For this assignment, you will be writing a 1750- to 2000-word essay focusing on two of the following stories: “The Boat,” “Borders,” “What I Learned from Caesar,” “Two Kinds,” and “Everyday Use.”
Analyze and compare these stories by choosing one of the following topics:
- The impact of traumatic experiences on identity development. This can be analyzed from the point of view of a child who experiences trauma of some kind, or from that of children whose parents have experienced trauma in the past. In this case, the trauma would affect the identities of both parent and child. Depending on the stories chosen, some of the characters may have managed to develop a relatively resilient identity while others may not have managed to do so.
- The impact of stereotypical gender expectations on the development and/or expression of identity in terms of both fathers and sons. Also explore how these expectations have affected the relationship of the parent and child.
- How being identified with a marginalized group affects identity construction and expression both in terms of whole families and of the individual members of those families.
- The tactics that children use to cope with family pressures and expectations (in terms of the roles they should play or who they need to become to please their parents). When looking at the two stories, analyze how effective those tactics were to help the child “survive” those pressures, and also whether those tactics helped or hindered the development of an adult identity. Did these children find healthy ways to express themselves as individuals?
