A Walk In The Woods By Kaylee Versteegh

Feminist Perspective

Definition of  feminism: “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” and “organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests” (Webster) Feminism

Bill Bryson is very open for taking advice Bill Bryson is very open for taking advice. For example: When Bill was in the camping store, the sales man was showing him a whole lot of things he would “need” to buy in order to successfully hike the AT. Bill was very overwhelmed and wasn’t completely convinced that he would need to buy all the equipment, though he did. But when his wife told him that she feels strongly that he should not hike this dangerous trail, he disregarded everything she said and continued with his plan without considering her thoughts and feelings. He is more willing to accept advice from men than from women.

Katz stated that he only looks for woman with a heartbeat and limbs, showing that the only thing he needs the woman for, is to meet the needs of him in a sexual way. "You know what I look for in a female these days? A heartbeat and a full set of limbs." (Bryson 45)

Also through out the novel it is clear that Bills wife is a fairly typical house wife. She cooks, cleans and drives Bill places whenever and wherever he needs to go. Bills wife cares for him and does a lot of things for him. She is treated like his worker for a lot of the novel.

In this novel you can see that Bill sees woman as being powerless and useless. He jokingly states terms sometimes but he also proves his words through his rude actions and disbeliefs towards women. He wont take advice from women and he constantly seems to be burdened by their presence. “And then of course there was the constant prattling, awesomely brainless presence of Mary Ellen.” (Bryson 72) “Plan B was that we would kill Mary Ellen and take her Pop Tarts” (Bryson 74) “It was apparent that for all her blustr she was untrailworthy (she hadn’t the faintest idea how to read a map, for one thing) and ill at ease on her own in the wilderness.” (Bryson 67)

Works Cited Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods. N.p.: Anchor Canada, 2002. Print. "Feminist." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 21 July 2017. A Walk in the Woods Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Nick Offerman, Emma Thompson Movie HD. Perf. Nick Offerman and Emma Thompson. Movieclips Trailers. Movieclips Trailers, 28 May 2015. Web. 21 July 2017.