Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In the novel “The Travels of Annie T. Hastings,” the 70 year old woman protagonist is a birthmother on a mission: to find the daughter she gave away 35 years earlier. On a shoestring budget she crosses the country on this quest. Of the several themes apparent in the novel, one theme is clear: Annie T. Hastings is much like Annie Oakley. The obvious connection is the name, but there are more subtle connections that will be explored in this essay.

The opening line clearly connects Annie T. Hastings to Annie Oakley. “The first things packed were the porcelain dolls. The last thing was the gun.” Both Annies had guns. Annie T. Hastings refers to hers in the second sentence of her journal. It is a part of her and a symbol of her personality. There are two sides to both Annies. Annie Oakley had her guns but also was a lover of men, one being Frank Butler. The contemporary Annie T. Hastings has her rifle and becomes a lover of men, though she certainly does not start out that way. The rifle symbolizes the strength, vitality and potential dangerous disposition of both women. This is certainly true of Annie T. Hastings who seems to be in combat with most of the people she comes in contact with. Annie T. Hastings’ rifle is a symbol of her constant state of war with the world. Her perception of life and people are askew and this creates constant tension for her. And the gun represents that part of her. (The porcelain dolls, the first things packed, represents her maternal side, her loving side which she finds hard to reveal.)

Unlike Annie Oakley, Annie T. Hastings is not a good shot. This is a connection through antithesis. Annie Hastings’ rifle is fired only once at a turning point in the story. Unlike Oakley who practiced shooting, Hastings has little desire to use her gun and even suspects that it would do little in her battle with the “negative energy” that she perceives is attacking her. This is made clear early in the first journal when she says, “…pea-shooters, like my rifle, aren’t much help against that kind of force.” The connection through antithesis is also clear in that Oakley fires her gun at targets; Hastings has her gun for protection, and she intends to use it on people if necessary. She even sleeps with it when she stays in a rundown motel in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. One of the most insightful lines of her story is when she states, “And I’m planning to sleep atop the bedcovers with the Rimfire [her rifle] across my chest. The loaded gun, like men sometimes, seems like a necessary thing, but I don’t sleep well with either one.” Here Hastings demonstrates her anxiety with men and her anxiety at being vulnerable, hence her gun.

The connection of the two Annies is also seen in their ages – again the opposite highlights the connection. The Oakley we know from movies and plays is young and vibrant. Hastings, on the other hand, is slightly past seventy. Both are adventurous. Both are portrayed as sassy and feisty. Both are unique personalities that break the molds of their time. Both women are based on real life women who had extraordinary lives. Both are complex. Annie T. Hastings is an American woman who, like Oakley, deserves to become a classic character. But one must decide for oneself after reading “The Travels of Annie T. Hastings.” This is truly a work of literary fiction, samples of which can be seen at amazon.com.

About the Author:

English professor and screenwriter, co-author of “The Climb,” a film produced by Worldvision. See anniehastings.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Literary Fiction: Annie Oakley Meets Annie T. Hastings

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Help writing a fiction story through a feminist lens?

My English teacher gave us an assignment to write a story from a feminist point of view but to make it subtle so it can be seen as both feminist literature and just a regular story.

The only advice I can give you is whatever type of story that you write, make the women strong characters to direct their lives based on their own decisions and not societies standards.  If you choose to portray women in the general roles ie. mom/wife make sure to point out how extraordinary these roles actually are.  How much self-sacrifice it takes to be these people.  Also, add in some women who don’t find the self-sacrificing roles sufficient to make them feel complete.  Add in women who would rather work/write/sing/act/dance/pursue their own dreams rather than giving them up for family and such… 

To gain more insight read feminist works:
Anything by Kate Chopin
A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Wolf
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Hope I helped

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The most straightforward definition of feminism says that is a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It is a campaign against gender inequalities and it strives for equal rights for women. Feminism can be also defined as the right to enough information available to every single woman so that she can make a choice to live a life which is not discriminatory and which works within the principles of social, cultural, political and economic equality and independence.

Feminism can be also defined as a global phenomenon which addresses various issues related to women across the world in a specific manner as applicable to a particular culture or society. Though the issues related to feminism may differ for different societies and culture but they are broadly tied together with the underlying philosophy of achieving equality of gender in every sphere of life. So feminism cannot be tied to any narrow definitions based on a particular class, race or religion.

Definition of feminism: Global struggle

It is in fact a global struggle for gender equality and end of gender based discriminatory practices against women. So White American Women, Black American Women, Asian Women, Latin American Women, European Women or Women from any other part of the world are united in their struggle against gender based discrimination and inequality. Though they may be working for issues specific to their cultural and social settings but they are united in the philosophy of achieving equality of women in every sphere of life.

Further we need to agree that the definition of feminism may differ for every individual based on her experience in life. Two different women may come together to campaign for feminism entirely based on their own reasons influenced by the practical experiences of their specific lives.

To understand the definition of feminism in depth we also need to study the following topics in detail so that we get a multiple perspective on feminism.

1. Feminism and Society-This includes subtopics such as the civil rights campaign, language and feminism, heterosexual relationships and feminism, culture and feminism and women’s writing which also include feminist science fiction and riot girl feminism.

2. Feminism and Political Movements.

3. Feminism and Economic Development.

4. Feminism and Science.

Feminism is also related to men in the sense that all gender based equality is in fact a balance between the male and female with the intention of liberating the individual. In that sense the definition of feminism also includes all movements and campaigns that target men and boys for gender sensitisation with a goal to end gender based discriminatory practices and achieve gender based equality.

For free information and advice on topics and issues related to women, visit http://www.rise-of-womanhood.org

http://www.rise-of-womanhood.org

This site envisions the rise of womanhood in true sense that is the rise of the “essence” of womanhood in the physical, mental, intellectual and the spiritual planes. It calls for the beginning of a campaign for the true rise of women in all spheres of life for the restoration of the balance in nature.

Somewhere we have to make a beginning and it’s always better if we make the initiation at our own self. We can strengthen this mass movement for the “rise of womanhood” by bringing about the necessary changes in our own life as felt by our inner self. Further we can transmit the new thinking to others who care to listen. A small step today will definitely lead to a giant leap tomorrow.

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