There I was, just a piece of cheese, sitting in
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s pantry hoping that I could stay alive for a few more
days.
Then I heard her talking about something that she needed to write. She was drafting a
document that she called the Declaration of Sentiments, which I as a lonely
piece of cheese, had no idea about. As I heard her discussing this document, I
started to realize why she was writing it and what she was hoping to accomplish.
She wanted to write this document in order to gain
equality for men and women, and specifically earn women the right to vote in
elections. However, most men did not agree with this idea and the people who had the
power to change this societal injustice were all men. Still, Stanton wanted to spark a
revolution that she hoped would one day bring about legislative change.
One part of the document is a list of grievances
suffered by women at the hands of men. This part states things such as “He has
never permitted her to exercise her inalienable rights to the elective
franchise.” This is an interesting decision because she does not list the
grievances generally, but rather in a very specific manner. The purpose of this
was to make women seem like objects that were suffering at the tyranny of men
just like the white male colonists were suffering at the tyranny of King
George.
Also, one of the things she wanted to include in her
document was a specific list of things that women wanted in order to be equal.
However, eventually she reached the same conclusion I did which was that this
list of specific wants was not necessary and in fact might hurt their cause in
the future. I realized that if she only said that women want the right to vote
and nothing else, then they might not get anything else in the future. This decision shows
that language does not only have the power to influence and change society but
it also has the power to limit in a profound way. Thus, no matter how inclusive
an author intends to be, some group is always excluded because the language itself
that the author uses is limiting.
The perspective you took is extremely interesting!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point you made that language itself is always limiting since it comes from one specific perspective that may not encompass other viewpoints.
In my opinion, women still have a lot to fight for. I'm considering writing the Declaration of Feminism... but that's for the last week of September :)
Shankar,
ReplyDeleteI found it really funny how you began the post as a clueless piece of cheese and wrote the whole post in its point of view. I completely agree with the fact that language has both the power to create and limit an author's position. It seems almost contradictory much like the relationship between truth and fiction. You made an interesting point about how if something is inclusive it has to exclude something.
Really enjoyed reading your blog and I'm looking forward to reading your future posts!
What a cheesy post :P
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, I especially like how you note that her specific manner of stating the grievances intentionally demonstrates how women are objectified. This was not discussed in first hour, but I think it is an especially important point. Like Esha said, we still have so much to do, but Elizabeth Cady Stanton certainly helped feminism start off strong.
I hope this piece of cheese stays alive for a few more days too; it has some interesting things to say.
I love how you notice and connect King George to Stanton's use of "he."
ReplyDeleteHi Cheese,
ReplyDeleteI like your conclusion on the effects of language. I agree that while language has the power to influence, it can also limit the speaker. I really like the comparison you made with the two declaration's list of grievances. It really proves the resemblance the Declaration of Sentiments has to the Declaration of Independence.
Congrats, you have evolved from being clueless to being an intellectual piece of cheese.
Interesting perspective. I agree with why the author chose not to include a specific list of goals. However, I also think that the choice not to include a specific list leads to an indecisive conclusion for the declaration. Anyways, way to liven it up with the cheese!!
ReplyDeleteNice job! This perspective was really interesting to read. I have never thought about life as a piece of cheese sitting in Elizabeth Cady Stanton's pantry in the 19th century. I found it very interesting that you were able to tie cheese into what we have learned in the classroom. I'm looking forward to seeing more food related posts in the future.
ReplyDeleteShankar! This is a really cool perspective you're coming from. I think this food theme is genius! I wish I could've been this creative with my blog. Nonetheless, this post is really nice. I think your analysis of the word choice she uses is great. I agree that she needed to be careful with the words she said or else women wouldn't get things in the future.Great Job
ReplyDeleteI really like the perspective you wrote in. As a result, it was really fun and interesting to read. I would have never thought of thinking in the viewpoint of a block of cheese when one of America's famous documents was being created. I also like how you incorporated that fact language has the power to both influence and limit. I felt that this was a really strong point that strengthened your topic. I had a great time reading this post and I am looking forward to read your future posts as well!
ReplyDelete