Women, Sex and Society in John Irving’s The Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp Anonymous 12th Grade

In coincidence with the clear feminist undertones of his novels, John Irving proposes opposing dichotomies: hypersexualized characters and societies, and the simultaneous criticism of sex. Irving builds societies where sex is inherent. In The Cider House Rules, Dr. Larch’s first patients were prostitutes and Homer’s first encounters with sex included horse pornography. Irving’s The World According to Garp is notorious for sexual escapades such as genital injuries, affairs, and more prostitutes. Irving presents these hypersexualized societies, yet undercuts them with political matters that question the perception of sex in society, particularly in the viewpoint of women. One major tension in The Cider House Rules is issue of abortion and the necessity of it in society, and for individuals. Jenny Garp in The World According to Garp is a groundbreaking feminist, with no sexual desires, but who is only condemned for nonexistent sexual activities. Focusing on the female experience with sex in society, Irving suggests that while sex is ever present, women are shamed for it. Through his political undertones, he proposes that it is necessary to make changes to the way sex and women are perceived in society. In both The World According...