Book Review
Issues of Gender
Context: Beginning very early in people's lives, they are defined and constrained by their gender. Boys are taught not to cry when they are hurt, to “keep a stiff upper lip.” Girls are excluded from activities characterized as “unladylike.” From the time people are born through adulthood, they struggle with who they are, their sense of themselves, and part of that struggle revolves around gender roles.
Prompt: Using all four of the short stories assigned, write an essay that explores how Norma Jean in "Shiloh," the young girl in "Boys and Girls," Dave in "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," and Lieutenant Cross in "The Things They Carried" struggle with the conflicts and difficulties that men and women, boys and girls, face related to gender. Devote a body paragraph to each character.
Requirements:
Length: You essay must be a minimum of 750 words. Most students will write well in excess of this minimum.
Documentation Format: You must include an MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for all source material used.
Sources: You are restricted to the works assigned from the textbook.
Number of sources: Must use ALL FOUR works
For this essay, students must not use any sources except the stories assigned. Students may use a dictionary to help them understand words with which they are not familiar but should not refer to the dictionary definitions in their essay. Students' analysis of the theme should be based on their own close reading of the works they have selected. Students must use ALL FOUR works assigned.
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify authors. For the stories and essays, students should cite page numbers from the textbook.
Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page. For all citations from the textbook, follow the MLA Citation Format for Composition Textbooks (in eLearn Course Content) following the format for citing multiple works from the anthology cited (This means that a separate citation will be included for the textbook and abbreviated citations used for each work from the textbook).
Finally, students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, one inch margins, in Arial or Times Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 750 words (two typewritten pages, about five handwritten pages) in length.
Students are forbidden from using any source material other than the works selected for this assignment. Use of sources about these works will result in a zero grade and an academic integrity report filed with the campus and in the student's file. Students will then be required to write a suitable makeup paper for which they will not receive credit.
Selected Works for this assignment
Mason, "Shiloh" (70-80)
Munro, “Boys and Girls” (155-166)
Wright, "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" (144-154)
O'Brien, "The Things They Carried" (320-334)
