Across cultures, women have faced discrimination from their society due to customs and values ​​established for thousands of years by men. The gender construct is represented by socially accepted behaviors and roles within cultures that men and women should adhere to. Many women are forced to uphold certain mannerisms and are not allowed access to the natural rights that men enjoy. Men are historically considered superior and have had control over women since the beginning of time. Authors such as Ishigaki Rin, Luisa Valenzuela, and Ama Ata Aidoo have brought to life in their literary works the struggles that women have faced and are currently facing in their individual cultures. These authors were able to convey their strong ideologies of equality for women and the constant oppression they face in society. Because of their reporting of these injustices, many have faced dire consequences from others and have even been rejected by their own countries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn the short story, I Am Your Horse in the Night, written by author Luisa Valenzuela, the story begins in medias res, where Chiquita the protagonist, finds herself in a difficult situation with a runaway lover who perhaps has come to visit her. This story focuses on the concepts of the heavy construct of gender in Latin America, making it one of the main themes. The title served as a metaphor for the gender construct, meaning that Chiquita will always be there for Beto to ride or use as an escape, both metaphorically and physically. The guards in the story also use their power as men to physically torture Chiquta to try to get her to confess Beto's whereabouts. In Sidonie Colette's The Other Wife, protagonist Alice is exposed to a new light when she sees her husband's independent ex-wife while at a restaurant. Alice is a traditional woman, married to a traditional and dominant man, who obeys her husband and behaves with elegance as expected of a woman of her time. Her husband has all the power in the relationship, dictating what Alice eats and where she goes, making constant remarks that she is just his object while Alice sits there unable to defend herself. Alice essentially has no free will, so she insists on the theme of gender construction in the story. The other wife is shown in the story reclining in the chair wearing a white dress while casually smoking a cigarette, free from the shackles of a domineering husband. Images are used to describe the setting and both women with very noticeable differences. Colette uses this character to show that women also have power and should have the same rights as men. In the story's epilogue, Alice has an epiphany and her vision changes. She realizes how much power the other wife has, that a woman can have power instead of a man. In In the Cutting of a Drink by Ama Ata Aidoo, a traditional Ghanaian man tells the story as a griot looking for his sister in the city. He finds her as a prostitute and wants to take her home but she asks him why he would want to return to their village to become a servant. In the city she is a free and powerful woman who can dress and do what she wants, but her brother doesn't understand this. He is unable to successfully culturally assimilate into this alien world, leaving him to return without his sister. These stories show women fighting against traditional norms in their male-dominated society for their right to freedom and expressing themselves asthey want. These authors write foreign literature, which varies from many places around the world. It is important to research these authors to better understand their work. The first thing to research these authors is where they are from, it is likely that they base their literature on where they grew up. It is therefore important to learn a brief history of their origin. The culture of their country could have a great influence on the work, making it easier to understand the context. Once you know the author's country of origin, it would also be helpful to take a more focused look at the author himself. Know the period in which the author was born and other useful information, such as whether he received formal education, as well as the literary genre in which the author generally works and the style used. Understanding the author's background allows readers to understand why they wrote what they wrote and the context and setting they were trying to evoke. While it may be beneficial to do the same for American literature, it is not necessary if readers already have a background on American history and culture. When analyzing literary works, you need to look for specific elements within the texts, both the overt and obvious and symbolisms. It is important to first identify the type of literature, whether it is a poem, a short story, a novel, or other genre of work. Identifying the speaker or narrator is also useful for labeling the protagonist and antagonist characters in the story. Looking for the diction or style used allows the reader to identify what message and tone the author is trying to convey through their work. There are also prevalent themes and/or concepts in the texts. One concept that was examined in multiple course papers was cultural assimilation. This is a process in which a minority group accepts the traditions and customs of another group. In relation to the literary texts analyzed throughout the semester, most authors discussed how the characters failed to adequately assimilate into the other cultures presented to them. In Chitra Divakaruni's short story Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter, the protagonist, Mrs. Dutta, is an Indian woman who moved to America to live with her son and be closer to her family, who can be described as the antagonists of history. She doesn't understand American culture, and while she tries to preserve traditional Indian customs as the family's provider, she becomes a shade to her son's family. Unable to assimilate properly, he decides that the best option is to return to India. In contrast, in the poem Ballad of the Two Grandfathers by Nicholas Guillen, the speaker discusses both their white and black heritage. The speaker uses a tone that conveys confusion and bounces back and forth between his grandparents. At the end of the poem, the speaker unifies both heritages and emphasizes the acceptance of cultural assimilation between him and his grandparents. Another concept discussed was exocytism, which is when a culture or an entire country is stereotyped. Ouologuem Yambo examined this concept in his narrative poem When the Teeth of Black Men Speak. The speaker uses a humorous and ironic tone towards Western tourists who stereotype him as a cannibal due to his large stomach and red gums, which are actually a sign of malnutrition. The title of the poem also alludes to exoticism, where from the Western imperialist point of view “to speak” means to act against or act against something. Many of the literary texts analyzed in the semester concerned Modernism. This concept represents the period in which the Western world rejected traditional views of religion and a.