“No Name Woman”
The title of this excerpt gives meaning to the whole story the narrator tells and the patriarchal family history. No one is nameless. To be nameless means you were born into a family who did not care enough for you to even name you; you have no identity. For instance, in this book the aunt is called “No Name Woman” because her own family saw her as a disgrace; because she was a woman, pregnant whose father left to America, poor, and had the baby even though it was illegal according to her village, she was said to have brought shame to her family and her village. “No Name Woman” felt unwanted. She didn’t want to live a life where she and her baby were unwanted and disrespected. So, she believed it was best to end both their life’s to not suffer simply for being a woman. “Being a Woman” meaning rebelling against the orthodox beliefs in the community. She may not have literally revolted violent actions towards her people,however she did it silently to let people question her actions and realize the reality they were living in.
This excerpt also explores feminine culture in China. The narrator says,” Once my aunt found a freckle on her chin, at a spot that the almanac said predestined her for unhappiness. She dug it out with a hot needle and washed the wound with peroxide”(11). This specific quote tells a lot about culture and women. Women were expected to be perfect and they were determined to remove any “blemishes” they had no matter the pain they might confront. A perfect face, perfect posture, small feet and perfect hair were crucial aspects Chinese women had to be mindful off to marry a man and simply because culturally it was believed women had to be faultless.
“The Ideal Woman” is a universal theme seen today in society and media. When you look at ads, fashion magazines, etc. you mostly see tall skinny white women. This is said to be “the ideal female body” in America. Women are influenced to look this way to be considered beautiful. Due to this, many go through sickness or depression because they are not living up to media’s beliefs. Along with this, women are portrayed as sexual objects. This is a major issue still going on. Companies show “sexy” women to capture consumers attention. People believe it’s normal, so they continue to see women as objects and to be used for their own benefits. “No Name Women” explores this theme within culture. In conclusion, I guess we can use culture to explain certain parts of why women are put down, but might never fully understand due to the abundance of cultural, religious, social, etc. beliefs around the world.
Charlie suffers internally; you see this in how he remains silent most of the time and rather simply listen than participate in activities. He constantly has flashbacks when he was younger and his aunt was alive. Unconsciously, he questions whether he’s responsible for her death. Along with this, his best friend who committed suicide affects Charlie psychologically. His constant internal debate soon drives him into thinking suicidal thoughts, but with therapy he’s finally able to let his inner monologue speak so other people know his struggles he was going through.
His depressed state is a transference that affects what people think of him. However, this is changed when he meets two seniors. They accept awkward freshman Charlie and let him into their lives. From their on, Charlie’s mind continues to daze off into his past still, but his new friends take him on adventures which gives him a new state of mind.
This coming of age story explores the psychological and physical things teens go through. Charlie is able to experience with things such as drugs and relationships which shape his state of mind. He chooses to get out of his comfort zone and ultimately shows the real person he is.
How can someone be in love , yet have to be so far away from their loved one all the time?This is what the main character, Henry has had to cope with since he was a young child. The protagonist, Henry, was diagnosed with a disorder that takes him to the past and future. His time traveling is an unpredictable disorder. His life is a mix of old, new, and future events. A minute he can be in the present, and a minute later he can be disappearing to the past, arriving naked to it. While Henry time travels, his wife Clare, is in the present living her life without Henry. Throughout the chapters, Henry’s disorder takes him to when his wife was 6 years old. Of course six year old Clare has no idea the nude man is her future husband, however Henry manages to not scare her first of all, and begins to explain that he’s a time traveler even though Clare seemed hesitant. They become friends and before Henry disappears back to the present, he writes the date(September 29,1977) he will be back and hands it over to Clare, so she can have clothes ready for him as soon as he arrives. The next chapters are similar except Henry encounters different situations and sees Clare grow from a child to a teenager until they meet in the present. The Time Traveler’s Wife explores the topic of love and how people in love overcome difficult obstacles like in this story how the wife and the husband both have to manage their relationship and keep their love strong even if they are not together much.