Judy Brady writes of the harsh responsibilities of a wife in the 1970s in her essay "I Want a Wife." She talks of this subject in a role reversal as the husband where she defines what is expected of a wife. Some of responsibilities in her list include taking care of the children, cleaning, cooking, keeping appointments, and grocery shopping. Brady shows that in her experience, women are supposed to do most of the work without complaint or appreciation. The purpose of this is to show the wives of this time of era what they were typically putting up with since it was broadcasted in a women's magazine. This message seemed to be effectively communicated by sounding like an ungrateful and greedy man. The piece is supposed to influence a change in the roles of men and women.
Brady effectively communicates her piece by appealing to the wives of the 1970s with sympathy and emotion. This audience is mainly wives who can empathize with her from having to take on the many tasks described in the piece. The purpose is mainly to show how under appreciated wives are and how ungrateful husbands can be. Brady shows this by reversing her role as wife to husband and listing all the things she wants in a wife but would refuse to do in return. Since the tone of this is so greedy, it makes this essay more effective by giving the women reading it feel many hostile emotions towards it. The only evidence used for this is Brady's own experience or people she knows experiences so it is sort of hard to give it much credibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment