Gender roles in eighteenth-century Britain were followed by most. In Persuasion, a novel by Jane Austen, and in A Sentimental Journey, a novel by Lawrence Sterne, the gender roles are broken and the characters in both of the novels act as they please. Most of the characters still follow their expected gender roles pretty closely, but when it comes to the main characters they break the gender roles mold and act as they please.Women in Jane Austen novels tend to be more direct and stand up for what they believe in. In Sterne’s novels the male character’s sometimes tend to think things through and second guess themselves a lot more than they are expected to. In both novels the main characters sometimes tend to act out of their expected gender roles. This is shown throughout the novels in different styles. Austen uses free indirect discourse in order to show both the narrators and the characters points of view. Sterne uses the first person narrative to show the readers Yorik’s inner thoughts.Each of the different styles used allows the author to show the characters change in their expected gender roles.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Gender roles in eighteenth-century Britain were followed by most. In Persuasion, a novel by Jane Austen, and in A Sentimental Journey, a novel by Lawrence Sterne, the gender roles are broken and the characters in both of the novels act as they please. Most of the characters still follow their expected gender roles pretty closely, but when it comes to the main characters they break the gender roles mold and act as they please.Women in Jane Austen novels tend to be more direct and stand up for what they believe in. In Sterne’s novels the male character’s sometimes tend to think things through and second guess themselves a lot more than they are expected to. In both novels the main characters sometimes tend to act out of their expected gender roles. This is shown throughout the novels in different styles. Austen uses free indirect discourse in order to show both the narrators and the characters points of view. Sterne uses the first person narrative to show the readers Yorik’s inner thoughts.Each of the different styles used allows the author to show the characters change in their expected gender roles.
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I like how you contrasted the seemingly flip-flopped gender roles in each novel. It is interesting that you pointed that out! Maybe you can include some examples of characters or quotes to help support your ideas. To make the sentence flow better, maybe you can write the second sentence as something like: "However, gender roles are broken and the characters in Jane Austen's novel, "Persuasion", and Laurence Sterne's, "A Sentimental Journey", act as they please." To sum up, I really like the theme that you are writing about!
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