Josselyn

Hernandez
AP LANG
Per.2
4/2/16
Ms.K
Women Achieving the American dream
In society there has always been gender inequality between men and women, making it
more difficult for women to work their way up the ladder of the American dream. For centuries,
women have been seen as housewives and not hardworking women. Men have been the wiser,
stronger, and the ones with authority compared to women. Today men and women are equal
educationally. They each are allowed to have the same occupations as men, but their authority
and pay is completely different. These differences make it harder for women to become
successful. The opportunities for women have expanded drastically having the ability to have
equal rights, voting rights, and have a career of their choice. Today we all live in a so called free
country where women are still being oppressed by men. Biology is just an excuse society uses
to exclude women and set them apart. Women are just as capable as men. Theyre just not
recognized for the job they do, compared to men.

Women have been teachers to their sons as mother figures. They teach them the basis

of life like the differences of right from wrong. Since theyve shaped men to become what they
grow up to be, women are as just as capable as men to become leaders. There is nothing a man
can do that a woman cant; theyre both humans capable of the same tasks. Gender inequality
has and still is a barrier for women to have a higher position in the ladder of the American

dream. The differences between men and women created inequality in society where women
are excluded simply because they are females. It is harder for women to achieve the American
dream compared to men because of sexist views.
History of women
The differences between men and women have been unavoidable beginning with
physiology to a place in the ladder of the American dream. Both genders have the same minds
having the ability to be equally competent, the differences are physically. Women arent
physically as strong as men which led to the stereotype of women being the weaker gender
who did the housework while men were outside doing the real work which was yard work.
Women worked just as hard as men, possibly even harder their jobs such as family care werent
recognized as jobs because it wasnt a job to men but rather what all women were supposed to
do. Men thought women didnt need an education, they were expected to clean, cook, and care
for the kids and their husband. Men kept women ignorant to the stereotype of a housewife that
women didnt feel inequality because society made women feel like being a housewife was a
profession for all women. All women were destined to be, a wife and a mother nothing more.
Women that wanted to become more than just a housewife were seen as defeminizing
women (Zagarri 77) that were rebellious and were wrong. Men shaped women to become
submissive to their husbands while they had the authority in the household and in society. All
women stayed at home while all men worked outside. Women were kept at home, nave to a
womans abilities which excluded them from society.
Men found ways to keep women oppressed in the bottom but women fought for their
rights to have a position in the ladder of the American dream. Women werent allowed to vote,

work, or earn a good education. These type of circumstances set up women to stay submissive
to men. Women began educating themselves and others in society (Zagarri 121) they grew
courage, to speak up for their voting rights they now became aware they deserved. Women
became more involved in politics by creating female politician groups, charitable movements,
and social female reform organizations (Zagarri 56). At the time a woman politician was seen as
an amphibious animal an unnatural species that displayed masculine as well as feminine traits
(Zagarri 77) this shows how bad society spoke about women when they attempted to do what
men did. They felt it was only right for men to have all the authority. Society labeled women
only as a housewife, anyone wanting to become more than that was wrong.
Women later began to fight for their independence that was deprived subconsciously
from them by men. The U.S constitution which was created by all white men didnt originally
specify who can vote. Giving states the thought of having an option to decide who was allowed
to vote. They began setting certain restrictions in order to vote such as race, gender, and
owning a specific amount of property. In most cases only white men owning property were
allowed to vote (The fight for). On February 3, 1870 the 15th amendment was passed which
extended voting rights to different groups of citizens which stated the right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (The fight for).The constitution never
specified what gender was allowed to vote women continued being ineligible to vote. Society
saw women below men so they excluded them from society by depriving them their voting
rights. Being ineligible to vote gave men the advantage to continue to have all the authority
which oppressed all the women below them. Women had no voice in choices that were made

in society, men did. The 15th amendment was an opportunity for women activists to push for
universal suffrage. Women were granted their voting rights on August 26, 1920, the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution stated all American women like men, deserve all the rights
and responsibilities of citizenship (The Fight for).Having voting rights ways a step closer to
equality between both genders and led to an opportunity for women to revolutionize and
allow females a position in the ladder of the American dream.
Views of Women in novels
Women are capable of doing the same jobs as men although old accustoms don't allow
women to prosper and become seen more than just a lady with class or a mother. The capacity
and efficiency for a women to do anything equal to men is possible.
In My Antonia, Antonia is a female who takes over her father's position of becoming a
financial supporter for her family after her father's death. She works in the field with her
brother trying to support her family doing the same amount of fieldwork as her brother all day
and night. The people in town gossiped about her because she was a young female doing a
mans job. Antonia is a strong young female that took initiative to help her family, but was
talked about as if she was doing wrong. This is how society is set up; instead of recognizing
what women are capable they were judged for doing a job that isn't meant for them, theyre
judged as if theyre abnormal human beings for doing things men do.
Antonia becomes part of a group of hired girls in town, immigrant girls who work and
live in town to support their families back in town. She moved in with a family in town called
the Harlings, working as a cook and a maid around the house. Antonia began doing a womens
job cooking, cleaning, and childcare. She now blended in with all the women in town.

Women take on more responsibilities than men do and still get the job done. Antonia
returned to the farm and worked on the fields once again but this time with a child. She
became pregnant by a man who left her. Antonia now had to do both a mans and womans job
which she did successfully. Having to raise a child on her own and still having to help support
her previous family of four (Mrs.Shimerda, Ambrosch,Yulka, and herself). She worked most of
the day on the field and still set time apart to raise a kid. Antonia is an independent mother
who owned property, raised a family, and worked. She was capable of doing a mans job.
In The Great Gatsby Daisy is a lady with class who earns an education but does nothing
with it because she was shown to become a lady and find a wealthy husband to support her.
She marries Tom, a wealthy man who supports her and all her needs. Unlike other women
Daisy didnt do any housework Tom was wealthy enough to afford to pay for a housemaid. Tom
and Daisy had a baby girl which she hope[d] shell be a foolthats the best thing a girl can be
in this world, a beautiful little fool (Fitzgerald 17).Daisy raises her daughter to be just like her.
In contrast, Daisy is not a fool herself because she is a graduate from Yale but she was
surrounded by an environment that does not value the intelligence of women.
There are different expectations for men and women. Men work to provide for the
family and women marry a man to become dependent on them while raising a family. The
novel My Antonia took place during 1918 and the Great Gatsby took place in 1925. Antonia is
an independent woman who achieves the American dream and is a prime example of a woman
being capable to do a mans job while Daisy is an example of the type of woman society
portrays all women to be.

Education and Women in achieving the American Dream

Education is the closest way for women to be equal to men in the ladder of the
American dream. Women arent treated equal socially and economically. The purpose of
womens education in America was to become skilled with household duties such as sewing,
knitting, cooking, and nursing in order to find a husband and create a family they can take care
of (The History of).Females werent educated to be intellectual in academics those who were
highly educated in academics were thought to be unusual. Men were educated and were given
the option to continue their education but most girls were not (The History of) this shows how
unequal society treated women by taking away opportunities of education while giving men the
advantages. In New England there was a program called Dame schools which taught boys and
girls the basics of reading and writing. They didnt exclude women but they were still being
treated unequal. The difference was that the boys were taught skills to enter a town school and
continue their education while in contrast females were taught womanly skills (The History
of) and werent given the option to higher their level of education. Sexist discrimination made it
harder for women to be at the same level of success or position in society compared to men.
It wasnt until the 1980s that women were attending college in equal numbers to men
(The history of). They began earning an education higher than the basics of reading and writing
by attending college and learning academic subjects at the same level as men. For women, this
was evidence that women can be competent, educated and eventually financially independent.
Education symbolized independence for women and a sense of equality.
Women earn the same education as men but in the work force theres a gender gap that limits
women from achieving the American dream at the same level of success as men. There is only

equality between both genders in minimum wage jobs. In contrast, with higher corporations
there is a big gender gap, men have the higher position. In 2014, women working full time in
the United States typically were paid just 79 percent of what men were paid (The simple truth).
Women make up nearly 51% of the U.S. population and only 20% of the U.S. Congress is made
up of women (14 ways women).Women are also the minority in the corporate world at
fortune 500 companies they account for 17% of board members, 15% of C-suite executives and
5% of CEOs (14 ways women). Education is useful to become successful and increase earnings
but isnt effective against the gender pay gap. Woman can be just as educated and hardworking
as men but when comes to choosing a gender for a leadership position men are often chosen.
Women use education to prove they are intellectually competent as men in achieving the
American dream but it is harder for women because of stereotypical and sexist views on all
females.
Men made the money to provide for the household because women werent allowed to
have a paid job werent allowed to earn any education, and women werent allowed to vote
because of one reason; they were born a female. Gender inequality has always been a huge
barrier for women to become as successful in achieving the American dream compared to men.
Although women are given the same rights as men today, doesnt mean they are given same
opportunities. Women have to struggle to break through the sexist views by succeeding higher
than men to prove them wrong. In which they do, through education and work, not in equal
numbers but women are capable of achieving the American dream higher than men. Men have
been known to be the ones with power which is why more men are known to achieve the
American dream higher than women. Women have had to overcome more barriers than men

throughout history and today are capable of being equal to men. Society has to begin to see
more to a woman than just a feminine soft figure. Times have changed there are equal rights.
Now its time for the complete abolishment of misogyny in the corporate world, politics, and in
society. Women have been oppressed by men, its time to change. Women depended on men
which excluded them from society. Women are able to be independent, successful, and
educated just as men are. Gender shouldnt be a barrier in achieving the American dream, both
genders are equal.

Josselyn Hernandez
Period 2
AP LANG
4/2/16
Citation Page
Zagarri, Rosemarie. Revolutionary Backlash. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
2007. Print.
Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954. Print.
Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner. 2004. Print.
Hill, Catherine.The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap. American Association of University
Women. n.d. Web. 4 December 2015.
Friedman, Megan. 14 Ways Women Still Aren't Equal to Men. Marie Claire. N.p. 26 August
2015. Web. 2 April 2016
The History of Women and Education. National Women History Museum, 2007. Web.
26 March 2016.
History. The Fight for Womens Suffurage. A + E Networks, n.d. Web. 25 March 2016.