Tan On The Roof example essay topic
The fact that she did not say anything or do anything about these men makes her look somewhat like a whore or a slut who wanted to show off her half naked body to a group of chauvinist males. Ms. Lessing, I have read some of your work before and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I was just curious as to why you would write a story about a woman who, in my belief, gives a bad name to all women in society. Sincerely, Theresa O Donnell Dear Ms. O Donnell, I am very sorry that you found my story offensive, but that certainly was not its purpose. It seems as if you were focusing primarily on the tanning woman and not the men on the roof. The men on the roof were much more the center of the story then the tanning woman.
The men saw this woman tanning on her own roof on her own property. The first time they saw her the woman did not know they were going to be there. She was simply up there tanning as she probably had been doing for many years or for however long she has lived in that building. It was something she enjoyed doing. I specifically made it so that she did not respond at all to th roofers for a reason.
If she had responded to them she would have been giving them the satisfaction of them knowing that she recognized them and that it bothered her that they harassed her. After all, the whole reason the men ever said anything was to get a reaction. They did not care if the reaction was positive or negative. They just wanted some sort of response. The men thought that she owed them something. For whatever reasons they thought that the fact that they were working hard on the roof and she was relaxing and tanning meant that she owed them something for being up there.
I did not intend to portray the woman as a slut. Rather, I saw her as a strong individual who would not sacrifice her freedom to tan on her own roof and do as she pleased for the sake of a bunch of roofers who were convinced that she was somehow in debt to them. I hope this clears up your questions and again I apologize. Sincerely, Doris Lessing.