Gender Role in Antigone by Sophocles and Sure Thing by David Ives - Essay Example

?[Your full October 18, Gender Role in Antigone and Sure Thing Gender role has been a main areaof concern in literature, and many writers have made it the theme of their literary works. Even today, gender roles seem to be a basic theme behind many serious and comic novels and plays. Antigone by Sophocles and Sure Thing by David Ives are two such works, which include gender role as one of the main themes. Gender role, in the form of feminism, is more obviously expressed in Antigone than Sure Thing. While Antigone revolves about femininity and male dominance, Sure Thing revolves around the male gender trying to lure the female gender through lies and fabrication of facts (thesis). This paper is a discussion about this main theme as depicted by the two works. First, we shall talk about Sophocles’ Antigone. Without going into the summary of the novel, let’s probe into the main theme of femininity and male dominance, which are the gender roles predetermined by the society. We know that every culture has different concepts of gender roles that are assigned to males and females, and these are the gender roles that define the masculinity and femininity of an individual regardless of his physical anatomy or, in other words, sex. “Men and women are social categories”, and socially, “we have the freedom to decide who counts as a man and who counts as a woman” (Roughgarden, 2004, p.23). Antigone revolves around the same theme, that is, gender roles are determined by people themselves and not by Nature (Myers 158, para.5). One culture will define an actual man who beats up his wife; while another culture will consider a person a man considering his height and voice. Some cultures define a woman as a person bearing children; while, others will define a woman as individuals with delicate stature. These are all the gender roles that every culture assigns to men and women, thus associating these roles with one gender. The dialogues between Antigone and Ismene in ‘Antigone’ are a true depiction of them being the weaker sex. Ismene (qtd. in Sophocles) says: “Shall we not perish wretchedest of all,/ If in defiance of the law we cross/ A monarch's will?--weak women, think of that,/ Not framed by nature to contend with men./ Remember this too that the stronger rules;/ We must obey his orders, these or worse.” This quote is a clear portrayal of Ismene’s acceptance of inferiority and acceptance of male dominance. She tells Antigone that since they are weaker than the ruler, they must not take the bold step of raising their voices against his cruel decision of not burying their brother. She admits that the stronger rules, and they must obey the ruler no matter what he orders. This shows that she has already mentally accepted the fact that she cannot struggle against the men. Antigone has the main theme of males enforcing dominance over the females, expecting the latter to do as they want them to do. Persistence is an underlying theme in Antigone, which is a strong point of the female gender in the novel. It is commonly accepted that females are the more persistent gender, as have to bear male repression throughout their lives without raising their voices; they have to bear and raise kids with inner strength and determination; and, they have to live their lives according to men’s rules. This needs persistence. The novel shows persistence in Antigone’s character, who keeps on struggling against Creon’s decision of not burying her brother, even when she had to end up in jail and take her life. Although Ismene tries to intimidate her by their gender role of bearing oppression, she goes the other way and confronts the male power. Gender roles are also expressed in Sure Thing, but quite implicitly. Gender roles make Bill and Betty say things that are unacceptable for both of them, and the bell rings every time one gender annoys the other gender. The bell acts as a feminist, to be comical. Both the genders keep on finding each others’ weaknesses, and the bell gives them the opportunity to make a fresh start whenever a conflict is reached or whenever their views oppose. For example, when Bill asks Betty if he could take the seat, she initially responds negative, but the bell rings and Bill repeats the question until she allows him to sit. However, the play depicts that females are the more naive gender as they are easily manipulated. We know this when Bill says hanky-panky about his girlfriend until he reaches a suitable answer that satisfies Betty. We may put it this way that Betty keeps on getting back to him with her question, “Girlfriend?” until she thinks that she has reached a satisfying answer. This shows how naive the female gender is, who keeps on hearing and believing lies from the male gender, and still, settles down with him at the end. Males try to deceive the females through lies and fake stories. That is what male gender is stereotyped for in almost all the cultures; that is, they lure females through made-up stories. The theme that underlies here is that of deception on male’s part. This is also one of the male gender roles. For example, Bill has never read Faulkner, and tells her so too, but Betty keeps on asking him until he replies, “I love Faulkner. I spent a whole winter reading him once.” (Ives 1262). This shows the kind of male psyche that uses lies to impress the other gender. Bill keeps on lying until he comes up with a satisfactory answer for Betty, who seems to be naive enough to settle down with what pleases her. Hence, gender roles play their part; male tries to impress the female with lies, and female accepts male deception which implies her acceptance of male dominance. To conclude, gender roles are a main theme in both the literary works, Antigone and Sure Thing. Antigone portrays gender roles in a much explicit way, where males are supposed to express power and dominance and females are supposed to bear male oppression. Creon is a true example of male gender role in the novel, and Ismene is a true depiction of female gender role. Antigone herself is a symbol of persistence. In Sure Thing, gender roles are expressed quite implicitly but in a very interesting manner, in which male tries to lure and impress the female through continuous lies. Both the plays portray gender roles in their respective lucid styles. Works Cited Ives, David. Sure Thing. USA: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010. Myers, David G. Social Psychology. USA: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. Roughgarden, Joan. “Sex Versus Gender.” Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. USA: University of California Press, 2004. Sophocles. Antigone. Virginia: RicherResourcesPublications, 2007. Read More