CONTENT

Page Title

2-4 Literary Criticism On The Way Up to Heaven

5 References

6 Appendices : Synopsis On The Way Up to Heaven

7-8 Collaboration Form

1 TSL 3102 Literature in English

LITERARY CRITICISM ON THE WAY UP TO HEAVEN

Martin Luther once said, “Although a woman is a “beautiful handiwork of god,” she does

“not equal the glory and dignity of the male.” After reading The Way Up to Heaven by Roald

Dahl, maybe the common perception about woman being imperfect and weak will be changed.

The literary criticism that suits the short story is feminism. Feminism is support of social equality

for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism (Macionis, 2012). The Way Up to

Heaven took place in New York in around 1954. Based on Home Economics High School Text

Book, here is what young women learned at school in the 1950’s in America, “Have dinner

ready, prepare yourself, prepare the children, minimize all noise, be happy to see him, listen to

him, make the evening his”. This was happening to Mrs. Foster and became the main reason

she wanted to be free from her husband. She did not want to be controlled by her husband

anymore.

The female and male roles are defined just like the traditional gender roles. The man will

go out working and find the money while the woman will stay at home and do the house chores.

In this story, we can say that Mr. Foster is a successful man as it stated that , “Mr. Eugene

Foster, who was nearly seventy years old lived with his wife in a large six storey house in New

York City, on East Sixty second Street, and they had four servants.” It also identified in the story

that Mr. Foster is now no longer active in his many enterprises showing that before this Mr.

Foster is a busy man. Mr. Foster had done a good job as a provider to the family as he can give

a comfortable house for his family to live. Roobix Coob (2005) state that in 1950’s, women were

supposed to fulfill certain roles, such as a caring mother, a diligent homemaker, and an obedient

wife. Mrs. Foster did all the woman’s roles as the narrator mentioned in the story, “For over

thirty years, she had served him loyally and well. There was no doubt about this.” “… Mrs.

Foster was and always had been a good and loving wife.” This means that she is a very good

housewife and she always obeys her husband. When she planned to visit her daughter’s family

at Paris, it took months for her to persuade Mr. Foster to allow her to go. Besides that, the

author never mentions her first name in the story; he always refers to her as Mrs. Foster. In

contrast, he does mention her husband’s full name of “Mr. Eugene Foster.” By only allowing us

to view the protagonist as Mrs. Foster, the author illustrates that women were given definition in

society only through their husbands. Women had no role of their own.

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Mr. Foster and Mrs. Foster have the traditional husband and wife relationship. Mr. Foster

is the family leader and Mrs. Foster will follow her husband’s instruction. In the beginning of the

story, we can see that Mr. Foster is overpowering Mrs. Foster. Mr. Foster aware with Mrs.

Foster pathological fear of missing flight, but he act likes he does not care. Sometimes, he is

just being late on purpose just to drive her crazy. The writer stated that, “He had disciplined her

too well for that.” The “discipline” that the author describes speaks of the power that men had

over their wives. By describing Mr. Foster in this way, the author illustrates the power position

customary in society in the mid-twentieth century. The things started to change until the end of

the story. The foreshadowing of Mrs. Foster true self in the story as mentioned by the writer, “It

was really extraordinary how in certain people a simple apprehension about a thing like catching

a train can grow into a serious obsession.” It is to point out the fact that Mrs. Foster often take a

small thing and turn it into an unnecessarily large thing but ironically, have the hearts to let him

own husband died and make it like nothing had happened. At last, Mrs. Foster is overpowering

her husband. She know that her husband is stuck in the elevator but she pretend that she did

not know and send a letter for him every week like nothing happened. In her way to Paris, it

stated that “She felt remarkably strong and in a queer sort of way, wonderful.” She felt relieved

because at last she knows that she is free from her husband. Maybe Mr. Foster is dominance

husband at the beginning of the story but it changes when Mrs. Foster is succeed to dominate

him by doing nothing to help her husband that stuck in the elevator. From the story, “In spite of

the cold the atmosphere was peculiarly oppressive, and there was a faint and curious odour in

the air that she had never smelled before.” The “curious odour” here is maybe the smell of a

dead man after six weeks left in the elevator. Mrs. Foster shows that it is not only man can

overpower woman, but woman can also do the same thing and even worst.

The attitude toward man held by female character is one of the elements in the feminism

literary theory. Mrs. Foster is a good wife but actually she keeps her true feelings from her

husband. She is afraid to tell her husband how much she want to spend her time with her

grandchildren and watch them grow because she knew her husband will never agree about it. In

addition, she always finds excuses to be separated from her husband. The author stated, “She

hated to leave the airport. She didn’t wish to see her husband.” Through the conversation

between Mr. Foster and Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Foster is so eager to leave the house since it is the

only way she can create the distance with her husband. She knew that her husband is stuck in

the elevator but she did nothing as it is the only chance for her to be free. She only wants to be

with her daughter and grandchildren and she felt that she cannot achieve his dream as long as

her husband is still alive. The author stated, “There was something deliberate and purposeful

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about this action; she had the air of a woman who is off to investigate a rumour or to confirm a

suspicion. And when she returned a few seconds later, there was a little glimmer of satisfaction

on her face.” The phrase “a little glimmer of satisfaction on her face” clearly described her

feeling after knowing that her husband had died and she is now free. She did not want to miss

out the only chance for her to be free and to be independent from her husband and live by her

own with her daughter and grandchildren.

For me, Mrs. Foster had gone through a lot with Mr. Foster. Mr. Foster as a husband

thought that he has a power over Mrs. Foster. He did not see Mrs. Foster as his wife, but as his

doll that obey his instruction. Mrs. Foster keeps her feeling for over thirty years and I can sense

that she is not so happy with her life. Her main aim is to be free from Mr. Foster’s control. In

“The Way up to Heaven,” the author systematically lays out his story and beckons the reader to

follow him through Mrs. Foster’s ordeal. In the end, it seems as though she has won her battle

against the evil and the oppressive husband is gone. The literary theory feminism was portrayed

clearly in The Way Up to Heaven. We can feel how Mrs. Foster is struggling to be independent

from her husband. Do not see woman as a weak gender if you do not know what they capable

of.

REFERENCES

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1. Macionis, J. J. (2012). Sociology. (14th ed., p. 310). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

2. Bressler, C. E. (2011). Literary criticism. (5th ed., Vol. 2, p. 143). United States: Pearson

Education Inc.

3. Kirszner, L. G., & Mandell, S. R. (2007). Literature : Reading, reacting, writing. (6th ed.,

p. 2089). Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.

4. Barbara, B., & David, W. (2006). Access literature : An introduction to fiction, poetry and

drama. (1st ed., pp. 1484-1485). Boston: Thomson Whadsworth.

5. Lamb, V. M. (2011). The American woman in the 1950’s: from the “ideal woman” to the

“woman in crisis”, The 1950’s and 1960’s American Woman: The transition

from the “housewife” to the feminist.  5-28.

6. Coob, R. (2005). Analysis based on popular media. A Woman's Role in the 1950s,

Retrieved from www.associatedcontent.com

7. Holt, J. (2005). The Ideal Woman.

8. “The way up to heaven”: A feminist reading. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://thebluestockings.com/2008/04/the-way-up-to-heaven/

9. Brewer, H. (n.d.). List of gender stereotypes. Retrieved from

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15910/1/List-of-Gender-Stereotypes.html

10. The way up to heaven. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.roalddahlfans.com/shortstories/wayu.php

Synopsis On The Way Up to Heaven

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Mrs. Foster has a pathological fear of being late. Whenever she is in danger of missing a

train or plane or an engagement, a tiny muscle near her eye begins to twitch. The worst part is

that her husband, Mr. Eugene Foster, seems to torment her by making sure that they always

leave the house one or two minutes past the point of safety. On this particular occasion Mrs.

Foster is leaving to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Paris for the first time ever, and

she's frantic to think that she'll miss her flight. By the time her husband finally joins her at the

car, she's too far behind schedule. Luckily the flight is postponed til the next day, and Mr.

Foster persuades her to come home for the night. When she's ready to leave the next day,

though, her husband suggests that they drop him off at his club on the way. Knowing this will

make her late, she protests in vain. Just before the car leaves, he runs back in the house on

the pretense of picking up a gift he forgot for his daughter. While he's gone Mrs. Foster

discovers the gift box shoved down between the seat cushions. She runs up to the house to tell

him that she has the gift... and suddenly she pauses. She listens. She stays frozen for 10

seconds, straining to hear something. Then she turns and runs to the car, telling the driver that

they're too late and her husband will have to find another ride. She makes her flight and has a

wonderful visit with her grandchildren. She writes her husband every week and sends him a

telegram before she flies home six weeks later. He's not at the airport to meet her though, and

when she enters the house (after taking a taxi home) she notices a curious odor in the air.

Satisfied, she enters her husband's study and calls the elevator repairman. It had jammed and

she left him in the elevator.

Collaboration Form

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NAME : KHAIRUNNISA SHAROM

I/C NO. : 930815-01-7032

MATRIC NO. : 2ATE1106017

GROUP : 1 PISMP TESL 3 (SK) SEMESTER: 1

COURSE : LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

LECTURER IN-CHARGE : MISS NENNY DJUHARA BINTI JOHARI

DATE TOPIC NOTE SIGNATURE

18.2.2013 Received the coursework from lecturer in-charge.

Coursework should be send by 8th March 2013

(Miss Nenny)

20.2.2013 Understand the task – made a discussion with classmates.

(Auni Salma)

(Ainur Adhwa)

(Nur Haniffa)

(Arina Zafirah)

22.2.2012 Searching for a suitable topic. Searching on the internet about short story that is related to feminism.

(Khairunnisa)

23.2.2013 Select a short story entitled The Way Up to Heaven.

Make a mind map from the materials.

Organize the information according to priorities

Detailing the description (Madam Siti)

1.3.2012 Write a draft for the essay.

(Khairunnisa)

6.3.2012 Discuss the draft answer with Miss Nenny

Miss Nenny give some comments on my draft . (Miss Nenny)

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6.3.2012 Typing the final essay. Do correction in the older draft.

Read and check the essay to avoid grammatical mistakes.

( Khairunnisa)

7.3.2012 Ask classmate to peer check my essay.

Jolyn correct some punctuation errors.

Kamil correct the APA style in the reference.

(Jolyn)

(Mohd Kamil)

8.3.2012 Submit the assignment

(Miss Nenny)

8 TSL 3102 Literature in English