My Antonia Essay: The Role of Men in My Antonia -- My Antonia Essays

  The purpose of Men in My Antonia        Gloria Steinem once wrote that A woman require a man like a fish needs a bicycle. clear she is attempting to produce wo handss independence and further the liberation movement. However, her analogy is not preferably complete. A bicycle has absolutely no place in a fishs flavour, but whether she needs him or not, men are very often present in a womens life. While a women can digest without a male influence, his influence shapes much of her personality. This role of man manifests itself in the lives of the women of Black Hawk but most vividly in the plaster bandage of the working girls. While working in Black Hawk, the hired girls assert their independence from men in practical matters but also announce their dependence in defining their personality. Tony, Tiny, Lena, and any other country girl ever to work in town can clear proceed without a male influence. They are, in fact, supporting the men with the funds they appoint home. However, as each is independent from men for survival, each is still delineate by their deeds and attitudes toward men. Lena Lingard is most outwardly defined by men. In the field and the cattle she exists in a male vacuum where she can be wild like the fields around her. Once she is exposed to town life and men, she still retains the wild nature, but it is now covered by a facade of new dresses instead of her earlier rags. The unusual wile of her eyes - a shade of deep violet - and their soft, confiding port are no longer representative of her pure nature, but instead an object to be lusted over by men (150). Lena doesnt need men to survive, but she needs men to be beautiful. In similar fashion, the enkindle physiques of Tiny and Ant... ...back, youre here, like my bring. So I wont be lonesome (256). Those memories of her father and Jim are all that Antonia posses of her past and they are all that shapes her future No woman truly needs a m an to sustain life but men will often shape their future. As clearly shown in My Antonia , men often take a crap an undeniable impact on womens personalities and choices of lifestyle. Mrs. Steinems metaphor does not hold. A bicycle has no place in a fishs ball, but men and women cannot be separated. Any past action inevitably shapes ones future. If a man exists anywhere in a womans world he will affect her life whether it be in a positive or negative fashion. The more appropriate metaphor would be something like Women need men like a fish needs nuclear waste. You certainly dont need it, but if its there, its going to have an impact on your life.