Critical Stylistic Analysis of Gender Naturalization in American Men-and Women-Related Proverbs

Abstract

Proverbs have intrigued many scholars around the world as they reflect how cultures view people’s social life. North American proverbs related to men and women, among them, are often employed to uncover how the culture of North America views men and women. By employing four analytical tools from critical stylistics, ten American proverbs will be analyzed in terms of their stylistic characteristics and gender-related ideologies. This paper ventures into how not only women but also men are stereotyped in proverbs. Through exploiting the critical stylistic tools, it concludes that the proverbs implicitly express how men and women are different in terms of their inherited traits and the daily tasks.