Four disc due in 48 hours

Week 11 Discussion

Please answer each of the following questions in a well-developed paragraph.  Use a quotation from the text in question to prove your point. 1) "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written in response to how the largely male medical field viewed women's mental health complaints.  How might sexism have played a role in that field?  How does it directly affect the narrator? 2) In "The Story of an Hour," there is a lot of symbolism used to illustrate Mrs. Mallard's desire for freedom.  Choose two or three symbols and analyze them in connection with that theme. 3) In "Cinderella," Anne Sexton is retelling a common fairytale from a more modern and woman-centered perspective.  Why might traditional fairytales be viewed as sexist or degrading to women, and what are Sexton's specific complaints/solutions?

https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/

https://poets.org/poem/her-kind

Barbie Doll Discussion

Answer ONE of the following questions in a well-developed paragraph and use a quotation from the poem to explain your answer. 1) What connection do you see between this poem and "The Female Body" by Margaret Atwood? 2) Should this poem be read literally?  Does the girl actually cut off her nose and thighs, or does something more "symbolic" happen at the end?

https://poets.org/poem/helen-troy-does-countertop-dancing

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/spelling/

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/barbie-doll/

She Unnames Them Discussion

Answer BOTH of the following questions about "She Unnames Them" by Ursula K. Le Guin in a well-developed paragraph.  Use quotations from the text in your answers.  As always, bonus points may be awarded to students who comment thoughtfully on the posts of their classmates. 

1) Review our definition for empowerment.  How might giving something a name have power over it?  What might unnaming it do to the balance of power?  How does this relate to women? 2) Take a moment to read the second chapter of Genesis in which God creates Adam and Eve and Adam names the animals (very short!).  Here is a link:  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2&version=NIV (Links to an external site.)   As an outsider, how do you think a woman might feel when reading this chapter?  How do you think Ursula K. Le Guin felt?

Lust Discussion

Answer  both of the following questions about "Lust" by Susan Minot.  As always, bonus points may be given to students who comment thoughtfully on the posts of their classmates.  1) How do you think the narrator view girls' sexuality versus boys'?  How does she approach sex as opposed to her male counterparts? 2) Choose a few lines from the story to illustrate the negative associations the narrator has with sex.  Why do you think she feels this way?