Reading Response - Essay Example

Response Paper Adrienne Rich’s article ed in 1979 and d “Claiming an Education,” is a compelling text that raises the zeal of the reader to understand the concept presented. Rich asserts that, female students are not in the university to receive education, but rather to claim it (Rich 25). From this article, it becomes evident that women have a responsibility of changing how the education system views them. I find this very intriguing and true because women have been forced by circumstances to work towards claiming their rightful privilege to have an education despite the existing barriers (Rich 26).

The author presents practical advice to female students on how they can take responsibility in their lives. The practical guidelines of taking responsibility of one’s life presented by the author reveals the conviction that, if women fail to do so, then things can only get worse for them. At this point, it becomes unclear whether only women should take responsibility or whether the entire society should make concerted efforts in promoting the status of the women in the society (Rich 27). The second article considered is authored by Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner and titled, “A Day without Feminism.

” This article effectively helps the reader to imagine how the status of women in the society would still be if women in the past had not embarked on activism that led to increased freedom enjoyed by women. The authors paint a picture of different aspects of life that would have remained oppressive to women if feminism did not emerge. Totally agree with the views of the authors on how life would be without feminism. Moreover, it successfully reveals the patriarchal attitudes that would still define the society while women remained completely passive.

According to these authors, women living in the 21st century and the new millennium have to exhibit gratitude to the women who depicted concerted efforts in campaigning for the rights of women (Richards & Jennifer 30). This marks one of the intriguing lessons that I learned from the text concerning how much modern women owe to the earlier feminists. This text is related to other outstanding texts concerning feminism, and the authors explore concepts similar to those explored by other feminist authors.

One of the questions that may be posed is, “when will women stop claiming an education and start receiving it?” The second question would be, “How has feminism changed the lives of women?”Work CitedRich, Adrienne. Claiming an Education. Web. 4th June 2014Richards Amy and Jennifer Baumgardner. A Day Without Feminism. Web. 4th June 2014