Jaleel Thomas
3-12-17
ENG 2850
Essay #1
Trick or Treat
Dear Reader,
Writing this paper based on the two pieces of work has not been easy due to so many ideas that each story has. I want to take you into the minds of the author. Create the picture of specific scenes in each story to give you a concrete idea of what a trickster character has/needs to create them into the protagonist that they were.
Only the naïve person would believe only a magician can play a trick on them. Some people are so clever that just at a slip-up or blink, you’re now another spectator to someone’s trick. It’s not only until you realize later, of course, the trick and realize the meaningfulness of it all. But don’t think for one second that these tricksters do things from a distant, it’s done right under your nose. In the novel The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes, written by an anonymous author, and Life of a Sensuous Woman, by Ihara Saikaku, we meet a number of “trickster” characters. All of which make each strategy or decision significant to the plot of the story. The two protagonist characters of each story gave a different trickster definition in terms of their story. Lazarillo would be described as a sly young man who learned the tricks of stealing due to his impoverished preconditions which led him to an inevitable life of instability and unfulfilled needs. On the other hand, the old women reflects as the young girl who let her “pursuit for love and lust” trick her to craving men to the point where she tricked her mind time after time to love a temporary condition with a man, and when she wanted to out of the condition she knew very well how to use her skills to trick her way out. But, were their hearts not pure?
Let’s take our focus to the story of the old women in Life of a Sensuous Woman. This story begins with two young men who come to visit her at her meditation hut (named the “Hut of the sensuous hermit”) on the outskirts of Kyoto which is now modern day Tokyo. These two men who had “opposite attitudes towards life and death” both were in search of a greater understanding of sensuous love. They followed “the same path” (594) she did in her earlier years in life. What path? The path of a lady-in-waiting to an imperial palace, and a domain mistress, and an obsessive monk’s wife, and finally a street walker. A trickster and sex craving women she was described as. One thing that requires a trick to be successful is real emotion to be embedded. The old woman embodies that statement as she writes love letters for monks significant other as a job. She stated that “I could see directly into the feelings of women still living with their parents and persuade even the most experienced woman who knew everything about me. (603)” This confirms how her real emotions at the time in her life and her past gave her the ability to ensure that the letters she wrote were so profound that they would work on any women. Another simple yet devious example of the trickster character the old lady was, was when she escaped from the head priest temple’s home with a pregnancy trick. Due to her lack of comfortability she “devised a method to escape” (602). She stuffed a lot of cotton wadding between the outer and inner layers in the front part of her robe. To then go and tell the head priest that she was several months pregnant and not sure when the baby was to come. This startled the priest as he told her to “Please go back home to your parents’ house…” (602). After that, she never came back. Further explaining the type of trickster character she was. She found herself years later to have to recognize 500 monks of one temple of which she had “known Intimately” (610). But, was her heart not pure? That now brings our attention to Lazarillo.
Lazarillo in The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes was a different type of trickster. This impoverished young man whose family was ‘torn’ away from him at a young age and sent to a life of serving “masters”, could be described as ‘streetwise’. Through his hard knock life, he explains his life of each master he served over a course of his life and he learns many tricks from them that helped in his survival. After leaving his first blind master, he grew of hunger and wits. When he meets his second master the priest, he is subjugated to eat the crumbs of off that his master gives him. When he gets to a point of extreme hunger and knows that the only food in the priest’s home was locked up he develops a plan ‘on the fly’.
Mohamed Alkhaly Kaba
ENG 2850
Professor Jeff Peer
5 March 2017
In the XVII century, traditional gender roles remains the social norm. Women had to stay home, and take care of the family, whereas men had to provide. In this environment of sexism, Aphra Behn, one of the first women writer, pointed out in her poem, “The Disappointment,” female sexuality in the male dominated society. With a woman’s perspective, Behn explored thoroughly women sexuality in her poem. She challenged the point of view of society about gender, identity, and power of women and men. Behn believes that society should reconsider the woman’s role in a relationship because both genders are equal.
First of all, the author relates the story of two main characters, Lysander and Cloris, who try to perform a sexual act. According to Behn, the relationship between these two protagonists during the sexual activity reveals the control of one on the other. As Behn observes in the first stanza,
“One day the Amorous Lysander,
By an impatient Passion sway’d,
Surpiz’d fair Cloris, that lov’d Maid,
Who could defend herself no longer.”
In other words, the first stanza explains the role of each character. Lysander, the male dominant, is drived by his sexual pleasure while Cloris is subjected to his dominance. This quote defines the woman role as the sexual object, and the male is the leader who can impose whatever he wants. Moreover, the author uses an imagery in the 6 line, “The gilded Planet of the day, In his gay Chariot drawn by Fire, Was now descending to the Sea, and left no Light to guide the World, But what from Cloris Brighter Eyes was hurld” (Line 6-10). Here, the author used an imagery to compare the power of Cloris with the sea that took the sun down. The sun described the power of Lysander dictated by his extreme pleasure, and the sea, which shows the emotion of Lysander. Despit of being dominated, Cloris has still the power to overcome her man’s dominance. Nevertheless, the social norm dictates her to behave as the dominated even though she realized that Lysander was vulnerable because of his lacks of self-control. Another key to remember is that she was actually surprised to see Lysander vulnerable. Behn juggles two different roles of the man and woman during the sexual act, each of them can play the both roles, in order to highlight the equality in gender role.
In the next stanza, the author exposes the body language of Cloris and Lysander in order to show controversy in the gender roles. Even though she accepted her second-class role imposed by the society, Cloris shows resistance to Lysander’s dominance with the use of her body, and at the same time she lacks the power to say no. Behn throws more light in the second stanza,
“Silent as yielding Maids Consent,
She with a Charming Languishment,
Permits his Force, yet gently strove;
Her hands his Bossom softly meet,
But not to put him back design’d,
Rather to draw’em on inclin’d:
Whilst he lay trembling at her Feet,
Resistance ‘tis in vain to show;
She wants the pow’r to say- Ah! What d’ye do?”
The second stanza shows the power that Cloris depicts during the sexual activity. The use of the words “Consent,” and “permits” shows that Cloris has the power of accepting or refusing to perform the act. Moreover, Lysander’s body language displays his vulnerability because he was trembling in front of her (18). Being vulnerable changed the gender role under which male was the dominant into the dominance of the female. Although Lysander trembled because of his lack of control, he still had the power over Cloris. This scene confirms the traditional gender role; even though Lysander is portrayed as “weak,” he is still seen to be powerful. In addition, during the sexual activity, “Cloris wants the pow’r to say- Ah! What d’ye do?” (20). This quote explains the lack of power of Cloris in a situation where she is supposed to be the strongest because of her man’s vulnerability. It is very sad to see the power of society to falsify the gender role. For this reason, Adrienne Rich argued in her text “Women and Honor,” that “[women] have been driven mad, ‘gaslighted,’ for centuries by the refutation of our experience and our instincts in a culture which validates only male experience” (Adrienne Rich). Here, Rich and Behn both condemn the manipulation of society that recognizes only the male experience over women. Rich explained with a women perspective of how society has shaped the gender roles. Males are considered as the superior while women need to lie for survival in this society.
Society attaches great importance to the virginity of the women before marriage. Losing her virginity will put her entire family honor at stake, and sometimes the consequence is a death sentence. In the same perspective, the author condemned the society that appears to have double standard about the loss of virginity of men and women. To illustrate, when Cloris starts to cry and says, “Cease, Cease-your vain Desire, Or I’ll call out- What would you do? My dearer Honour ev’en to You I cannot, must not give- Retire” (Line 25-28). This quote shows how scary Cloris was about losing her virginity. Her attitude is explained by the punishment she could receive after losing her virginity. The society defines women’s virginity as purity. For this reason, Cloris, out of fear, requested Lysander to take her life if he performs the sexual activity. As a result, she could be punished by a death sentence or could stay unmarried for the rest of her life, while Lysander who is the initiator of this act does not receive any major consequence from the society. Adrienne Rich argued in her text that, “Women’s honor, something altogether else: virginity, chastity, fidelity to a husband. Honesty in women has not been considered important” ( Line 13-14). In this quote, Rich argues against society about the moral concept that women are considered honorable. Being virgin does not make any woman special; it just means that woman yet to have sex. However, honesty is a strong value that society should promote because being honest can make one a better person for his surroundings, and for the society.
Society defines gender roles as follows: masculine is associated with strength, sexual virility, superiority, while feminine roles are subordinates, fidelity, virginity. In other words, a man should satisfy sexually his partner according to society’s point of view. Behn does not share this opinion. According to her, men can fail on their duty to satisfy sexually their partner. Therefore, men will give up their power to women. To illustrate, when Cloris
“[offered] her Virgin-Innocence
A Victim to Loves Sacred Flame;
While the o’er-Ravish’d Sherpherd lies
Unable to perform the Sacrifice.” (65-70).
Despite the consequences of society, she agreed to give her virginity to Lysander. This is a strong proof of love that Cloris has for him. However, Lysander does not have the means to perform the sacrifice because of erectile dysfunction. In addition, Behn portrays the loss of erection as the loss of power. When she mentions, “But oh what envying God conspires To snatch his Power, yet leave him the Desire” (79-80). This quote expressed clearly that Cloris stole the power of Lysander because of his incapacity to stay in erection. Erection is crucial for the success of the sexual activity. Lysander is left with the desire that he cannot fulfill. Not being able to do it will affect a man emotionally because he is losing his virility attribute given by society. For instance, Behn relates this emotional feeling of Lysander, “The poor Lysander in despair” (93). Benh used the strong word “poor” to describe Lysander’s emotional state. He is desperate because his feeling is to be someone useless. The extreme pressure put on men has played an important role on Lysander’s impotence. Society should reconsider the traditional gender roles that will reduce the burden of sexual responsibility for the common good of everyone.