Herland Blog

Herland is a story about four men that travel to a land of women and discover that a community of women was able to prosper and grow.  A Raisin in the Sun is a story about a family that is trying to get themselves out of the poor state that they are currently stuck in.  Although the two stories have very different plot lines, the message that is conveyed about women is similar.  In Herland, the four men go into the land believing the the women will be weak and dependent on what men can give them.  The idea that women are a submissive group that are unable to provide for themselves and are dependent on men is what they were always taught and what they saw in their daily lives.  When they got to the land of women, they struggled to comprehend how women were able to be successful without men constantly in their lives.  The society went against what they had been taught.  They eventually came to tolerate the fact that women were okay without men and quickly began to marvel at how they achieved such a successful lifestyle.

A Raisin in the Sun has similar ideas about women that Herland has.  In A Raisin in the Sun, the family is trying to move into a nicer neighborhood.  The house they choose (and end up buying) is in a white neighborhood.  They are unwanted there and the whites in that neighborhood want to pay them to leave.  The black family, understanding that they are unwanted, struggles to overcome the social expectations that they will submit to the whites for money.  Money is a very influential factor in many peoples' daily lives.  Much like the men in the society of women, the black family would be different from the rest of the white community that they would live in if they moved.  Accepting this fact and learning to adjust their lives to accommodate the new changes is a task that both the men in Herland and the black family had to do.

Herland Blog 3

"Herland" is a story about four men who travel to a land of only women.  While they are there, they learn the language of the women in order to communicate.  As their knowledge of the language increases, they begin learning about the history of the community of women and teach their history to them.  The women are extremely interested in the history of the men and what their society is like.  In the same way, the men are very interested in the society of the women and why they live the way that they do.  History is a very important aspect of every culture. The history of each culture is reflected in many ways, including in the literature.

American literature is a reflection on the American people's history.  Because of the uniqueness in each piece of literature written, a timeline of America's history is also written.  American literature is very important to the people of America today.  It is an aspect of the culture that influences how younger generations develop and grow.  Literature, no matter how old it is or who wrote it, always serves a purpose in each society.  Some pieces of literature may be written to teach younger children basic truths, such as don't judge a book by its cover or to always be willing to try new things.  Other pieces of literature may be written to portray the author's feelings on a certain topic, or to inform the audience of what is going on in the world.  Some literature is written to influence the society's view on a topic, while other pieces of literature are written purely for entertainment.  No matter why a piece of literature is written, it always illustrates the history of the American people and influences the following generations.  American literature changes throughout America's history, causing the style and purpose of the writing to change as well.  American literature is extremely important to the american communities today.  They help guide each person throughout their life and encourage them to make America a better place for all people.  How each generation chooses to act on what they learn from the literature allows each person to be unique and create new ways to help America grow and prosper.

Herland Blog 2

Herland is a story about four men that travel to a society of only women for scientific purposes.  As they first encounter the women and learn about their language and way of life, they struggle to accept that women have strength and are civilized without men.  This story has aspects of both romanticism and realism throughout it.  One of the many ideas of Romanticism and the aspect that is shown in "Herland" is the emphasis on nature and feelings.  The author of the story goes into great detail about the nature surrounding the society and the community that the women live in.  From the very beginning of the book, she constantly describes the surroundings of the men.  She describes the forest in great detail when they first arrive, saying that many of the plants were edible and the trees could be used to build strong, long-lasting structures.  Gilman goes on to describe the city as they enter it and the feelings that they experience when they first meet the group of women.  As the story continues, the reader is able to track how the character's feelings towards the women change at a rapid pace as they learn more and more about their society.

Realism is also found in the story.  Realism is different from Romanticism in that the author tries to portray the lives and situations of the characters as realistically as possible by adding more details and descriptions.   Gilman constantly does this by going into great detail about the interaction between the men and the women, especially when the men first encounter the women in the city.  Gilman adds many detail during this situation to allow the reader to feel like they are the character and are also experiencing it.  She also thoroughly describes the women and their society as the men see it when they first arrive.  The descriptions of the women and their lives is very different from what the men were expecting, and therefor are having trouble accepting the fact that women could be civilized and strong as well.  They struggle with this concept throughout the book, but quickly develop a sense of respect for the women.

Herland

Herland is about a small group of young men that travel to an area of only women.  On the way to the "village" they discuss what they think that they might find there.  One of the men recognizes that women living on their own will be able to defend themselves and will not welcome visitors.  Terry said that there would be no organization and they would always fight among themselves.  He also believed that they were not able to invent or use modern materials and would be living off very primitive materials.  Jeff believed it would be a sisterhood, with only peace and beauty, always welcoming and not defensive.  Other ideas that they were expecting to find was an area and a people that would welcome them that they could easily rule and be "king of lady land!"  Al of the ideas, no matter who proposed them, all showed women as below men.  

During this time period, women were seen as inferior to men in all aspects of life.  They were not good enough to be civilized and proper without men in the society.  They were not be strong enough to defend themselves against men wanting to conquer the area.  They were not smart enough to be able to create their own style of living that would prosper and develop over time.  In all societies during this time, women were not looked at as important.  Throughout American history, women have never been important.  There was even a point in time that, when they got married, they were legally dead.  They were not allowed to own land or deal with money.  They were not allowed out of the domestic sphere that they were apart of.  Women would rarely, if ever have a role in society.  Over time, women became more involved, but still lacked the rights and privileges that men had.  "Herland" is showing the men's views on the women, but I predict that their views will change greatly.  

The Snake

The poem, "The Snake," by Theodore Roethke, identifies most with the Romanticism era.  The Snake portrays a graceful animal that had nothing to worry about.  Roethke shows the graceful movement of the snake by describing him as "gliding" rather than slithering.  This also shows the beauty the author sees in the snake rather than the disgust that most people feel when they see a snake.  The author thoroughly describes the snake and its peaceful life in the first tow stanzas of the poem.

A very crucial aspect of Romanticism is nature's influence on the way it is written.  This particular piece of poetry is purely based on the snake, which is an animal in nature.  Romanticism also focuses on human emotions and their connection to nature.  In the "Snake," Roethke focuses on the emotions that the human felt when he or she encountered the snake.  The author emphasizes the beauty the person saw in the snake and their longing to have a life that was pure and carefree, just like the snake.