This is my opening paragraph that I’d like to keep the same. “Expectations invariably result in disappointment, and we have anticipated that America will defend its principles of liberty, freedom, and justice for everyone. However, their systems have proven ineffective in addressing the needs of minority groups and have not been successful in fostering a sense of oneness, as not all individuals are treated equally. Although slavery was officially abolished in 1865, it was not until 1954 that the African Americans Civil Rights Movement began, which exemplifies a failure to meet expectations.The essay “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls” by Kathy Pollitt in The New York Times and Maya Angelou’s poem “Caged Birds” share a common theme BP1, but differ in intent BP2, audience, and style BP3. Both works aim to challenge societal expectations and prejudices, highlighting the need to reject them in a society marked by separation.”
The prompt is:You will write a 3.5 to 4 page paper comparing and contrasting ONE essay read for class with ONE song or poem not assigned in class that you find with ONE of these similar topics or themes: identity, belonging, living in two worlds, worlds colliding, self-definition, defying stereotypes.
My response:In the narrative essay “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls” by Kathy Pollitt and the poem Caged Birds by Maya Angelou have comparable philosophies of defying expectations.
My analysis on “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls”: In the New York Times essay, “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls” by Kathy Pollitt, she explains the stereotype that adults, society and tradition innately categorizes gender roles at such a young age. There has been studies and essays that argue against this more modern viewpoint, yet todays world defies those primitive gender norms. The Greta Gerwig video connected to the essay by sharing a memory of Barbie’s release instilling insecurities in not just young girls, but even women who worked hard to develop their confidence and security of living. The video made me think that societies harshness has already conditioned women to be basic and accept that. I disagree that Barbie set unrealistic beauty goals because women at the time did not how to conduct self care. Although “it seems crazy to transmit Barbie to the next generation”, that next generation has embraced her because they know they are or will be as beautiful as her. The success of the Barbie movie in theaters might show that parents have also shifted their stance on Barbie. In the other clip, “Be a Man”, when one of the gentlemen replied, “there’s an assumption when someone says it like that”, I remembered Asante’s argument that we must first characterize ourselves. My own fears with gender expectations has taught me that I must be a stay-at-home mom who is responsible for all the children and housework. Ultimately, I relinquished my own life purpose outside of my role as a woman and mother.She emphasizes that the male and female genes are physically different but have their roles already been structured for them by society? She claims that these roles have been put there by society. The fact that boys prefer to play with trucks while girls play with dolls is just a social conditioning. The female revolution is seemingly unfinished. We tend to use our children to prove that the differences between boys and girls are innate; a natural occurrence that none of us can control or change. How we raise our kids is a good indicator of the unfinished female revolution.
Maya Angelou’s poem analysis: The poem describes a “caged bird”—a bird that is trapped in a “narrow cage” with limited mobility, only able to sing about the freedom it has never had and cannot attain. This caged bird is an extended metaphor for the Black community’s past and ongoing experience of racism in the United States in particular, and can also be read as portraying the experience of any oppressed group. The metaphor captures the overwhelming agony and cruelty of the oppression of marginalized communities by relating it to the emotional suffering of the caged bird.
I’ll also attach my compare and contrast charts/notes
Links to works below:
https://hannahsmithaplangcomp.weebly.com/uploads/5/9/6/9/59690885/why_boys_dont_play_with_dolls1.pdf
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48989/caged-bird
