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Bernice Bobs Her Hair Vs. A Jury Of Her Peers

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Alright, fair warning with my "essay" here... The assignment didn't really apply to me, it seemed. It said to compare what we had to look up to understand the text, however, I didn't need to look anything up. Basically, I read them and read what Jerz had online, but it was little help to me and explained very little. Luckily, I knew already what was going on...
That said, I must also point out that this essay is a tad... disorganized. I'm not used to working with such a small word limit, thus, I had to cut back all I wanted to say. Sorry if this isn't suitable, I shall post a longer version of it just for my own use later. Without further delay, here is my silly, disorganized "essay". Ta.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair, by Fitzgerald and A Jury Of Her Peers, by Glaspell both portray the development and death of an early representation of an individual. By this, I mean, the replacement of their entire personality, mostly against their will. These changes may occur due to personal “growth” or due to an addition to the family (such was the case of Mrs. Wright in A Jury Of Her Peers).
Early on in childhood, a person must make choices that dictate who they become later on in life. For example, Bernice (Bernice Bobs Her Hair) stuck with mainly modest and dated material to develop her own personality; however, Marjorie—Bernice’s cousin— struck out on her own to make a new appearance for herself and for women as a whole. This conflict is what drove Bernice to mirror Marjorie, thus changing who she was and abolishing who she used to be.
Mrs. Wright (A Jury Of Her Peers), once a fiery spirit who loved singing and life above all else, changed who she was by marrying into an abusive relationship, thus her old self was tossed aside, leaving her new empty shell in its place. All choices effect who we are to become. That said, one must comment that our own personal choices aren’t the only things that change who we are destined to be. Time plays a major role in dictating how we are to live our lives and what rights are offered to us.
In the short story A Jury Of Her Peers, the main characters—the women—weren’t offered the same rights or respect that the men shared. This was dealt with and tolerated, only because of the time difference. In the short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair, the social differences between men and women were less vast, but still not equal. Thus, the choices available to those women affected how they developed.

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1 Comments

It does take a bit of editing to whittle down an essay into a short online posting, but online text is harder to read than printed text, so a shorter statement will be more effective. I'm glad you felt you could get these stories without too much trouble.

We don't see Bernice early in her childhood, but certainly she and Marjorie were both brought up in the same value system -- one that Marjorie has already rejected when we meet her.

Do you think Fitzerald was holding Marjorie out as a good example for Bernice to follow? What is Bernice's motive for copying Marjorie -- does she want to be a radical feminist, or is she interested in something else? In the end, who was more willing to strike out on her own? Marjorie or Bernice? Was Bernice justified in what she did?

We are not meant to like John Wright.... what evidence is there in the text that he is "abusive"? Does that evidence, in your opinion, justify Mrs. Wright's actions?

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This page contains a single entry by Kitty Kat published on January 22, 2004 12:04 AM.

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