"Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Essay

Perfect: adj. \ˈpər-fikt\ 1. Entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings, is the first definition you find on dictionary.com for the word (perfect). Is this actually possible to attain? Has anyone actually ever been perfect? Or is it all in the eye of the beholder? These questions are asked by almost every girl, as we dream to one day reach the unattainable. This is especially true at the tender age of fifteen, where nothing seems to be going right with our bodies and everything is changing in us. This poem stresses the fact that as everyone realizes how unrealistic this dream is, the knowledge makes no difference to the wish. Marisa de los Santos comments on this in her poem “Perfect Dress”. The use of verbose imagery,

Her chirography contains elongated movements that are slow and flowy. When she moves it has a conclusion point but is not in no particular rush to get there. When she interacts with her partner, the man is the driving force. For example, if there was a combination he would make the bigger, perciser movements while she would make daintier movements. The white is also part of her description. The dress is flowy and pure white which accents her character of peacefulness. The white also coordinates with her choreography of wispy movement and contrasts the earthy tones of the other dancers who are big and precise. The conclusion of her elements and movements lead to her embodying a more traditional love. To illiterate, she represents a calm, slow burning love that lasts longer than a passionate love. This is also shown through the stark differences and conflicting dance style of the red

“Clothes” is written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. It is a short story about an Indian-American woman, Sumita, who is about to embark on a new chapter of her life, marriage. Sumita, throughout the story, is nervous and confused about what is to come next in her life. The story begins in the women’s lake with Sumita and her friends, Deepali and Radha. The groups of friends are preparing Sumita for her big day, meeting her soon to be husband for the first time.

In the story, “Growing Up Asian in America” by Kesaya E. Noda, Noda is looking for answers about her identity. Growing up, she has struggled with finding herself because she has been labelled as racially Japanese, Japanese American, and as an Asian woman. During the story, she slowly realizes her identity and who she really is. Noda shares important events, stories, and anecdotes to help her and the reader fully understand her identity. The first story Noda shares is in lines 74-76, she says “I linger longer than she does, so reluctant to leave, savoring the connection I feel with my grandmother in America, the past, and the power that lives and shines in the morning sun.” Noda realizes here that even though she is Japanese American, her heritage

After Somesh is killed in a robbery, Sumita is dressed in a borrowed “White (sari). Widow’s color, color of endings” (271) and attending the bangle-breaking ceremony. Whereas, white is the color used in the west for brides and weddings signifying purity, white is the color of mourning and death in the east. The green or red bangle, which in the Hindu religion symbolizes safety and a happy, prosperous and long married life, is required to be worn by married women. As part of the mourning ceremony, the glass bangles are smashed, “so that the glass bangles I was wearing shattered and multicolored shards flew out in every direction (271).

When compared to the American women at the party who wear, “short black dresses made of crepe and chiffon,” it seems that Twinkle has not yet acclimated all the way to American culture. When compared to the Indian women at the party who wear, “their finest saris,” it is evident that Twinkle has clearly taken American culture into consideration. It is evident from Twinkle’s choices in dress that she has balanced American culture and Indian culture within her life.

Now, I must conduct a conceptualization in this analysis. The combination of nakedness and white cloth that are worn around her arms could be to symbolize the purity and holiness of female body, or, it could be a symbolism for the persisting sexism in the world. It highlights the fact that women are only seen as a mere sex object from men in the world. This can be seen from the gaze and expression of other man at the table.

A thorough and broadened knowledge of American clothing’s history opens wide, the opportunity to explore the American identity. Helen Sheumaker’s “American Fashion” discusses the relationship between political values and their influence on different clothing styles. The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History provides insight about how the clothing fashion was indicative of a person’s class. Certain clothing styles distinguished specific communities like the wealthy and the working class yet simultaneously gave a clear distinction of the liberal American style from the proper and trim of the

Although Ms. White’s thoughts are never truly expressed in the film, she plays a huge role in the formation of the plot. Recognition of Ms. White comes easily for the fact that she is a woman, and she is of power. An important aspect of her appearance is her clothing, being that in every shot she is shown wearing formal clothing and more importantly; heels. The clothing and heels serve to portray her as an

In the beginning of the book Marjane is more often dressed in white, but as the memoir progresses, she begins to lose the white clothes, just as she losses her innocence.

In the poem “The Lady’s Dressing Room,” written by Jonathan Swift, one may say he portrays himself to be a chauvinist by ridiculing women and their cryptic habits. However, others may say he wants to help women from the ideals placed upon them by society and prove to be an early feminist. This poem written in the 18th century represented women to be fake and sleazy at first. Then during the 20th century, the feminist movement used it as an attack against women, depicting the poem’s meaning as not valuing their rights and freedoms. The truth far hidden from these points of views became uncovered recently. This essay will explain both sides of the views and using critical thinking will uncover the real message the author intended to portray.

1. Go to a public place and OBSERVE the community of people in that place for at least 30 minutes; perhaps as long as 60 minutes. In your report, describe the setting and note the date and time of your observation. Describe the element of “community” that you observed.

Society is constructed in such a way that some people become inferior to other people because of how society treats certain individuals. Fashion has become a catalyst that leaves a gap between the lower class and the upper class; this brings out the aspect of social structure as it ranks categories of people in a hierarchy,( Macious & Plummer, 2008).Bourdieu’s concepts of field, habitus, social capital and cultural capital gives an illustration of the elite and the lower class in terms of their fashion taste. This essay consists of three parts; the first part will look at the London Fashion Week applying Bourdieu’s concepts, the second part will describe the difference sorts of capital required for elite women to join the ‘secret club’ of

What is Fashion? Fashion is a general term used to describe a style of clothing or practice used by people around the world. Fashion refers to anything that is a trend. Self-presentation is the most direct noticeable marker of fashion. Throughout history we have seen many changes in clothing, from the color, to the material used to make it. We have also seen the style in which clothing is made change drastically. Fashion communicates meanings that have individual and social significance. Society, cultures, gender and even political authority have impacted fashion over the years. Clothing styles characterize certain designs which represent the culture that wears the clothing. Designers continue to try to direct their ideas to a transforming

Exhibit 2: GFE Associates: Analysis of Attitudinal Clusters in U.S. Television Households for The Fashion Channel