Analytical Essay on Feminist Perspective in Literature

Introduction

In different works of literature, various authors decide to focus on multiple thematic concepts depending on their intended audience. There are some common themes in writing that have been viewed to be dominant over others such as; love, historical occurrences, politics, feminism, tradition, and culture among other major themes. The reason as to why most authors prefer to write about these key topics could be attributed to the fact that these subjects highlight everyday experiences that people go through in their day to day lives and are therefore more relatable thereby making the work of literature more appealing to a wider reader base.

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The theme of feminism is one topic of contention that has managed to be elucidated in various works campaigning for the equal and fair treatment of women as their male counterparts. Sometimes back in history, women were often viewed as the weaker gender and were often denied of some of the privileges that the men were accorded. Reservation Blues, Fools Crow, and Tracks are three books that have managed to bring out the theme of feminism in the historical setting as well as the plight of women in at the time.

Every individual has the right to be subjected to equal and fair treatment, and no gender is superior to the other. Although particular sex may do better in a given field as compared to another, this should not serve as the basis for division or disparity among the sexes. Instead, we should learn to embrace our differences and come up with ways that will make these minor differences in our strongholds rather than grounds for division.

Reservation Blues

Published in the year 1995 by the American author Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues is a novel that is based on a fictional setting but at the same time still manages to highlight the day to day lives of the native Indians in prehistoric America. Sherman is a renowned fictional work writer who has published several other books that managed to highlight various thematic concerns either in a facetious way or a realistic approach. The novel Reservation Blues is a comic book that centrally revolves around the Blues genre of music and the various atrocities related to the music including the band's performances and the personal lives of those involved.

Although the comic has managed to highlight various themes, the plight of women is one area that captured my attention to a great extent. Although the subject matter is not given enough scrutiny and only surfaces a few times in the book, there is the necessity to highlight the plight of women in this culture from a feminist approach as depicted by the author.

Women and to be more precise white women have been objectified in the Reservation Blues. As a feminist, I believe in the fair and equal treatment of members of either gender. In the reservation blues, white women are depicted as sexual objects or symbols of a desire for the local native men. For instance, it is said, they even attract their groupies-white women Betty and Veronica and Indian sisters Chess, and Checkers Warm Water (Sherman, p. 46). The term groupie is a slang word about a fan of a particular musician, celebrity, or musical group who follows this person or band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, usually in hopes of getting to know them more.

In reservation blues, Betty and Veronica are two white women who have been objectified in a way that I find offensive from a feminist's point of view. Veronica, for instance, co-owns a book shop in Seattle and is depicted to be a big fan of the band Coyote Springs. In the development of the plot, she even sleeps with victor as she is simply fascinated by the culture of the Native American people. "They did go home with Junior and Victor one night, and everybody on the reservation knew about it (Sherman, p.75). Little Indian boys crept around the house and tried to peek in the windows (Sherman, p.75). All of them swore they saw the white women naked, then bragged it wasn't the first time they'd seen a naked white woman (Sherman, p.76). None of them had seen a naked Indian woman, let alone a white woman (Sherman, p.76). But the numbers of naked white women who had visited the Spokane Indian Reservation rapidly grew in the boys' imaginations as if the size of their lies proved they were warriors (Sherman, p.76)." The author has hereby portrayed the character as simply an object that can be used for self-gratification purposes and one individual who lack insight basing their preferences on mere facts such as the ethnical origin of an individual, how the men in the above excerpt describe the nudity of a white woman id not only offensive but also depredatory for the female gender. As stated earlier, the women are objectified and seen as objects of pleasure rather than potential partners who could be involved in more beneficial society building activities.

On the other hand, Betty is presented to the reader as the friend who follows Veronica wherever she goes. This is, therefore, an insinuation that Betty lacks her principles and is easily swayed by the influence of other individuals around her. From a feminist's point of view, women ought to be liberated people just like their male counterparts who have their own set goals, objectives and priorities. For instance, the coyote's spring band was an initially all men band, and the females were only incorporated as backstage singers who performed in the presence of their male counterparts.

In later development of the book, instances of women objectification continue to be witnessed and also in some cases women have been portrayed as their enemies. Feminists view unity between the female genders as a key strength that could enable them to rise above the stereotype that women are the weaker gender. Any form of division between the female genders is a weakness that could threaten the feminist's fight for equality. However, Sherman Alexie has portrayed a point of disparity between the native women and the white women where he says, Most of the Spokane Indian women wanted to kick Betty and Veronica off the reservation, but the Indian men lined up every night to listen to the white women's songs (Sherman, p. 42).

The Spokane Indian women, therefore, viewed the white women as a threat that would probably take their men away from them thereby presenting the reader with the likelihood of the inferiority complex between the sexes. The native women viewed the white females as being more attractive than them which therefore adds to the female objectification theme.

Fool's Crow

The fool's crow also referred to as the white man's dog in some cases relates to a novel published in the year 1986 by a Native American writer by the name James Welch. The author was born in November of the year 1940 and passed away in the year 2003 aged 62. The author is commonly attributed to as one of the most renowned authors of the renaissance age. In his novel, James managed to elucidate various themes from the political scene in native America at the time, economic activities, and the predicament of the poor in the society as well as the plight of women in the community.

According to the author women in native America have been subject to various forms of abuse such as sexual assault, social injustices such as physical violence among other types of atrocities. As observed, the women in this community were viewed as being inferior to the men thereby bringing about various forms of injustices to the female gender. From a feminist point of view, it is necessary to ensure that such forms of prejudice against women are curbed and there is equal treatment is attained.

One instance in which the feminine gender has been highlighted in a way that the feminist may find inappropriate is when the author states that, Although it wasn't said, there was no doubt that it was Fast Horse's loud boasting that caused these bad things to happen to Yellow Kidney(Welch 81-82). The yellow kidney is a character in the novel and was involved in promiscuous sexual activities with a crew girl who he forcefully engaged in sexual activities against her will. It is, therefore, possible to identify the fact that in this community women were objectified too and had little say or choice on some social setting activities. In today's world, feminists are fighting against such atrocities in the aim to empower women and see to it that they have a voice to defend themselves from indulgence in activities that they don't want to take part in.

However, as the author elucidates, the Native American women did not have the liberty to decide what was right for them as they were required to be culturally submissive to the male-dominated societies they came from. It is quite disheartening to learn that Yellow Kidney's acts of fornication with the crow girl are not treated as the actual rape that the activity is. Any form of sexual activity that does not involve consent from the two or more parties involved amounts to crime. Yellow Kidney is described as "fornicating" with the Crow girl (Welch 81). It is not ever referred to as rape within the novel, even though the girl is young and of the opposing tribe (Welch 81). To add salt to injury, the girl is young, and remorse only comes to hit Yellow Kidney when he realizes that the young girl was dying. However, it is worth noting that he was not remorseful for his acts.

The author is, therefore, able to present the reader with the plight of women and the suffering that they were subjected to acts which feminists today would condemn in the toughest ways possible. Further, in the reading, it is stated that Most of the bands did not like to have a woman declare herself for the role; if she failed it would bring dishonor on them and disfavor from Sun Chief himself (Welch, p.44). In the musical bands that the natives were involved in their past time activities, they tried as much as possible to see to it that women were not part of the groups that were run by their male counterparts. This depicts women as being inferior to men an analogy that is not only demeaning in its nature but also contributing to the unfair treatment of the female gender.

In the process of the spiritual ritual, Heavy Shield Woman watched the proceedings with prayers and apprehension, for if it failed to stand straight, she would be accused of not being a virtuous woman (Welch, p.116). As if the unjust and unfair treatment that the women in this Native American land were not enough, when it came to matters spirituality, the women had to be "virtuous" otherwise they would be accused of being impure thereby leading to the failure in the success of the ceremony. As a result, then we are told that the women present followed the proceedings with apprehension and prayers as they feared for the social well-being of one of their kind if the ceremony's operations were not to go as expected. Like Fools Crow, Feather Woman was never happy (Welch, p. 113-114). She looked up to her love, Morning Star for guidance and yet he paid no attention (Welch, p. 113-114). Her tragic story of disobedience led her to the Shadowlands where she grew in tears hoping to be happy (Welch, p. 113-114). Her existence is still alive and depends on her love for her son and husband (Welch, p. 113-114).

The pressure on the feminine gender in this society was too much as Welch has managed to elucidate. Although women may be weaker physically as compared to the males, it is necessary to understand and appreciate the fact that they also have their areas of strength and they ought to be treated in a more humane way free from any objectification or misdemeanor.

Tracks

Originally published in the year 1980 by Robyn Davidson who also happens to be the main character in the novel Tracks is a novel that foc...