Gender Roles in The Good Earth Essays - O-Lan, The Good Earth

Gender Roles in The Good Earth Essays - O-Lan, The Good Earth Daniel Kang Ms. Menard Honors English 8 13 May 2014 Gender Roles in The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck's opinion about the gender roles of China of the time is plainly written in her texts of The Good Earth. In the book, Wang Lung treats woman differently based on their looks. In the beginning of the story, Wang Lung treats O-lan as an equal because she works and cooks and at that time, that is all that he cared about. Then, after Wang Lung buys the land and becomes very prosperous off of it, he suddenly, as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, he notices O-lan's ugliness. Lotus on the other hand, is treated a totally different way by Wang Lung. Lotus comes into play when Cuckoo tempts Wang Lung at a teahouse. He adores Lotus and gives her everything she desires in return for her satisfying his lust. Pearl S. Buck shows that beauty ranked a woman not their usefulness. One of the main topics that Pearl S. Buck focuses on in this book is how unfair women were treated. She shows the reader that Wang Lung made a mistake near the end of the book when O-lan dies. Wang Lung is very proud of his sons. Then, he remembers that it was O-lan that gave birth to them. He regrets how he mistreated O-lan. The author does a great job showing the reader the violation of women's rights and how it should be changed. Gender roles play a great role in China during the time period that The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck takes place. Women, were just property in Wang Lung's household. Wang Lung definitely shows favoritism in woman. "He saw for the first time that her hair was rough and brown and unoiled and that her face was large and flat and coarse-skinned, and her features too large altogether and without any sort of beauty or light. Her eyebrows were scattered and the hairs too few, and her lips were too wide, and her hands and feet were large and spreading" (The Good Earth 169). After becoming rich, Wang Lung starts to notice O-lan's ugliness and becomes angry. Treasured by Wang Lung, Lotus satisfies him. Cuckoo, previously a slave in the House of Hwang, said to Wang Lung, "There they are, their pictures. Choose which one you wish to see and put the silver in my hand and I will place her before you" (The Good Earth 176). Wang Lung is tempted into a life of lust by Cuckoo. He meets Lotus and can never stop seeing her. He goes to great lengths to ensure that Lotus is his. He brings her to his house and adores her. The difference between men and women becomes a main focus of the book. Pearl S. Buck wrote this book to signify the importance of gender roles. Wang Lung appreciates O-lan for her sons and as time goes on and he becomes rich, he notices her ugliness and gives his attention to a woman named Lotus. Gender roles play an important part in this book and are signified in the way Wang Lung treats the women in his life.

A Beginners Look at the Subjunctive Mood in Spanish

A Beginners Look at the Subjunctive Mood in Spanish One of the most confusing aspects of Spanish for beginners is the subjunctive mood. In fact, it usually isnt taught, at least to those using English as a first language, until at least the intermediate level. But even as a beginning Spanish student, you should be aware of what role the subjunctive mood plays, if only so you can recognize it when you come across it in speech or reading. What is the Subjunctive Mood? The mood of a verb, sometimes known as its mode, indicates what type of role it plays in a sentence and/or the speakers attitude toward it. For the most part, in English as well as Spanish, the most common verb mood is the indicative mood. In general, it is the normal verb form, indicating both action and state of being. Both Spanish and English have two other verb moods. One of them is the imperative mood, used in making direct commands. For example. the Spanish Hazlo, and its direct English equivalent, Do it, use a verb in the imperative mood. A third mood, extremely common in Spanish and other Romance languages such as French and Italian, is the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood also exists in English, although we dont use it very much and its use is less common than it used to be. (The were in if I were you is an example of the subjunctive mood in English.) Without limiting yourself much, you can speak English for days and get by without using a subjunctive form. But that isnt true in Spanish. The subjunctive mood is essential to Spanish, and even many simple types of statements cant be made properly without it. In general, the subjunctive is a verb mood that is used to express an action or state of being in the context of the speakers reaction to it. Most commonly (although not always), the subjunctive verb is used in a clause that starts with the relative pronoun que (meaning which, that or who). Frequently, the sentences that contain a subjunctive verb are used to express doubt, uncertainty, denial, desire, commands, or reactions to the clause containing the subjunctive verb. Comparing the Indicative and Subjunctive Moods The most important differences between indicative and subjunctive moods can be seen by comparing two simple sentences: Indicative: Los hombres trabajan. (The men are working.)Subjunctive: Espero que los hombres trabajen. (I hope the men are working.) The first sentence is in the indicative mood, and the mens working is stated as a fact. In the second sentence, the mens working is placed in the context of what the speaker hopes for. It isnt particularly important to the sentence whether men work or not; what is important is the speakers reaction to it. Note also that while the Spanish distinguishes the subjunctive through the conjugation of trabajar, no such distinction is made in English. Although not common, sometimes a Spanish sentence using the subjunctive is translated to English using the subjunctive: Indicative: Insisto que Britney est sana. (I insist that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive: Insisto en que Britney està © feliz. (I insist that Britney be happy.) Note how the first sentence in both languages asserts Britneys health as a fact. But in the second sentence, her health is stated as a strong desire. Insist is one of very few verbs in English that can trigger the subjunctive mood, but Spanish has thousands of such verbs. The following sentences show other reasons for using the subjunctive; note how a distinctive subjunctive form is used in English in only the final translation. Indicative (statement of fact): Britney est sana. (Britney is healthy.)Indicative (statement of fact): Sà © que Britney est sana. (I know that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (doubt): No es cierto que Britney està © sana. (It is uncertain that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (likelihood): Es probable que Britney està © sana. (It is likely that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (denial): No es verdad que Britney està © sana. (It is not true that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (reaction): Estoy feliz que Britney està © sana. (I am happy that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (permission): Es prohibido que Britney est sana. (It is prohibited for Britney to be healthy.)Subjunctive (desire): Espero que Britney està © sana. (I hope that Britney is healthy.)Subjunctive (preference): Preferimos que Britney està © sana. (We prefer that Britney be healthy.) Recognizing the Subjunctive Mood In everyday Spanish, the subjunctive is used in only two of the simple tenses, the present and the imperfect (a type of past tense). Although Spanish has a future subjunctive, it is nearly obsolete. While you may not need to memorize the subjunctive conjugations as a beginning Spanish student, becoming familiar with them can help you learn to recognize them.. Here are the subjunctive forms for regular -ar verbs, using hablar as an example: Present subjunctive: yo hable, tà º hables, usted/à ©l/ella hable, nosotros/nosotras hablemos, vosotros/vosotras hablà ©is, ellos/ellas hablen.Imperfect subjunctive: yo hablara, tà º hablara, usted/à ©l/ella hablara, nosotros/nosotras hablaramos, vosotros/vosotras hablareis, ellos/ellas hablaren. (There are two forms of the imperfect subjunctive. This one is the more common.) And the subjunctive forms for regular -er and -ir verbs using beber as an example: Present subjunctive: yo beba, tà º bebas, usted/à ©l/ella beba, nosotros/nosotras bebamos, vosotros/vosotras bebis, ellos/ellas beban.Imperfect subjunctive: yo bebiera, tà º bebieras, usted/à ©l/ella bebiera, nosotros/nosotras bebià ©ramos, vosotros/vosotras bebierais, ellos/ellas bebieran. The subjunctive perfect tenses and progressive tenses are formed by using the appropriate subjunctive form of haber or estar followed by the appropriate participle. Key Takeaways The subjunctive mood is a key aspect of Spanish grammar and is much more common in Spanish than it is in English.The subjunctive is used primarily for viewing a verbs action from the perspective of the speaker rather than stating it as a fact.The subjunctive mood is used in the present and imperfect tenses.