summary ofEducatedBook by Tara Westover

first KEY POINT

Women have been denied fundamental human rights for as long as society has existed

For centuries, women have had to endure crushing oppression at the hands of men. The struggles of a woman growing up in a world that tells her how to live, what religion to follow, society's standards, and the patriarchy are made clear by Tara Westover through vivid examples and apt descriptive tools.One of the struggles a woman has to face as she exists side by side with men is a lack of education. In some societies and cultures, it is a waste of resources to educate a female child as she would only grow to assume another man's last name or risk her becoming too rebellious. As such, to keep her in check, they believe it is best to stifle any exposure to knowledge.This patriarchal act is theft of a basic necessity to survive and should not exist.Education, being one of the basic needs of any human being, is essential because it gives knowledge of the world and how to change it into something better. It develops a perspective of looking at life.Education arms one with the tools needed to form and express one's thoughts adequately about specific issues around them. It would seem logical that you'd want everyone around you to get an education and benefit from such a marvelous opportunity, right? Not if you wish to keep them in check, though, and keep them from forming their own opinions. This desire to control women is why they lack a sound education.

In many societies, men fear that education would render their control irrelevant once women realize their true worth and demand better treatment. In the following chapters of this summary, we shall get insight into survivalism, religion, and how all that can impact the life and adulthood of an individual. The place of education is also emphasized as it is a pillar of this summary.