...Analysis of Major Characters→ Nawal El Sadaawi Nawal El Sadaawi is both the author and the narrator of Woman at Point Zero. As the author, she presents a fictionalized version of two real people: Firdaus and herself. Though the fictional characters closely resemble the two real people, they are distinct. The fictional El Sadaawi struggles with feelings of insignificance, and by the end of the book she is consumed with helpless rage over the condition of women, including herself, in her country. Undoubtedly, the author El Sadaawi also has these feelings, but by the time she wrote Woman at Point Zero, she had long been a significant figure in her country’s consciousness, as well as a crusader for women’s rights. The fictional El Sadaawi is first introduced when she visits the prison in which Firdaus is awaiting her execution. El Sadaawi approaches her meetings with Firdaus with desperation. Firdaus is an imprisoned prostitute, and El Sadaawi, an educated and wealthy doctor, occupies a much higher social position. Still, El Sadaawi is devastated by Firdaus’s initial refusal to be interviewed; it makes her feel insignificant. When Firdaus finally agrees to meet El Sadaawi, El Sadaawi approaches her like a petitioner. This is because El Sadaawi, despite her education and status, is still subject to discrimination and feels insignificant most of the time. Because the imprisoned Firdaus refuses to be “put in her place,” El Sadaawi suspects that Firdaus might have some sort of strength...
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...of an author often reflect themselves in their work. Nawal El Saadawi’s protagonist, Firdaus, in Woman at Point Zero and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ stream of consciousness in his memoir, Between the World at Me both depict an experience of institutionalized oppression. El Saadawi utilizes numerous references to the Christian ideology of a Christ-figure and of rebirth through baptism by depicting Firdaus’ experiences of escaping numerous abusers throughout her life. In contrast, Coates alludes to Malcolm X’s, his childhood idol, tendency to defend what he believed was right and just, even if it went against societal standards instilled by the same Christian Bible. Through Coates’ self-proclaimed identification with Malcom X’s life and...
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...Women at Point Zero Analysis The novel Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, tells a story of a woman, Firdaus, born in Egypt who suffers through many hardships in her life. There were very few insistences where Firdaus found joy and contentment in her life. Her childhood brought her neglect and void of love. Her family did not support her in getting an education. She married a man who could be as old as her grandfather. She ran away and became a prostitute. Firdaus gave that up and tried to be a “respectful women” by working at an office. After being played by men again, she returned back to her old occupation. In the end, nothing was ever right in her life and chose death in order to escape it. This novel is perfect example for a lot of previous written essays on women studies. Essays such as The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, The Traffic in Women by Gayle Rubin, and The BITCH Manifesto by Jo Freeman addresses the issues and theories presented in Women at Point Zero. Women in the novel are treated similarly to de Beauvoir’s description of the “second sex”. The men in Firdaus’s society sets themselves up as the “Subject, he is the Absolute”, while the women as “the other” (de Beauvior, 33). Most of the women in the novel are treated as servants or slaves by their husbands. The women must prepare meals for them, take care of the house, raise his children, and give him sexual pleasure. Firdaus explains how her father would always have supper. Her mother would always have...
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...To what extent does the character of firdaus represent the growth of power and freedom in Egyptian society during the time the woman at point zero was written? In the novella, woman at point zero, the character of firdaus and the growth of power within Egypt are interchangeable factors. At the beginning of the book, firdaus is a young girl. She lives at home with her mother and father. Her father used to beat her mother and her, which automatically shows us that not just firdaus, but women in general had no power. During this time, egypt would've been under the control of the british. So at the same time, egypt had none, or very little, power itself. This Is quite shocking to me, as british society has, and always had, power and independence. Firduas later speaks of how she went to live with her uncle. She was very close with her uncle although he acted in an appropriate manor towards her at times. 'I loved school', he let her attend school, which at the time would have been a privilege. At this time in egypt, britain had given back independence to the country. Finally, after a history full of being ruled by others, egypt had a sense of power and freedom; Just as firduas as she goes to school. To me, going to school is something which is taken for granted in british society, and at the time education was compulsory, and still is to this day. Firdaus soon finds herself married to 'a sheikh and a man of religion'. Sheik...
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...Rape is such a traumatic life event from which many victims never fully recover. Dr. Resick explains that “many victims develop problems with depression, poor self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, and sexual dysfunctions” (4). Even though rape is a life-threatening attack, most cases go unreported. The psychological aftermath of a rape victim is something that is hard to understand when not experienced. It is important for one to learn how to address such psychological issues, because it is shocking how often rape crimes occur. Rape is an act of sexual intercourse by force against a person’s will. The use of force is key in the determining of a rape crime. By using such force, the predator can claim to feel powerful and in control. “Control is a constant and dominant factor in the overwhelming preponderance of sex offenses, regardless of the type of act or the age of the victim” (Prendergast 33). The victim is ultimately left helpless and powerless. Often times the victim is faced with having to give cooperation for their survival. Even though the act of rape may only last minutes, the victim is left with nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive memories of the experience. One might wonder why so many cases go unreported when the affects of rape on the victim are so traumatic and long-term. Reporting rates of rape vary from 5% to 9.5% (Resick 3). Many women do in fact have experiences that meet the legal definition of rape, yet they do not define themselves...
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...transition from Mexico to the United States. This is where she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontes's writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story "The Cariboo Café," Viramontes brings these ideas to life through three sections narrated by different individuals tied into the story. "The Cariboo Café" is a story of Chicano immigrants and a Central American refugee. Along with these characters is the owner of the Cariboo Café, who comes in contact with the others. The story progresses in three short sections. Each section involves a different scenario and is told from the point of view of a different narrator. The three separate settings do not fully come together until the end of the last section. This approach makes the story initially very complicated to understand and difficult to connect the sections as a coherent stream of events. However, it is possible that this was Viramontes's intent. Perhaps the situations presented in the story were ones that posed this amount of confusion and frustration in real life to those who lived through them. Maybe Viramontes needed to convey in her story that what really happened in the urban barrios of Los Angeles never really made sense to anyone. The opening section of this story is a third person narrative. The narrator immediately introduces a poor Chicano family with...
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...transition from Mexico to the United States. This is where she got her first taste of the lives of immigrants in this country within the urban barrios. Viramontes's writing reflects this theme along with expressing her political opinions on the treatments of immigrants, especially Chicanos and Latinos. In her short story "The Cariboo Café," Viramontes brings these ideas to life through three sections narrated by different individuals tied into the story. "The Cariboo Café" is a story of Chicano immigrants and a Central American refugee. Along with these characters is the owner of the Cariboo Café, who comes in contact with the others. The story progresses in three short sections. Each section involves a different scenario and is told from the point of view of a different narrator. The three separate settings do not fully come together until the end of the last section. This approach makes the story initially very complicated to understand and difficult to connect the sections as a coherent stream of events. However, it is possible that this was Viramontes's intent. Perhaps the situations presented in the story were ones that posed this amount of confusion and frustration in real life to those who lived through them. Maybe Viramontes needed to convey in her story that what really happened in the urban barrios of Los Angeles never really made sense to anyone. The opening section of this story is a third person narrative. The narrator immediately introduces a poor Chicano family with...
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...gender was being marked 25.7 times per game verbally and graphically. As games went on, the commentators would mention that they were watching “Women’s final four” or “the NCAA Women’s National Championship game”. During one of the women’s game the announcers mentioned the men’s game that was scheduled for the next day by saying “The men’s championship game will be played tomorrow”. Although this seems like such a little difference, woman have noticed and caught offence to that. Little things like this can make woman not want to even put in their full effort into things like sports because they aren’t valued or treated the same as men. Woman in sports would also be called “young ladies” or “girls” by commentators, while men were called by their first or last name. This is another thing that would make women feel like they are inferior to men, and would also make woman not want to perform at their full potential. The final results of the research showed that there was a total of 179 gender markings spotted for the women’s basketball team, while there were zero spotted in men’s basketball. In conclusion, when women are belittled and do not get the credit that they...
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...SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FACULTY INB255 Security Semester 1 2014 Security News Log News 1 Title: Heartbleed: Serious OpenSSL zero day vulnerability revealed Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nicols Reference details: Vaughan-Nicols, Steven J. (2014). Heartbleed: Serious OpenSSL zero day vulnerability revealed Retrieved From: http://www.zdnet.com/heartbleed-serious-openssl-zero-day-vulnerability-revealed-7000028166/ Summary: Heartbleed bug is one of the latest bug, and a quite dangerous one as well. It was found in OpenSSL cryptographic library. This bug can be used to reveal secured message contents, online credit card transactions. It is also capable of collecting primary and secondary SSL keys. So it can practically hack a system and leave without leaving a trace of what it did. Cloudfire, a security company said that, they have fixed the bug. However their method was not suitable for broad use. A lot of companies are working to fix this bug. Type of information asset item refers to: The information asset this article is referring to can be personal details, passwords or confidential messages. Value of asset to person/organization: The value is not determined in this article, as heartbleed is a new issue. However due to it’s capability, it is safe to assume that it can access personal data and modify them. In that case data might become unavailable to user himself. Security goals compromised: This bug is capable of breaching...
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...Identify at least two (2) major historical turning points in the period under discussion. The women’s suffrage is one of the major historical turning points in the Progressive Era. During this time there were two groups that pushed and furthered the cause of women’s suffrage. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), founded in 1890, and the National Women’s Party (NWP), founded in 1913 and led by Alice Paul (Schultz,2012,pg.341-42). The second major historical turning point in this era I will discuss is the Stock Market Crash of October 1929. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated the economy and was a key factor in beginning the Great Depression. Analyze the impact of the two (2) or more major historical turning points selected on America’s current society, economy, politics, and culture. The Women’s Suffrage movement had a major impact on society, economy, politics, and culture. In 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was passed and women won the right to vote (Schultz, 2012, pg.342). The enfranchisement of women was the largest expansion of the voting population in American history, significantly increasing the American electorate. This movement opened many doors for women; they now knew that they had a voice and the right to speak on political issues within the government and allowed them property rights. The stock market crash of 1929 caused fear and panic throughout the country and resulted in the beginning of the Great Depression. All aspects...
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...cinematographers have declined. In 2012, women included 18% of all, executive producers, producers, directors, cinematographers, writers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic films. From 2011 there is no change and growth of 1 percentage point from 1998 (Martha M. Lauzen, 2013). Women creating film, statistics show that men predominantly run the film industry but recent studies show that women are starting to become a more important part of filmmaking; women are underrepresented but women like Kathryn Bigelow are changing the landscape of movie making. In 2012, according to research by San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, women directed just five percent of the 250 highest-grossing films Only nine percent of Hollywood directors in 2008 were women – that was the same figure recorded in 1998. Kathryn Bigelow was nominated for the best directing Oscar in March 2010, and it was only the fourth time a woman had been nominated, out of more than 400 director nominations (the other three were Lina Wertmüller in 1976, Jane Campion in 1993, and Sofia Coppola in 2003) ("Creating opportunities for," 2012). Her film The Hurt Locker won Best Picture, and Bigelow became the first woman to receive the directing Oscar. Zero Dark Thirty, has already won critics' awards for best picture and direction. It will no doubt be an Oscar contender as...
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...to get education as much as required as it grants one knowledge and success. But when it comes to the higher education, here comes the gender difference where the question arises whether a women should also get higher education or not? Well, it is a very sensitive topic and has its own importance. Women who cover half of the present total population must not be left uneducated and this is the point we all know about. But is the higher education also a need of a woman? This is where the viewing criteria begins to differ. Some are in favor of the higher education of women and some are not. But when we glance at the current situation of our era, where women are constantly progressing in every manner. They are flying jets, touching the skies, becoming leaders, fighting against enemies and much more. There’s one element that is missed and that particular yet basic element is a WOMAN itself. Yes, women are losing the element of woman. The woman who used to be at home, nurturing their child so that they face the world confidently, teaching them what is wrong and what is right. The woman who used to cook good food, paying attention to her family and living a happy and a burden-less life is somehow missing. And there are many reasons for that, which arise the problems and the reason why people are against of higher education of women. The main crux of jotting down this topic is basically to let the people know that there is seriously know need to get higher degree for women and...
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...Fatema Mernissi a woman from Morocco who stepped into a New York City department store and experienced what women in America face daily. Fatema was planning to purchase a skirt to wear, not knowing that by American fashion you have a size established to fashion, when In her country you bought fabric and took it to a seamstress and she made the dress for you. But in America you go to the department store and you know the size that your needing to purchase. Fatema was taken back by such a thought that women are categorized by a number on a piece of clothing. She compares being restricted to a size is “more violent restriction imposed on women than is the Muslim veil” (Mernissi 276). Fatema Mernissi’s confusion and outrage about the Western fashion restrictions is just as infuriating to me. For myself I take the stance of beauty being from within, I do not think a woman should be considered beautiful because she’s a size 4 or 6, I believe a woman should be considered beautiful by her inward self....
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...critical situations which individuals face, such as rape, health problems, fear from the judgement of society, and unwanted pregnancy. Rape is a horrible abuse with traumatic effects for many of it victims. For a woman who carries in her womb the baby of her rapist, it is more devastating. Although our culture would give a raped victim “permission” and even encouragement to abort, a victim often commits abortion because adding another violent act to the horrible thing that has already happened to her will only complicate her healing process. A raped woman, who wrote anonymously to a magazine, said that she had an appointment with an abortion expert but canceled it. “I knew that what I had in my entrails was my baby. Now I have a daughter, a precious girl. I thank God daily for not have aborted.” (Abortion Methods and consequences, 2007) Also based on the survey of AGI in the United States, only 0.3% raped women commit abortion. Health problems are also reason for aborting a baby. The performance of abortion is most commonly permitted on the grounds of saving the life of the mother, particularly in situations or cases wherein the life of the mother herself is at stake because of the child in womb. Hence, preservation of the physical and mental health of the pregnant woman is prioritized (UN...
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...A. Presentation Outline I. Introduction a. Audience hook: According to Horan (2013), anywhere between 40-47% of employees have been involved in an office romance, some of which include romantic, supervisor/subordinate relationships, and the best way to stop sexual harassment in the workplace is to prevent it (“Facts about sexual,” n.d.). b. Thesis statement: Research suggests that adopting a policy, regulating the conduct of employees, can be instrumental in preventing unethical behaviors in the workplace (Kaptein, 2011, p. 233). c. Preview of main points: i. Unwelcomed sexual harassment occurring in the workplace can impact work environment. ii. Prevention is the best way employers can eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. II. Unwelcomed sexual harassment in the workplace can be physical, verbal, or visual, and violates Title VII. a. Quid pro quo and a hostile work environment are types of sexual harassment. i. Quid pro quo refers to an exchange of sexual favors for a job benefit or an employment decision that’s based on an employee accepting, tolerating, or participating in an unwelcomed conduct of a sexual nature (“Sexual harassment on,” n.d.). ii. A hostile work environment occurs when unwelcomed sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an employee’s job performance or a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment is created (“Sexual harassment on,” n.d.). b. In 1986, the landmark case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson dramatically...
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