Portfolio Planning

Most of my previous blogs have either been me analyzing a specific topic or speaking my mind on something; however, this time, it’ll be a little different. For this post, I’ll be writing a more informative piece explaining my plans for my English summative.

My task for this summative is to make a portfolio that includes four different media outlets we’ve used throughout the course. Each of these media texts should work together to bring light to something interesting or significant I noticed throughout the novel.

My portfolios thesis will be: The infamous view that all men in our society are dominant while women are inferior is explored vigorously and unfairly throughout Lullabies for Little Criminals. The novel depicts women in a negative, stereotypical manner, ultimately degrading them as a whole. Through the perspective of a feminist lens, it becomes evident how men have cultivated the power to restrict and make decisions for a woman in both this novel and in today’s society.

Below, is a brief description of what media texts I plan to use and why I think that specific outlet is best to explain my thesis.

Persuasive Essay

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For the first part of my portfolio, I have decided to write a persuasive essay on the different ways women are negatively portrayed through society. I will be exploring how men devalue women in ways that make them look absurd. I think that writing a persuasive essay will be a good idea for me because I believe it’s one of my most potent forms of writing. I also think this types of essay is suitable for my topic because it allows me to use logic as well as emotion to draw from. This topic is very controversial and heavily talked about in today’s society, so I believe using passion, rhetorical questions and imagery will enhance my writing in a way that will display my points in an effective manor.

Blog Post

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I will be exploring how men have cultivated power to make decision for women in the novels society and today’s society through a blog post. The reason I choose to do a blog post, is because it’s a great way to get a few but important points across without being very formal. I can talk informally and use specific words styles that other mediums will not let me. Through a blog post, I will be using a conversational tone to make my readers really understand what I’m trying to say while allowing for feedback and comments. This medium will also allow me to use parenthetical citations and detailed images to prove my ideas further. Since i’ll be including a portion about our society today, hyperlinks will enhance my points and backup my observations.

Concept map

I will use the features of a concept map to dive in deeper into how the idea of how patriarchy is used within the novel. (Patriarchy is simply the exploration of how women are inferior to men). I will be using examples and different scenarios to showcase how men and women are not seen to be on the same level. I will also be showing examples of how women are seen to be inferior, as well as showing examples of how men are seen to be dominant. The reason I choose a concept map is that it can get an essential idea across without using long sentences. It’s also very visual so it can be easier to understand and will allow the readers to see a physical connection between two things rather than just thinking about it.

Remix

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For my last media text, I’ve decided to create a remix in terms of creating something new from 5-6 original posts. I will rearrange certain elements and use pictures to explain some major points seen in the novel and will display them as a whole. Since I’m doing a digital portfolio, I will post both the original cover and my cover and discuss the differences and what each picture means. I think that a remix will fit into my portfolio well, as I will be able to show and prove my thesis in a different way other than just using words. It will add another dimension to my portfolio and keep readers more interested as it won’t be a block of text, but rather something visual that they can interpret in their own way. I’m also very excited about this media outlets as I’ve never created my own remix before so I’m looking forward to facing a new challenge. I do believe, that this portion will be the trickiest part of my portfolio as I will be attempting to use many different software like illustrator and Photoshop to create my new image. On top of that, I will also be making that imagine into a mosaic so it will be a lot harder to cite those images and make it in a way that will be effective to my portfolio thesis.

Skills Learned

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Throughout this course, I’ve learned so much and developed many skills that I didn’t have coming into this class. Starting from the beginning of unit 1 all the way to this post I’m writing right now, I’ve learned how to properly analyzing a text through literary theories as well as learn how important it is to infer something and make connections etc. Over the course of this semester, I’ve learned more about remix’s, blogs and literary theories more than I ever have, including how to properly give credit. I feel like looking from an overview, a major skill that I’ve acquired is time management as well as looking through different lens to see what a text could mean in different ways.

-ZK

Not an Object, Not an attention seeker, and Definitely not Inferior

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This week I’ve finished reading the novel Lullabies for Little Criminals and wow! Was this book an experience. For those who’ve been following up with my recent posts will know how this novel mainly focuses on drugs, bad parenting, sex and prostitution. All topics that are controversial and not common to young kids. This novel was definitely a chilling experience that taught me many life lessons and made me realize how our society is not at it’s finest.

Looking from a feminist point of view, this novel definitely had some ups and down when it came to gender roles and how they were perceived. The men in this novel were regularly shown to be dominant, and the woman were seen to be inferior.

One thing I found especially interesting was that women weren’t women and men weren’t men.

Confusing right?

What I mean is, women were seen as sexual objects and nothing more, while most men were seen as monsters, abusers, sex-driven maniacs and even manipulators.

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When it came to woman, the men in these societies did not see them for who they were, let alone their personalities, but for their image. A girl could look as beautiful as a flower and have the nastiest personally, yet men would still approach her to satisfy their own obsessive pleasure solely based on appearance. This idea is mostly explored through the eyes of the local pimp, Alphonse.

One of the biggest evils in Baby’s lives was, without a doubt, Alphonse. He manipulated pretty girls with affection and sexual gifts to use them for his own benefit. Unfortunately, Baby walks right into his trap and begins to look for his attention, eventually getting swayed by his gifts and sweet commentary.

Alphonse is literally THE perfect example of how men saw women as nothing more than sexual objects, as he begins to show interest in Baby only after she dresses more daringly. When Baby first saw Alphonse, she mentioned, “Although Alphonse was terribly interested in women, he never seemed to notice me. But that’s because I wasn’t really a woman” (O’Neill, 149). By saying this, we see how Alphonse had little to no interest in Baby as she wasn’t “really a woman” implementing that she didn’t have the looks or features of a typical female.

Yet, when Baby started wearing more exposing and “foxier” cloths like Zoe and some of the other prostitutes, Alphonse interest developed faster than a cheetahs run. Suddenly he had his eyes on her, and even went as far as calling her a “hot tamale” (155) and sending her things he thought would look good on her.

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Another example of how men saw women as sexual objects were with the idea of prostitutes. When Alphonse forced Baby into prostitution, he would make her sit outside on a bench looking all pretty and dolled up, waiting for men to have a look at her and decide if they wanted to have sex. Alphonse put her on display as if she was a trophy, not in a proud way, but in a bragging way. They would wait all day for “offers” to come in, and once they did, he would make her have sex, no questions asked.

He never had her best interests in mind; he only thought of her as an outlet for making money. He convinced her of becoming a prostitute and encouraged her to sell her body. To him, she was an object that could be tucked away on a far shelf and pulled out whenever he needed. And if that object ever faltered or got stuck on the shelf, he would abuse it out with anger until he got what he wanted.

Male dominance is another aspect we see through Alphonse and even Baby’s own father, Jules. When Baby decides to go back to school, she meets an odd boy named Xavier. Unlike most men in society, he was portrayed as kind, innocent and someone who didn’t want to take advantage of her. Eventually, they started dating and decided to have sex. The only place Baby could think of was Alphonse’s apartment as she expected he wouldn’t be there.

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However, as I suspected, Alphonse walked in and saw what was happening. He took hold of Xavier and beat him up. I was taken by surprise when Baby yelled: “Let him go!” (306). She took control of the situation and mustered the courage to go against his wishes. She used her power as a woman and used her voice to say what was only right. Yet for her act of courage, she was rewarded with a slap. After finally doing what needed to be done, she didn’t get a courageous pat on the back but instead got a red mark on her face. “I didn’t feel any pain when Alphonse slapped me on both sides of my face. I could feel both my cheeks getting all warm and tingly” (O’Neill 306). All because she finally did something for herself and on her own will. No one should ever lay a hand on someone else, but because men were accustomed to being better, this type of behaviour was allowed and acceptable. No questions asked. After all, he was the mighty man, and she was a lifeless stripper.

Jules, on the other hand, also shows dominance over Baby as he decides what she should or shouldn’t do. He continuously restricts her in all sorts of ways. As Baby mentioned, “I couldn’t dress like that or Jules would throw a fit. He didn’t even let me braid my hair. He thought that Bobby pins were invented solely for attracting black men” (150). Not only does this show that Baby couldn’t do some of the simplest things, but it also shows how men could restrict women in what they wear and who they can and can’t hang out with.