Berger, Tompkins, And Rich Essay, Research Paper

Language and images are normally a manner to show what person is believing, nevertheless, linguistic communication and images can frequently curtail our thought in assorted ways. Susan Douglas, in her essay, & # 8221 ; Narcissism As Liberation & # 8221 ; , writes about & # 8220 ; the great myth? that superficial visual aspects can be equated with a individual & # 8217 ; s deepest character strengths and weaknesses & # 8221 ; ( 128 ) . The image of what a & # 8220 ; beautiful & # 8221 ; and what is non is an image that is invariably restricted in our heads. These limitations come from telecasting, films, or many other things that people encounter. John Berger in & # 8220 ; Ways of Seeing & # 8221 ; , proclaims that & # 8220 ; work forces study adult female before handling them. Consequently how a adult female appears to a adult male can find how she will be treated & # 8221 ; ( 46 ) . This farther shows what these limitations do in our mundane lives. Adrienne Rich in her essay & # 8220 ; When We Awaken: Writing As Re-Vision & # 8221 ; gives her theories on how to free people from these limitations chiefly through & # 8220 ; re-vision & # 8221 ; .

One image that is restricted in our heads is the construct of beauty, that is seen in advertisement. These

limitation are put on adult females. The image of what beauty is, in respect to adult females, is perpetuated though advertisement. Through the advertisement and on a larger graduated table the media, adult females are told about & # 8220 ; perfect faces and organic structures, and the psychologically, politically, and economically punitory steps taken against adult females who fail to be immature, thin, and beautiful & # 8221 ; ( 133 ) . They are made to experience inferior if they are non considered attractive, so they feel the demand to buy what is being advertised. Berger agrees that adult females are frequently victims of these limitation when he says, & # 8220 ; a adult females & # 8217 ; s presence? is manifest in her gestures, voice, sentiment, looks, apparels & # 8221 ; ( 46 ) . He believes that adult females are judged because of this image. This image that today is put on the public by ads that we are capable to wherever we are. It is highly hard to interrupt free from our limited ideas.

Adrienne Rich besides sees these limitation in another signifier, composing. She says that when work forces wrote about adult females and that most of them were approximately beautiful adult females & # 8220 ; threatened with the loss of beauty, the loss of youth-the destiny worse than decease & # 8221 ; ( 553 ) . This authorship is similar to the advertisement that Douglas negotiations about. Similar in that non being what is deemed beautiful is a atrocious thing to be avoided at all costs. Rich besides sees the paradox of what images and linguistic communication do to our heads, & # 8220 ; linguistic communication has trapped every bit good as

liberated us & # 8221 ; ( 551 ) . However, Rich gives a manner to perchance interrupt free from these limitations. This thought

that can emancipate us is a procedure called & # 8220 ; re-vision & # 8221 ; . This construct is described as & # 8220 ; the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of come ining an old text from a new critical way & # 8221 ; ( 550 ) . Rich believes that this procedure is indispensable for adult females to farther go an liberated people. She says re-vision & # 8220 ; is for adult females more than a chapter in cultural history: it is an act of endurance & # 8221 ; ( 550 ) . Rich plans a manner for adult females to interrupt free from limitation put upon them. This procedure could work for the restricted image of beauty that Berger and Douglas articulate.

First, she says that & # 8220 ; until we can understand the premises in which we are drenched we can non cognize ourselves & # 8221 ; ( 550 ) .So adult females must come to acknowledge what advertisement is making to them. They must see thro

ugh the “I’m worth it” and “‘You’ve come a long manner, baby’” mottos that they are “drenched” with all of the clip. Douglas believes that sellers “set up criterions of flawlessness that were cast as unachievable yet someway within range if merely the right merchandise were purchased” ( 127 ) .Rich besides relates this loss of beauty when she says that work forces wrote about adult females and that most of them were approximately beautiful adult females “threatened with the loss of beauty, the loss of youth-the destiny worse

than decease & # 8221 ; ( 553 ) .These advertizers already know that the method of doing adult females experience inferior is a expression that

plants. If all adult females can posses this cognition, so they can avoid the feelings that are a merchandise of this sort of advertisement. Thus they will non buy the merchandises, so these marketing runs will likely swerve of in different waies, taking to the terminal of these type of advertizements. This could be the first measure of re-vision to avoid and emancipate our heads from the limitations they already have.

Another manner that adult females are restricted by this image of beauty, is their longing to pretty because they want be treated every bit good as work forces are in our society. Berger says that adult females are judged by their visual aspects. He says that & # 8220 ; work forces study a adult female before handling them. Consequently how a adult female appears to a adult male can find how she will be treated & # 8221 ; ( 46 ) . Then Berger goes on to lucubrate about how it is to be a adult females when he writes,

& # 8221 ; To be born a adult female has to be born within an allotted

and confined infinite, into the maintaining of adult male. The societal

presence of adult females has developed as a consequence of their

inventiveness in populating under such tuition within such a

limited space. & # 8221 ; ( 46 )

Here, he is exemplifying to the reader his feeling on the repression of adult females, right when they are born. The advertisement that is seen today uses these feelings to acquire adult females to purchase the points. If they look beautiful so they will be treated good and possibly merely every bit good as the work forces are

treated. This has made our female society & # 8220 ; a egotistic Eden, epicurean reverie, in which [ adult females ] concentrate [ ed ] on themselves and their visual aspects ( 121 ) . Adrienne Rich can associate to this feeling to wanted to treated like work forces. For her, her composing she was composing to be treated like a adult male. She wrote for the blessing of work forces, & # 8220 ; authors, teachers-the Man, who was non a panic or a dream but a literary maestro and a maestro in other ways to admit & # 8221 ; ( 552 ) . She felt that she ne’er measured up to other male writers. In the terminal she feels that re-vision can finally rectify this job excessively. Womans can utilize this choler and energy to & # 8220 ; love each other, to portion hazard and heartache and jubilation & # 8221 ; ( 561 ) . If they can make this than adult females may non hold the to constantly experience that they must be attractive to mensurate up to work forces, nevertheless, she says that & # 8220 ; as adult females, we have to work cut out for us & # 8221 ; ( 561 ) .

Images and linguistic communication are can frequently curtail people believing. These limitations can be broken down if the correct method is used. John Berger, Susan Douglas, and

Adrienne Rich give miscellaneous illustrations of limitation that are put upon people, specifically adult females and their expressions. Adrienne Rich says that some of these limitation can be lifted if a procedure called re-vision is used. However, this is a backbreaking procedure and can merely work in an ideal society.