Gender Differences in Literature: By Choice or Force?

For a dialectical analysis regarding gender differences, I have chosen four American classics. All were written in the mid 20th Century – within a 30-year range of publication – by white, middle-class men and women.  These novels are Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937), The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951), To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960), and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963).  

In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck examines the nature of mankind. The story takes place in Northern California where George and his mentally handicapped friend, Lennie, go after Lennie was wrongly accused of rape. Unfortunately, Lennie is befriended by the macho Curley’s flirtatious wife and accidentally kills her.  In the end, George shoots Lennie, knowing that trouble will inevitably follow Lennie despite his good intentions.  Steinbeck’s underlying message is that despite the goodness of men, society is constructed to eliminate the weak.  

The Catcher in the Rye begins with young Holden at a sanitorium narrating the adventures leading up to that point. They include expulsion from school, trying to assimilate himself into the adult world of sexual relationships, and the freedom to live as one chooses.  Salinger examines the difficulties society imposes on young men and the destruction of childhood innocence.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes of young Scout and her community as her father defends a black man accused of raping a white woman in their small, Southern town.  Lee also muses on the ending of childhood innocence as Scout learns the ugliness of human nature when stigmatisms cloud judgment.  

The Bell Jar is narrated from the perspective of Esther, a young woman who, by the pressures of her sexist society, struggles with feelings of inadequacy, depression, and madness.  The reader watches as Esther goes from a posh, New York collegiate society to a mental asylum after her social discontent turns suicidal. Plath focus’ on the disconnect from society a woman faces when she cannot be molded into what the status quo demands.  

Thematically, all these stories share a common struggle. The protagonists are faced with a dilemma imposed by their society as a result of their incapability or refusal to conform to its demands. Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird are more similar because the issues are broad and applicable to a large number of people since they represent a social issue of the time. The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar focus more on the internal crisis’ of the protagonists.  However, The Catcher in the Rye can be generalized with Of Mice and Men because the focus of the protagonist’s dilemma revolves around their individual lack of power in the face of society. They are not as concerned with the larger, societal control, as Scout and Esther are. These female protagonists are fully aware of their lack of influence on the unfairness of their society.  Scout inevitably begins to lose her free-spirited, naive attitude, while in The Bell Jar, it is extended to the point of driving Esther insane. Society revolves around the protagonists where male authors are concerned, whereas our female writers have their protagonists swept into the current of their society at large.

Another prominent detail to consider is that male writers have male protagonists, and female writers have (predominantly) female protagonists. This can be assumed based on the ideology that writers write what they know, and from known biographies of the author’s that their novels to mirror their personal life experiences.  

Linguistically, Steinbeck uses colloquial language that is as rough and real. The male characters speak of women in terms of their sexuality, clearly indicating the power they have over men. Alas, it is this influence that brings about the tragedy at the end.  In Steinbeck’s theme that society eliminates the weak, weakness largely stems from the power of seduction women hold over men. The novel also focuses’ on the pursuit of happiness as achievable through hard work; a very patriarchial, American ideal.  Overall, Steinbeck’s language is gruff and masculine in how the characters refer to themselves, others, and places in direct jargon appropriate to the time and place of the novel.

 Salinger’s language is strewn with colloquial slang as well and is laced with cursing.  Holden uses this language to command respect and defy his youth. This can be seen as an imitation of standard male language in his society that, by mimicking, assimilates boys into manhood.  The reader is granted access to Holden’s thoughts, a trait seen in Lee and Plath’s stylism as well.  However, it is interesting to note that Holden’s internal vernacular is significantly different than when he speaks, whereas Scout and Esther voice their feelings regularly and truthfully. Likewise, it is interesting to note the extent of cursing and informal jargon that are seen regularly in Of Mice and Men and The Catcher in the Rye. It can be assumed that Steinbeck and Salinger felt more freedom in word choice, even when such words can be considered offensive.

Lee’s description of the setting is beautifully realistic and evolves as Scout matures, enabling her to see things differently than she used to after learning their true nature. Scout is a tomboy, a trait that fits in accordance with the anomalies of her family situation.  She is raised by a single father who is not concerned with enforcing gender codes on her, such as dress wearing or playing quietly. This gender freedom correlates with the greater anti-racist theme of the novel.  It is as if Lee is trying to say that such codes shouldn’t apply. Defiance of codes is taken to an extreme in The Bell Jar, as Esther’s disgust to her fashionable charade turns very dark.  Plath’s extensive use of similes and metaphors turns common things into profound emotions and exposes their true nature.

The differences in the novels directly related to gender bias are the ways the opposite sexes portray each other, perceived power, and express emotion.  The women depicted in Of Mice and Men and The Catcher in the Rye have roughly the same traits: emotional, flirtatious, and subordinate to the male decisions as if they are all the same character. However, the men in The Bell Jar, and especially in To Kill a Mockingbird, are diverse from each other in attitude and appearance.  Emotionally, what the men voice versus what women voice is contradictory. Demonstrating emotion portrays how the men feel obligated to assume a social image, whereas the women want to defy it.

Structurally, Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird strictly follow a linear plot.  The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar meander through the past, present, and even future.  While this suggests gender similarity, the point at which the conflict appears marks a difference.  The main characters and conflict appear within the first few chapters of The Catcher in the Rye and Of Mice and Men, whereas The Bell Jar and To Kill a Mockingbird take leisure to demonstrate the conflict between the protagonist and their setting.  This suggests a correlation between gender stereotypes in America; how men are to be succinct and to the point, while women are notorious for extended conversation and details.

Professor of rhetoric and linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University, Barbara Johnstone, generalized the differences between men's and women's writing. She says women write about community, the violation of social norms, and personal stories. She described men’s writing as one about the contest and defense of honor.  My results are comparative to Johnstone’s.  Steinbeck and Salinger’s male characters compete with other men in their society to survive.  George and Lennie go wherever they have to secure work so they can achieve their goals, and Holden moves in and out of institutions on his quest for societal identity.  Thematically, Lee and Plath describe the effects violations of social norms have on individuals and society at large.  To Kill a Mockingbird examines a community where it is arbitrary whether it is Scout and her family who violate social norms, or those who oppose racial justice.  The Bell Jar demonstrates the horrors incurred when one diverges from proper attitudes but gives insight into how twisted standard society behaves.  

Linguist Susan Kalcik asserts that women have a cooperative, interactional style of storytelling that gives respect to complete narratives and the examination of opinions. Conceptually, women write story chains – where one story provokes another.  While Kalcik did not generalize about men, it can be inferred her assertions are similar to Johnstone’s. If women write in detail about broader, social themes that integrate various members, men must be more individualistic and subjective to their own experiences.  Thus, my results compare to Kalcik’s as well. Though their society is a crucial factor in the outcome of the story, the protagonists of Steinbeck and Salinger’s stories are concerned about themselves, not the issues that cause their hardships.  It is as if they assume survival depends on assimilation, not change.    

After analyzing these texts, it is indisputable that culture influences language.  Likewise, language reciprocates culture.  The writers are a product of their culture and have the freedom to conform or defy.  Gender differences, though unfair in many aspects, give insight into society and its functions, and can act as an enabler to change what is wrong through the use of words.  Words are what define people, and people are what define a society.  Similarity, people can defy society, but in the end, it is the words that do it.