Free Essay on Gender and Power

When analyzing “A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry, and Trifle’s by Susan Glaspell, common ground can be established between the two plays. The plays highlight gender roles and power. Gender is the status that defines a person as a man or a woman, whereas power is the ability to influence someone. In the United States, women are believed to be responsible for nurturing and taking care of children as well as caring for home’ activities. Today, many people experience different stereotypes and discrimination based on their sexual status. Because these norms determine individual behaviors, power is associated with people’s true sex.

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In “A Raisin in the Sun,” a forward thinker, Lorraine Hansberry, struggle to explain gender roles. Readers can understand that Walter is highly disappointed by Mama Action. Such that, Mama has chosen to realize her dream of possessing other people’s dreams. The play unravels the conflict between Walter and Mama, which is typically being experienced among gender even to date. In this context, Walter cast aspersion against Mama for making him lose his dream (Hansberry 107). The scenario displayed that men prioritize their achievement over women. In most instances, they will accuse women of making them fail to realize their ambition. The play reveals that Walter dreamt of investing in a liquor store. In that regard, Walter perceived that through investment, he would earn millions of dollars, which will make him the sole provider of his family. In essence, Walter wanted to perform his duty as a man, and he believed that the support would be through the money obtained from the liquor store.

Mama agreed to have Walter control the remaining money. In essence, Mama provided specific instruction to be followed to set some portion of the remaining money for his choices and others for Beneatha’s education. Readers understand that Mama does not exercise her authority over her children to gain or maintain power but instead longs to provide for them. In other words, a woman is displayed not to be self-centered, but can also care for the general good. Mama relinquishes her authority in a matriarchal way. She urges Walter “to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be” (Hansberry 107). From this concept, men are respected and have the full leadership of the family.

, Hansberry reveals that the role of a mother is to put the interest of the family over her own. For instance, Ruth is a powerful woman who not only believes in God, but her morals are unquestionable. Readers understand that Ruth’s love for her husband and son is flawless, where she is committed to taking care of them (Hansberry 107). In this context, Ruth puts her desires and needs of her family ahead of her own. Throughout her marriage, she has been supportive of Walter, with a flawless and flourishing conversation lately. Ruth strives to convince Mama to help Walter realize his dream, where she claims, “Something is happening.”Hansberry brings the issue of the role of raising children more uniquely (Hansberry 107). Protagonist Walter and Ruth have some marital problems aside from the quest Walter has for money. Readers are briefed that Mama nags about how Travis is raised. Mama claims that Ruth has failed to raise Travis properly. Mama begins to question how the sister, Beneatha, dresses.

Trifle’s by Susan Glaspell revels the inferiority of women over men. She begins the play by examining women’s repression in the 1900s. Glaspell claims that women were stereotyped by men and were considered as child-bearers and housekeepers (Glaspell 658). Even without pondering on the family chores, women were accused of lacking intelligence. Glaspell uses some women characters in the play to prove that discrimination against women is wrong.

The story reveals that men are sent to explore and provide details of the murder, whereas women who accompanied those gathers some information for Mrs Writer, who was purported to have killed her husband. In this context, men can hardly understand that little details can be appropriate in solving a murder case of such a high intensity (Glaspell 658). By worrying over a trifle, the women's findings give essential information in solving the murder case as compared to the men. Although the difference in gender is noticeable, in this story, it is crucial. Men tend to express some traditional stereotypes during their findings, having the attitudes of self-centeredness and aggression.

Conversely, women express the traits of intuitiveness, sensitivity, and cautiousness. The traits expressed by the women play a crucial role in determining the murder case as compared to those of men. In the play, readers are briefed that women got the quilt that Mrs Wright had been exploring before. When Mrs Peters is asked, she claims, “I wonder if she was goin’ to quilt it or just knot it?” (Glaspell 658). Though the writer brings to the reader’s attention, a ridiculed Sheriff who can hardly fathom the worries of the women over little things. The argument is supported by the phrase, “They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it!” (Glaspell 658). From this point, readers can grasp the scintilla of evidence, as the women discovered later. The women understood that Mrs Wright was extremely nervous about something they could hardly tell when she was chewing. For those women who had earlier interacted with her, they knew her even and nice chew, which did not happen during their investigation. However, what she had been working for was all over the place.

From the two stories, readers understand that besides the duties that are given to women at home, women can also work outside the home. Two plays reveal that even though men still have traditional beliefs that women are inferior, women have remained steadfast to express care, love, and discipline in their work. Glaspell argues that though women are accused of a lack of intelligence, they are sensitive, cautious, and intuitive in carrying out the investigation (Glaspell 658). Hansberry also argues that women care for the general welfare of the family more than men purportedly think. From this perspective, it seems that women are oppressed by society in a bad way, yet they can perform better work than men. Although it holds that men and women are the same, men are the head of the family.

In conclusion, Hansberry reveals that the role of a mother is to put the interest of the family over her own. However, men still have traditional beliefs that women are inferior, and they consider themselves as the head of the family. Glaspell argues that though women are accused of a lack of intelligence, they are sensitive, cautious, and intuitive in carrying out the investigation. Although women are oppressed by society in a bad way, they can perform better work than men.

Works Cited

Glaspell, S. undefined. Baker's Plays, 2010. Hansberry, L. Lorraine Hansberry's a raisin in the sun. Samuel French, 1984.