Struggles Of The Oppressed Woman Essay Research

always ignored. She just accepted the way things were. Tan also accepted the way

things were, never making what she knew was the right choice. Tan and Bloom were

very much alike in that they were afraid of their superiors. They both thought they had

no rights to act on their own and do as they feel. The two were also alike in the fact that

they developed, over time, a very strong personality which helped them achieve their

goals. Bloom had a demeaning, one sentence written recommendation, that she used

once but vowed never to use again. This exemplifies that she was strong and did not

want that kind of help. Tan, also vowed, that she would not be controlled by a family

such as the Huang?s, demonstrating her will power.

Even though they shared many things in common they had their differences. The

one difference that stood out the most was the supporting male. Bloom had a very

supportive man beside her during her struggle. When commuting two thousand miles per

week to one of her jobs, Martin said ?go for it?, and took care of the children. This was

not the case with Tan and her husband, Tyan-yu. Tyan-yu did not respect the narrator

and always gave her a hard time. This is mainly what drove her do act out against this

oppression. Tan and Bloom also had very different approaches to how they would reach

each respective goal. Bloom was an extremely aggressive person, never accepting the

fact that she got rejected or harassed. She was a work horse, never giving up on her

dream. Realizing that the obstacles would always be there, she worked to overcome

them, accepting any job she could get and working extremely hard to advance and get her

tenure. Tan was different in the way that she approached her problem. Never speaking

or acting out, it seemed as though she accepted it. She had accepted the fact that her life

was planned for her and she had nothing to do about it. She accepted this fact for many

years and even when she was living with Tyan-yu she never disagreed with anything.

This is the way in which many women deal with oppression, just accepting it and not

doing anything about is extremely common in Taiyuanese culture. Tan writes, ?After a

while, I hurt so much I didn?t feel any difference.? This is a key example of the

narrator?s acceptance of her problem. Though, in the end she did resist, for most of her

life the she was acted as a coward by accepting the problem. Another difference

between the two is how they finally overcame the conflict. Bloom, outright, just defeated

it by pure will and perseverance; while Tan had to lie, and hope the Huang?s believed

her. Because of this, I believe Bloom is a much stronger person.

The two women portrayed in these two compositions had qualities that were

similar and qualities that separated them. They were equal in that they were each

presented with an oppressive problem. These problems, though extremely different from

one another, rooted from the basic fact that women are oppressed. I call this a fact

because in our society oppression is all around. Though it is becoming more scarce little

by little, oppression still plays a dominant role in a woman?s life. The final result for

both women was of victory over oppression. For both of these women to go against the

standards and values of their culture and society is a victory in itself. For these women to

actually achieve what they initially set out to do, makes it an even greater victory. Both

were oppressed, but both had different ways to overcome this oppression. Though both

defeated their struggles with hard work and determination, the path that each took is what

ultimately separated the two. Both Bloom and the narrator overcame these problems

with hard work and powerful determination. It is this powerful determination that makes

these two so much alike, but it is the in which they used this will to overcome their

problems that ultimately separated the two.