Women in High School English Literature

The literature which is taught in secondary schools is used not merely as a tool for improving reading, written expression and general information. To a great degree, literature defines values and reality. The effect of reading material on the beliefs of students is immediate. While all are not in agreement, at least one study using reading content as a means of changing attitudes has demonstrated that these attitudes change in a positive direction with positive character presentations, and in a negative direction with negative character presentations. 1 Considerable evidence supports the fact that not only are females portrayed differently from males in secondary school literature, they are portrayed as inferior, less capable or less significant beings. It is therefore important for educators to recognize the messages which secondary school literature is transmitting to adolescents