Love Essay, Research Paper

A Response to Rape Fantasies and Rape

Rape is a strong word. It means power. Only from a victim s eyes can one truly comprehend this life-altering occurrence. It is a nightmare to go through as a victim fearing trust in people. It is an up most horrifying action that destroys a victims well being. Being a victim of raped seems unlikely to happen when you think that it can t possibly happen to you; however, it can, and it can happen when you least expect it to. The comparison of the story Rape Fantasies , by Margaret Atwood, and Rape a poem contributed by Adrienne Rich is the power struggle between the male and female. The language and style of these two works function to illustrate the ideas of male domination and female oppression.

Adrienne Rich s poem, Rape entails a much harsher view on rape. In the poem the woman is raped. The narrator is the victim. Her emotions are expressed through her language with pain, anger, and hurt. The narrator uses symbolism to create a view of male domination when the woman reports the rape to the cop she refers him to as a prowler. In other words, he is a man, who is to say that he would not rape someone. She fears him even more because the man that raped her is very much like the cop. She is fearful of all men and not trusting of even a police officer. Her guilt of being forced leaves her to feel it is her fault. Concisely, the cop feels that some guilt should be placed on her. The woman is full of disgust by his comment. Once again she feels demoralized by the act of rape and reporting it.

In the story, Rape Fantasies by Margaret Atwood, the views on male domination are much different. For one, the narrator is not actually raped. Instead she consoles the other women at the lunch table. The narrator takes an approach that she is stronger that the male figure and that all women can be. Atwood s attitude on the power struggle between male and female is the complete opposite of the poem Rape . In the story, Rape Fantasies the women are having a conversation about rape fantasies that sprung up from a magazine article during lunch. This is a use of a metaphor for power. To Atwood, eating is power. The narrator describes the rape fantasies as humorous; however this is a serious matter that should not be discussed lightly.

Rape is mentally and emotionally problematic for one s being. It is a scary thought to think one day it can happen to you. When coming to college all you hear is one out of four girls will be raped during those years. To keep it in and not tell someone because you feel it is your fault or that no one is going to believe you is even worse. Rape is the feeling of being powerless and it stares you right in the eyes. It sends you on an emotional roller coaster that you may never get off.