences in culture also leads to the inability to integrate into the mainstream culture and the culture of minorities may not get enough respect from the majority. Some members of minorities might radically react against cultural oppression and may fall into the vicious circle of social segregation. "We Real Cool" reflects the segregation in the society which leads youths to question their roles in society. The effects of the segregation lead to changes in the actions of the minority groups as they eventually learn to adjust to the misconceptions that minority groups are inferior to the dominant groups in the society.
Brooks speak to the cultural conversion and diversity of Black militancy (Flynn 483) and her historical experiences as a child. She writes in response to the cultural elements of literature that surfaces in the writers’ work and serves as a constant reminder of the influences of history on the culture of the people. In contrast to the ideal presentation of Barbie as the ideal white female, Brooks presents “We real cool” as the foil to the ideal world. The poet incorporates the historical presentation of blacks with wasteful antisocial mannerism (Smith 49) and yet the repetition of “We” throughout the poem leads to the understanding of the ways in which blacks develop a sense unification to fight the segregation in the society. Nonetheless, the poem is a reflection of the sociological ideology and the social criticisms that allows the readers to see the mortal limitations (Smith 49) of the blacks who believe “We die soon” (Brooks 7-8 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number). Conversely, Brooks and Piercy create two separate historical images of the society. On the one hand, Brooks creates suspense of the consequences of the nonchalant attitudes of the blacks in the society despite the fact her readership was predominantly white.
The organic whole often ignores the diversity of conflicting voices in the text and the cultural context that embodies a text. Brooks surfaces as a poet who embodies the cultural poetic structure the poet develops the musicality that is common to the black voice throughout history. “We real cool/we left school” (Brooks 1-2 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) is a reflection of the chorus-like structure of the boy’s speaking in unison as line one helps to validate line 2. In addition, “We cool” (Brooks 1 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number) reveals the jazz rhythms that have been associated with the cultural experiences of the lacks in the Harlem Renaissance and the development of the black culture.
There are historical and cultural values in the literature of the past. Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Brooks’ “We real cool” are ideal presentations that concretize the views that New Historicism are dead in the literary world. Brooks follows the beliefs of New Historicism as there is no resolution (Schalkwyk 79) and yet there is the visible use of language as Structuralist and neo-Structuralist forms that are in contrast t the Foucalt’s uncanny use of Structuralism (Schalkwyk 79). Ideally, Jackson’s “The Lottery” gives a clear picture of the realization that the society dictates the standards of living and has continued to do this over the years. As such people begin to accept the standards of the society without hope for future changes. The structure of the society in the short story is inhumane by many standards and yet the author is able to get past the historical structure of the society and the summer solstice to create a similar trend of the long, orgiastic, and heathen, traditions which determines the life and death of people. This view is reminiscent of the cultural beliefs in the historical and cultural perspectives of the fictitious society even as contemporary readers identify with the ways in which the dominant groups in the society dominate the actions of the minority groups in many ways.
Interestingly, Patrick Shields argues that the events in “the Lottery” reflects the author’s need to create an environment that shows the readers an “atavistic nature” (Shields 411) and further creates an environment that lurks beneath the humanity and the civilized surface that allows the readers to envision the ritual cleansing class structure, sanctioned violence and arbitrary condemnation (Shields 411) that has been common throughout many civilizations in history and continues in the modern society. The readers are drawn to the “historiographic meta-cognition” (Shields 412) and recognize the historical discourse of the culture and the society (Shields 412). This recognition is significant as the readers are able to appreciate the historical implications of the names of the characters and make the connection between the lotteries in the story as a model of the twisted participatory democracy that was common to the state of New England.
Many readers are unable to identify the setting as a small town in the United States as the leaders organize the summer rituals. But, Jackson’s critical reflections on these events appear as a critical assault on the rural communities and their culture. In fact, Jackson alludes to the deprivation of the constitutional rights of the people even as the lotteries had lost “the original paraphernalia” (Jackson 1 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number). Despite the changes in the historical values of the lotteries, no one was willing to change the historical and cultural traditions as the event “had been put to use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the town was born” (Jackson 1 as qtd in Kirszner & Mandell, page number). The cruelty of the events and the stoning of persons was a part of the history of the people and as such they accepted their practices despite the knowledge that the acts were cruel.
In concluding, writers over time have written stories that have helped readers to understand the cultural and historical practices that exist over time. For many writers, history continues to shape the views and actions of dominant groups in the society and show how the minority groups suffer from racial segregation and other forms of restrictions. Such views further challenge the cultural diversity and leads to a lack of understanding of the different cultures. While Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” appears as a simple poem of this prominent doll in the society, there is a greater symbolic of the understanding of the doll as a reflection of the misconception of the ways that women should emulate the “perfect” image. This restriction on changes in the image and sexuality of women leaves some women attempting negative actions that forces one to become accepted by the society. Similarly Brooks shows that the stereotypical images and treatment of blacks leads to a misunderstanding of the blacks in the society. O’Brien and Jackson force the readers accept that one cannot understand the cultural diversity of individual cultures unless there is an understanding of the ways in which societies differ in their actions. As such, one must begin to appreciate the fact that ignorance often leads to the misunderstanding of a culture which only serves to restrict the mainstream opinion of the society and creates a lack of social tolerance of the unknown and the diverse cultures within the society.
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