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Example research essay topic: Rape Fantasies Margaret Atwood - 1,028 words

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... n this little episode we can see Estelle's honesty and sweetness, since none of the disguised brutality found in the fantasies of the other two women is evident in the story that Estelle reveals. Along with maintaining an ironic balance within Rape Fantasies, Estelle's personality revelations introduce other ideas into the story. Her casual friendly banter can take a complex, weighty topic such as rape and simplify it into one naive workingwoman's thoughts.

She mentions growing up as a Catholic girl and how that helped to save her from the fantasized basement axe murderer. There are two religious references made by Estelle, and both mention the Virgin Mary. This possibly expresses two things about Estelle's personality and an overall idea found in the story. First, and most obvious, is just the fact that she has had a religious upbringing. Second is the paradoxical situation that one finds in the virgin birth and in the satisfying rape.

These references introduce into the story the surreal nature of rape fantasies as presented by the magazines and TV that Estelle tells of in the beginning of the story. The idea that the perfect woman, or the Virgin Mary, gave birth to a child while remaining a virgin presents woman with the same kind of paradoxical model as having rape fantasies, the similarity being that a woman can no more find a happy, exciting, pleasant rape than she can get pregnant and still be a virgin. As Estelle says, Listen, I said, those arent RAPE fantasies. I mean, you arent getting RAPED, it s just some guy you havent met formally who happens to be more attractive than Derek Cummins, and you have a good time. Rape is when theyve got a knife or something and you dont want to (32). Atwood manipulates these images within Estelle's fantasies creating an ironic picture with subtle, biting humor.

A mirror-image paradox in which the basic idea in the story and in the character of Estelle balance each other as opposite ideas and traits stand side by side. The thin almost non-existent plot is held up by the developed character of Estelle who presents us with a series of mini-plots held together by Estelle's particular perspective. Each little sub-plot involves Estelle's meeting an adversary, whether that be a would-be rapist, one of the other women in the lunchroom, or herself. Each little dramatic episode brings us nearer to knowing Estelle. Margaret Atwood allows us to know a large part of Estelle's personality in a short time by exposing her to many antagonists. In each case she is triumphant, speaking her mind as the predictable world of her own fantasies allows her to know of each sweet romantic ending.

Estelle emerges saintly after each conflict until the end of the story when she defeats herself realizing that in actuality she is fantasizing about something that she has no understanding of. Her loquacious personality is packaged in a believable rounded character. After reading this story, (or listening to Estelle talk to us) we have mixed feelings, likes and dislikes of Estelle as we might if we had a conversation with her in a coffee shop. Margaret successfully creates a living human being for the reader, Estelle's new friend. (Perrine, 42) The irony in Estelle's personality and the story itself becomes clear as Estelle tells of an adage of her mothers.

My mother always said you shouldnt dwell on unpleasant things and I generally agree with that, I mean, dwelling on them doesnt make them go away. Though not dwelling on them doesnt make them go away either, when you come to think of it (35). As Estelle dwells on the idea that one shouldnt dwell on things, the humor and satire in the story become even more evident. The last few sentences of the story express much of the essence of the irony of the main character and the story in general: Like, how could a fellow do that to a person hes just had a long conversation with, once you let them know youre human, you have a life too, I dont see how they could go ahead with it, right?

I mean, I know it happens but I just dont understand it, thats the part I really dont understand (36 - 37). These two sentences capture the irony of a woman giving her interpretation of the rapist when she readily admits that she does not understand the feelings of someone who would actually do it. It is the irony of a situation that could never be pleasant, yet the potential victims of the violent act of rape happily daydream and converse about participation. But this allows us to accept Estelle as a genuine person with both clear and faulty thinking, and both good and bad personality traits.

Atwood lets us know all of this about Estelle without directly saying that she is competitive, gossipy, nice, talkative, silly, domineering, funny, etc. She creates a well- rounded character that expresses her within the framework of her own fantasy world. Lisa Tyler says, Estelle is a likable character with whom they can readily sympathize. She is frightened at the prospect of dating potentially dangerous strangers, but she id frightened, too, by the prospect of a solitary life. She chooses, caught in this dilemma, to take risks rather than protect herself through isolation. Barbara Hill Rigney contends that commitment to [the] human condition, no matter how malignant, and for an engagement with life, with reality, no matter how brutal or absurd.

In this respect, Estelle is admirable. She possesses a sense of humor, and she struggles to cope as cheerfully ad possible with her fear of rape. She does not withdrawal from human connection; she struggles to establish such connections in spite of vulnerability and fear. (Tyler, 4) Perrine, Laurence: Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense, fourth edition; 1984: Harcourt Brace Jovanovic h Publishers; New York, NY. Atwood, Margaret. Rape Fantasies.

Texts for English Composition. N. p. : McGraw- Tyler, Lisa. Teaching Margaret Atwood's Rape Fantasies. I Just Dont Understand It. Dec. 2000: 2 - 3 Iris Proquest Direct.

Rutgers University Library Camden. 1 Dec. 2000 http//www. Rut Bibliography:


Free research essays on topics related to: margaret atwood, rape fantasies, dont understand, virgin mary, doesnt make

Research essay sample on Rape Fantasies Margaret Atwood

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