Maria's Castle

The title, No Name Woman, is essential in telling us about the power and status of Chinese women. It shows how much is expected from these Chinese woman and the way they are suppose to behave to not be a “disgrace”. The woman causing a “disgrace” will cause the disapproval from the society and the woman’s name will be forgotten. The disgrace is responsibility of just the woman and not anyone else who is involved. For example, if a woman is pregnant but has no husband, she is a disgrace. They don’t know if she was raped which led for her pregnancy. They immediately blame her. The woman is downgraded. What I assume is that if your name is known, it’s for honorable things. When the daughter is told the story by her mother, she doesn’t know the name of her aunt that is involved. She has no right to speak of her because she is considered to not have existed.

The story tells us the inequality and the amount of power between women and men in Chinese society. The two groups are treated differently. It clearly shows that men are superior the the women.The women are downgraded and much more is expected from them. Their behavior has to be acceptable. The men are not blamed for what they do to the women. If they rape or force women to do something, they are not a disgrace. The women has to deal with the society and has to be conscious on every action they make or the action that they are forced into. They have to make sure they don’t slip and follow everything the society approves of or they become hated and bombarded by hateful things. This shows that women are more likely to commit suicide than man by the pressure put on them.

I as a girl can relate to these issues. I come from a Mexican family in which women roles are different than men’s. We are expected to know how to cook and clean. We are expected to be housewives. If we don’t, were considered a disappointment to our culture. They say Mexican-American girls are not like the Mexican girls in Mexico. They compare us often to encourage us to be like them. They want us know how to cook every Mexican dish. You often get talked about if you don’t know how. They say we won’t earn good husbands and we stay like this. It downgrades us. I have cousins who are female adults and can’t cook. My mom often talks about how that’s just a shame and blames the mother. The men aren’t expected to learn to cook. They’re just expected a woman who can. That’s the difference between our roles in our Mexican culture.

In the book of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, one character reveals more of their superego part of the psyche. The superego is the moral part you develop. Charlie, the main character, reveals and expresses the superego more than the other psyche. He believes in good morals as to always being a good friend amd believing doing certain things is the moral way of doing them. For example, “So, he said “thanks” and hugged me again. And moved in to kiss me again. And I just let him”(Chbosky 160). Here, Charlie doesn’t stop Patrick from kissing him even though he is not homosexual. He lets this happen because he believes that this is what friends do for each other. The superego overpowers the ego in this situation.
Another psyche that is revealed in another character is the ego. The ego is taking the reality of what’s going on. Charlie bestfriend Patrick reveals his ego in the book. He is discovered to be homosexual but stays behinds the closet. He knows the reality of the situation if he comes out and tell everybody he is gay. For example, “That was the night he threw rocks at Patrick’s window and told Patrick that nobody could know, and Patrick understood”(Chbosky 46). Brad is the quarterback of the highschool. Patrick knew the reality if Brad admits to be homosexual, it will ruin his reputation. He wasn’t mad that Brad didnt want to show off what they had behind doors although he did want to. It was a desire but he had to face reality of the situation.
Throughout the book, Charlie hides something in his unconcious that he is not aware of. His unconscious is hiding and protecting him that is related to his feelimgs towards his Aunt Helen. The death of his Aunt Helen affected him a lot. He blames himself as he loved her so much. Later he admits that he did wish his Aunt was dead. He is confronted with the memory his unconcious hides when he is a situation with Sam. Charlieand Sam were kissing then Sam did something that made Charlie uncomfortable. He didn’t know why until he had a dream. Charlie dreamt, “My brother and my sister and I were watching television with my Aunt Helen… And she was doing what Sam was doing”(Chbosky 204). His situation with Sam revealed the memory is unconcious was trying to hide which was his Aunt Helen molesting him. This was the reason why he wished his Aunt Helen was dead.

Currently I’m reading The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. So far I love the book and makes me think about my own life. There are quotes that really catch my attention. In the book one of the characters, Travis Parker, says, “You love your family, but you wanted to make your own decisions about who you become, which is why you live here. Even so, you worry your choices will earn your family’s disapproval” (127). Travis says this to Gabby who always wants to please her mother. She managed to grab her own place far from her family. This quotes is saying that most of us grow up and do things to please our parents. Many of us want their approval. We’re afraid to do things because we overthink what would our parents or family members would say. It’s like having them in our concious. We all want that freedom and get away from those people. We want to make chances that doesnt involve the opinion of others and regret taking their opinions into consideration.
Another quote that caught my attention was when Travis Parker states, ” ‘Traveling has less to do with seeing than experiencing them…’ “(117). There are people who travel to just see famous landmarks. There’s nothing bad with that. I believe traveling has to do more with experiencing with the culture. To be able to learn other people’s ways and traditions. That way you get to learn and experience how it is living there. You get that full, unforgettable, and amazing traveling experience. Seeing is just looking at it with your eyes and not having a hands on experience. That’s why Travis Parker says that to Gabby.