Discrimination - Research Paper Example

Robert Linton Prof. Kimberly Macellaro Composition & Rhetoric II February 20, Discrimination— will it ever end in man-woman relationships? Timeacts as the torchbearer in the story by Kate Chopin, “Desiree’s Baby”, written in 1892, and it holds the mirror on the social and economic conditions prevailing during the 1900s when class-based and racial prejudice was the part of the attitudes of the antebellum South. The main characters in the story, Desiree and Armand evoke instant reactions and the readers share their anguish.

Their social status generates unsolvable intrigues. The relationship between Desiree and Armand is one related to their roots—the descent! Her social isolation creates a deep void in the mind of Desiree and she finds it rather impossible to cope up with her position and remains emotionally disturbed. In Ernest Hemingway’s story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, discrimination on woman is on another count. How and why, at any given period of history, the rules, regulations and laws governing the society are framed so as to work for the disadvantage of women?

This is quite baffling and demands a comprehensive solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of the female gender. A female is victimized at every stage of life, on one count or the other, notwithstanding the fact that it is she who sacrifices at those stages. The story “Desirees’s Baby” by Kate Chopin and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway highlight these aspects. The never-ending discussion of giving equal rights to women goes on unabated from different platforms, with limited results.

The change has to be achieved from within, both by men and women, by living up to the situation and coming up to each other’s expectations with mutual respect for each other’s feelings. The social conditions prevailing in the nineteenth century viewed the sexual relations between two different races contemptuously and they were resented by the society. The products of interracial relations were branded as slaves and such children faced a challenging life. They were black for all purposes.

This is one of the major ironies in Chopin’s story, related to the birth of Armand and Desiree. Armand was in an advantageous position by societal standards. The yardstick for biracial people who were born with pale skin with European features was different and they found place in the classification of white society. They were categorized as the ruling class of the Southerners. Such classes of people were more socially acceptable. Desiree was in a position of disadvantage and suffered racial discrimination and a clash of head and heart ensued between her and Armand.

In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” the discrimination against the female, related to the biological factor and also the clash between the head and heart. The main themes of this story are, talking versus communicating and the problem of relationship. The style of conversation between the American man and his girlfriend indicates the latent rift between the two. The conversation is not hearty, but grudging and progresses under duress. With no meeting ground between the two on an important issue (presumably abortion) the man says so many things in a tone of frustration, pleading and placating.

The female carried the fetus, the growing child in her womb, but the American man has no feelings about it, and his approach is carefree and thus he is discriminating against her by forcing his views on her through the process of emotional blackmail. This is again a clash of head and heart. The most important irony in this story relates to the attitudes of the man and the woman. The man is carefree, fun-loving and has his own hidden agenda about the intended abortion. He is trying to convince the sensitive woman, and tenders strange reasons why the option of abortion is suitable for the continuance of love-relationship of both.

Describing the mental condition of the girl whether to go or not to go for abortion Ernest Hemingway writes, “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?”(613) He is governed by head as for his approach, not by heart. Life without the child is fun for the man. The woman has a different attitude towards life. The irony of conflicting approaches of man and the woman on the issue of abortion appears in the beginning of the story itself and it dominates the structure and essence of the entire story.

The second major irony: It is easy for the man to evade direct responsibility for the disadvantageous situation in life as compared to the woman. Armand is not willing to come to the rescue to protect the psyche of the female counterpart and is concerned about inflating his own ego. Desirees’s problem of her Caucasian blood is not of her own making. Armand goes free even for cruel disposition to his wife. Desiree resents her position and her anguish is showing and Kate Chopin writes, “A quick conception of all that this accusation meant for her nerved her with unwonted courage to deny it.

‘It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown; and my eyes are gray, Armand, you know they are gray. And my skin is fair,’ seizing his wrist. ‘Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand,’ she laughed hysterically.” (290) This is also a gender issue of a sort. Ernest Hemingway throws light on the gender issue in his inimical style and explains how the dominating American male tries to impose his views on his female partner and she is desperately trying to assert her viewpoints to secure the honorable place in individual relationships and in the society.

Conclusion The laws of the land and head and hearts of both male and female will have to work in tandem to find appropriate solutions. The ironic theme in both the stories is identical but the pedestal on which the woman is placed is different. This anomaly continues since Ages. Centuries have rolled by but social customs and traditions place innumerable hurdles that slow down the process of the efforts of the female gender to reach the desired destination. The emotional world of the female gender in both stories is suppressed from one end or the other.

Kate Chopin’s story belongs to the 19th century whereas the story by Ernest Hemingway belongs to the 21st century and yet men continue to have opinions on the issues dominating the female gender in both these time-periods. Women feel helpless to take their own decisions and are compelled to depend upon menfolk due to many social constraints. Their psychological issues and those relating to their emotional domain, confront them at every stage of their life. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “Desiree's Baby.

” Awakening and Selected Short Stories. (The Floating Press 2009). 283-293 http://web.ebscohost.com.lscsproxy.lonestar.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_313819_AN?sid=56a49abd-c443-4496-9812-7a9f55afde05@sessionmgr4&vid=3&lpid=lp_283 Retrieved on February 13, 2012 Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Portable Legacies: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. Eds. Schmidt, Jan and Crockett, Lynn. (Boston: Wadson 2009). 611-615.