DONE WITH HERLAND

Well I’m done with Herland and if I may quote the famous James Alfonse Coleman “it was mediocre at best”. I just recently wrote my essay and I answered the question where you had to read three other blogs and agree or disagree with what they said. I went over Kermit the Blog made by the great Doug “E-Fresh” Horn. I also looked at the original “StevesBlog” made by Steve Cohan, and class favorite Jake Strasser’s “The Blog Cabin”. I found that I had a lot in common with what they said and if I do say myself I wrote a pretty good essay. I had some problems with the book and here is something that really grinds my gears. I’m all for women’s suffrage and support the idea that women are equal to men. But if the reader is supposed to have an opened mind on such a radical plot, like an all women civilization, how are they expected to except such stereotypical protagonists? Terry is a hot head and full of himself. He thinks that men are superior and follow different rules than women. Terry represents your classic anti-feminist, “Terry possesses the male dominance personality of women as objects and nonsense like that” (Strasser 2008), what a surprise in a feminist novel. The softy, Jeff, embodies the type of man who idealizes women and worships the very ground they walk. Moreover, Gilman could not resist bridging these two opposing personalities with a perfect middleman; Van. Van is the character that does not have a set in stone opinion, but is "willing to entertain new and even radical ideas" (Strasser 2008). Flawlessly calculated, these characters could not be any better to help carry a plot about women’s equality. What are the odds? Almost mocking the reader’s intelligence by the overwhelmingly obvious choice of character traits, not only did it offend me but also my attitude towards women has remained unchanged. Did Gilman really expect me to become a feminist after this? If you read this I feel it wont have much change on the type of person you are but will make you think how funny it would be if there really was an all women society. If you have enough time to read this book they you should have the time to take this
feminist. test. GOODLUCK!
And don’t be afraid to check out blog buddy Matt Marini’s blog its pretty sweet.

From the Brain of Jake Strasser

This next blog I am going to pretend I am inside the brain of Jake Strasser and write what he thinks about the book. Harry I took care of it, so is your sister, that’s what she said, men should rule the world women stay in the kitchen are immediate thoughts I come into contact with inside Jake’s brain. As I dig deeper towards Jake’s non-egotistical and logical thoughts I come across what he truly thinks about Herland. I think its great and all that over time, the women of Herland developed a peaceful, orderly, highly efficient society in which competition, crime, and antisocial behavior no longer exist. But its ridiculous to expect a society to last so long and be able to remain hidden from the world. How could it be a peaceful society when all women do is get upset and like to cause drama? The term drama queen originated from describing a girl not a guy. Lets be honest it wouldn’t be peaceful girls first things that comes to my mind is pulling hair and screaming. The society also would not be highly efficient. Men made all the most important inventions such as the phone, the car, light bulb, football, beer and video games. I mean I guess maybe a few important ones are made by women but I’m sure a guy would have eventually came up with the vacuum cleaner. And claiming there is no competition between women is pretty ridiculous. Women constantly compete to look the best, have the most friends, and who can cook the best. And to say that men are antisocial is wrong. Men are very social with each other and get along better then girls get along with each other. Us superior guys don’t fight over little stuff like if you wear the same clothes, or who clean the best. Guys get along so much better and barely ever have problems. In conclusion men are needed in a prosperous society. The male sex brings so much more to the table then women there is not a shot that society would still be around after thousands of years. “Women are good and stuff but so is a movie but how many times can you watch the same movie?” is the last thought I hear as I leave the deranged yet strangely eloquent brain of none other than Jake Strasser.
To learn more about what goes on in the brain of Jake Strasser visit his blog.

I read more of the book

I have read a lot more of the book since my last post, the three friends found the all women society, and have started to live and adapt to this new type of civilization. The men are amazed that this utopian society is completely full of women. I think it’s a great read but pretty ridiculous how the women get pregnant like Virgin Mary style. Also I don’t think that women by themselves could run a civilization that could prosper. A huge theme in the story is how women don’t get treated as equally as men. The men’s relationships with Ellador, Celis, and Alima (three women they met) show the difficulties that arise when women want to be considered as equals in a relationship and a society. Terry and Alima fight a lot, while Jeff and Celis cannot understand one another at all. Van is able to relate to Ellador as a human being, not just a woman. It is evident to see that their relationship is the most successful one. Once men and women can see each other as one and the same, the man and the woman together are able to truly understand each other. To get a deeper understanding on women’s rights and how they struggled go this link .

Herland First Post

I have started reading Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The book starts out with three friends, Vandyck Jennings (referred to as Van), Terry Nicholson, and Jeff Margrave, going on a journey to an uncharted area. As their voyage continues they hear some rumors of a bizarre land somewhere in the mountains that is run by women. The friends are interested in these stories so they decide to try to find this civilization. During their search they do find evidence that an advanced society may exist in the mountains. They do not believe that an all female society exists but they are still interested in exploring new land so they decided to find this female country. After reading the synopsis of this book I thought I really wouldn’t enjoy it. Know after I have begun to read the book I realized it is a great book and it’s hard for me to put down.