How do Rezkallah’s advertisements and “Warming her pearls” explore the concepts of wealth and resources ?
Main thesis:
Rezkallah- Traditionally, only men had access to wealth and resources due to being in the public sphere. Hence advertisements were mostly directed at them and were portraying them as the “head of the family”, “important” and “dominant”, which was the case back then. Now that that is changing, Rezkallah’s advertisements depict a world where women are seen as “dominant” and in the public sphere. However, the advertisements have a hint of “falsehood” to them, showing how this situation isn’t true. Thus, conveying that wealth and resources dont determine everything.
Warming her pearls- The concept of wealth and resources is explored through the examination of how “pearls” are worn and by whom. This is because the lady, who is presumably quite wealthy, makes her servant wear her pearls and warm them, a task that is quite menial. This links to how people who lack wealth and resources and treated poorly by everyone in society.
Supporting ideas:
Rezkallah- Exaggeration to make the advertisements appear fake through changing every color to light tones “Men dont leave the kitchen advert”
Incongruity- They don’t look as though they could be placed in a real life context “Get out of the kitchen sooner”
Excessive use of photoshop- To depict that these advertisements are artificial “Tin advert”
Warming her pearls- Contrast between both character’s lives- Shows bad treatment through contrasting their daily routines “She fans herself whilst I work”
The servant does everything- Shows how the servant attends to all of her(the lady’s) needs by saying “I dust her shoulder”
Shows how the servant desires that lifestyle- Shows how the servant desires to have the pearls which are symbolic of wealth “I feel their absence and I burn”
Broader links and connection to Duffy’s poem:
Rezkallah- Link to the concept of power, does it always originate from wealth and resources? The little red cap also portrays a power dynamic.
Warming her pearls- Links to inequality, is it always present where the levels of resources that everybody has are different? The little red cap shows an inequality in terms of power.
Concluding bullet points:
Rezkallah- Does power originate from perceptions instead of actual situations?
Warming her pearls- Is there a way to eliminate inequality in treatment if the resources that everyone has are not equal?