Nick's Page

This page is to summarize my paper: Memories to Trace a Movement

The use of the sources are also summarized very briefly afterwards.

Paper Summary

In Carolyn Cassady’s short memoir, “Cars I Have Known”, found in a collection of short stories pertaining to women and their cars, Ladies Start Your Engines, Cassady, the wife of the famous Beat personality Neal Cassady, recalls the different automobiles she has owned, or ridden in, that have made a significant imprint in her memory. The memoir can be broken up into three sections – childhood, college-years, and adulthood – in which a liberating movement for Cassady as a woman can be traced, and even though her growing independence is not directly related to the cars and travels of her memory, the recollection of the cars, and the times in her life that they represent, show how she became an independent woman in the age of feminism and equal rights. In the section of her childhood memories of a her nanny's husband's Model-T Ford, and her families Ford and REO Flying Cloud, Cassady describes the role of women in the time of her youth. The women of this time are inferior to men in that they do not own or operate the vehicles that she remembers. In the second section, in which Cassady talks of her car in college, she describes how she is able to earn money to buy her own car and break free of the oppression women in the time of her childhood. With this memory, we can see that Cassady is beginning to embrace the equal rights ideals of the feminist movement, but not completely. Even though she buys the car with her own earnings, and has every right to own a vehicle, she is stilled worried about her father's opinion of a female owning a car. Then, in the third section, Cassady finds independence as she escapes the social standard of the inferior female when she leaves cars to her husband and son and moves on her own to London.

Secondary Source #1: Women and Families

• Women & Families: Feminist Reconstructions by Kristine Baber and Katherine R. Allen

This source provides evidence of female oppression as it pertains to marriage and relationships. The book describes how women in the institution of marriage have a disadvantage. According to Baber and Allen, marriage accomodates the needs of men, allowing them to fulfill their own desires and activities while the woman's role is to support the man and his emotional needs as he competes in the world.

Nick's Bibliography

Secondary Source #2: Feminist Philosophy

• Feminist Philosophy by Herta Nagl-Docekal

This source describes the ideals behind modern feminism, and the ways that women and society must change in order to create equality among men and women. The book provides support on the traditional views of women being inferior to the role of men in society.

Nick's Bibliography

Secondary Source #3: What is Feminism

• What is Feminism: A Re-examination by Juliet Mitchell and Ann Oakley

This source is a collection of feminist writers giving their views on feminism in different rhealms of life, such as business, relationships, and legislation. The writers give a background on the feminist movement and the ways that women must embrace equality in order to break free of oppression. The contribution to the research is mostly from the historical context of feminism and the subjection of women.

Nick's Bibliography

Secondary Source #4: Gender, Identity & Place

• Gender, Identity & Place: Understanding Feminist Geographies by Linda McDowell

This source describes the role of women in different settings of society. The main focus is on the inequality in the business world and how to overcome it, but it also gives arguments on women in the domestic home, urban life, and national surroundings. The most useful part of the source comes from the section on women in the workplace, and the traditional views of a woman's role compared to a man's in business competition.

Nick's Bibliography

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Gender Minority Links

• Women on the Road

• Feminism

• Paper Summaries

• Annotated Bibliography

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Class Links

• Born to Run

• Gender Minority