Marks

Freshman Composition 112 – 12:00 MWF
Critical Literature-Based Essay

Shavon Daniels
October 10, 2012

Marks

The roles of men and women are changing. Things are not what they used to be. “Today’s father is no longer always the traditional married breadwinner and disciplinarian in the family. He can be single or married; externally employed or stay-at home; gay or straight; an adoptive or step-parent; and a more than capable caregiver to children facing physical or psychological challenges (APA).” This is one of the many sources that express how the roles of men and women are being reversed. Linda Pastan’s poem, Mark, is a reflection of the expectations that families did, and still currently have of mothers and wives. The more our world changes, the more we have to accommodate to what is going on.
In the poem, it talks about the scores she received from her husband. “My husband gives me an A / for last night’s supper, / an incomplete for my ironing, / a B plus in bed (Pastan).” It is unclear what the woman’s occupation is, but it does suggest that she is home in the morning to press her husband’s shirt and back home in the evening to prepare dinner. It is possible that the wife truly put effort into all the things she did for her husband, and he only appreciated the things that had nothing to do with work. Since men are creatures that thrive off pleasure, home needs to be a place where he can relax and be happy after leaving a stressful job. He came home, had a wonderful meal, and was pleased before retiring to sleep. But when it came to his shirt being pressed, it may have reminded him of work, and the stresses of it may have had an influence on the grade he gave his wife. Also, Marks talks about a woman’s life, an ordinary and traditional woman’s life. Staying home, taking care of house works and the family members, not being rewarded enough for it, then she finally through with the grades she keeps getting and planning on dropping out the job. Women and men never have been equal. Men and women may be equal in number, but they have never been equal in power and status. All this time, they have always been divided into superior and inferior, and men always seem to be superior. Even the Christian religion, which has been one of the greatest influences on Western life and thought, for many centuries believes that women were the second sex, inferior to me. They believe women were made only to help men, that woman was made after man, of man, and for man.
Therefore, it is not surprising when people consider women’s place is second place, and, in most parts of the world, women’s place has traditionally been in the home. This is the system, since the very first day of their lives, women are taught to be wives. They are taught to cook, do the laundry, clean up the house, knit, sew, iron clothes. When they grow up, they get married, become housewives, and use their knowledge to take care of their families. Housework continues to be hard, boring work, but women do not seem to think that it is real work or important. Neither do men.
The grades the mother was given from her children were given from what seems like indifferent attitudes. The son describes his mother as “average” and “if [she] put [her] mind to it / [she] could improve (Pastan).” The daughter grades her mother “in Pass/Fail and tells [her] / [she] pass[es] (Pastan).” Because the children are not parents yet, it is harder for them to see all that goes into it. Instead of taking into consideration what other tasks the mother had to complete, it is possible that the children were grading their mother on the things that they didn’t receive. Unfortunately, we are all born selfish; we think of ourselves until we are taught otherwise.
In a comic strip scene, Batman and Robin are seen getting ready to go respond to the bat-signal. Wonder Woman comes from the kitchen in a dress saying, “Wait for me! I’ll have my costume on in a few minutes!” With annoyance in his face, Batman replies, “Now look Kathy – One crime-fighter in the family is enough! A wife’s place is in the home (TV Tropes)!” This is a prime example of sexism that women endure. “Women continue climbing the rungs of power—building their ranks as heads of state, corporate leaders and media influencers—but their minority status means they still face harsh, limiting assessments based on their gender (Goudreau).” The more successful women become, the more “haters” they will acquire. The grades that this mother received may not have been the grades she deserved, but it is difficult to tell for sure since there is only one point of view.
By the end of the poem, it appears that the mother is tired and has had enough. After revealing her grade report, she says, “Wait ‘til they learn / I’m dropping out (Pastan).” It is unclear what exactly the mother is referring to as “dropping out.” I could mean anything from refraining from doing household chores for a while, permanently stopping her motherly duties, or even leaving the family altogether. It suggests that she is upset with her results and may feel as though she didn’t deserve as low marks as she got.
Pastan’s poem is based on an assessment: a family’s assessment of their wife and mother. Among all the grades she received from her family members, she scored the highest with her husband. The poem did not reveal how long the couple had been married, but one can assume that they chose to marry one another. Unlike the husband, the children had no choice when it came to which mother they would have. This may have played a role in why she scored so poorly with them.

Works Cited
"The Changing Role of the Modern Day Father." American Psychological Association (APA). Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/changing-father.aspx>.
Goudreau, Jenna. "The 10 Worst Stereotypes About Powerful Women." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2011/10/24/worst-stereotypes-powerful-women-christine-lagarde-hillary-clinton/>.
Pastan, Linda. "Marks." Poem Hunter. 7 Jan. 2004. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/marks/>.
"Stay In the Kitchen." Weblog post. TV Tropes. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StayInTheKitchen>.

Cited: "The Changing Role of the Modern Day Father." American Psychological Association (APA). Web. 12 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/changing-father.aspx&gt;. Goudreau, Jenna. "The 10 Worst Stereotypes About Powerful Women." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2011/10/24/worst-stereotypes-powerful-women-christine-lagarde-hillary-clinton/&gt;. Pastan, Linda. "Marks." Poem Hunter. 7 Jan. 2004. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/marks/&gt;. "Stay In the Kitchen." Weblog post. TV Tropes. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StayInTheKitchen&gt;.