George Selivanov
Ms. Lascos
ENG3U1
Nov. 22, 2018
Gender in Different Periods of Culture
Definition of gender completely changes over time, and it has done so in the past. It has also been the same in Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare. Back before women were treated with equality, in the times of kings and queens, definition of gender was way different than it is now. Secondly, women have their own feelings, which nobody cared about when their expressed those. The definition of gender is constantly changing and always will be changing, in a way decided by the society. Comment by Laurie Lascos: This is too vague. What, specifically will your subtopic be about? Comment by Laurie Lascos: Make these play specific. Too overgeneralized. Comment by Laurie Lascos: Not a thesis. :(
In Taming of the Shrew, one of the main topics in the novel, was to indicate that women were not treated the same as they are now. Most women were dehumanized and not treated like others. For example, after marrying Katherina, Petruchio was describing how helpful she is in different situations: “She is my good, my chattels, she is my house,/ my household stuff, my field, my barn,/ my horse, my ox, my ass, my anything;” (III, ii, 230-232). This quote is important because it introduces the way men thought about women were thought of. Nowadays, women think just like men, are supposed to be treated with care, and are easily offended. In this quotatione, a man describes in what way a woman is useful to him, which explains that women were used as tools in the past. Secondly, women are also looked at as toys/not humans. After Petruchio marries Katherina, Tranio tries to go for Bianca ,and hilariously fails. Petruchio then mocks him: “this bird you aimed at, though you hit her not” (V, ii, 50). This expands the truth, and it shows how men were “racing for women”, and were taunting each other for different things. In this case, Ppetruchio mocked Tranio for failing to marry Bianca. This still happens between teenagers, in present days. Sometimes when a guy likes a girl, and all of his friends know, he gets taunted if he manages to get rejected. Comment by Laurie Lascos: Stay in the present tense. Comment by Laurie Lascos: Be specific. Comment by Laurie Lascos: How is this relevant for these characters specifically? You're rushing through your analysis and you're not discussing significance. Comment by Laurie Lascos: You're getting off topic. You explained the individual point well, but the paragraph is incomplete because there is no connection to your overarching argument (thesi...
