Topic > Michael's character and the importance of his hobby Girls in Summer Dresses

During the story "Girls in Summer Dresses", written by Irwin Shaw, one of the main protagonists of the story, Frances, is annoyed and irritated by the way her husband, Michael, stares vividly and vehemently at the multitude of beautiful women who cross the couple's path on this atypical fall Sunday afternoon in New York City. All Frances wants is to be able to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon with her husband. She just wants to be the center of his attention, because that's what her husband means to her. Michael is everything to her, she loves him passionately and determines her happiness based on Michael's happiness. Now Michael, on the other hand, is also enjoying this autumn Sunday afternoon, but in a slightly different way. Michael is happily indulging in one of his favorite and oldest hobbies: admiring the vast and vast amount of beautiful women who cross his path. Michael has been practicing this advantageous sightseeing since before he was with Frances. And I bet if you asked Michael how his day is going, he'd tell you he's having a great Sunday afternoon. Michael's perspective is that until he takes action or follows through; by trying to get these women to sleep with him, in his mind he isn't doing anything wrong. As my father would say, “It is not right and it is not right to victimize a man with a wandering eye. As long as that is the only organ that wanders, you have to let a man be a man.” With his wife at his side squeezing his arm in understanding, Michael strolls down 5th Avenue in New York City feeling as if nothing could ruin this beautiful Sunday. But Michael's seemingly narcissistic approach to his interactions with other women is having a reckless effect. Her innocent hobby is making Frances feel unwelcome and unwanted. Ignoring this seemingly obvious concept, Michael and Frances continue to proceed mechanically. Giving the world a false impression of how happy they are together. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Irwin Shaw masterfully portrays the struggle that faithful, committed men face on a daily basis. We love our partners with all our heart, mind and soul, however, there is something extremely tempting about a beautiful woman. The length of her hair, the color of her eyes, her posture, the way she presents herself, her style, her curves, the way she walks - and don't let me fail to mention whether or not she knows how to wear a dress with elegance and learned how to trap any man with just a look. Women are God's most unique and beautiful creation. Other women also control other women. Some admit to doing it while others just get caught looking with a really deceptive mean face. Or as social media called it, a resting bitch face. And most of the time the woman he stares at has nothing to do with sexual intrigue. Now I wouldn't dare put men in this same context, but regardless of the intentions, the appeal is the same. Beautiful women have this unique ability to attract people's attention, regardless of gender or sexual preference. Many women wouldn't openly admit it, but more often than not, women use other women to compare and contrast different aspects of themselves. I see this event happen all the time at Harper College. A beautiful girl will walk down the avenue of the Avante palace, attracting everyone's attention. Guys sitting at the same table will talk about a variety of things, from vivid sexual innuendos to the lesson that they may or may notshare together. In any case, there aren't many deviations from what men typically talk about. Meanwhile at the girls' table there are a myriad of different thoughts and comments circulating. A girl gets mad because that's the pair of TOMS boots she wanted, and that girl had the audacity to wear them. So, you might compliment her on how beautiful and elegant her Tory Burch Ella Nylon Tote bag is, but be sure to point out that she would have gotten a different color. While another goes on to talk about how she could never be that skinny because of her unquenchable love for ice cream. Some women are so attentive and intelligent that even from afar they can spot other men looking at another woman and in that same proverbial window, they identify what specifically in the woman attracts everyone's attention. In resolving this event, most women will end up labeling all men who possess wandering eyes as untrustworthy dogs, always on the lookout for bones. Now the vast majority of women love attention and the feeling of being desired and admired. This is why it is so important for men to physically and emotionally show the woman, or women, in their lives that they are valued, wanted, and needed. Self-esteem is a very sensitive topic for women in general. Women will go to great lengths and sometimes to irrational means in an attempt to present themselves to others as beautiful and desired. A great example of this notion is popular women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and Us Weekly. These magazines target women's inability to love themselves from all points of view. Anything from popular diet fads, to various wardrobe enhancements, or ways to improve their sex life, and they always have that risky and expensive fat removal surgery with a beautiful woman with perfect hair promoting it. Although chances are he never had that surgery to begin with. Not only do they target the various insecurities that women possess, but they seem to have found a way to profit from them. In June 2016, Vanity Fair reported having over two million subscribers, and after our newly elected president mentioned the magazine in a “tweet,” their subscriptions have doubled in the last month alone. These insecurities can also have different effects on the men who essentially have to fight them. Yes, men want to have an attractive woman they can call their own. That's true, but they also want a woman who has confidence in herself. Confidence in knowing that they have something special about them, and that something special is why they are together. Men aren't too fond of being with someone who constantly questions the validity of their feelings towards them. Sometimes it can get frustrating because no matter how much or how many times you can say the word or words you think she wants to hear, you end up losing. But ultimately the actions are what truly resonate with us. Man and woman. We both want our significant other to show us that everything he says actually means and feels like himself. And this is the argument Frances is having with Michael. Frances hears Michael say that he loves her and only her, but Frances has some trust issues that stem from Michael's wandering eyes. “'Despite her attractiveness, Frances is fundamentally insecure, and this leads to mood swings and a kind of annoying repetition. She apparently has no role, identity, or interest in life other than being Mrs. Michael Loomis. He desperately wants her attention, approval and reassurance. Her anguish and his ungentlemanly virility derive from their superficial characters."(Archer). Stanley Archer and I draw similar conclusions. We both feel that Frances is insecure and that insecurity has led her to neglect her beauty. But that's where our similarities end. I completely disagree with her feelings about Michael. According to Stanley, “'Michael is visually oriented and essentially superficial; for him women are primarily sexual objects.”' (Archer II). I disagree with this notion. Michael is widely misunderstood as a man. Here is a man who comes from a small town known as Farmington, Ohio. According to the United States Census Bureau, around the time Michael was born (since the story is set in the 1930s, and he himself is in his late thirties or mid-thirties, we will determine that he was born around the turn of 1900 or early 1910s) ) The entire town population of Farmington, Ohio, was four hundred and forty-six persons. Now, four hundred and forty-six people are made up of one hundred and sixty-one separate families. And of those separated families, ninety-one or fifty-six percent of them were married couples. There remain seventy families that could potentially produce attractive single women – and the key word is potentially – but that potential quickly vanishes once you dig into the numbers. Of these seventy potential families, only seven were female heads of households with no husband present. And overall, the entire population in the twenty-one to forty-five age demographic was twenty-six percent. Or one hundred and fifteen people, including males and females. Now, when you also consider that, once again, 56% of the general population is married, the amount of women available for Michael to look at is minimal at best. Many people want to ostracize Michael as simply a terrible example of a married man. Now I consider it an enigma. Many fail to see his background as playing an important role in how he chooses to show women his appreciation for how they present themselves to society. If you come from a really small town where you knew everyone, the appeal of a beautiful woman isn't even the same. Coming from that small town, you already know what she likes, how she behaves, what different tactics or methods work in trying to get her to do what you want her to do. There is no unknown, nothing to pursue. Nothing that makes you wonder or imagine any kind of possibilities. Seeing the same people and places over and over again must become banal for even the most conservative person. And that's mostly why I feel Michael chose to move to New York City in the first place. Not only to pursue a successful business career, but to experience some unknowns and truly understand what this life has to offer. But don't take my word for it. Let's hear from Michael himself what comes to mind when you mention New York City." 'When I think of New York City, I think of all the girls, the Jewish girls, the Italian girls, the Irish, the Polish, the Chinese, the German, the Negro, the Spanish , Russians, all parading around the city. I don't know if it's something special for me or if every man in the city walks around with the same feeling inside, but I feel like I'm at a picnic in this city I like to sit next to the women in the theaters, the famous beauties who took six hours to get ready and be seen And the girls at football games, with red cheeks, and when the heat comes, the girls in their summer dresses.'" (67). Michael's view of women is in no way harmful or different from that of the mass majority of men today. Michael, like some men, understands and appreciates the time, effort, money and hard work that some women put in.