Feminism in Top Girls

Feminism in Top Girls The play is one of the most famous works of Churchill in all of hers. Some consider the play as a very radical feministic one, some consider it as anti-feminist. But the matter is that she, by the use of different techniques and strategies has made her play like a globe in which all women are there supporting, discarding each other. The play has a very important historical evidence behind itself and it was the matter of Thatcher that had become prime minister, as Churchill, her self comments that when she wrote top girls: Thatcher had just become prime minister; there was talk about whether it was an advance to have a woman prime minister if it was someone with policies like hers. She may be a woman but she isnt a sister, she may be a sister but she isnt a comrade. And, in fact, things have got much worse for women under Thatcher. (Churchill in Betsko and Koenig 1987, 77) In fact Margaret Thatcher and Edith Cresson, as prime ministers of their own time were really top girls. In top girls, Churchill has had two main idea in her mind: those of dead women coming back and women working. these are in fact two main topics of the play, which are very closely intertwined. the dead women from the past appear in act one, taking place in a restaurant, a celebration that Marlene organizes, because of her recent promotion, we see other characters such as Lady Nijo, Dull Griet, Pope, Joan who celebrate their femininity with each other. during the course of the night they gather together and supposed to speak about their victories, and of course there occurs an epiphany for them because they in fact had lost their own womanly manner in order to achieve mens world. The presence of this empty women is so well epitomized in the character of Marlene, as a kind of gap between past and present, this working class girl pregnant who left her home village to make a new one in London., so the old Marlene has died and no one is born and replaced by a cruel one, so we see here some assembly of dead women, who so naively consider themselves as the most alive ones. The structure of the play so excellently shows the sense of death of its main characters, in other words we can see a kind of parallelism, between their life and the structure of play. the plays denouement is somehow truncated, as the lives of women truncated and crooked. Of course we can consider this kind of techniques used by her as a feminist stances of denying the masculine pattern of plays inherited by Aristotle, I think before the full analyses of the play, thats better to mention some characteristic of it that is so prominent: her adaptation of Brechtian drama by the use of alienation effects,a kind of aesthetic distance, the matter and technique is so excellently showed by successive interruption of waiter and of course their laughter. From the perspective of dramatic shape it consists of three acts. one consists of three scenes and act two of tow scenes. I think the matter and division is because of creation of some chronological disruption, and it is done as a way of fulfilling a very good function in order not to create a kind of identification between the reader/audience and the actor/actress on the stage. Another important thing mentioned here is that, between different layers of this play, we have the working of the ideology. In this way we have a criticism of capitalism and capitalist regimes that the play puts forward.   In another sense, it can be used to exemplify more feminist reading of the play in fact by occurrence of a complete climax and by in fact having a diametrically opposed position to  the structure inherent to tragedy postulated by Aristotle. as Christopher Innes has stated: Combining surreal fantasy with Shavian discussion, documentary case-histories, and naturalistic domestic drama (complete with kitchen sink and ironing-board), Top Girls breaks out of conventional methods of portraying life on the stage, and suggests new ways of seeing reality .. creating a dynamic that is liberated from cause-and effect logic. (Innes 1992, 466),and this matter some how leads us to the next point: looking for a feminist form(or at least a kind of form different from the patriarchal one).the fact that we have in the drama only women and not men, is really vital in comprehension of it. the fact that the actresses in Top Girls have to double or treble roles prevents us from identifying with them and, consequently, focuses the attention of the reader/audience on the political message of the play, that is feminism . Thus, the woman-only cast illustrates the subject matter of Top Girls and reinforces the theme of feminism or thats better to say anti feminism. Although, the play deals with oppression of women by men in a capitalist regime, but we see the oppression of women by women as a result of being part of that regime .It can also means that how women have internalized the rules and privileges of patriarchal societies, however, we dont see a manifest attack of Churchill on men, in other words we dont see the struggle of women but in fact the play turns on the analyses of class strife and economics. An example can be found in the case of Marlene, who sacrifices her own daughter and family in order to escape from her working-class origins, besides, here in this drama we see that all the women somehow have some masculine way of behavior, although they think that they have cut with them, as we see that they have just an illusion that they are successful women or we as a kind of reader find tat its just an illusion to consider the play just as representation of a feminist drama. I think even the naming of character in the play, they exemplify the whole discussion about class struggle and economic strife that underlies it. so we have here a four group classification. First group women of past as we have Isabella Bird, as her name reminds us the matter of travelling. It can also be considered as a reference to the several characters in the play(Marlene, Lady Nijo, Win, Angie, Jeanine and Shona), who long for escape from their reality and fly to other, sunnier lands. here we see on the surface feministic tendency. Another important thing that really needs concentration is the language used by Churchill, she really has done her best to create a kind of distinctive use of the language in the play as Aston and Savona argue that: In Top Girls, the use of overlap is a sign of the female voice. Brechts splintering of the ego is further problematised in Churchills text by the female entry into the symbolic order of language. As a logocentric or phallocentric sign-system (as identified in Derridean or Lacanian terms), language places the female subject in a marginalized relation to its patriarchal order. (Aston and Savona 1991, 70) By destabilizing the linguistic exchange and therefore unfixing identity, but at the same time giving predominance to a female voice, Churchill seems to be stressing in a radical way the destabilization and displacement of the female subject in relation to language (Aston and Savona 1991, 70), and consequently in relation to occupying a position in a  patriarchaliy-defined society. All the women of top girls have conformed themselves to the male standards of behavior and that shows the theatricality of their works and glories. They are never satisfied with this new brand of gender, at least before they were just women now not men and not women belonging to one of them. From Lacanian point of view and as a confirmation of what I mentioned in the previous paragraph that all their actions are nothing but facade, we see that all of the characters are confined in the symbolic stage with the role of father. Since language is given in and by a system dominated by men, womens access to it is going to be clearly mediated. According to this, womens voice, their identity, will be totally artificial, a construct defined by patriarchy. This is  precisely what Gret purports to destroy in her powerful speech, in which she equals the Symbolic Order to hell. A hell where all the devils are male. As I mentioned in the previous paragraphs, Caryl Churchill in her marvelous play Top Girls has inserted a lot of messages some say that it is basically a play about capitalism and sexism: About capitalism in the sense that it analyses labor and social relations constituted by a capitalist economy, about sexism in that these relations are seen from a female point of view, which explores how female identity is put down by the politics of patriarchy. Top Girls is also a socialist-feminist play. It can be defined as socialist in that it takes a clear position against any sort of capitalist ideology, and it can be defined as feminist because it presents us with a parallel between socio-economic, by the use oppression and gender oppression. In fact, as we have seen, Churchill herself is a firm believer in the inseparability of feminism and socialism(Kritzer 1991, 149).besides, her uses of characters are true to life, she really generalize the theme of her feministic play, by use of characters of different classes to connote that it is a play about all women. Different strategies of her to create a feminine setting is really of paramount importance, although in this play she showed women who have achieved the highest level of social life but they are not really satisfied. I think the main message of her is that women should know the limits, as she is a social feminist and she is criticizing the bourgeois feminists. References: Jstore: Titol de la testi: Gender, Politics, Subjectivity: Reading Caryl Churchill

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When chemicals come together, they form a reaction. A chemical reaction is when one or more substances change into one or more new substances. The properties of the new substances are different from those of the original substances. You can tell a reaction has happened when you see these signs: a precipitate has formed, gas has formed, color has changed, or energy has been given off (blue book). If substances with new properties have formed, you know a chemical reaction has occurred. The substances that you start off with are called the reactants. The substances you get after a reaction has occurred are called the products. There are different types of chemical reactions. Exothermic reactions are a type of chemical reaction where energy is released and absorbed by nearby matter. Endothermic reactions are a type of reaction where energy is absorbed from from its surroundings (blue book). Chemical reactions happen at different rates. There are many factors that affect the speed of ch emical reactions. To make a reaction go faster you can increase the temperature, increase the concentr...

Amazing Grace poem

The poem I chose was â€Å"Amazing Grace† by John Newton. John Newton was born in London, July 24, 1725 and died December 21, 1807. He was an Anglican priest and hymn writer, advocating the Christianity view of redemptive forgiveness. He wrote â€Å"Amazing Grace† as an element of that prospect (Clugston, 2010). â€Å"Amazing Grace† is one of the most famous poems ever written and composed. This poem is also a hymn that speaks too many who is looking for salvation, forgiveness, grace and faith. This form of poetry is narrative poetry because it tells us a story in a song about salvation. Amazing Grace† also uses figurative speech to express imaginative and distinctive effect. I grew up in a Baptist church where I still attend today. We would sing â€Å"Amazing Grace† every Sunday as one of our devotional hymns. Devotion is what we have before our church service starts. About three deacons would stand in front of the church and pray, read scriptures, and sing hymn with the congregation. Every Sunday it never failed â€Å"Amazing Grace† was a hymn that was going to be song. This hymn is one of the most popular hymns of all time.The literary element that I thought contributed to this poem was tone, content, and form. Using these literary elements is what makes this poem a significant piece of poetry in history. â€Å"A hymn is a lyric poem or scared song, which is written in praise to a deity or spirit† (Wheeler, 2012). The poem â€Å"Amazing Grace† is different from any poem that has been ever written. This poem is unique because it is written in the form of a song. When you see â€Å"Amazing Grace† no one ever stops to read it as a poem, that poem is automatically song without any hesitation.This type of literary element is to be specifically heard, not to be read. â€Å"Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see † (Clugston, 2010). By listening to the words of that song pretty much tells us what kind of person John Newton was, and how he changed his life. Throughout this poem Newton is talking about different events, or thing that has happened to him during his lifetime.These elements affected my response to this poem because I never knew that this hymn originated from a poem. I always thought that this was a song and I knew we would sing it church on Sundays. Some people use this song at funerals and many different church functions such as a theme or some sort. Now by actually looking at the poem and getting a chance to read it in poem form I have a different point of view on this particular poem. I always though Amazing Grace was a hymn. I had no idea that it originated from a poem.This song is universal and is known throughout the world by its lyrics. This poem comes to life after you have read or sung it. It really makes you think with all the different elements that he uses in th e poem. He used words to describe himself such as wretch. He used words to let you know the difference between right and wrong. He used these words to captivate his audience and to let them know where his faith stood. Amazing Grace demonstrates purity as it relates to the excellence and awe of divine love.

How Divorce Affects the Romantic Relationships - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1110 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Divorce Essay Did you like this example? The purpose of this study is to provide insight into how divorce affects the romantic relationships of the children within the household when they are older. Divorce rate is high and relationships come a dime a dozen nowadays and this study is going to find out if that is because of observation of past relationships with in the home. Because of these factors, the researcher hypothesized that children that come from divorce homes would actually be better spouses, especially if they have children because they wouldnt want their offspring to enduring the same pain. The methodology for this study will differ in the fact that it will be conducted as a single factor experiment between subject design allowing for more control of variables and the comparison of a control group to the experimental group. This design will allow for more insight on the effects divorce has on relationships from children within the household. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How Divorce Affects the Romantic Relationships" essay for you Create order The participants were 300 high school and college students from two separate communities. The participants were strictly comprised of 150 participants in each group, and each group of 150 volunteers were studied for 30 days. At the conclusion of the research, 300 different volunteers were selected from a different high school or college. In order to accurately represent both genders in the research, the total number of male and female participants were equal at all times. Then the 150 volunteers were selected by probability sampling where each person had a chance of being selected (Passer, 2014, p. 205). Out of the three methods of probability sampling, stratified random sampling was used to divide the sampling frame into groups and then members for each group (male or female) were selected by random sampling (Passer, 2014, p. 205). Simple random sampling was used to choose the male and female participants for the research. Because the participants are randomly chosen to varying conditions of the experiment, the type of between-subjects design that was used was Independent-Group Design (Passer, 2014, p. 241). There are several factors to take into account, age, gender, and whether the participants come from a two parent household or one. There was not a quota for the number of females or males that participate allowing the study to be more conclusive. The research had minimal risk to the participants in that there would be a bit of emotional distress. Once the sampling population were selected, each participant was required to sign an Informed Consent, after the form was thoroughly explained to each of them in a face to face interview with the researchers. In order to reduce risk, the study was completed. The dependent variable in this study would be affected relationships. Affected relationships were defined by the groups answer to tasks and questionnaire. Complete tasks and the behavior exhibited while completing those tasks whether the group was part of the control or experimental. To ensure anonymity, all participants names where replaced with corresponding numbers. As one of the limitation found within researching all points of the study would be issues with those that are in relationships having anonymity because of the personal questions regarding relationships, ensuring this particular limitation would be kept to a minimum The data compiled in this study was collected by different means. One of the means of collecting measurable data were surveys. A climate survey was conducted at the beginning and at the end of the each groups 30 day experiment. The climate survey at the beginning established a baseline of data for the study, such as gender and age. Two surveys was conducted, one at the beginning and one at the end of the study. The responses for the surveys will be measured using a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 5 = most effected to 1 = least effected (Chein, 2013, p. 85). Observational Design research was also used to compile data. The researcher documented observed reactions during experiments were conducted on how the participants behaved when asked to either role play or demonstrate how they would react during certain real life situations within a relationship. The behavior was recorded in order to establish quantitative data. For this reason, the scale of measurement utilized was Nominal scal e. The behavior recorded was the percent of individuals from the experimental group that where singled out, the percent the express cohesiveness is an issue, and the percent that feels that the divorce was contributing factor to any relationship issues. The qualitative data that was collected was analyzed and compiled into quantitative data to show whether the hypothesis was confirmed or disconfirmed. Based on the data that was compiled, the hypothesis divorce affects the manner in which you behave within a relationship is supported. The research results were analyzed after the entire study was completed. Therefore, the results reflect the totality of the study not individual analysis. The Likert Scale utilized to measure the initial survey results showed out of 300 participants 20 percent were female and 80 percent were male. Five percent of the females and ten percent of the males did not have issues within their relationships in the past or current. The initial climate survey showed that 78 percent of those individuals were happy with their relationship and 15 percent were already experiencing issues within 90 days of their initial relationship. The results clearly indicate that divorce can affect how one behaves within their relationship. The experimental group had issues completing tasks based on societal norms on how to react within a relationship. This study proposed limitation in the regards to the number of subjects. The number of subjects does not accurately represent the number divorced and or non divorced children in the states. External validity was also a limitation. The research could not control what happened when the study was concluded for the day because participants were permitted to leave. Controlling conversations with each other was difficult because there was no way to know that this did not occur. These limitations were noted and a future study would greatly reduce these limitations. One way to combat the external validity is to improve the internal validity. A future study could implement that the control group and the experimental group be conducted by an observational study using a structural design. Professionals will benefit from this study because it provides insight to how divorce can affect you in the moment and for the future within a relationship. Knowing what baggage you bring to a relationship is important and an understanding of the effects this could have within an intimate setting is important. Creating emotional stability for our society and being better men and women will help build a stronger family setting for the future. This study has qualitative and quantitative data that was collected. The study implemented the 5 basic Ethical Principals guaranteeing all involved are treated fairly and respectfully.