Mothers play a pivotal role towards shaping the lives of their children in terms of the growth and development from the childhood to adulthood stage and vice-versa despite the challenges of life 1 . Unlike the male parents, mothers strive to ensure that their children get the necessary needs for their growth in life such as food, clothing, shelter and education. This is clearly shown in the Lorraine Hansberry’s book, “A Raisin in the Sun” and the Zora Hurston’s book, “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” as the two authoresses express their feelings towards the negative stereotypes women are undergoing through in the male dominated society and how the mothers strongly protected and caring for their children despite all those stereotype challenges. They actually strived to overcome all those challenges in the male chauvinism society full of discrimination against their race and gender. Racism and gender discrimination against women in a male dominated society are evident in both works of literature.
Basically, this paper will critically discuss the aspirations of women in the male dominated society towards overcoming the stereotype problems they underwent through with their children from the both stories. Firstly, in the book of “A Raisin in the Sun,” the authoress describes how the three women are undergoing through a difficult situation of negative stereotype in the early 1950’s in the American male dominated society full of racism and gender discrimination 2 . The play talks about three women; mama, Beneatha as well as Ruth who actually represent the three generations of women who are black, with whom in spite of their double-fronted-subordination, they actually continue to dream for a better future. In the book, the theme of family unity is realized when the Younger’s family struggle both socially as well as economically in the entire play but finally unite and realize their dream to buy a spacious house. Generally, Mama strongly believes in the significance of having a united family and that is the main reason why she effortlessly tries to value of a united family to her family members as she strive to unite them together and functioning despite the various challenges they are undergoing through like the racial discrimination. Even though the desires of life for the three women defer in terms of their subject, they all get involved towards enhancing their duties as well as roles as women and good mothers, for instance, whether it is owning a spacious house for the whole family, paying for the child’s education or actually continuing to further supporting the attendance of the medical school.
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Typically, for the youthful women such as Beneatha and Ruth, as the play reveals it, their actual dream seems too far away as compared to the dreams of most women in the modern world. Actually, in the modern world, to own a house, pay for the child’s education or may be to gain an admittance acknowledgement to the medical school seem to be easier than it was for these three women in the past. Gender discrimination against women in a male dominated is a theme that clearly came out in the play. The role of women had been reduced to being married at a very tender age, having a low desire to seek for the higher education such as being enrolled into medical school, as well as ensuring that the house is kept clean for the man who was the controller, sole bread-winner and the final decision maker of the house.
Given that most part of the play surrounds Walter Lee’s struggle with an aim of proving his self worth, it is very easy to overrate the Hansberry’s thought-provoking of how she portrays women in her literature work. As an authoress, during the plot setting time of her book, she challenges the society of America which is generally dominated by the men while women are seen as the male subjects and are considered to be passive in the decision making process in the American society.
Nevertheless, on the other hand, in the Zora Hurston’s literature work, “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” both men as well as women occupy very distinct and different roles in the society. In this case, women are not only being regarded as the weaker gender, but they are also being fundamentally defined based on their relationship to the male individuals in the society. Generally, for example, the story centers around the main character; Janie Killicks, a woman who has been married three times, widowed two times, who has learnt a lot about life through the hard way in the male dominated society full of racial and gender discrimination against women. Actually, being a grand-daughter of an enslaved grandmother, Janie grows up not becoming conscious of skin color until that given time she sees herself among the white children.
In general, gender roles is considered as the main theme identified in this Hurston’s piece of literature work, as women are expected to be passive as well as little good-wives, or not disrespect and disobey their husbands. Similarly, marriage is considered to be very important aspect in the world of the “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” as women can only get into power in the society via the marriage process to a very powerful man. Hence, because of this, most women are pushed by men into the various passivity positions in the society and are also expected to plead and be objects of desires by men, and also to play their domesticity roles as woman 3 . Male individuals are actually achieving all these on women by ensuring that they silence women’s voices, discriminating them based on their race and gender particularly by the white men. This clearly depicts the theme of gender and racial discrimination against women in the male dominated society. Being a victim of slavery and brutally beaten for a very long period of time, is understood to be concerned with the materialistic status, but not the self expression, views marriage as the only means to gain the materialistic status in the society for her only granddaughter; Janie and decides to marry her at the tender age 4 . Actually, she does not believe that black skinned women can gain their independent status in the society without getting married to a man. "Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it's some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don't know nothin' but what we see…De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see."
However, being a different character from her Nanny as well as other women who believe on the traditional gender roles as depicted in the book, she actually seeks a positive self expression, through the mutual respect and achieves it in her lover affair relationship with the Tea Cake and now she can freely and fully come to about herself, as well as can freely speak her mind and bravely ready to share her own story. Janie is viewed as one of the out spoken and daring characters in the male dominated society as she does not freely fit in those roles she is being given as a woman. She decides to follow her own heart desires as well as paving her own way of life by being in constant fight with some of her husbands who feel should obey them at any given time.
Conclusion
Generally, in both literature pieces of work, women have greatly struggled to follow their heart desires despite the various challenges they have gone through in the male dominated society such as the racial and gender discrimination. For instance, both the characters Mama and Janie have shown a fighting spirit by not allowing men to control their heart desires in the male dominated societies respectively as they both to pave their own way towards a successful life and for their families.
Bibliography
Batker, Carol. "" Love Me Like I Like to Be": The Sexual Politics of Hurston's Their Eyes were Watching God, the Classic Blues, and the Black Women's Club Movement." African American Review 32, no. 2 (1998): 199-213.
Gourdine, Amgeletta. "The Drama of Lynching in Two Blackwomen's Drama, or Relating Grimke's Rachel to Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun." Modern Drama 41, no. 4 (1998): 533-545.
