English Flashcards
(23 cards)
Pre intro
Today, in this individual oral for IBDP English language and literature I will be exploring the broad global issue of culture, community and identity and, more specifically, how rigid societal norms confine women’s identity and growth.
Intro
My literary work is the poem “The Little Red Cap” by Carol Ann Duffy from the collection “The World’s Wife”. The poem reimagines Little Red Riding Hood, with a major difference being that in Duffy’s version, the protagonist is on a journey of self discovery. The second text is a cartoon by feminist cartoonist Liza Donnelly. The cartoon depicts two young girls playing with dolls on a bedroom floor. Donnelly’s political cartoons commonly use humour to criticise the societal gaze on women. Thus the two extracts connect to the global issue as they highlight how entrenched societal narratives perpetuate the illusion of choice and trap women within predefined identities, ultimately preventing them restricting their intellectual and personal growth .
Zoom in intro
To start, I will discuss the poem “Little Red Cap”. Throughout the poem, Duffy applies intertextuality in the traditional narrative of the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood but subverts it to highlight the restrictive nature of patriarchal expectations that women face in pursuing growth. She further mirrors this idea by using free verse to reflect freedom from traditional constraints.
Point 1 EV 1
From the beginning of the poem Duffy highlights the external Societal expectations on female identity
Evidence: Duffy describes Little Red Cap as “sweet sixteen, never been, babe, waif” in the poem’s opening lines.
Explanation: These descriptors, each implying innocence and purity use diction to expose how society constructs young women’s identities using restrictive labels. Through subtle assonance, duffy suggests that from a young age, women are socially conditioned to remain “sweet” and “naive”. These one dimensional labels define Little Red Cap’s identity externally and act as limitations on her potential for growth, as they box her into narrowly defined traditional roles and restrict her from exploring a more complex sense of identity.
P2 EV 1
Point 2: Moreover Duffy further Presents Intellectual Growth Is as a Male Domain, Accessible Only Through the Wolf
Evidence: “my first. You might ask why. Here’s why. Poetry”
Explanation:The rhyme at the end of “why” and “poetry” and the second person address draw readers’ attention to when the protagonist emphasises literature and learning as key elements of the Wolf’s character. The line’s Conversational tone challenges formal poetic traditions and highlights how Little Red Cap is not necessarily attracted to the wolf because of any of his inherent qualities, but rather because of what he represents, which is growth and an opportunity to explore her potential in a world beyond the rigid norms that currently seek to confine her identity.
P2 EV 2
Evidence: The idea is similarly echoed on the lines “The wolf, I knew, would lead me deep into the woods / Away from home”
Explanation: In these lines, the “woods” and “wolf” with their connotations of danger and predation symbolise the unknown and new knowledge while home acts as a metaphor for the “safe” traditional norms that Little Red wants to escape from. The phrase “The wolf I knew would lead me” emphasises Little Red Cap’s lack of agency in accessing intellectual growth. She believes that she must rely on the wolf to lead her, illustrating how societal conditioning confines women to roles of dependency not letting them forge their own path.
P3 EV 1
Point 3 : Towards the end of the poem however Little red cap Reclaims her Identity through Violent Rebellion
Evidence: In line —– “I took an axe to a willow to see how it wept”
Explanation: The willow symbolises tradition and conformity, and the violent act of cutting it down reflecting her rejection of traditional norms.
P3 EV 2
Evidence: Similarly in the line “I ripped out his red throat and tore open his belly
Explanation: Little Red Cap violently breaks free of the wolf, her freedom from the wolf also again symbolises her rejection of societal constraints and thus the reclamation of her identity.
P3 EV3
Evidence : Furthermore in the line “Out of his belly sprang my grandmother’s bones, glistening virgin.”
Explanation : the line parallels how women have been caged in by patriarchal expectations throughout history. The “glistening, virgin white” of the bones further symbolises how purity and the imposed roles of women are the tools used for this entrapment. It suggests that by killing the wolf the speaker has not just freed herself from the age-old power dynamic playing out between them, she has also struck a blow at generations of male domination.
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The motifs of violence and struggle used in the stanza are both woven throughout the text and symbolise the effort required for women to gain knowledge and autonomy in a world that inherently seeks to confine and restrict them from reaching their true potential.
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Moreover, the global issue is also central to multiple other poems in the World Wife collection.
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Point 1: “Mrs. Beast”, for instance, focuses on a woman who redefines traditional power dynamics in her relationship.
Evidence AND Explanation: Throughout the poem, the speaker makes references to the “tragic girls in her head” or “the wives less fortunate than we”, repeatedly focusing on women and girls who did not have the same agency she does . This idea is further expanded on using vivid imagery in the line “But behind each player stood a line of ghosts / unable to win.” The line of ghosts is a metaphor to the women who were unable to escape the shackles of traditional society’s rigid expectations and thus weren’t able to realise their potential. Mrs. Beast’s defiance of patriarchal norms reflects her pursuit of her own self-actualization through power and independence.
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BOD 2 : “That’s him pushing the stone up the hill, / the jerk.” In Mrs. Sisyphus,” the protagonist’s husband is endlessly pushing a boulder up a hill. The speaker clearly expresses her frustration and boredom with her husband’s futile endeavour, as her life seems defined by waiting and supporting him in order to fulfil her role as a traditional Greek wife. The dynamic emphasises how women’s roles are often limited to being spectators or supporters of male ambition, rather than pursuing their own growth and self-actualization.
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Moving on to the cartoon by Liza Donelly the global issue is clearly highlighted through textual and visual elements.
The cartoon depicts two young girls playing in a bedroom, surrounded by stereotypically feminine elements like dolls, pink and purple colours, and a unicorn painting.
Zoom in lit point 1
The cartoon depicts two young girls playing in a bedroom, surrounded by stereotypically feminine elements like dolls, pink and purple colours, and a unicorn painting. These elements have two main roles. Firstly Through spatial arrangement and visual symbolism, the colours and elements that surround the girls reflect how gender expectations surround every aspect of women’s lives offering no escape from the indoctrination, not even within the privacy of their own bedrooms.
Zoom in non-lit. Point 2
Secondly, through visual juxtaposition, the innocent background elements—soft colours, playful toys, and whimsical decorations—sharply contrast with the mature dialogue. When one girl says: “I can’t decide what I’m going to be when I grow up—a good girl or a slut”, the harsh binary of the conversation shatters the otherwise childlike atmosphere. Donnelly uses this intentional contrast to expose how society forces women into a false dichotomy that restricts their potential for genuine growth and self-discovery from an alarmingly young age.
Zoom in non-lit. Point 2
Secondly, through visual juxtaposition, the innocent background elements—soft colours, playful toys, and whimsical decorations—sharply contrast with the mature dialogue. When one girl says: “I can’t decide what I’m going to be when I grow up—a good girl or a slut”, the harsh binary of the conversation shatters the otherwise childlike atmosphere. Donnelly uses this intentional contrast to expose how society forces women into a false dichotomy that restricts their potential for genuine growth and self-discovery from an alarmingly young age.
Zoom in point 3 non lit
Similarly, the dolls the girls are playing with act as powerful visual metaphors through their contrasting appearances. . Through colour symbolism, the green-clothed doll represents society’s “good girl” ideal, while the red-clothed doll suggests the “slut” stereotype. This colour choice is deliberately ironic - green traditionally symbolises growth, yet here represents restricted development rather than authentic self-exploration.
Zoom in point 4 non lit
By setting the cartoon’s perspective at eye-level with the two girls the artist creates a direct connection with the viewer. By framing this as a normalised conversation between two young girls, the cartoon demonstrates how gender norms are internalised early. The implication is that these categories—“good” or “bad”—are not innate but rather instilled by cultural narratives that force young girls to define themselves by narrow societal standards rather than exploring their identities freely.
Zoom out for non-literary work (Cartoon) intro
In both the cartoon depicting a woman mentally running through a “How Not to Get Raped” checklist and the cartoon with a baby surrounded by stereotypical labels, Donnelly shows how societal expectations not only restrict but even endanger women’s autonomy.
Cartoon: “Am i going to Get Raped?” Checklist
Explanation: Through visual symbolism, Donnelly shows a woman surrounded by anxious thoughts like “Is my skirt long enough?” and “Lipstick too red?”. The spatial arrangement of these intrusive thoughts creates a suffocating atmosphere, highlighting how society forces women to constantly self-police. This mental checklist reveals how women’s energy is diverted from growth to survival. The constant focus on self-preservation limiting their growth and trapping them within a system where they are defined by how well they can conform to external safety standards rather than by their autonomy or desires.
Cartoon: Mother Surrounded by Gendered Labels
Explanation: Using visual metaphor, Donnelly depicts a baby encircled by societal labels like “breadwinner,” “nurturer,” and “caretaker.” The compositional technique of clustering these words around her creates a crowding effect, symbolizing how gendered expectations crowd and restrict women’s identities. The contrast between nurturing and breadwinning roles exposes how society confines women to self sacrificing roles and caregiving stereotypes, prioritising their performance of femininity over personal growth.
Conclusion
Both Duffy’s “Little Red Cap” and Donnelly’s cartoons expose how society restricts female identity through different artistic techniques. While Duffy uses poetic devices like metaphor and form to show how women must violently break free from patriarchal constraints, Donnelly employs visual techniques like symbolism and ironic contrast to emphasise how these limitations are internalised from childhood. The poem’s journey from confined innocence (“sweet sixteen”) to empowerment mirrors the cartoon’s critique of the illusion of agency. Together, these texts demonstrate that whether through literary tradition or modern social expectations, women’s potential for authentic growth remains confined by binary categorizations that prioritize external judgment over self-determination.
