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Language Arts 10 Honors
Summer Reading 2015
What is the impact of gender roles expected by society?
Introduction:
“Who has it worse: men or women?” is a loaded question. Your individual opinion, whatever it may be,
is backed up with evidence and experiences. Both sides regarding this battle of the sexes are right, because both
genders have expectations and pressures placed on them. Whether you’re a child or an adult, what is normal and
acceptable is very different depending on whether you’re male or female.
Reading:
1. All students are expected to complete the East High school-wide free choice summer reading
assignment. (You should have received a handout from your Language Arts Teacher.) That handout
assignment is all that is expected for your free-read.
2. Your summer essay begins with the selection of one of the following books to then read and annotate:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings* (Maya Angelou)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
Tess of d’Ubervilles (Thomas Hardy)
The Kite Runner* (Khaled Hosseini)
A Separate Peace (John Knowles)
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe* (Benjamin Alire Saenz)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
I Am Malala (Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb)
*Contains some mature content
3. Please research and find a news article that has something to do with the expectations placed on men or
women, or both. If found online, be sure the article can be attributed to an author and/or an editorial
process.
a. Worthwhile articles, if referenced, will look something like this:
i. “Men’s Lib” from Newsweek by Andrew Romano and Tony Dokoupil
ii. “The Confidence Gap” from The Atlantic (Online) by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
iii. “5 Things Women Are Judged More Harshly For Than Men” from The Huffington Post
online editorial board
b. Print, read, annotate article and bring it to class your first day
Viewing:
4. Please watch the following two trailers (each runs about 2.5 minutes):
a. http://therepresentationproject.org/films/the-mask-you-live-in/
b. http://film.missrepresentation.org/ (if interested, this film is available in its entirety on
streaming websites such as Netflix)
Consider some of the following quotes about gender:
“My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a
decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but
they say it charmingly. Women represent the
triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent
the triumph of mind over morals.”
~ Oscar Wilde
“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If
you want anything done, ask a woman.”
~ Margaret Thatcher
“A man does what he can; a woman does what a
man cannot.”
~ Isabel Allende
“How important it is for us to recognize and
celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”
~ Maya Angelou
“Men are every bit as gendered as women.”
~ Jackson Katz
“What a country needs to do is be fair to all its
citizens — whether people are of a different
ethnicity or gender.”
~ Chinua Achebe
“Men are every bit as gendered as women.”
~ Jackson Katz
“And I knew in my bones that Emily Dickinson
wouldn’t have written even one poem if she’d had
two howling babies, a husband bent on jamming
another one into her, a house to run, a garden to
tend, three cows to milk, twenty chickens to feed,
and four hired hands to cook for. I knew then why
they didn’t marry. Emily and Jane and Louisa. I
knew and it scared me. I also knew what being
lonely was and I didn’t want to be lonely my whole
life. I didn’t want to give up on my words. I didn’t
want to choose one over the other. Mark Twain
didn’t have to. Charles Dickens didn’t.”
~ Jennifer Donnelly
Essay Prompt:
While scientific research has found slight differences in the brain chemistry of males and females, most
research demonstrates that society and socialization are the most important factors in establishing specific
masculine and feminine roles that men and women are to play in any particular culture. That is to say, what
we know about feminine or masculine behavior is less about our biology and more about our society.
Using evidence from your book selection (reading assignment #2), the article you found (reading
assignment #3), the documentary trailers (viewing assignment #4), and any other research you wish to
utilize, write a 2-3 page essay exploring and analyzing what you believe are the most influential societal
factors in determining “acceptable” gender roles in today’s society.
Be sure to include the positive and negative influence you feel these roles have on individuals.
Due the first day of your Language Arts class:
1.
Essay, typed (12 pt. Times New Roman font, double spaced, 1-inch margins)
2.
Article, printed, and annotated
3.
Your book, annotated throughout (either in the book itself, on Post-Its, or on separate sheets of paper—
indicate page numbers, if done on paper)