Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross | Teen Ink

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

January 4, 2016
By moxi99 GOLD, Manlius, New York
moxi99 GOLD, Manlius, New York
17 articles 1 photo 0 comments

In Pope Joan, Joan goes against society by disguising herself as a man. Her father has standard traditional beliefs and that women should stay at the home bear children and cook for the family. Joan is no exception. Ever since Joan was a little girl, she always had a yearning to learn and she was also highly intelligent, but her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He hurt his own daughter by nearly killing her after he found out she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. Throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) is heavily influenced. Joan goes against the social norm and becomes a priest and later the Pope; however they are people such as, the canon, and Odo who are opposed of women becoming scholars. If the canon, and Odo become more aware of new possibilities the book could've been further enlightening and powerful to have people let go of traditional beliefs.

In Pope Joan, Joan goes against society by disguising herself as a man. Her father has standard traditional beliefs and that women should stay at the home bear children and cook for the family. Joan is no exception. Ever since Joan was a little girl, she always had a yearning to learn and she was also highly intelligent, but her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He hurt his own daughter by nearly killing her after he found out she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. That book in the hands of his daughter was dangerous to him because it represented radical ideas. Society was changing all around him; he similarly to many others during the Middle Ages did not accept change. This narrow-minded view shaped who the canon was and caused him to inflict pain and show hatred towards Joan until his death. Throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) is heavily influenced. Joan goes against the social norm and becomes a priest the priest of Fulda and later the Pope; however they are people such as, the canon, and Odo who are opposed of women becoming scholars. If the canon, and Odo become more aware of new possibilities the book could've been further enlightening and powerful to have people let go of traditional beliefs. In Pope Joan, the characters are strong, close-minded people who are firm on their traditional beliefs, but if they somehow let go and accepted new ideas the characters could've had a more dynamic edge to them. Change is what makes books seem powerful. Without change Joan’s life would have been dull and miserable; she would’ve lived her life the way women should have, but it was up to her to change that.

In Pope Joan, Joan goes against failed to reform to society by disguising herself as a man. Her father has had standard traditional beliefs morals and in which he believed that women should stay at the home bear children and cook for the family. Joan is was no exception. Ever since Joan was a little girl, she always had a yearning to learn and she was also highly intelligent, the intelligence to do so, but her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He hurt his own daughter by nearly killing her after he found discovered out she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. That book in the hands of his daughter was dangerous to him because it represented radical ideas. Society was changing all around him; he similarly to many others during the Middle Ages did not accept change. This narrow-minded view shaped who the canon was and caused him to inflict pain and show hatred towards Joan until his death. Throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) was heavily strongly influenced. Joan goes went against the social norm and becomes became the priest of Fulda and later the Pope; however they are were people such as, the canon, and Odo who are were opposed of women becoming scholars. If the canon, and Odo had become more aware of new possibilities the book could’ve brought a different meaning across to seem powerful. In Pope Joan, the characters are strong, close-minded people who are firm on their traditional beliefs, but if they somehow let go and accepted new ideas the characters could've had a more dynamic edge to them. Change is what makes books seem powerful. Without change Joan’s life would have been dull and miserable; she would’ve lived her life the way women should have, but it was up to her to change that.

In Pope Joan, power and danger can both be seen depending on the reader’s mindset and their perspective of change. Joan failed to reform to society by disguising herself as a man. Her father had traditional morals in which he believed women should stay at the home bear children and cook for the family. Joan was no exception. Ever since Joan was a little girl, she always had a yearning to learn and the intelligence to do so, but her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He hurt his own daughter by nearly killing her after he discovered she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. That book in the hands of his daughter was dangerous to him because it represented radical ideas. Society was changing all around him; he similarly to many others during the Middle Ages did not accept change. This narrow-minded view shaped who the canon was and caused him to inflict pain and show hatred towards Joan until his death. Throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) was strongly influenced. Joan went against the social norm and became the priest of Fulda and later the Pope; however they were people such as, the canon, and Odo who were opposed of women becoming scholars. If the canon, and Odo had become more aware of new possibilities the book could’ve brought a different meaning across to seem powerful. In Pope Joan, the characters are strong, close-minded people who are firm on their traditional beliefs, but if they somehow let go and accepted new ideas the characters could've had a more dynamic edge to them. Change is what makes books seem powerful. Without change Joan’s life would have been dull and miserable; she would’ve lived her life the way women should have, but it was up to her to change that. Danger and power can be interchangeable in this book because what could be perceived as powerful, could also be dangerous and vise-versa; the meaning is reliant upon one's perception.

In Pope Joan, power and danger can both be seen depending on the reader’s mindset and their perspective of change. Joan failed to reform to society by disguising herself as a man. Her father had traditional morals, in which he believed women should stay at the home, bear children and cook for the family. Joan was no exception. Ever since Joan was a little girl, she always had a yearning to learn and the intelligence to do so, but her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He hurt his own daughter by nearly killing her after he discovered she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. That book in the hands of his daughter was dangerous to him because it represented radical ideas. Society was changing all around him; he similarly to many others during the Middle Ages, did not accept change. This narrow-minded view shaped who the canon was and caused him to inflict pain and show hatred towards Joan until his death. Also throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) was strongly influenced. Joan went against the social norm and became the priest of Fulda and later the Pope; however there were people such as, the canon, and Odo who were opposed of women becoming scholars. If the canon, and Odo had become more aware of new possibilities the book could’ve could have brought a different meaning across to seem powerful. In Pope Joan, the characters are strong, close-minded people who are firm on their traditional beliefs, but if they somehow let go and accepted new ideas the characters could've could have had a more dynamic edge to them. Change is what makes books seem powerful. Without change, Joan’s life would have been dull and miserable; she would’ve would have lived her life the way women should have, but it was up to her to change that. Danger and power can be interchangeable in this book because what could be perceived as powerful, could also be dangerous and vise-versa; the meaning is reliant upon one's perception.

In Pope Joan, power and danger can both be seen depending on the reader’s mindset and their perspective of change. Joan failed to reform to society by disguising herself as a man. Her father had traditional morals, in which he believed women should stay at the home, bear children and cook for the family. Joan was no exception. Ever since Joan was a little girl, she always had a yearning to learn and the intelligence to do so, but Although Joan always had a yearning to learn and the intelligence to do so, her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He hurt harmed his own daughter by nearly killing her after he discovered she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. That book in the hands of his daughter was dangerous to him because it represented radical ideas. Society was changing all around him; he similarly to [many] countless others during the Middle Ages, did not accept change. This narrow-minded view shaped who the canon was and caused him to inflict pain and show hatred towards Joan until his death. Also throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) was strongly influenced. Joan went against the social norm and became the priest of Fulda and later the Pope. However there were people such as, the canon, and Odo who were opposed of women becoming scholars. They did not appreciate women at all and thought of them as inferior to society. If the canon, and Odo had become more aware of new possibilities, the book could have brought a different meaning across to seem powerful. In Pope Joan, the characters are strong, close-minded people who are firm on their traditional beliefs, but if they somehow let go and accepted new ideas the characters could have had a more dynamic edge to them. Change is what makes books seem powerful. Without change, Joan’s life would have been dull and miserable; she would have lived her life the way women should have, but it was up to her to change that. Danger and power can be interchangeable in this book because what could be perceived as powerful, could also be dangerous and vise-versa; the meaning is reliant upon one's perception.

In Pope Joan, power and danger can both be seen depending on the reader’s mindset and their perspective of change. Joan failed to reform to society by disguising herself as a man. Her father had traditional morals, in which he believed women should stay at the home, bear children and cook for the family. Joan was no exception. Although Joan always had a yearning to learn and the intelligence to do so, her father did not condone her actions or who she wanted to be. He harmed his own daughter by nearly killing her after he discovered she was reading a Greek/Latin book that her tutor had given to her. That book in the hands of his daughter was dangerous to him because it represented radical ideas. Society was changing all around him; he similarly to countless others during the Middle Ages, did not accept change. This narrow-minded view shaped who the canon was and caused him to inflict pain and show hatred towards Joan until his death. Also throughout the book, the quote, “Some ideas are dangerous” (100) was strongly influenced. Joan went against the social norm and became the priest of Fulda and later the Pope. However there were people such as, the canon, and Odo who were opposed of women becoming scholars. They did not appreciate women at all and thought of them as inferior to society. If the canon, and Odo had become more aware of new possibilities, the book could have brought a different meaning across to seem powerful. In Pope Joan, the characters are strong, close-minded people who are firm on their traditional beliefs, but if they somehow let go and accepted new ideas the characters could have had a more dynamic edge to them. Change is what makes books seem powerful. Without change, Joan’s life would have been dull and miserable; she would have lived her life the way women should have, but it was up to her to change that. Danger and power can be interchangeable in this book because what could be perceived as powerful, could also be dangerous and vise-versa; the meaning is reliant upon one's perception.


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