The Cuban Revolution: A Prostitute Remembers

Improved Essays
The Cuban Revolution was the turning point from dictatorship to communism. It was a civil war that lasted three years, beginning on December 2, 1956 and ending on January 2, 1959. The guerilla forces led by Fidel Castro, fought to defeat the army and Fulgencio Batista, Cuba's current dictator of that time. Sailing from Mexico, where he was exiled, to Las Coloradas beach, Cuba, Fidel Castro, his brother Raul, and their small militia shared the goal of conquering Batista. Although Castro and his men were defeated during the first altercation, his surviving men escaped to the jungles of Sierra Maestra where they recruited and recuperated. In the meantime, Castro kept busy, filling small Cuban towns with tons of propaganda, suggesting he wants to better the lives of …show more content…
"In 1943, women comprised only ten percent of this [work] force," (Julia Marie Bunck). Women were seen as inferior to men and as a result, their time was spent doing house chores and taking care of the family and disabled. In order to bring in any form of money, women in the city were either maids or prostitutes and several women in rural areas worked in agriculture. In the short piece, "A Prostitute Remembers," we, as readers, learn about the lifestyle many Cuban women abided by in order to make money. Women had no choice in the field they wanted to work and the most common job became prostitution. "I dreamed of getting out of the brothel and working at a decent job. I wanted to study. I wanted to be somebody. But that was before the revolution - and there was no hope of any such thing," (Lewis, Lewis, & Rigdon, 263). This piece illustrates the poor living conditions women faced and the extremes they had to turn to in order to make a living. This underprivileged prostitute, resorted to alcohol and drugs to cope with the gruesome jobs each day, at the age of only seventeen. Cuban women were not treated as equals in any form and instead were

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    It was not common for women to have office jobs, learn the stock market, but they did have the ability to earn an income by domestic slavery in private homes. Many worked as poorly paid seamstresses and school teachers. And the others, turned to the wonderful world of “prostitution.” In the Memoir of a Women of…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Cuban Revolution for its use of Guerilla Warfare throughout the movement, and its aim was to use small forces to attack big ones repetitively, eventually making the bigger enemy withdraw. December 1956- the July 26 movement sails back to Cuba and makes their way to Sierra Maestra mountains, where they spent 3 years carrying out guerrilla attacks against Batista’s government forces. 1960- The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces are founded, which consisted of ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies.…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ms. Anthony was steadfast in her efforts, especially within women’s rights. In her years, she got the special opportunity to write and national women's journal, named the Revolution. In said newspaper, Anthony and a few other women highlight the injustice and taboo towards girls. Although successful for a few years, it was viewed as fanatical, and soon went…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even if women could have had an opportunity for a profitable position, there was also an educational barrier to overcome since the “colleges were closed against her.” There was a very large discrepancy between genders from an economic standard. Women had limited educational opportunities, which minimized possible hopes of profitable job opportunities, which made it hard to support oneself, even if a man not having control of ones wages was an option. It was a cruel and patriarchal norm that men, the government, and the society did not seem to shed any light…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dreaming In Cuban Themes

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Themes are essential tools used by authors to convey or sometimes emphasize specific messages in novels. In the two novels that will be compared are Under the Feet of Jesus and Dreaming in Cuban, the authors have embraced their themes to reflect on the messages regarding the bigger picture of migration and adolescence. This paper will offer a comparative thematic analysis of the two texts about migration and adolescence. To achieve this, the paper will focus on two different themes which are communicated by the two texts that are the themes of work and female relationship. Garcia and Viramontes both have incorporated the theme of work as an element expressed in the form of physical labor.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Revolution Dbq

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In January 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the dictator Fulgencio Batista and came into power as the leader of Cuba. With Castro in power, there were many social reforms in Cuban society, including gender reforms for women. Different people took different stances on the subject of female equality within Cuba; there was a group of people that supported gender reforms in Cuba and thought these reforms to be successful, a group consisting of people that supported gender reforms in Cuba but thought them to be unsuccessful, ands group of people that completely opposed the idea of gender reforms in Cuba. During the Cuban Revolution, many people thought that the results of the gender reforms that took place during the Revolution were both successful and effective (Documents One, Two, Four,…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation" These revolutionary women then began to take a stand against the inequality they were suffering in the political world by participating in anything they could to prove their…

    • 1801 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, also known as Fidel Castro, is a Cuban politician who ruled the Republic of Cuba as a Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as a President from 1976 to 2008. When Cuba’s newfound dictator, Fidel Castro, became in power, he wanted Cuba to be in his liking and thus brought communism into Cuba. The idea of communism was brought into Cuba February 16, 1959 and is still present in Cuba today. Communism is similar to collectivism in the aspect of communal betterment, yet differ in the way of it being accomplished. In Communism people are forced to take part in the “making better” of a country, but in collectivism the people voluntarily contribute and try to make their society…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, one of the article’s weaknesses is the over emphasis of women’s political restrictions in addition to their societal confinement where they were forced to remain at home and manage all household activities. Another weakness of the article is that the author has not fairly interpreted the evidence. The author does not maintain neutrality in her article because her article portrays men as unappreciative and miserly to women. Even though women were restrained to perform domestic roles, it was due to the American Revolution and not the men’s fault.…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Castro formally declared Cuba a socialist state on May of 1961. In his historic 2014 trip to Cuba Obama, to the surprise of many, justified the revolution of 1959 arguing that like the US’s 1776 revolution, it had taken unavoidable measures against terrible injustices. Why the Cuban revolution took a Communist turn has much to do with the island’s cruel history, specifically, the long line of leaders who were ready to sell Cuba to the highest bidder. The island saw much political unrest after the inclusion of the Platt Amendment in its constitution, guaranteeing the United States’ rights to intervene freely in the island under any pretext.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Taking a closer look into their society, it is evident that the patriarchy still exists in Cuba. While Castro’s government encouraged women to join the work force in order for them to be equal, oppression is still present. For instance, according to Gomperts, “women still bear the majority of the domestic workload, which keeps them out of the work force, management positions, and politics” (112). Data reported from the Oficina Nacional de Estadística represents that in 2002, about forty-six per cent of women are in the services sector, about twenty-eight per cent are in the industry sector, and about fifteen per cent are involved in the agriculture sector (27). Breaking this data down more specifically, in 2008, women make up a little over…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are over 11 million people in Cuba making it the 78th most populated country. (cia.gov) Many believe that the population of Cuba will decrease almost 5% over the next 15 years and 10% in 32 years. The reason for the decrease is many Cubans are immigrating elsewhere. When Fidel Castro took control in 1959 the government took the homes of the wealthy people and forced them to leave their belongings.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women were going on strike. Women and men had come together, to stand up for what they believed in. They were not only standing up for all women, but for the impoverished and for all the men and women dying. “I don’t belong to the auxiliary—could I march?” (Maridel Le Sueur, pg. 176)…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cuban Revolution Causes

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Cuba revolution happened in 1953 July 26th, to 1959 January 1st, the Cuba revolution occurred from deep unhappiness with the regime of Fulgencio Batista (Batista) elected president of Cuba in 1940 to 1944 then turned dictator from 1952 to 1959. Batista allowed Cuba to be controlled and exploited by the USA. By March 1952 the protagonist for launching an armed revolution was Fidel Castro (Castro) a young lawyer and activists petitioned who aimed to overthrow Batista. Castro accused Batista of corruption and tyranny, however the Cuban courts due to the power of Batista. The Cuban courts rejected Castro’s constitutional arguments as Batista security to silence any political opposition was to great to overpower.…

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Throughout history, the expectations and duties of women have evolved immensely. In some societies women have been confined to the four walls of their homes, and in others women have stood as the heads of government. The role of women in the French Revolution is a complicated one, and it may seem as though these females carried out a multitude of functions. Indeed, women during this era engaged in a diverse array of activities and movements, ranging from dressing in patriotic garb, to writing political documents, to stabbing their enemies to death. However, all of the individual actions taken by these women point toward one primary goal: to use whatever means possible to contribute their ideas to the Revolution.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays