In this third phase of the course, we have read and discussed Picturing Will, a novel that examines gender-related themes as they apply to contemporary relationships. Given this novel and its characters, please choose one – only one – of the two following related topic options to write about in a take-home essay that you will prepare with input and suggestions from a classmate:
Discuss Jody, Mel and Wayne’s characters – specifically with regard to the ways in which each fulfills the traditional definitions of femininity and masculinity. Do they strictly adhere to their customarily assigned gender roles? Do any – or all three – of these characters resist social standards or pressures to conform to historic ideals? If so, in what ways?
Compare and contrast Jody and Mel’s relationship to Wayne and Corky’s relationship. How are they similar? How are they different? How do they compare to “traditional” male-female relationships? Do these characters seem to adhere to the traditional feminine and masculine gender roles assigned by society to women and men respectively? Do they subvert – undermine and challenge – these conventional gender roles in any way?
Nuts and bolts: As with our first two papers, this essay should be no shorter than five paragraphs in length. In fact, since it is being completed outside of class and you will have ample time to work on it, I will expect it to be a bit more developed and most likely lengthier than the earlier essays that you produced in a timed setting.
While you should still include a title that clearly indicates the main purpose of your essay, unlike our first two papers, you must post a rough draft of this essay to the discussion board created for this purpose. Following the very specific instructions posted there, you will then need to complete a peer review for at least one classmate. Finally, you will need to revise your essay based upon the feedback and suggestions you receive through this process and upload the final draft of it here to HFC Online no
When you submit the final draft, please use12-point font, double-spaced with margins no larger than 1” top and bottom and 1.25” side (the MS Word defaults). Finally, as this piece is NOT a personal narrative but a formal academic essay, it is MANDATORY that you once again refrain from using the first-person voice when drafting it (“I”).