Explain how the authors of at least two literary works have

portrayed a social group in a particular way. How might the contexts

of the authors have influenced their portrayal of these social
groups?

The two literary works I have chosen are Two Sisters of Persephone and
Othello as both of these literary works represent the role of women in
each respective era. In Othello, Shakespeare portrays women as nothing
more than objects or prized possessions which belonged to men. The
Elizabethan society was patriarchal as the men dominated every aspect of
it. Women were considered the weaker sex and always needed protection
which was the job of husbands. Women were considered inferior to men
and therefore they were expected to be silent, chaste, and obedient to their
husbands, fathers, brothers, and all men in general. A few examples from
the text include: Iago wakes up Brabantio by yelling Zounds, sir, youre
robbd; for shame, put on your gown; Your heart is burst, you have lost half
your soul. These lines indicate that Desdamona was his property and
Othello (the thief) has robbed him and he should go and hunt for the thief
and punish him for stealing. Also when Iago tells Cassio that tonight he
heath boarded a land carrack If it prove a lawful prize he is referring to
Othello as a pirate and Desdamona as a treasure (land carrack) which
Othello has found and therefore belongs to him.
In Act 1 Scene 3 the Senator wishes Othello well by hoping that he will use
Desdamona well. The connotation of the word use is look after but it
also portrays the Elizabethan attitude towards women as they are expected
to bow to the will of their husbands who can utilize them in any way they
want. We also see that Iago wants revenge on Othello because he believes
the rumors that Othello has slept with his wife Emilia. Iago does not even
know if the rumors are true but he still wants revenge as Othello has used a
possession which belongs to him (The lusty Moor/hath leaped into my
seat). In these few lines Iago has insulted and objectified his wife as he
has referred to her as a seat and an office. Also in Act 2 Scene 1 Iago
hopes to be evened with him, wife for wife which suggests that he should
sleep with Desdamona so that he and Othello will be equal. The feelings of
Desdamona and Emilia are not taken in consideration at all in his revenge
plot. He believes that women are objects that are meant to be used to
further mens desires.

In Sylvia Plaths Two Sisters of Persephone the two sisters refer to two
dual personalities living in one person. The two sisters portray contrasting
personalities. Persephone is the Goddess of the Underworld. She is a
symbol of the cycle of life taking us back and forth from underworld, to life
on earth. Therefore the poem talks about her life in the underworld and her
life in the world. Hence the significance of the split personality throughout
the poem. Color is used to differentiate between both the sisters. The first
sister is described as a barren enterprise which means that she is infertile
and is unable to have children and the previous lines also suggests that the
work she is doing is not satisfying However, if she never finds a partner,
society sees her body as a waste. She is also described as Rat-shrewd
and Root-pale where the shrewd is a connotation for cunning and rat is a
connotation for intelligent. Her eyes are narrowed which suggests that she
is angry at the fact that she is unable to conceive. The use of the term rootpale gives us the imagery of someone weak, who is unable to take care of
herself. This reflects societal views of women during Plaths time. The
second sister is described as a fertile woman who is married and can bear a
child. Hence, she is accepted into the society as she has fulfilled her duties
while the first sister is described as a wry virgin which means that she is
cynical due to the fact she is unable to bear children. Plath is telling us that
according to the society, the first sister has been a waste as she has not
had any children and all she has managed to marry are the worms in the
ground as her body is presumably buried. Sylvia Plath hated the society
and all the rules she as a women was expected to follow. She was not
happy with her poems as they were not as great as she wanted them to be.
I consider Plath to be more like the first sister as she is also unsatisfied with
her work and is not accepted in the society. She was pregnant but had a
miscarriage which resulted in her depression. However ultimately she was
able to bear a child. The tone of the entire poem is cynical and bitter which
reflects the first sister. Plath's constant shifts between happiness and
sadness, two emotions relatable to women, seem to prove her attempt to
describe female identity of the era: to lead a successful married life which
was not possible in her case as her husband, Ted Hughes cheated on her.