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- QUESTION
Discuss the role of women in Sundiata. Compare and contrast its treatment of women with the depiction of women in Paradise Lost, and/or any of the previous epics that we have studied. Is woman mainly subordinated to her male counterparts or does she exert some degree of power or agency?
Develop a well-detailed essay of 4-5 paragraphs on ONE of the topics listed below. Don't forget to review the guidelines for How to Succeed in the Written Assignments and the Sample paper in MLA format, and take advantage of the Smarthinking tutorial services before submitting your essay to the Assignment submission folder. All writing assignments have Turnitin enabled for plagiarism detection.
Here is some information for in-text citations for Paradise Lost. It is written in books, so in the parenthesis include the book number and the lines because each book starts over with page one. Your citation will look like this (9. 48-52) indicating book 9 and lines 48-52. However, if you have mentioned the book number in your sentence, then you only need to put lines in the parenthesis (48-52).
As for Sundiata, your version has continuous page numbers.There is no author because it is an oral epic, so us D.t. Niane as the translator. Your in-text citation will say ( Niane 30). This means the information came from Niane's translated version. Also, there is a summary included, and if you use information from the summary called the Retelling, cite it as (Bartel 4).
Works Cited
This page is necessary and the works must be alphabetized by author's last name or translator's last name or name of work if the first two do not exist.
Diane, D. T. translator. Sundiata; an epic of old Mali. Longman: 1986. (You may have a different year.)
Retelling. Nick Bartel http//orias. berkley/edu/hero/sunjata
As for Milton's Paradise Lost, you are told you may cite the John Milton Reading Room with the roper URL, month and date. See the page included with your assignments.
| Subject | Essay Writing | Pages | 3 | Style | APA |
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Answer
The Role of Women in Sundiata
Regarding the places and roles of women as illustrated in the books Paradise Lost and Sundiata, women are believed to be inferior and unequal to men in almost all aspects of life. Their roles, as depicted in these books, are dictated by how they relate and interact with men who have power and authority over them. The two novels describe a patriarchal society where women are given limited powers and rights. Essentially, Paradise Lost and Sundiata describe women as inferior individuals whose rights and freedoms should be curtailed and that they should be excluded from leadership and political positions.
Sundiata describes women as ugly creatures who play no critical role in society. According to the novel, a significant part of women is to sire and care for the children. As stated in the book, "Oh, that woman! She is hideous, ugly and she bares on her back a disfiguring hump... this is the woman you must marry, sire, for she will be the mother of him who will make the name of Mali immortal forever” (Diane, 6). Similarly, Paradise Lost describes procreation as the significant role that women play. Adam continues to question God for having created the women, “the creator of all misery” (48.50). The above statement expresses another critical perception of sexism by perceiving females as mere reproduction tools. As a fact, if there could be another alternative for reproduction, women can be rendered unnecessary or useless. Clearly, from these books, it is evident that the significant role of women-only plays.
Another critical point from these two books is the responsibilities of mother and wife or the relationship that exists between a female and the men who dictate her destiny plays a critical role. Although it appears that women could take charge of some property and receive the inheritance, it seems that they were still denied authority and power over such features. Even Sassouma Berete questioned, “What would become of her… in case her son was disinherited (Diane, 13)”. This implies that without her close relationship with the male figure, she would not enjoy her privileges. Similarly, the goals of women in the two books emanate from the disagreements that originate between men and women.
Another critical role that women play in the two novels is the powerful sorcerers. Nonetheless, all the sorcerers in the book are women who are aged. Most of them are stripped of their gender, and they can no longer interact with males. This implies that such persons are reduced to hags. Further, these women are linked to violent kind of magic. For instance, “You who rule supreme at night nocturnal powers, oh you who hold the secret of life, you who can put an end to one life (Sundiata, 24),” and their leader is described as “dangerous” (Diane, 24).
In conclusion, all the women as described in Paradise Lost and Sundiata have little involvement in the activities happening within their societies. As already stated, women are regarded as inferior beings whose powers and rights are curtailed. Principally, their roles in the entire novels are described only in the manner in which they relate to men who have authority and control responsibilities and properties that women are entitled to inheritance. More importantly, women are mainly subordinated to males because their powers and rights are curtailed. It is indeed one of the most traumatizing living experiences for all females.
References
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Hamilton, K.G., & John Milton (1981). Paradise Lost: A Humanist Approach. St. Lucia: University Of Queensland, 1981. Diane, D. T. (1986). Translator. Sundiata; An Epic Of Old Mali. Longman.
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