Class 13EWRT 1B

Class 14

AGENDAExam 2: Terms

Presentation: Introduction to Essay #3

How to write a response to literature

Discussion: Stone Butch Blues

In-class writing: Thesis, outline, topic sentences, and body paragraphs

Take 20 minutesTo finish your exam. If you finish early, feel free to step outside.

Essay #3Stone Butch Blues offers many ways to read the challenges of growing to adulthood. Each of the conflicts Jess and her friends face speaks to readers differently, and for this reason, I offer you several choices. In a thesis driven essay of 4-6 pages, respond to one of the following prompts. You need only the primary text for this essay, but you may use others if you want to incorporate additional support. Remember, you can also draw on your own experiences and knowledge to discuss, explain, and analyze your topic.

Topic: Choose One

Explore Jess’s coming of age through moments of both intentional and unintentional passing in Stone Butch Blues. Show how these passing moments shape her into the person ze ultimately becomes. Consider both hir experiences and those of people ze encounters.

Think about not only who passes, but for whom they are passing.

Use textual evidence to show the moments of passing; analyze those moments to prove how they shape, influence, or change hir.

All people are subject to society’s demand for conformity. This, as we discussed in class, has both positive and negative outcomes. For this essay, trace that demand for conformity by identifying the social pressures that influence Jess; explain how the social pressure to conform contributes to hir growth, development, and ultimate identity.

Consider multiple settings and social groups, for example, home, school, work, bars, and hospitals.Think about who has power and how and why that power is wielded.Use textual evidence to show the moments of social pressure; analyze those moments to prove how they shape, influence, or change hir.

Or one of these

For this essay, explore instances and methods of resistance to oppressions based on gender identity development, socioeconomic structures, race, and sex (or combinations of these markers) in Stone Butch Blues. Discuss how moments of resistance contribute to Jess’s identity development. Consider Jess’s masculinity, her working-class status, her Jewish heritage, her female body and expected social role, and her lesbianism (or combinations of these identity markers) and the moments of prejudice, discrimination, violence, or inhumane treatment based on them.

Think about how Jess resists these oppressions.Use textual evidence to show the moments of oppression; analyze those moments to show resistance.

Jess interacts with medical personnel in various ways throughout the novel. For this essay, explore Jess’s experience with doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, and psychiatric institutions. Show how her gender identity influences the treatment she receives (or doesn’t receive); analyze and explain the effects of her experiences on her social, psychological, and physical development. Consider multiple encounters with health professionals or visits to healthcare facilities. Think both about her primary care but also how she sees others treated.

Think about the authority of medical professionals and how that authority influences social values.Use textual evidence to show the encounters with medical professionals; analyze those moments to show how Jess internalizes the experiences. Document her responses and explain her behavior.

HOW TO WRITE A RESPONSE TO LITERATURE

Adapted from a handout from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Interpretations of fiction are generally opinions, but not all

opinions are equal.A good, valid, and interesting interpretation will do the following:

Avoid the obvious (in other words, it won’t argue a conclusion that most readers could reach on their own from a general knowledge of the story)

Support your assertion with strong evidence from the story

Use careful reasoning to explain how that evidence relates to the main points of the interpretation.

Be Familiar with the Text

A good paper begins with the writer having a solid understanding of the work that he or she interprets. Being able to have the whole text in your head when you begin thinking through ideas will actually allow you to write the paper more quickly in the long run.

Spend some time just thinking about the story. Flip back through the book and consider what interests you about this book—what seemed strange, new, or important?

Explore Potential Interpretations

Even though you have a list of topics from which to choose, you must develop your own interpretation.

Consider how you might approach each topic.

What will your answer to each question show about the text? So what? Why will anyone care?

Try this phrase for each prompt: “This book shows ________________. This is important because ______________________.

1. Conformity2. Passing3. Resistance4. Interaction

with medical professionals

Select a Topic with Plenty of Evidence

Narrow down your list of possible topics by identifying how much evidence or how many details you could use to investigate each potential issue.

Keep in mind that persuasive papers rely on ample evidence and that having a lot of details to choose from can make your paper easier to write.

Jot down all the events or elements of the story that have some bearing on the two topics that seem most promising.

Don’t launch into a topic without considering all the options first because you may end up with a topic that seemed promising initially but that only leads to a dead end.

Jot down all the events or elements of the story that have some bearing on the two topics that seem most promising.

Topic Four: explore Jess’s experience with doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, and psychiatric institutions. Show how her gender identity influences the treatment she receives (or doesn’t receive)

Topic Two: Trace the demand for conformity by identifying the social pressures that influence Jess; explain how the social pressure to conform contributes to hir growth, development, and ultimate identity.

Topic Three: Discuss how moments of resistance contribute to Jess’s identity development.

Topic One: Explore Jess’s coming of age through moments of both intentional and unintentional passing

Mental institution when Jess was young

Mastectomy

Women’s clinic

Milli to the veterinarian for broken arm

Resisted Annie Oakley outfit.

Fought with police in Alley

Resisted wearing a dress to Ro’s funeral

Topic Three: Discuss how moments of resistance contribute to Jess’s identity development

Topic Four: explore Jess’s experience with doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, and psychiatric institutions. Show how her gender identity influences the treatment she receives (or doesn’t receive)

Developing a Working Thesis

Based on the evidence that relates to your topic—and what you anticipate you might say about those pieces of evidence—compose a working thesis. Think about what you want to show the reader.

This book shows______________This is important because__________________

1. Passing2. Conformity3. Resistance4. Interaction with medical professionals

Thesis Possibility: Resistance

This book shows that Jess’s resistance to oppression, based on gender identity development, socioeconomic structures, race, and sex, contributes to Jess’s growth and development because it makes hir strong. This is important because it shows that resistance is not futile, that resisting oppression liberates people from it.

Write Out a Working Thesis

Try this phrase again:

This book (or Feinberg) shows ________________. This is important because _____________________.

Remember, this will probably evolve as your insights develop into a more complex idea.

1. Passing2. Conformity3. Resistance4. Interaction

with medical professionals

Make an extended list of evidence

Skim back over the story and make a more comprehensive list of the details that relate to your point.

As you make your notes keep track of page numbers so you can quickly find the passages in your book again when you need them.

Select your evidence Once you’ve made your expanded list of

evidence, decide which supporting details are the strongest. First, select the facts which bear the closest relation to your thesis statement. Second, choose the pieces of evidence you’ll be able to say the most about. Readers tend to be more dazzled with your interpretations of evidence than with a lot of quotes from the book.

Select the details that will allow you to show off your own reasoning skills and allow you to help the reader see the story in a way he or she may not have seen it before.

Refine your thesis Now, go back to your working thesis and

refine it so that it reflects your new understanding of your topic. This step and the previous step (selecting evidence) are actually best done at the same time, since selecting your evidence and defining the focus of your paper depend upon each other.

Don't forget to consider the scope of your project: how long is the paper supposed to be, and what can you reasonably cover in a paper of that length?

Refined Thesis: Resistance

This book shows that social pressure, oppression, and violence act not only as forces of conformity, but also as powerful sources of agency; resistance to these forces can inspire people to challenge injustice in pursuit of liberty.

Organize your evidence

Once you have a clear thesis you can go back to your list of selected evidence and group all the similar details together. The ideas that tie these clusters of evidence together can then become the claims that you’ll make in your paper. As you begin thinking about what claims you can make (i.e. what kinds of conclusion you can come to) keep in mind that they should not only relate to all the evidence but also clearly support your thesis. Once you’re satisfied with the way you’ve grouped your evidence and with the way that your claims relate to your thesis, you can begin to consider the most logical way to organize each of those claims.

Interpret your evidence

Avoid the temptation to load your paper with evidence from your story. Each time you use a specific reference to your story, be sure to explain the significance of that evidence in your own words. To get your readers’ interest, you need to draw their attention to elements of the story that they wouldn’t necessarily notice or understand on their own. If you are quoting passages without interpreting them, you’re not demonstrating your reasoning skills or helping the reader. In most cases, interpreting your evidence merely involves putting into your paper what is already in your head. Remember that we, as readers, are lazy—all of us. We don’t want to have to figure out a writer’s reasoning for ourselves; we want all the thinking to be done for us in the paper.

Introduction: Directed Summary (We will discuss this next time we meet)

Transition to Thesis Statement (We will discuss this next time we meet)

Thesis Statement

Section ABody Paragraph 1Body Paragraph 2

Section BBody Paragraph 3Body Paragraph 4

Section CBody Paragraph 5Body Paragraph 6

Counterargument (We will discuss this next time we meet)

Conclusion (We will discuss this next time we meet)

Section A: Social Pressure is a powerful source of agency that works to inspire Jess to challenge injustice.Par 1: Social pressure from the larger social construct that inspires Jess to challenge injustice.Par 2: Social pressure from inside of the lesbian community that inspires Jess to challenge injustice.

Section B: Oppression is a powerful source of agency that works to inspire Jess to challenge injustice.Par 3: Gender expression oppression inspires Jess to challenge injustice. Par 4: Discrimination/oppression at work/hospital/school inspires Jess to challenge injustice.

Section C: Violence is a powerful source of agency that works to inspire Jess to challenge injustice.Par 5: Emotional/Mental Abuse (violence) inspires Jess to challenge injusticePar 6: Physical Abuse (violence) inspires Jess to challenge injustice.

Thesis: This book shows that social pressure, oppression, and violence act not only as forces of conformity, but also as powerful sources of agency; resistance to these forces can inspire people to challenge injustice in pursuit of liberty.

HOMEWORK

• Post # 17: Finish and post in-class writing: tentative thesis, body paragraphs (topic sentences and evidence; quotations with explanations).