Feminism During the 50s Essay Example for Free

Feminism During the 50s EssayThe daybook Revolutionary Road, written by Richard Yates, tells the ref a story almost the life of hotdog and April Wheeler. The Wheelers are a married couple with children who sustain in a 1950s suburb. This essay shows the reader how characters in the book do not conform to characteristic gender roles during this time period and how these gender roles are switched between men and women. The story gives us a lot of insight in to gender roles during the 1950s. However, coarse and April Wheeler do not abide to the typical gender roles of men and women during this time period in American society. The idea of this analysis is to show the reader how Feminism and Masculinity are mental tested in Revolutionary Road. Richard Yates switches gender roles in this novel and does a good business enterprise of showing us a different perspective from what was most common during the 1950s.Revolutionary Road is about weenie and April Wheeler who live in a s uburb called Revolutionary Estates with their two children Jennifer and Michael. They are viewed by their neighbors as your ideal husband and wife. They have a nosy real res publica agent named Mrs. better-lookings who randomly shows up throughout the story and has a deranged son named John who ends up having some conflict with the Wheelers. Mrs. Givings also has a husband named Howard who seems not to care what she has to say most of the time because she is always gossiping or talking too much. in that respect is also a couple, Milly and Shep Campbell who are family friends of the Wheelers and often hang out and drink to acquireher. unmannerly ends up having an affair with Maureen, a woman who works at Knox with him. He ends up feeling guilty about it because April does something special for him. She stops the argument they are in and has a surprise birthday plan for him and tells him about her plans of pitiful their family to Europe. Plans fail however when April realizes she is pregnant and Frank is satisfied that they wont have to move. April ends up having an affair with Shep Campbell who is in love with her secretly. The story ends up with April cleansing herself attempting to do her own abortion from home. Frank lives on in distraught and agony.Richard Yates uses Feminism in the story to show the reader how Frank fits in with typical feminine role of this time and April fits in with thetypical masculine role. Frank is constantly emasculated throughout the story by April. When they realize April is pregnant, she wants to have an abortion. Frank is upset but he cant do much about it because he doesnt have any say in what she does. He tries to say, Listen. Listen to me. You do this you do this and I swear to God Ill and she cuts him off and says, Oh, youll what? Youll leave me? Whats that supposed to be a threat or a promise? (Yates 52) testing his masculinity once again. April is not the typical woman of the 50s and thats why conflicting gender r oles playfulness such an important theme in this novel. Frank thrives off of the need to prove himself to April. He wants her to believe he is in lead of every fact and is the man of the house. He tries to put off this image to April that he is a real man and leads their household. Frank has a lot of conflict throughout the book because of his constant need to prove his manhood and prove his masculinity to April.Richard Yates uses Frank Wheeler to show us just how this novel conflicts the typical gender roles during the 1950s. Yates says about Frank, Wasnt it true, then, that everything in his life from that point on had been a succession of things he hadnt really wanted to do? Taking a cloy job to prove he could be as responsible as any other man Having another child to prove that the first whiz hadnt been a mistake Proving, proving and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who put him forever on the defensive (Yates 51). Yates shows the reader the true tenac ity of Franks need to prove himself to April day after day. Having a job, having a family, and doing everything to provide for your family were all things men were expected to do during that time in America. Frank has an obsession with needing April to believe he is in control and amply providing for her and their children. He feels she will leave him or step up and provide for them herself is he cannot do it. Frank is trying to prove he is the man and holds the masculine gender role over April. April says in one eyeshot to Frank, Me. Me. Me. Oh, you poor, self-deluded Look at you, Look at you, and tell me how by any stretch of imagination you can call yourself a man ( Yates 28) which really test Franks masculinity. He is without a doubt upset about Aprils actions and words. By receiving her approval, he feels his masculinity and feels he has accomplished what is important. Throughout thestory however, we see that Frank never truly gets the approval from April he is looking for.Y ates intends for Frank to be weaker and less masculine than April. This is how Richard Yates uses conflicting gender roles in his characters. April is a very free lance woman and she will take care of what she feels is necessary. She doesnt look to Frank for guidance and leadership. The vote counter points this out when April is mowing the lawn and Frank is watching her wishing he was doing it. The storyteller states that Frank had planned as soon as hed had some coffee to go out there and take the lawnmower away from April, by force if it was necessary, so the he could restore as much balance to the morning as possible. But he was still in his bathrobe (Yates 40). Frank cannot radix the fact that April is mowing the yard and not letting him do it. Yates gives us a description of April in the yard, he says, It was April herself, stolidly pushing and hauling the old machine, corroding a mans shirt and a pair of loss, flapping slacks (Yates 35) This description of April really giv es the reader a simple understanding that April doesnt need Frank to mow the yard because she is capable and willing to do it herself. These are the things that really bother Frank because he wants a woman who involve him to do everything for her. Thats what Frank feels he is supposed to do he wants to be the sole provider and alpha of his household.Another way we see Frank being emasculated is when April plans the move to Europe. She tells Frank about the plans to move at his surprise birthday get together, he had just got home from having an affair with Maureen from his office. The narrator gives us a good understanding of Franks inability to take control. He ends up agreeing with the plans even though he is not fully sure and confident that is what he wants. Frank says, Darling? We are really going to do it, arent we? I mean it hasnt just been a lot of talk or anything, has it? (Yates 116) and they agree the move to Europe is a sure thing. Then they fall asleep and the chapter e nds with April saying I love you to Frank. Frank is finally feeling a instinct of assurance at this point because things are getting better between him and April. He is finally feeling that sense of satisfaction he thrives for. He and April are gettingalong and things seem to be good. However, April ends up letting Frank in on some blow out of the water news. She is pregnant and when Frank finds out he is actually happy about the news because he has had a promotion offered to him at work and chicanes that having a despoil will keep them from moving. When April realizes Frank is satisfied with not moving she threatens to abort the baby herself after Frank finds her abortion tools and she test Franks masculinity again by saying, And what are you going to do? Do you think youre going to stop me? (Yates 209) when he questions her on what she is going to do with the tools. Frank has no control over any situations throughout this book. Especially in this situation because April has ha d her mind set on moving and she was not going to take no for an answer. She in conclusion kills herself trying to proceed in doing an abortion herself at their home. April had control of the situation the whole time.Furthermore, Revolutionary Road gives the reader a wide and detailed variation of very unusual gender roles for the 1950s. The authors use of feminism helps him to show how Frank is a man who feeds of his wife for satisfaction. Everything Frank does is mainly to get the approval and acceptance of his wife April. Feminism also helps us to take a look at how April Wheeler is portrayed. She is a very independent woman and for this time period that is very rare. Women typically depended on men and did not step up as leaders and sole providers of their family. However, April is much different. She wants Frank to know that she can take care of herself and her family without the help of a man. She is portrayed as being much more masculine and superior than her husband. She i s in control of their descent and she is in control of Franks life. Everything Frank does is based on what April thinks and getting her to notice and her to approve is what makes him feel like a man. Richard Yates did an amazing job in Revolutionary Road by showing the reader the conflicting gender roles of April and Frank Wheeler.Works CitedYates, Richard. Revolutionary Road. 2nd. New York Vintage Contemporaries, 2000. Print.