Blog #15 (De Beauvoir)

Society has a tremendous amount of power over the way people think and live their lives, because people care so much about other people’s opinions. De Beauvoir explains that society has a greater impact on the way that women are and act as opposed to that just being the way that women act. It is funny because I feel that that is the way that society still is today. Although it is not necessarily directed completely at women, but it is interesting to see that society had and still does have a large influence and still has a tendency to control the way people act. De Beauvoir sees the tension that has been placed between men and women because of society and she is trying to inform both men and women about what society is doing, and how society is portraying women in general. This Eternal feminine myth about women is on going and in a way gives men almost a reason to miss treat women, they use this on going myth as an excuse. I enjoyed this reading and really understood what De Beauvoir was getting at. I understand that society is extremely influencing and it is not hard to see how this myth has been going on for so long. One thing that is sad to hear although true is the fact that men have used this myth as an explanation for their abusive behavior toward women. I think that De Beauvoir did a great job addressing these issues, and I think that she explained it in a really simple and effective way.

Blog #14 Woolf

Woolf just like Wollstonecraft and Stanton discussed the struggles that women were faced with during the Shakespearian time. Again women were looked down upon and not really looked to for any reason other than their looks and cooking skills. Women for the most part were extremely dependent upon men and relied on them and looked to them for everything. Women were supposed to be midwives and stay at home cooking and cleaning as well as looking after the children, of course making sure that everything is in order and ready for when the man comes home. It was not normal and strongly discouraged for a woman to partake in drama, or plays being presented to the public, women were pushed to not get involved in any other activities other than staying home. Women were looked down upon or their reputation was most of the time tarnished if they tried to participate in any other activities outside of the home. If a women came to a theater wanting to be involved in a play and act men would laugh in their faces. This to me when thinking of this doesn’t make sense. One would think that during this time if men were forced to play the role of women which they were because no women were allowed that the man would feel less masculine, or therefore be made fun of or looked down upon for acting like a women. Why is it that men can play the roles of the opposite sex but women can’t even partake in the life of theater? I like Woolf’s reading and think that she made many valid points.

Wollstonecraft Blog #13

This reading was very complex and a difficult reading at that. Wollstonecraft seemed to be a very strong valued woman. She had strong believes about women and their role in society. Her views seemed very different from what was actually happening in her time. Her views were based around the roles and job women should have in society. Also that society forces women to be more dependent upon men. When starting to read this reading I got the feeling like this reading was similar to the Stanton reading. Wollstonecraft felt that women should know and be involved with politics and be physicians and nurses. Business was also something that Wollstonecraft felt strongly about; she felt that women should be involved in the business world. The one thing that was standing in the way of what Wollstonecraft’s thoughts and ideas for women was the lack of educational opportunities. Again this reminds me of Stanton’s reading when it comes to women’s rights and that there were not as many opportunities for women as there was for men. Men were treated differently in society as opposed to women. Over all this reading to me was hard to get a full grasp on, and it also to me was similar and had many parallels to Stanton’s reading about the rights of women. Wollstonecraft seemed like she was a very intelligent women, and her views were very interesting. Society once again had a very strong influence on men and on women at the time and it really took at toll on the choices that men and women mostly women could make.

Blog 12 Reich ( Why the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer

There are many cases in today’s world where people have been paid low wages for jobs that require high demand, or just simply that they are jobs that others feel can be done by any body but they are jobs that now one wants to do. One would think that these people who work these jobs who Reich refers to as routine producers, should be getting paid more. Over the years these people like for example factory workers have been getting laid off because of the development in newer and more advanced technology that can do the same job for the company and then the company does not have to pay for the workers any more. It is exciting to see that technology is advancing but also it is difficult to see how people are getting treaded who are hard workers. When is it going to stop, how far are we willing to go for machines and technology? Is there going to be a day where machines do and run everything? Companies are always looking for the cheapest way to make and produce their products. Some people are in dire need of jobs that they will do anything to have a chance to make money, even if it is extremely insignificant. It is sad when a company will need for their product to be made and produced in another country just because of cheap labor. It’s either the poor can work for extremely little pay or they can be out of a job because of the many poor people in the world who need jobs. Therefore I think that Reich’s title for this reading was very appropriate.

Blog #11 Galbraith

In the reading “The Position of Poverty” by John Kenneth Galbraith he explains and describes what case poverty is. “Case poverty is the poor farm family with the junk-filled yard and the dirty children playing in the bare dirt. Or it is the gray-black hovel beside the railroad tracks. Or it is the basement dwelling in the alley.”(Galbraith 407) “Case poverty is commonly and properly related to some characteristics of the individuals so afflicted”. (Galbraith 407) Poverty is a huge issue in today’s world, it is every where, in some situations poverty can consume a whole country, not just individuals in particular. A country can be rich in goods, being land, forest, and agriculture and still the people are poor. Overall this was a hard reading to grasp, it was difficult for me to understand the extent of case poverty. Poverty can be over come, depending on the types of poverty whether is be lack of education which can be overcome, mental deficiencies can be treated, and physical disabilities can be remedied. The only thing that is preventing this or is the limiting factor is the lack of money. It is amazing how we as a society ignore poverty, it is everywhere and still we chose to ignore it and pass by it. Galbraith explains that a society chooses to pass by poverty because we do not wish to see it or deal with it. It is not an excuse, society has been ignoring poverty for to long and we need to man up and address this issue before it gets way to out of hand.

Galbraith. “The Position of Poverty.” A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A Jacobus. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2006.pp 403-413.

Blog # 10 Marx

When looking at the Bourgeois and the Proletarians through Marx’s reading the “Communist Manifesto” Marx explains that the Bourgeois and then Proletarians are in a sense society splitting up into “…two great hostile camps , into two great classes directly facing each other…”( Marx 357). It was difficult to understand the struggle that both the Bourgeois and then Proletarians had. The Bourgeois have been around for many generations and have always fought to be on top. This class will do anything to benefit their selves. The Proletarians are the lowest on the stratum of society and in senses the Bourgeois are at the top with the power to control and watch over and boss around the lower class like the Proletarians. This should not be happening, there needs to be a society that is all equal, although this is going to be hard to accomplish. Labor should be divided up equally so therefore not just the Proletarians are doing all of the work, allowing the Bourgeois to be at the top. Marx’s theory of communism is what will help to change the ways of the Bourgeois and help the Proletarians even out the rights and the ways that they have been treated. I think that there are many situations like this still in today’s society were people of lower income are being placed into lower paying jobs and I think that Marx’s theories about the communist manifesto is a good solution to this problem of the imbalances in today’s world. I enjoyed this reading it was extremely interesting and relevant to today’s society.

Marx. “The Communist Manifesto.” A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A Jacobus. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2006.pp 356-367.