Nada By Carmen Laforet Analysis

When her sisters go and visit her, the girls think that she looks like “the after person in one of those before-after makeovers in magazines” (117). Sofia essentially changed everything about her after just a few months in the Dominican Republic. She goes from someone that smokes weed and has wild stories about boys to a girl who is in touch with her Dominican roots. However, in Sofia’s case, parts of her identity are rooted in her innate characteristics. Even though some things have changed about her, there are still things that are the same about her.

Juan de Solorzano y Pereyra says that the Indians practiced savage customs or they attempted to commit treason against the Spanish people. Bartolome de Las Casas says that the Indians were gentle sheep and the Spaniards rushed in like a bunch of starving wolves, tigers and lions ready to devour. The Spaniards slew the Indians as if their lives did not matter what so ever. All of this happened throughout Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Mexico (Hispaniola). Juan Gines de Sepulveda Sepulveda said that the Indians are a savage and cruel race and that the Spanish are a superior race that is why the Indians should be treated as if they are inferior.

The setting allows the reader to understand how people without honour are seen as outcasts of the society and the existence of a woman’s virginity is seen as a measure of her honour, as well as a precious commodity, which can purchase the family’s social advancement, through a marriage of convenience. Ángela states that Santiago deflowered her, but since “…she looked for it in the shadows…”, even though “She only took the time necessary to say the name.” we question this piece of information and its reliability, due to it being precise but also vague at the same time. Due to their sister stating this, Pablo and Pedro Vicario are ordered to reinstate their “…sister’s lost honour…”, ironically by their mother, to meet the expectations of the community and it is up to them to spiritually retrieve their sister’s virginity by killing Santiago. This means the brothers cannot back down from “…the horrible duty that’s fallen on them…” as “…there’s no way out of this…”.

Lola takes advantage of her deteriorating mother whose illness represents the declining hold of the norms over Lola. Since her mom “will have trouble lifting her arms over her head for the rest of her life,” Lola is no longer afraid of the “hitting” and grabbing “by the throat” (415,419). As a child of a “Old World Dominican Mother” Lola must be surrounded by traditional values and beliefs that she does not want to claim, so “as soon as she became sick” Lola says, “I saw my chance and I’m not going to pretend or apologize; I saw my chance and I eventually took it” (416). When taking the opportunity to distinguish herself from the typical “Dominican daughter” or ‘Dominican slave,” she takes a cultural norm like long hair and decides to impulsively change it (416). Lola enjoyed the “feeling in [her] blood, the rattle” that she got when she told Karen to “cut my hair” (418).

Through the dialogue between the narrator and her husband, and by keeping the story through the woman’s perspective, it shows the warning signals in what he is saying, and the warning signals of how she is reacting to it. Gilman showed the importance of validation, and to trust in one’s own instincts. The narrator is seen doubting her instincts, standing up for her husband, and feeling like she has nowhere to turn. The metaphorical gaslight is much like the yellow wallpaper in the story. What starts as something so small, builds and builds into an infatuation.

A certain loss in Antonio’s life is his late friend , Florence, a classmate sincerely against God. Antonio is saddened and worried about Florence and attempts to let Florence at least believes in something, like the Golden Carp. Before Antonio can introduce Florence to the peaceful pagan god and make him realize that not all gods are powerful and intimidating, Florence dies drowning. After the drowning of Florence, Antonio is forced to question the restriction of Catholicism, once again. Antonio looks in the direction of religion for help as he can feel the innocence fading.

As a result of the relationship coming to an end, Norma starts strengthening herself so that she can leave her husband,

In addition, the search for self-identity is viewed as important in today’s society. Thus, these confliction attributes lead the reader to identify Edna as morally ambiguous. Categorizing complex characters as purely good or purely evil is not one of the easiest of tasks. As a result, it is best to characterize them as morally ambiguous. In Edna’s case, she is morally ambiguous due to her romantic affiliations and role-defying actions, but both are immensely vital to Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” as a complete whole.

In Kate Chopin’ s novel, The Awakening, there are three identities inside of the female leading role, Edna Pontellier, being a wife, mother and own self. Edna was born in 19th century at the Vitoria period, a patriarchy society, women have low freedom to achieve personal goal. She married with Léonce Pontellier, a wealthy man with Creole descent. After having a child, her life is still unchangeable and as bored as before. Until she encountered Robert Leburn, Mademoiselle Reisz, and Alcée Arobin, her value of self-cognition has changed.

Within the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Madame Ratignolle’s character possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast the characteristics and behavior of Edna Pontellier. Despite being close friends within the novel, Adele and Edna have contrasting views and behaviors that illuminate the theme of female freedom and the tradition of female submission and male domination. Madame Ratignolle and Edna Pontellier are close friends, but their views toward raising children differ fundamentally. Madame Ratignolle would sacrifice her identity to devote herself entirely to her children, household, and husband, whereas Edna would not. Besides their views towards raising children, how they raise their children also differs.

Lorena Garcia wrote “She is Old School Like That,” this piece is about sex talks between mothers and daughters in the Latin American community. She examines the way which these talks are given and at what point in the life of the daughters they are given. Garcia points to the different methodology the Latina mothers used when talking to their daughters, and their reactions when they found out their daughters were engaging in sexual activity. Garcia claims that there is a certain pattern in which the Latina mothers behave. These women are the operation with a new definition of sexuality influenced and shaped by the heteronormative and patriarchal society.

Feminist analysis of The Storm The rise of the Women’s Movement during 1890’s encouraged many to grant all human beings the same fundamental rights despite one's gender. Traditionally, sexual passion, in a woman's aspect of life, was considered inappropriate and wrong in societal views. Yet, Chopin boldly addresses sexual desire in a woman with a strong feminist tone in The Storm, empowering female sexuality.

In her childhood, the unnamed narrator has had a wild imagination which still haunts her: she admits "I do not sleep," and as a result she becomes restless.(653). Her imagination makes her live in an imagined world of her own and completely detached from reality. The

This novel follows the life of a recent college graduate, Marian MacAlpin, through her career and emotional maturation in a somewhat unnatural, if not threatening world. The queer concept of this world is branded by a spectrum of moral viewpoints of gender politics that manifest themselves and surround Marian. The political and cultural values and practices of a male dominated and sex driven society depicted in the novel are so strong that they seem to devour Marian physically and emotionally. She rebels against this cannibalistic, patriarchal society through a comestible mode and the end, reclaims her identity crisis by restoring her relationship with

Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters exposes lives of numerous characters living in the postcolonial Philippines. Hagedorn vividly paints the picture of a society freed from the foreign oppressor that still clings to the imported values and struggles to recreate itself. The postcolonial confusion and a sense of a lost national identity have allowed for a newly formed nationalism to spread. Yet, the influence of the former U.S rule lingers as society remains infatuated with Hollywood movies, soda drinks, and shopping. The Hagedorn's novel displays “the pressures that neocolonialism places on gender, as well as the pressures the gender places on neocolonialism” (Chang, 637).