Tuesday, September 11, 2012

"Oppression" by Frye- Quotes


A major purpose of Frye's essay "oppression" is to define and explain the concept of oppression; how people perceive it and how they really should be perceiving it. I think she does a very good job explaining, so i want to quote some important phrases within the text.



Quotes

"When the stresses and frustrations of being a man are cited as evidence that oppressors are oppressed by their oppressing, the word 'oppression' is being stretched to meaninglessness; it is treated as though its scope includes any and all human experience of limitation or suffering, no matter the cause, degree or consequence." 
 Paragraph 2 
         This quote was in the second paragraph, the first one being only a few lines. It is a very thought provoking and confusing introduction. This selection is meant to create an awareness towards oppression  and specifically how people play it off, and say that even if they oppress people, it is because they too are oppressed. Which she states is not true. The last sentence is an explanation of how people come to explain oppression, which throughout her essay she disproves.


"The root of the word 'oppression' is the element 'press.' The press of the crowd; pressed into military service; to press a pair of pants; printing press; press the button. Presses are used to mold things or flatten them or reduce them in bulk, sometimes to reduce them by squeezing out the gases or liquids in them. Something pressed is something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict or prevent the things motion or mobility. Mold. Immobilize. Reduce."
Paragraph 5
         When I read this quote I decided that it was the best definition she used to explain oppression...significantly better and less confusing then stating that "oppressors are oppressed by their oppressing" which is just confusing. This explanation makes oppression more understandable, in the way that she specifically wants everyone to acknowledge it, and not in the way that she stated in the first quote. This selection is meant to create a better understanding but also fully realize how negative the word really is.

"Each of these factors exists in complex tension with every other, penalizing or prohibiting all of the apparently available options. And nipping at one's heels, always, is the endless pack of little things. If one dresses one way, one is subject to the assumption that one is advertising one's sexual availability; if one dresses another way, one appears to 'not care about oneself' or to be 'unfeminine.' If one uses 'strong language,' one invites categorization as a whore or a slut; if one does not, one invites categorization as a 'lady'- one too delicately constituted to cope with robust speech or the realities to which it presumably refers."
Paragraph 9
          This quote was the most complete explanation of oppression and shows how much "something pressed is something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointedly they restrain, restrict or prevent the things motion or mobility." It fully connects the root of the word to how people enforce oppression, in a very true, everyday life example.

In class question
Are men justified in thinking that they too are opressed?
 

2 comments:

  1. Nice choice of quotes, very thought provoking and very explanatory!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I felt you picked some great quotes to use

    ReplyDelete