Dickinson Response:

Emily Dickinson is a very complex and talented poet.  This poem of hers is about pure truth and that there is no substitute for it. In this poem, Dickinson draws our attention by giving the poem a very ironic title. From the mere reading of the title, something clicks into my mind- if we have to only tell the truth why should we be telling it at an angle or inclined to a certain direction? Do we have something to hide? On the other hand, it’s sending a message that we should be careful how we tell the truth.

The author acknowledges that the truth will never be hidden for long; she compares the truth with light which cannot be hidden. The more you try to cover it up the more it shines brighter and brighter. Therefore it is always good and in our best interest to tell the truth. But as I read this poem my question is this, what drove the author to write such a powerful message on the truth? Was it a personal experience or an observation?

“The truth must dazzle gradually” shows how sequential the truth emerges. This gives an idea that the truth comes to be known slowly by everyone as the lighting comes slowly from the heavens and the entire world sees it. Dickinson also shows how impossible it is to hide the truth forever; she compares this impossibility with all men going blind. All in all, the entire message is clear that telling the truth is the best option and if it isn’t told it will surely come out sooner rather than later.

Manifesto:

Manifesto of Futurist Woman

A futuristic woman is shown to be the empowered woman who according to the author should not be inferior to a man. This woman is a fiction being that the author acknowledges does not exist. However, the author tries to show how woman and the man are complementary, and both have similar characteristics. The irony is when the author says that without feminism aspects are incomplete. On the other hand, the woman should have the aspects of a man to achieve this equality. The author despises those women who fold their arms and wait for their husbands for provision. The author sees the submissive women to the point of crying in front of their husbands to be inferior to prostitutes. The author thinks that women should stand on their own feet and claim their rightful place amongst men.

In politics across the world, politics are dominated by men, having less than 1% women in top leadership. This is a complete irony given that half of the world’s population is made up of women. A study done by political scientists at Harvard University reveals that women do not vote for their fellow women. (Blanton S. et al. 38) This undermines their say and influence in the modern society. When we talk about an inferior woman becoming a futurist woman then the support must come from their fellow women first before they get to the masculine aspect. What women require to bring a revolution in the world is unity and support within themselves. If this happens, their male counterparts will have no choice but to oblige.

Reference

Blanton, Shannon L, and Charles W. Kegley. World Politics: Trend and Transformation . , 2017.