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Jennie Graham INTL 3111 6-25-2011 Mr. Arnold Cultural Differences: Womens Daily Happiness Cultures all over the world have different interpretations on how women are perceived. Some cultures see women as equals who are allowed to get an education and work along with men, while others see women as lesser individuals and do not allow them to put their educations to work. In class we read many different stories dealing with many different cultural views, I have chosen two works to analyze and show their differences in society and views of women. The two works I chose are Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe, and The Smells of Home by Sandip Roy. Using these two stories I will compare and contrast the role of women in each of the stories cultures, the education the women are allowed to have, and lastly, the interpretation I have on the womens happiness. I would like to prove that women in a society that gives them freedom and educations are happier with themselves and their day to day life then women who are restricted. Anthills of the Savannah and The Smells of Home are based in very different cultures that see women in very different ways. Anthills of the Savannah is set in an imaginary African country, where the main characters, including most of the women, are Africans. The womens roles in this novel are to be individuals who have a mind of their own and who can make their own life choices. The main two women are Beatrice and Elewa, both Africian, they are the

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girlfriends of two of the main characters Chris and Ikem. The men both respect and love them, they also treat the women as close to equals within the society, even though Africa is mainly a mens country. Chris even tells one of his friends that Beatrice is a perfect embodiment of my ideal woman, beautiful without being glamorous. Peaceful but very strong. this says a lot about his respect for her and their relationship (Achebe 58). The women in this novel are given the freedom to choose their own relationship partners, where the woman in The Smells of Home is not. Savitri, the main female character in The Smells of Home is living in a completely different culture since this story is set in Delhi, India. A womans role in the Indian culture is foreseen in a completely different way. The women are expected to follow the directions of their family, and are often set up in arranged marriages to men much older than themselves, which takes away their freedom. Savitri is set up in an arranged marriage to a thirty-three year old man who is studying Economics in America. After their wedding she is forced to move to America with him leaving her dream of traveling to England behind (Roy 322). Her role in her society is to be a house wife and cater to her husbands needs. Education has an important role in some womens lives, but not all women are given the chance to use their education. Savitri has an Master of Arts in English Literature, which means she is educated, but she does not use her education after she moves to America with her husband. She could never imagine learning to drive in America and her husband says if you dont know how to drive here you [are] a prisoner (322). She is left alone in her home all day with little to do but miss home, and make grocery lists in her head as she lies awake waiting on her husband to get home from work. Her day to day life is limited since she is a prisoner of her home and

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she is not allowed to use her education to work in America. This is just one more thing that limits her individual freedom also taking away her happiness. The women in Anthills of the Savannah range in levels of education. Elewa does not have much of an education, but is trying to learn the English language, Beatrice, on the other hand, earned first class honors in English from Queen Mary College, University of London. She has a very high ranked job as Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and as Sam says she beat the English to their game (Achebe 68). Beatrices education and job allow her to attend a party Sam, the president, is holding where she gets to meet lots of people and show off her smarts. I feel as if Beatrice being allowed to use her education to work brings her happiness. Beatrices status even allows her to have a house girl, named Agatha, who is also allowed to make her own choices. The women in this novel are given the freedom to work and are not left at home as Savitri is in The Smells of Home. In the Indian culture a marriage arranged by a womans parents is a normal thing. Many women in these situations are unhappy in the choice of a husband their parents made for them, but feel stuck within the marriage. Women also fear rejecting to be in an arranged marriage because their families often cast them out and they may become ineligible to some single men making it hard to find a husband on their own (Chawla 18). I believe that Savitri feels unhappy and stuck in the marriage that her parents arranged for her. She receives a letter from a man named John telling her that her husband is cheating on her with him, after receiving this letter she is angry but does nothing about it (Roy 324). I feel that she only hides her feelings because she is scared to have a failed marriage, since they are looked down upon in her culture. Savitri shows her strength by staying with a man that she knows has been unfaithful to her with another man.

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Elewa and Beatrice seem to live a much happier life than Savitri, since they are given freedom within their culture. These women also have a sense of power in their society since they are allowed to work and make choices for themselves (Ferree 1058). Beatrice and Elewa do not have the cultural pressure to get married by a certain age as Savitri did either. Even though Elewa is pregnant by her boyfriend Ikem and they are unmarried, their society accepts this. When the government uprising happens and Ikem is shot Beatrice steps up and takes care of Elewa, which shows that they are both very strong women. Beatrice holds a naming ceremony for the daughter of Ikem and Elewa, they give the baby the name Amaechina which means May the path never close (Achebe 206). Naming the baby is the mens role in their society, but the women must take over the mens role in this case since the father of the child is dead. Elewa is told by her family that the name she chose for her baby girl is a boys name and she responds no matter which is very courageous of her to stand up to the people in her society (206). I feel that these women live a happier life because their society accepts them as equals and gives them freedom and choices. The cultures Anthills of the Savannah and The Smells of Home are set in are very different and view women in different ways. I believe that giving women choices and freedom make them happier with their lives. In the previous paragraphs I explained the role of women in each of the stories cultures, the education the women have and how they use it, and finally I gave my views on the womens overall happiness. I was able to prove that women who are given choices, freedom to jobs and an education live a happier healthier life.

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Works Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Anthills of the Savannah. First Anchor Books, 1987. Chawla, Devika. "Subjectivity and the Native Ethnographer:Researcher Eligibility in an Ethnographic Study of Urban Indian Women in Hindu." International Journal of Qualitative Methods (2006): 13-29. Ferree, Myra Marx. "Class, Housework, and Happiness: Women's Work and Life Satisfaction." Sex Roles (1984): 1057-1074. Roy, Sandip. The Smells of Home. 1996.