The Nobel Prize and its Connection to Women

Currently, in the United States of America, there is a great problem with sexism. It started when the country was created with “all men are created equal”. Then there were the issues that men should be seen as the providers for the family. Later, they (men) came to agreement that women should be educated. Still, women are discriminated (in education and everyday life).

One such example of this mistreatment is with Jocelyn Bell Burnell. In her case, she discovered a new transforming neutron star, which people had originally thought wasn’t real. She made the discovery but published it with her supervisor. When she didn’t received the Nobel Prize, but her supervisor got it, she wasn’t very mad. Instead, she was happy that she could get more smaller awards that elated her more. She then would use the money that she won to create scholarships for minorities to study physics. Women, like Jocelyn, are so used to being in the shadows of men that what happened to her didn’t even anger her. This entire event is just one such occurrence of chauvinism. Another time was about one month later (the beginning of October). Donna Strickland, a Canadian, had just won a Nobel Prize for physics. She was the third woman to do so ever. She didn’t even get all of the credit. Half of her prize was given to Arthur Ashkin (a male) just because he invented a certain equipment that made the discovery possible. This was just like with Jocelyn since Donna wasn’t allowed the full spotlight; it had to be shared with a man. Both of these cases prove that women aren’t viewed as equals, hence both of them having positions as assistants. In general, even in literature, women are faced with discrimination and restrained. For example, in the short story “The Story of an Hour”, the main character gets very excited when she thinks that her husband died and is no longer there to tell her what to do. She would finally have freedom to act and think as she pleased. In all the situations, women are inhibited and can’t get nor do everything that they should be able to. These situations, though less common now than they were in the past, are still occurring and suppressing females, since they are seen as inferior. Even the world woman, and female have the opposite gender in them. To conclude, sexism is still an issue in this society and should be addressed in as many means possible.

Why are women content without being in the spotlight? Why is there still segregation in most fields of life? How can we cause more confidence and equality, hence ending such borders?

The Positive Uses of “Harry Potter” in Society

This month, “Harry Potter” is celebrating its 20 anniversary of release in the United States of America. People have connected with the books and started to make references to them in real life, and to make connections between them and their own experiences.

The “Harry Potter” books have made such an impact that people changed their social and even political views. For instance, many lessons were taught through the books about inclusion, acceptance, doing good/fighting the “bad”, standing up for oneself and others, and demolishing racial, gender, social class barriers. Many people were put into environnements that caused for a change in their character and how they perceived their ways in life. For example, in the article it stated that Emma Gonzalez, a survivor from the Parkland school shooting, connected herself to characters from Harry Potter. She said “‘Ginny is strong, levelheaded and passionate (small and powerful); Luna is gentle, kind, strong and just has a wonderful worldview’”. This caused her to become more confident in herself and to start to connect with the characters on a deeper level. Not only do the “Harry Potter” books help people cope and recover from tragic events in their lives but they inspired many organizations that are part of the Harry Potter Alliance to form. J.K. Rowling herself founded the Lumos organization which helps move kids from orphanages into proper and kind homes. Many groups in the Harry Potter Alliance focus on helping this society in many ways ranging for increasing voter numbers, literacy, and girls in the STEM program to gender-neutral bathrooms to racial equality. The actual event of trying to attain equality was just like in the Frederick Douglas readings where he tried to solve matters of racial discrimination. Unfortunate for him it didn’t fully work out since a lot of his life was spent as a slave or hiding the fact that he was a runaway. The Harry Potter Alliance connect this discrimination to “Purebloods” and Mudbloods”, which all the books’ readers can easily connect to and understand. In general, I believe that most people connect to the “Harry Potter” books and impact society with them since they want to become like the “good” characters and make the world a better place.

How can “Harry Potter” books make one feel included yet also shut people out? Also, why do the “Harry Potter” books make such an impact on people's’ lives even though the books are fantasy?