Writing about literature

     There are many reason for people to read literature. However, writing about literature may have more practical use. According to Jean Wyrick, writing about literature can offer opportunities to practice skills like close reading, critical thinking, effective use of supporting evidence and clear expression of ideas. Also, there are two ways for literature using: prompts and literature analysis. The former is to find out a topic for your own from brief literature like poems or short stories. The latter, which is also a more usual way, is to analysis a literature working and discuss the issue or thesis behind it and provide your own interpretation. Literature analysis also contain different kinds of forms, such as discussing the same topic in different works, how does an element tribute to the whole works, how two works be compared...etc.
     No matter what ways or forms you would like to choose, close reading of a work is always necessary. In the article, Jean Wyrick provides ten tips for close reading. The ten tips include reading biographical information, noting down first reactions to the main idea or points or plots of the stories, noting down point of view, who is telling and in what ways or view do they telling, noting down the story's structure, whether if it is in chronological order or shift  the time. Also, the setting of characters or background of time and place, discussing how do they relate to each other. Language playing is important as well. Do the story use symbols or metaphor? What do they represent? And what about the tone of the story? After note down all the main points, reviewing the story is also necessary. It will help you inspect deeply and check your initial idea. By doing the ten tips of close reading, writing about literature will be easier and way more meaningful to show your points. 
     In the end of the chapter, the author gives a example to do close reading on an article "Story of an Hour", which is written by Kate Chopin. There are notes on the right column of the article, which note down some information about the technique of telling story, the first impression of the reader, the brief summary of character's relationship and plots. Through such noting and the ways to read story closer, it would be sufficient for reader to get well knowledge of how to write about literature properly.

Under social movement, do women really reach to their autonomy?

     After conference with professor, I think my topic have finally come out. Combing the women issue I have talked about inside my previous annotations, the most thing I would like to talk is that under social movement, from the actual revolutionary or to the atmosphere caused by government's policies to people's perceptions, whether if women have truly reach to their autonomy. In my previous four annotations, they both mentioned different kinds of social movements in the two kinds of apparently different societies, Iran and Taiwan, and how do they influenced women’s conditions in each.

     From my first annotation, I have mentioned that under the high pressured policies of government and the common notions through the society, whether should the Islam women stay close to their traditional values, or keep up the trace with the western notion about women improvement. The improvement here refers to the autonomy right of women. And in my conclusion of my third annotation, I also gave a comment on women's autonomy and how should people look after them. No matter in what ways women would like themselves to be, from the usual notion of progressing in different aspects such as working, or keep the traditional values in maternal qualities, we should give respect to them and prevent to putting either side into negative. As a result, autonomy should be that women have acknowledged that they own the right to make any decision, and should be accepted and respected by others. Under such definition, both Iran and Taiwan's women's situation have remained lots of space to improve. Since there are more and more women's movement and voices that declaring women's right improvement in both Iran and Taiwan, I believe that more and more women in the two places have such perception that they own the right to make own decision and not to be influenced by others. However, whether if the societies see them in proper ways are still remain questioned. Suspects and discriminations have never come to an end even today, neither do the invisible limitation (glass ceiling) stop being putting on women. To increase the real social improvement, perhaps we should not stop focusing and discussing such issue, and try to provoke more attention.

     In my final paper, I will explain more on the main reason why I choose such topic, and combine some my own experience into the introduction. Also, I will make the conclusion clearer, and provide more resolutions to the topic.

Women Leadership In the Student Movements

     In the developing of nearly 20 years in Taiwan, student movements play an important role in the democracy or economics process. In the student movements, women’s activities are never absent. Female members in student movements become more aggressive and active members in women right’s protest and keep their influence from school to the society. Though being a seemingly radical right’s protestor, they claim that struggle between men and women or discrimination have never declined on them. Through the four active female members of student movements from 1990, about the time of Wild Lily, there are women’s issue that still be questioned even nowadays.

     “We devote ourselves into protection of country or history, however in the meantime we cannot deal with the main problem as being a woman.” (Ho, 2014) Female members of student movements are easily be suspected as puppets, which are meant to be controlled by others or be forced to become a shadow of the issue (Ho, 2014). Rather than believing they stand for their own rights, people tend to think women are influenced by a bigger authority behind them, and especially men. Such condition show that no matter how high the status they have gained, as high as a leader member in the student movements, their identity as a woman is still be picked out and inspected spectacularly. Also, revolutionary for country or politics can easily gain resonance from the society, while women’s right are not. On the other hands, women’s issues are inside almost every kinds of class notion, such as labor, family, or gender, but there are seldom voices strong enough to truly shake the notice or break the myth and discrimination. For example, in 1990’s, the period of rapid progress of industry, most of the workers in factory are women. However, the personnels or main employers of the guild are usually men.(Ho, 2014) They also faced predicament inside their protest of women’s right, “If our movement are actually making women’s situation, not the men’s, even worse, that we must have been wrong.” (Ho, 2014)

     Just as they’ve said, the true issues, true problems of women are seldom exposed to the public. To my own opinion, when the power of maternal love, such as tenderness or inborn ability of taking care of others, are keep emphasizing by the society, or even women themselves, then women’s power would always be considered weaker and useless. Furthermore, if women’s issues are actually inside no matter what different kinds of composition of society, then we should make sure that the proper, or, a health notion of women, or the whole gender, such as equality and autonomy, should exist in every members of the society. At the meantime, we should ask people about respect the autonomy of women, no matter what they decide to do, and stop suspecting or inspecting their identity as a woman. 

Reference:

Jun-shing, Ho (2014, Sep. 20) Discrimination of Women in the Students Movement Retrieved from http://www.thenewslens.com/post/74634/

Women Leadership In the Student Movements

     In the developing of nearly 20 years in Taiwan, student movements play an important role in the democracy or economics process. In the student movements, women’s activities are never absent. Female members in student movements become more aggressive and active members in women right’s protest and keep their influence from school to the society. Though being a seemingly radical right’s protestor, they claim that struggle between men and women or discrimination have never declined on them. Through the four active female members of student movements from 1990, about the time of Wild Lily, there are women’s issue that still be questioned even nowadays.

     “We devote ourselves into protection of country or history, however in the meantime we cannot deal with the main problem as being a woman.” () Female members of student movements are easily to be suspected as puppets, which are meant to be controlled by others or be forced to become a shadow of the new requires of the issue ().The evidence is that no matter how high the status they have gained, as a leader member in the student movements, their identity as a woman is still be picked out and inspected spectacularly. Revolutionary for country or politics can easily gain resonance from the society, while women’s right are not. On the other hands, women’s issues are inside almost every kinds of class notion, such as labor, family, or gender, but there are seldom voices strong enough to truly shake the notice or break the myth and discrimination. For example, in 1990’s, the period of rapid progress of industry, most of the workers in factory are women. However, the personnels or main employers of the guild are usually men.() They also faced predicament inside their protest of women’s right, “If our movement are actually making women’s situation, not the men’s, even worse, that we must have been wrong.” ()

     Just as they’ve said, the true issues, true problems of women are seldom be exposed to the public. If women’s issue are actually inside no matter what different kinds of composition of society, then we should make sure that the proper notion of women, or the whole gender, such as equality and autonomy, should exist in every members of the society. At the meantime, we should ask people about respect the autonomy of women, no matter what they decide to do, and stop suspecting or inspecting their identity as a woman.  

How Does Codependency Works with the Female’s Quality of Taiwanese Women

     “Codependency” is a mental sickness that acknowledged by psychology which consists of the following characteristics: depending highly on others, viewing personal values low, highly oppressing self-emotion and lacking of independence and a healthy relationship between others (Shu & Wu, 2004). Such characteristics can be strongly associated with the qualities that Taiwanese society usually expected on women, or even those women expected on themselves, such as obedient, passively, taking care of others, etc. As a result, researchers compare the ideas of codependency with women’s qualities above and try to discuss the coherence between the two and whether if our society tends to put sickness on the women with those qualities.

     In the research of department of Educational Psychology and Counseling in National Taiwan Normal University, they divided those women who are tested into four groups of sex character tendencies, which are having the qualities of female, male, both sides and neither. They pick of the tendency of female character and tested them with questionnaire so as to find out their intersection with the quality of codependency. According to the result of the experiment, in the four index of the qualities of codependency, which includes “seeing others as the focus point of life,” “endorsing the character of taking care of others,” “seeking values of life from relationship with others” and “lacking the ability of expressing emotion,” there are only two of the qualities that overlap with the women who tend to be more like a character of women. The two intersections are “endorsing the character of taking care of others” and “seeking values of life from relationship with others.” The other two qualities, however, are present even an opposite rate of the women’s qualities, that is, the more tendency to be like a woman, the less do they “seeing others as the focus point of life” and “lacking the ability of expressing emotion.”

     Whether if codependency can be equalized with women’s qualities under such result are remain question, however, we can find something worth discussing from them. For example, endorsing the character of taking care of others reflect a common notion in Taiwanese society, which is that in Chinese culture, we are used to value helping others as a great virtue, and especially demands highly on women to take care of others, family for instance (Shu & Wu, 2004.) However, it also presents women’s approval to themselves through taking care of others. In other words, we should not see this quality of codependency as a mental sickness, or negative characteristic, on women. Oppositely, we should consider it a behavior for women to exercise their autonomy, just as they decide to make any decision as well.

     Back to Taiwanese society nowadays, influencing by the value of self-improving from the Western culture, we tend to view more valuable on those women who aim to get success as men and consider them as index of improvement. However, we should not neglect those quality of seeing others important, as those are also approvals for some part of women. To sum up, we can say that autonomy for women is not only choose to get the equal status as men, but makes whatever decision by own mind.

Reference

Yi-jen, Shu. & Li-jiaun, Wu. (2004, Sep). Study of Relationships among Sex-role Orientation, Codependency and Self-esteem of Female Adults in Taiwan. Bulletin of Educational Psychology, 36(1) pp.85-107

Retrieved from http://ir.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/ir/retrieve/19448/ntnulib_ja_A0201_3601_085.pdf

Reflection(1)

     During the conference with professor, we have discussion on my topic of whether if I should keep focus on the change of politic in Iran and religion taboo of Islam, for that it seems too tough and complicated to me because of lacking the correct and objective notion about the international affair and history, also, it is kind of difficult for me to have a totally knowledge about Islam unless I read the Quran by myself in the original language. Also, my previous two annotations are commented as “too vague in topic or issue.” The reason why I received such comments may be that I just cannot see the point why I choose the women’s topic in Islam at the beginning, including what influence me about women’s problem in my growth, what do I really care of them and why. The responses from peers also have familiar opinions, that what the things I truly like to discuss is unclear, whether I would like to define whether it is good or bad that women in Iran have to live under strict Islamic rule, or if I want to fight for their right, or something else. There are also opinions about that it is too narrow to simply mention the problem of women’s right in Islam. Those responses also make me to think further of my topic.

     After the meeting with professor, and also consulting the responses from several peers, I decided to connect and compare with Taiwanese women’s situation and predicament in the present time. Writing about Taiwanese women seems to be more close to our society and my own condition. In short, I will keep focus on the topic of women, compare what are the differences and same portions, no matter on which aspects, such as family or work or traditional practices, between the two seemingly far and different cultures, and what are the reactions from each cultures women or others, and finally, what are the possible resolution.

     In the aspect of resources, I will consider to take on some interview of Taiwanese or Islam women, or women who are Islam in Taiwan, and ask about their opinions. Also, it is likely to talk with other opinion from some experts and professors. Resources from Internet are also available, and I will choose more clearly and particularly, for which research have stronger relationship with my topic.

     Finally, I am reminded of the correct writing style, including the right topic and the citation and reference again. As a punishment, professor said that there would be decrease of my points due to such writing errors. I will pay more attention on those mistakes, try not to make the same again.

The Declaration of Iran Government to the Women's Function in Family

     The passage I chose for annotation is the official statement of Iran government declaring the importance and irreplaceable status of women in family. The article mentions that women are the guidance and mainstay of family, and the functions of them are to steady and form the practice and traditional value of an Islamic family as to be a good mother and wife and daughter. They assume that women’s tribute to family is pure, sacred, and significant, also the inception and improvement to the society. Also, the statement declares that women’s activities in the family would not become negative affect for them to pursue success in the society such as education or occupation. However, whether if it is true is still remain unknown.

    Inevitably, the statement mentions about how the western notions of women go against all the purity and chastity of women. In their opinions, the western society often force women to become a sign of sexual tool or encourage them to abandon the importance to maintain a family or even to be single. They accuse that when such ideas are being spreading into Iran, they destroyed the most of their traditional notion of women’s function in the family, which is not allowed for them to happen. The alienation and objectification of women, to the Iran government, are the most damaging injure and insult to women, in their notions.

     Whether the declaration of women’s function in family or the accusation of positioning women in the state as a sign, we can say that most of our society is a mix of these two extreme ideas. Seeing Women as family-bounded animals is not strange idea for us, on the other hand, there are also lots of metaphor or symbols that put women in a particular way of being in the society conveying to us through media or celebrity. How to exactly position women, what is the exact function that women analogy are intractable questions in the more and more complicated world.  

Resource:

伊斯兰革命诠释女性在家庭和社会中的作用

http://chinese.irib.ir/2010-07-25-10-58-59/2010-07-25-11-02-05/item/37507-%E4%BC%8A%E6%96%AF%E5%85%B0%E9%9D%A9%E5%91%BD%E8%AF%A0%E9%87%8A%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E5%9C%A8%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%AD%E5%92%8C%E7%A4%BE%E4%BC%9A%E4%B8%AD%E7%9A%84%E4%BD%9C%E7%94%A8