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A comprehensive guide to writing a response essay that will help you ace your academic assignments.

How to write response essay

Writing a response essay can be a challenging task, as it requires you to analyze a piece of literature, a movie, an article, or any other work and provide your personal reaction to it. This type of essay allows you to express your thoughts and feelings about the content you’re responding to, and it can help you develop critical thinking and analytical skills.

In order to craft a compelling response essay, you need to carefully read and understand the work you’re responding to, identify key themes and arguments, and formulate a clear and coherent response. This guide will provide you with tips and strategies to help you write an effective response essay that engages your readers and communicates your ideas effectively.

Key Elements of a Response Essay

A response essay typically includes the following key elements:

  • Introduction: Begin with a brief summary of the text you are responding to and your main thesis statement.
  • Summary: Provide a concise summary of the text, focusing on the key points and arguments.
  • Analysis: Analyze and evaluate the text, discussing its strengths, weaknesses, and the effectiveness of its arguments.
  • Evidence: Support your analysis with evidence from the text, including quotes and examples.
  • Personal Reaction: Share your personal reaction to the text, including your thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
  • Conclusion: Sum up your response and reiterate your thesis statement, emphasizing the significance of your analysis.

By incorporating these key elements into your response essay, you can effectively engage with the text and provide a thoughtful and well-supported response.

Understanding the Assignment

Before you start writing your response essay, it is crucial to thoroughly understand the assignment requirements. Read the prompt carefully and identify the main objectives of the assignment. Make sure you understand what the instructor expects from your response, whether it is a critical analysis of a text, a personal reflection, or a synthesis of different sources.

Pay attention to key elements such as:

  • The topic or subject matter
  • The purpose of the response
  • The audience you are addressing
  • The specific guidelines or formatting requirements

Clarifying any doubts about the assignment will help you focus your response and ensure that you meet all the necessary criteria for a successful essay.

Analyzing the Prompt

Before you start writing your response essay, it is crucial to thoroughly analyze the prompt provided. Understanding the prompt is essential for crafting a coherent and well-structured response that addresses the key points effectively. Here are some key steps to consider when analyzing the prompt:

  • Carefully read the prompt multiple times to fully grasp the main question or topic that needs to be addressed.
  • Identify the key words and phrases in the prompt that will guide your response and help you stay focused on the main theme.
  • Consider any specific instructions or requirements outlined in the prompt, such as the length of the essay, the format to be used, or the sources to be referenced.
  • Break down the prompt into smaller parts or components to ensure that you cover all aspects of the question in your response.
  • Clarify any terms or concepts in the prompt that are unclear to you, and make sure you have a solid understanding of what is being asked of you.

By analyzing the prompt carefully and methodically, you can ensure that your response essay is well-structured, focused, and directly addresses the main question or topic at hand.

Developing a Thesis Statement

Developing a Thesis Statement

One of the most critical aspects of writing a response essay is developing a clear and strong thesis statement. A thesis statement is a concise summary of the main point or claim of your essay. It sets the tone for your entire response and helps guide your reader through your arguments.

When developing your thesis statement, consider the following tips:

1. Identify the main topic or issue you will be responding to.
2. State your position or stance on the topic clearly and concisely.
3. Provide a brief preview of the key points or arguments you will present in your essay to support your thesis.

Remember, your thesis statement should be specific, focused, and debatable. It should also be located at the end of your introduction paragraph to ensure it captures the reader’s attention and sets the stage for the rest of your essay.

Structuring Your Response

When structuring your response essay, it’s essential to follow a clear and logical format. Start with an introduction that provides background information on the topic and presents your thesis statement. Then, organize your body paragraphs around key points or arguments that support your thesis. Make sure each paragraph focuses on a single idea and provides evidence to back it up.

After presenting your arguments, include a conclusion that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis. Remember to use transitions between paragraphs to ensure a smooth flow of ideas. Additionally, consider the overall coherence and cohesion of your response to make it engaging and easy to follow for the reader.

Main Body Paragraphs

Main Body Paragraphs

When writing the main body paragraphs of your response essay, it’s essential to present your arguments clearly and logically. Each paragraph should focus on a separate point or idea related to the topic. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea, and then provide supporting evidence or examples to reinforce your argument.

  • Make sure to organize your paragraphs in a coherent and sequential manner, so that your essay flows smoothly and is easy for the reader to follow.
  • Use transition words and phrases, such as “furthermore,” “in addition,” or “on the other hand,” to connect your ideas and create a cohesive structure.
  • Cite sources and provide proper references to strengthen your arguments and demonstrate the credibility of your analysis.

Remember to analyze and evaluate the information you present in each paragraph, rather than simply summarizing it. Engage critically with the texts, articles, or sources you are referencing, and develop your own perspective or interpretation based on the evidence provided.

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How to Write a Response Paper: Outline, Steps & Examples

response paper

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Response essays are a frequent assignment in many academic courses. Professors often ask students to share their thoughts and feelings about a variety of materials, such as books, articles, films, songs, or poems. To write an effective response paper, you should follow a specific structure to ensure that your ideas are well-organized and presented in a logical manner.

In this blog post, we will explore how to write a good outline and how it is used to develop a quality reaction essay. You will also come across a response paper example to help you better understand steps involved in writing a response essay.  Continue reading to explore writing tips from professional paper writers that you can use to improve your skills.

What Is a Response Paper?

It is vital to understand the meaning of a response essay before you start writing. Often, learners confuse this type of academic work with reviews of books, articles, events, or movies, which is not correct, although they seem similar.  A response paper gives you a platform to express your point of view, feelings, and understanding of a given subject or idea through writing. Unlike other review works, you are also required to give your idea, vision, and values contained in literal materials. In other words, while a response paper is written in a subjective way, a review paper is written in a more objective manner.  A good reaction paper links the idea in discussion with your personal opinion or experience. Response essays are written to express your deep reflections on materials, what you have understood, and how the author's work has impacted you.

Response Paper Definition

Purpose of a Response Essay

Understanding reasons for writing a reaction paper will help you prepare better work. The purpose of a response essay will be:

  • To summarize author's primary ideas and opinions: you need to give a summary of materials and messages the author wants you to understand.
  • Providing a reflection on the subject: as a writer, you also need to express how you relate to authors' ideas and positions.
  • To express how the subject affects your personal life: when writing a response paper, you are also required to provide your personal outcome and lesson learned from interacting with the material.

Response Essay Outline

You should adhere to a specific response paper outline when working on an essay. Following a recommended format ensures that you have a smooth flow of ideas. A good response paper template will make it easier for a reader to separate your point of view from author's opinion. The essay is often divided into these sections: introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs.  Below is an example of a response essay outline template:

  • Briefly introduce the topic of the response paper
  • State your thesis statement or main argument
  • Provide a brief summary of the source material you are responding to
  • Include key details or arguments from the source
  • Analyze the source material and identify strengths and weaknesses
  • Evaluate the author's arguments and evidence
  • Provide your own perspective on the source material
  • Respond to the source material and critique its arguments
  • Offer your own ideas and counterarguments
  • Support your response with evidence and examples
  • Summarize your main points and restate your thesis
  • Provide final thoughts on the source material and its implications
  • Offer suggestions for further research or inquiry

Example of an outline for a response paper on the movie

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Response Paper Introduction

The success of response papers is partly dependent on how well you write the introductory paragraph. As with any academic paper, the introduction paragraph welcomes targeted readers and states the primary idea.  Below is a guideline on how to start a response essay:

  • Provide a compelling hook to capture the attention of your target audience.
  • Provide background information about the material, including the name and author of the work.
  • Provide a brief summary of main points to bring readers who are unfamiliar with the work up to task and enable them to follow up on your subsequent analysis.
  • Write a thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph to inform readers about the purpose and argument you are trying to relay.

Response Essay Thesis Statement

A thesis statement summarizes a paper's content within a sentence or two. A response essay thesis statement is not any different! The final sentence of the introductory paragraph of a reaction paper should give readers an idea of the message that will be discussed in your paper.  Do you know how to write a thesis statement for a response essay? If you follow the steps below, you should be able to write one:

  • Review the material you are responding to, and pinpoint main points expressed by authors.
  • Determine points of view or opinions you are going to discuss in the essay.
  • Develop your thesis statement. It should express a summary of what will be covered in your reaction. The sentence should also consider logical flow of ideas in your writing.
  • Thesis statement should be easy to spot. You should preferably place it at the end of your introductory paragraph.

Response Paper Body Paragraph

In most instances, the body section has between 1 and 3 paragraphs or more. You should first provide a summary of the article, book, or any other literature work you are responding to.  To write a response essay body paragraph that will capture the attention of readers, you must begin by providing key ideas presented in the story from the authors' point of view. In the subsequent paragraph, you should tell your audience whether you agree or disagree with these ideas as presented in the text. In the final section, you should provide an in-depth explanation of your stand and discuss various impacts of the material.

Response Paper Conclusion

In this section of a response paper, you should provide a summary of your ideas. You may provide key takeaways from your thoughts and pinpoint meaningful parts of the response. Like any other academic work, you wind up your response essay writing by giving a summary of what was discussed throughout the paper.  You should avoid introducing new evidence, ideas, or repeat contents that are included in body paragraphs in the conclusion section. After stating your final points, lessons learned, and how the work inspires you, you can wrap it up with your thesis statement.

How to Write a Response Paper?

In this section, we will provide you with tips on how to write a good response paper. To prepare a powerful reaction essay, you need to consider a two-step approach. First, you must read and analyze original sources properly. Subsequently, you also need to organize and plan the essay writing part effectively to be able to produce good reaction work. Various steps are outlined and discussed below to help you better understand how to write a response essay.

How to Write a Response Paper in 7 Steps?

1. Pick a Topic for Your Response Essay

Picking a topic for response essay topics can be affected either by the scope of your assignment as provided by your college professor or by your preference. Irrespective of your reason, the guideline below should help you brainstorm topic ideas for your reaction:

  • Start from your paper's end goal: consider what outcomes you wish to attain from writing your reaction.
  • Prepare a list of all potential ideas that can help you attain your preferred result.
  • Sort out topics that interest you from your list.
  • Critique your final list and settle on a topic that will be comfortable to work on.

Below are some examples of good topics for response essay to get you started:

  • Analyzing ideas in an article about effects of body shaming on mental health .
  • Reaction paper on new theories in today's business environment.
  • Movies I can watch again and again.
  • A response essay on a documentary.
  • Did the 9/11 terror attacks contribute to issues of religious intolerance?

2. Plan Your Thoughts and Reactions

To better plan your thoughts and reactions, you need to read the original material thoroughly to understand messages contained therein. You must understand author's line of thinking, beliefs, and values to be able to react to their content. Next, note down ideas and aspects that are important and draw any strong reactions.  Think through these ideas and record potential sequences they will take in your response paper. You should also support your opinions and reactions with quotes and texts from credible sources. This will help you write a response essay for the college level that will stand out.

3. Write a Detailed Response Paper Outline

Preparing a detailed response paper outline will exponentially improve the outcome of your writing. An essay outline will act as a benchmark that will guide you when working on each section of the paper. Sorting your ideas into sections will not only help you attain a better flow of communication in your responsive essay but also simplify your writing process.  You are encouraged to adopt the standard response essay outline provided in the sample above. By splitting your paper into introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs, you will be able to effectively introduce your readers to ideas that will be discussed and separate your thoughts from authors' messages.

4. Write a Material Summary

For your audience to understand your reaction to certain materials, you should at first provide a brief summary of authors' points of view. This short overview should include author's name and work title.  When writing a response essay, you should dedicate a section to give an informative summary that clearly details primary points and vital supporting arguments. You must thoroughly understand the literature to be able to complete this section.  For important ideas, you can add direct quotes from the original sources in question. Writers may sometimes make a mistake of summarizing general ideas by providing detailed information about every single aspect of the material. Instead of addressing all ideas in detail, focus on key aspects.  Although you rely on your personal opinion and experience to write a response paper, you must remain objective and factual in this section. Your subjective opinion will take center stage in the personal reaction part of the essay.

Example of a Response Summary

Below is a sample summary response essays example to help you better understand how to write one. A Summary of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

5. Share Your Reaction

After summarizing the original material, the second part of a response paper involves writing your opinion about author’s point of view. After a thorough review of the material, you should be able to express your perspective on the subject.  In this section, you are expected to detail how the material made you feel and how it relates to your personal life, experience, and values. Within the short response essay, you may also be required to state whether you agree or disagree with author's line of thinking. How does the material relate to current issues, or in what way does it impact your understanding of a given subject? Does it change your opinion on the subject in any way? Your reaction should answer these questions.  In addition, you may also be required to outline potential advantages and shortcomings of the material in your reaction. Finally, you should also indicate whether or not you would endorse the literal work to others.

Reaction in Response Body Paragraph Example

Below is a reaction in a response essay body paragraph sample to help you improve your skills in writing the response body paragraph: Reaction Paragraph Example

6. Conclude Your Response Essay

Do you know how to write a response paper conclusion? It should be the icing on the cake. Irrespective of how good previous sections were, your reaction essay will not be considered to be exceptional if you fail to provide a sum up of your reaction, ideas, and arguments in the right manner.  When writing a response essay conclusion , you should strive to summarize the outcome of your thoughts. After stating your final point, tell readers what you have learned and how that material inspired or impacted you. You can also explain how your perspective and the author's point of view intertwine with each other.  Never introduce new ideas in the conclusion paragraph. Presenting new points will not only disrupt the flow of ideas in the paper but also confuse your readers because you may be unable to explain them comprehensively.  You are also expected to link up your discussions with the thesis statement. In other words, concluding comments and observations need to incorporate the reaffirmation of the thesis statement.

Example of Response Paper Conclusion

You can use the responsive essay conclusion sample below as a benchmark to guide you in writing your concluding remarks: Conclusion Example

Proofread Your Response Paper

It is important to proofread your response paper before submitting it for examination. Has your essay met all instructional requirements? Have you corrected every grammatical error in your paper? These are common questions you should be asking yourself.  Proofreading your work will ensure that you have eliminated mistakes made when working on your academic work. Besides, you also get the opportunity to improve your logical flow of ideas in your paper by proofreading.  If you review your work thoroughly before submitting it for marking, you are more likely to score more marks! Use our Paper Rater , it is a tool that can help you pinpoint errors, which makes going through your work even simpler.

Response Essay Examples

If you have never written this type of academic paper before, responsive essay examples should help you grasp the primary concepts better. These response paper samples not only help you to familiarize yourself with paper's features but also help you to get an idea of how you should tackle such an assignment. Review at least one written response essay example from the compilation below to give you the confidence to tackle a reaction paper. Response essay example: Book

Response paper example: Poem

Response paper sample: Movie

Example of a response paper: Article

Sample response essay: Issue

Response Paper Format

It is important to follow a recommended response essay format in order to adhere to academic writing standards needed for your assignment. Formats depend on your institution or the discipline.  A reaction paper can be written in many different academic writing styles, including APA, MLA, and Chicago, with each demanding a slightly different format.  The outlook of the paper and referencing varies from one writing style to another. Despite the format for a response paper, you must include introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs.

Response Essay Writing Tips

Below are some of the best tips you can use to improve your response papers writing skills:

  • Review your assignment instructions and clarify any inquiries before you start a response paper.
  • Once you have selected topics for response essay, reviewed your original materials, and came up with your thesis statement, use topic sentences to facilitate logical flow in your paper.
  • Always ensure that you format your work as per the standard structure to ensure that you adhere to set academic requirements. Depending on the academic writing style you will be using, ensure that you have done your in-text citation as per the paper format.
  • If you have never worked on this kind of academic paper, you should review examples and samples to help you familiarize yourself with this type of work. You should, however, never plagiarize your work.
  • You can use a first-person perspective to better stress your opinion or feelings about a subject. This tip is particularly crucial for reaction part of your work.
  • Finally, before submitting your work, proofread your work.

Bottom Line on Response Paper Writing

As discussed in this blog post, preparing a response paper follows a two-step approach. To successfully work on these sections, you need to plan properly to ensure a smooth transition from the reading and analyzing the original material to writing your reaction. In addition, you can review previous works to improve your writing skills.  So, what is a response essay that will immediately capture the attention of your instructor? Well, it should have a captivating introduction, evidence backed reaction, and a powerful conclusion. If you follow various tips outlined above and sum up your work with thorough proofreading, there is no chance that you can fail this type of assignment.

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FAQ About Response Paper

1. how long is a short response essay.

The length of a short response essay varies depending on topic and your familiarity with the subject. Depending on how long original sources are and how many responsive points you have, your reaction paper can range from a single paragraph of 150-400 words to multiple paragraphs of 250-500 words.

2. How to start a response body paragraph?

Use an argumentative topic sentence to start your responsive paper paragraph. Failing to begin a paragraph with an elaborate topic sentence will confuse your readers. Topic sentences give readers an idea of what is being discussed in the section. Write a responsive body paragraph for every new idea you add.

3. Is reaction paper similar to a response paper?

Yes. Reaction papers and response essays are used interchangeably. Responsive essays analyze author's point of view and compare them with your personal perspective. This type of academic writing gives you freedom to share your feelings and opinion about an idea. People also discuss how ideas, concepts, and literature material influence them in a response paper.

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How to Write a Literary Analysis

The classic film The Adventure of Robin Hood (1938), as directed by Michael Curtis and William Keighley, stars an infamous outlaw, Robin Hood, who "robbed from the rich and gave to the poor''. The charismatic and charming Saxon lord, Robin Hood (Flynn), becomes an outlaw and seeks justice for poor people by fighting Sir Guy of Gisborne (Rathbone), Sheriff of Nottingham (Copper), and Prince John (Rains), who were oppressing people. After assembling an outlaw group, Robin defies the excessive taxes imposed on poor people by stealing from wealthy individuals and redistributing wealth to the destitute in society. Robin Hood is eventually lured into an archery tournament and gets arrested, but survives an execution. He later helps King Richard to regain his lost throne and banish Prince John.
My main takeaway from watching The Adventure of Robin Hood (1938) is that society should prioritize good and justice over laws if the set rules oppress people. Prince John, Sir Guy, and Sheriff Cooper were cruel and petty and used existing laws to oppress and exploit poor people. In response, Robin Hood employed unorthodox means and tried to help oppressed people in society. I agree with his way of thinking. Laws are made to protect people in society and ensure justice is served. Therefore, when legislation fails to serve its purpose, it becomes redundant. Even in current society, we have seen democratic governments funding coups when presidents start oppressing their people. Such coups are supported despite the fact that presidency is protected by law. Although Robin Hood's actions might encourage unlawfulness if taken out of context, I would still recommend this film because its main message is advocating for justice in the community.
There are a lot of similarities between the film's message and my opinion, values, and beliefs. Based on my personal principles, I believe the actions of the main character, Robin Hood, are justifiable and acceptable. Several people in modern society would also agree with my perspective. The movie has provided me with multiple lessons and inspirations. The main lesson acquired is that laws are not ultimate and that we should analyze how they affect people rather than adhere to them blindly. Unless legislation protects people and serves justices, it should be considered irrelevant. Also, morality outweighs legislation. From the movie, I gathered that morality should be the foundation for all laws, and at any time, morality and greater good should be prioritized above laws. The main inspiration relates to being brave in going against some legislation since the end justifies the means sometimes. My point of view and that of the movie creators intertwine. We both advocate for human decency and justice. The argument discussed supports the idea that good and justice is greater than law.

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How to Write a Reader Response

Last Updated: July 23, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 449,382 times.

A reader response assignment asks you to explain and defend your personal reaction to an assigned text. Reader response papers can be difficult because they force you, the reader, to take responsibility for giving meaning to the text. Often these assignments feel open-ended and vague, but don't worry, a good reader response paper will follow a standard essay format that you can easily master. This guide will walk you through the creation of a well-crafted reader response paper that's sure to wow your instructor and earn you an awesome grade.

What to Include in a Reader Response

  • Introduce the name and author of the text.
  • Explain what the text is about.
  • Write about what you thought of the text, and why.
  • Answer any guided reading questions you're assigned.
  • Give examples to support your thoughts.
  • Conclude with a summary of your thoughts.

Writing the Reader Response

Step 1 Write the introduction.

  • It is often helpful to use the first body paragraph to include more information about the text, the plotline, major themes, etc., and then use the rest of the paragraphs to provide an analysis of how you felt about the text.

Step 3 Remember to explain how, why, and what.

  • Remember that a reader response is meant to be personal, so it's OK to incorporate personal anecdotes and opinions into your analysis.
  • Example: "Forcing Hester Prynne to wear the scarlet "A" reminded me of a time when I was cyber-bullied in eighth grade, and my "friends" spread rumors about me online where the whole school could see."

Step 4 Incorporate specific examples into your analysis.

  • Example: "At the end of The Old Man and the Sea, Manolin promises to once again fish with Santiago, so the old man no longer has to be alone. This was Santiago's greatest wish, but it was a different kind of success than he initially set out to achieve."

Step 5 Keep quotations short and sweet.

  • Example: "'My big fish must be somewhere,' said Santiago. This is exactly how I felt after I received my third rejection letter, but like Santiago, I kept trying, and eventually I was accepted."
  • Make sure and cite your examples per class directions. You will usually be required to note the page numbers of any quotations or specific examples in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Step 6 Write the conclusion.

  • A great way to think of your conclusion is that it's one last chance to explain to your reader how you see all of your points fitting together.

Step 7 Proofread, proofread, proofread!!

  • Sometimes it's hard to see our own mistakes, so it can really help to exchange papers with a friend, and proofread each other's work.

Drafting the Reader Response

Step 1 Identify an angle you can take when talking about the text.

  • "Even though I found The Scarlett Letter hard to follow at times, Hester Prynne's story is still relatable, and made me think a lot about the effects of publicly shaming people online."
  • "Some people believe the Old Man and the Sea is a book about failure, but it is really a story of perseverance that teaches us that success may not always come in the form we expect, and even disasters can lead to positive outcomes."

Step 2 Outline the essay.

  • Introduction: 1 paragraph.
  • Analysis/Body Paragraphs: 3-4 paragraphs. How you organize these paragraphs will depend on the parameters of the assignment.
  • Conclusion: 1 paragraph.

Step 3 Choose example passages to use in your analysis.

Reading the Text

Step 1 Go over the assignment directions before you begin.

  • Do you like or dislike the text?
  • Can you identify the author's purpose?
  • Do you agree or disagree with the author?
  • Does the text relate to you and your life? If so, how? If not, why not?
  • Does the text agree with, or go against your personal world view?
  • What, if anything, did you learn from the text?

Step 2 Read the text.

  • Taking a bit of extra time during this phase will save you a lot of time in the writing process. [9] X Research source

Step 3 Contemplate what you have read.

  • I think that...
  • I feel that...
  • I see that...
  • I have learned that...

Sample Reader Response

example of a response essay

Community Q&A

Community Answer

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Teach Yourself to Read

  • ↑ https://penandthepad.com/rules-writing-reading-response-essay-3968.html
  • ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-jefferson-english102/chapter/reader-response-criticism-american-literature-i/
  • ↑ https://writingstudio.gsu.edu/files/2021/02/Reading-Response.pdf
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
  • ↑ https://faculty.washington.edu/momara/Reader%20Response.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
  • ↑ http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Writing-a-Response-or-Reaction-Paper
  • ↑ http://education-portal.com/articles/Step-by-Step_Guide_to_Writing_a_Great_Reading_Response_Paper.html
  • ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Writing-a-Response-or-Reaction-Paper

About This Article

Diane Stubbs

To write a reader response, develop a clear thesis statement and choose example passages from the text that support your thesis. Next, write an introduction paragraph that specifies the name of the text, the author, the subject matter, and your thesis. Then, include 3-4 paragraphs that discuss and analyze the text. Finish up with a conclusion paragraph that summarizes your arguments and brings the reader back to your thesis or main point! For tips on analyzing the text before writing your assignment, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Response Essay Examples

A response essay is a sub-genre of critical writing. It describes your impressions from a book, movie, art, music, research paper, or any other creation. Its distinctive feature is the unlimited subjectivity allowing you to express whatever emotions the analyzed object has evoked. It is the main difference from a standard critical essay which is more objective and requires argumentation.

The structure of a response essay is not too strict. Still, it usually consists of two parts: source overview and personal response to the reading.

Below you can find an extensive list of response essay examples. Please be sure to reference the source whenever you decide to quote any part of them.

75 Best Response Essay Examples

“supersize your child” by richard hayes.

  • Subjects: Evolution of Humans Sciences
  • Words: 1189

Richard Hayes: Supersize Your Child

  • Words: 1210

Applying Learning Models in a Particular Setting

  • Subjects: Education Learning Challenges
  • Words: 1167

Indecent Behavior in Moral Standards

  • Subjects: Ethics Sociology

Lady Anne Clifford’s Life and Family

  • Subjects: British Literature Literature
  • Words: 1414

Students’ Creativity: Imagination

  • Subjects: Education Study Courses and Education Programs

Propaganda in the Democratic Society

  • Subjects: Entertainment & Media Journalism

The Negative Consequences of Employing High School Students in Fast Food Restaurants

  • Subjects: Business Management

Monstrous and Human Relationship in “The Odyssey”

  • Subjects: Literature Plays

“The Odyssey”: The Relationship Between the Monstrous and the Human

Culture and business practices in asia.

  • Subjects: Business Employees Management

Kant’s Prolegomena Concerning Any Future Metaphysics

  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories Philosophy
  • Words: 2271

Relationship Between Body and Consciousness by Jean-Paul Sartre

  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept Philosophy
  • Words: 1407

Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng: The Plum in the Golden Vase

  • Subjects: Literature World Literature
  • Words: 1678

The Church as a Forgiving Community

  • Subjects: Religion Religion, Culture & Society

“Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity” by David N. Entwistle

Family and marriage therapy.

  • Subjects: Family Psychology Psychology
  • Words: 1898

Jackson and His Environment

  • Subjects: Behavior Psychology
  • Words: 2212

Death Penalty Role in the Criminal Justice System

  • Subjects: Politics & Government Social & Political Theory

Job Analysis and Selection

Leading with soul response.

  • Words: 1147

Explanation of Cancer Disease

  • Subjects: Health & Medicine Oncology

“The Thatcher Revolution” by Earl A. Reitan

  • Subjects: History Western Europe
  • Words: 1900

Leadership and Communication

Animals with rich histories.

  • Subjects: Environment Environmental Studies

Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling

  • Subjects: Literature on Religion Religion
  • Words: 1152

Satellite Dishes Company Marketing Process

  • Subjects: Business Marketing

Empowerment of Students for Their Motivation

  • Subjects: Academic Performance Education

A Global Health Discussion: Ebola

  • Subjects: Epidemiology Health & Medicine

Americans With Disabilities Act

  • Subjects: Interpersonal Communication Episodes Psychology

“What is Academic Language?” by James Paul Gee

  • Subjects: American Literature Literature

“Revisiting the Commons: Local Lessons, Global Challenges”

  • Subjects: Ecology Environment

Climate Change and Corporate World

  • Subjects: Climate Change Environment
  • Words: 1139

Vision for Your Teaching and Learning & Role as a Teacher-Leader or Teacher-Researcher

  • Subjects: Education Teacher Career
  • Words: 1129

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) in Reducing the Effects of Climate Change

  • Subjects: Disasters Environment

Slaughterhouse-Five Movie Analysis

  • Subjects: Art Film Studies

Overcoming the Tyranny of Segregated Minds in Desegregated Schools

  • Subjects: Education Education Issues

Living Buddha, Living Christ

Experience of reggio emilia critique.

  • Subjects: Education Education System

The Art of Pastoring

  • Subjects: Religion Religious Education
  • Words: 3679

History From the Inside Out: Prison Life in Nineteenth-Century by L. Goldsmith

  • Subjects: History United States

Gender Violence in the News

  • Subjects: Sociology Violence
  • Words: 1195

The End of History: Views of the Philosophers

  • Words: 1963

Antecedents and Outcomes of Entrepreneurial and Market Orientations in a Non-Profit Context

Children in at-risk families.

  • Subjects: Family, Life & Experiences Parenting

Families With Members Who Experience Disabilities

  • Subjects: Family Members Family, Life & Experiences

“The Experience of Space and Time”

Positivism and interpretivism.

  • Subjects: Sciences Scientific Method

Team Learning as a Way of Education

  • Subjects: Challenges of Psychology Psychology

Japanese Soldiers in the World War II

  • Subjects: Asia History

Origins of Religion

  • Words: 1384

Napoleon Bonaparte in his study

  • Subjects: Art Paintings
  • Words: 1105

System Thinking: Contributing to the Learning Organization

  • Subjects: Business Management Priorities

Using Leadership to Improve Ethical Performance

  • Subjects: Business Business Ethics
  • Words: 1234

Hispanic Americans: Racial Status

  • Subjects: Immigration Sociology

Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspective

  • Subjects: Culture Ethnicity Studies

“With Training and Development for All” by Goodman and Preston

  • Subjects: Business Global Scale Management

Why No Apple in Europe?

  • Subjects: Social Movements Sociology

Last Night I dreamt of Peace

  • Subjects: Historical Figures History

Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs Mary Rowlandson

Three cups of tea, insights on green automotive development.

  • Subjects: Engineering Tech & Engineering

Capitalism: A Love Story: A Reflective Paper

  • Subjects: Economic Systems & Principles Economics

Ethnography Reflection

  • Subjects: Anthropology Sciences
  • Words: 1710

Misery – Anton Chekhov. Analysis of Summary and Themes

  • Subjects: Dramatic Literature Literature

Infantile Sexuality: Thumb Sucking

  • Subjects: Development Psychology

Pride and Arrogance in the “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles

The corporation & our media, not theirs.

  • Subjects: Documentaries Entertainment & Media
  • Words: 1109

Maldoror and the Completed Works of the Comte de Lautréamont

  • Words: 1390

Folklore: Contemporary Legends

  • Subjects: Literature Modernist Literature
  • Words: 1641

Gods and Humans: Myths of Ancient Rome and Greece

  • Subjects: Comparative Literature Literature

Summary: James Wertsch’s “The Multivoicedness of Meaning”.

Social networks benefits and disadvantages.

  • Subjects: Sociological Issues Sociology
  • Words: 1122

The Problem of Global Overpopulation

Molto agitato: the mayhem behind the music at the metropolitan opera.

  • Subjects: Art Music Industry
  • Words: 1112

📕 Studying HQ

How to write a Response Essay.

Carla johnson.

  • June 13, 2023
  • How to Guides

A response essay is an important part of academic writing because they give students a chance to think about the ideas and arguments in a text and give their own thoughts and opinions on the subject. Response essays are different from other types of essays because students not only have to summarize the text, but also analyze and evaluate it in a critical way.

These essays are important because they help students learn how to think critically, improve their writing skills, and deal with complicated ideas and arguments. In this article, we’ll talk about how to write response essays and give students tips, examples, and ideas for topics to help them learn this important skill.

In this article, readers will learn what response essays are, how to write a good response essay, and what kinds of topics are good for this type of assignment. By the end of this article, readers will know exactly what it takes to write a good response essay and have the tools and knowledge they need to confidently take on this type of assignment.

What You'll Learn

What is a Response Essay?

In a response essay, the writer talks about how they feel about a certain text, article, or book. The goal of a response essay is to analyze the text critically and share the writer’s thoughts and opinions about the topic.

Response essays are different from argumentative and expository essays in that the writer must give their own opinion on the topic. Even though a summary of the text is often part of a response essay, it is not the main point.

An introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion are the most important parts of a response essay. The introduction should give background information about the text and include a thesis statement that shows the writer’s opinion about the text. The writer’s argument should be backed up by evidence and examples from the text in the body paragraphs. The conclusion should restate the essay’s main points and give a final opinion on the text.

Elements of a Response Essay

To write an effective response essay, it is important to include several key elements in the essay . These include:

Introduction: The introduction should provide background information on the text, including the author, title, and publication date. It should also include a thesis statement that expresses the writer’s opinion about the text.

Body Paragraphs: The writer’s argument should be backed up by evidence and examples from the text in the body paragraphs. It’s important to think critically about the text and give specific examples to back up the writer’s ideas and opinions. Each paragraph in the body should be about a different part of the text, and the writer should use transitions to link the paragraphs and keep the flow of ideas smooth.

Conclusion: The conclusion should summarize the main points of the essay and provide a final opinion on the text. It should not introduce any new ideas or information, but rather provide closure for the reader and reinforce the writer’s thesis statement .

Thesis Statement: The thesis statement is a critical component of a response essay, as it expresses the writer’s opinion on the text. The thesis statement should be clear, concise, and focused on the main argument of the essay. It should provide a roadmap for the reader and guide the writer’s analysis and evaluation of the text.

Evidence and Examples: In a response essay, the writer’s argument needs to be backed up by evidence and examples from the text. The writer should back up their ideas and thoughts with specific examples and quotes from the text. It is important to think carefully about the evidence and explain how it backs up the writer’s argument .

Writing a response essay means carefully analyzing and judging a piece of writing, as well as being able to say what you think and feel about it. By including the key points talked about in this article, writers can effectively communicate their ideas and make sense of complicated texts.

Don’t forget to use clear, concise language, give specific examples and proof, and stick to the main point of your essay . With these tips, writers can learn how to write response essays and effectively respond to academic texts in their writing.

How to Write a Response Essay

Writing a response essay can be a challenging task, but it can also be a rewarding one. Here is a step-by-step guide to writing a response essay:

Before you start writing your response essay, it is important to read the text carefully and take notes on important ideas and concepts . Consider the main argument of the text and evaluate the evidence and examples used to support it. Think about your own experiences and opinions on the subject matter and how they relate to the text.

Once you’re done with your planning, you can start writing your response essay. Start with an introduction that tells what the text is about and includes a clear thesis statement that shows what you think about it. Use body paragraphs to analyze and evaluate the text critically , using evidence and examples from the text to support your arguments. Use transitions between paragraphs to make sure the ideas flow smoothly. Finish with a summary of your main points and your final thoughts on the text.

After you finish the first draft of your essay, you should go back and fix any mistakes. Read your essay carefully , making sure there are no spelling or grammar mistakes and that it makes sense. Think about how your essay is put together and make any changes you need to make sure your argument is clear and well-supported. It’s important to follow a clear and logical format when setting up and organizing your response essay. Start with an introduction that gives background information about the text and a thesis statement that is clear and focused. Use the body paragraphs to back up your thesis statement with evidence and examples from the text, and make sure to use clear, concise language. Use transitions to link your paragraphs and keep your ideas moving smoothly. Finish with a summary of your main points and your final thoughts on the text. When writing a response essay, common mistakes to avoid include summarizing the text instead of analyzing and evaluating it, not giving specific examples and evidence to back up your arguments, and not revising and editing your essay carefully .

Response Essay Examples

Here are 10 fascinating response essay examples from different academic fields:

1. The Impact of Social Media on Teenagers” by Jane Smith

2. “The Role of Art in Society” by John Doe

3. “The Ethics of Genetic Engineering” by Sarah Johnson

4. The Importance of Education in Developing Countries” by Michael Brown

5. The Significance of the Civil Rights Movement” by Angela Davis

6. “The Future of Renewable Energy” by David Lee

7. The Effects of Climate Change on Marine Life” by Rachel Wilson

8. The Impact of Technology on Human Relationships” by Emily Jones

9. “The Role of Women in Politics” by Susan Lee

10. The Importance of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace” by Maria Hernandez

Each of these response essay examples provides a clear and focused thesis statement that expresses the writer’s opinion on the subject matter. The body paragraphs use specific examples and evidence from the text to support the arguments, and the conclusion summarizes the main points of the essay and provides a final opinion on the subject.

For example, in “The Ethics of Genetic Engineering” by Sarah Johnson, the thesis statement is clear and focused: “Genetic engineering poses ethical dilemmas that must be carefully considered before any scientific advances are made.” The body paragraphs provide specific examples and evidence to support this argument, such as the potential for genetic discrimination and the unknown long-term effects of genetic engineering. The conclusion summarizes the main points of the essay and provides a final opinion on the subject, emphasizing the need for caution and ethical considerations in genetic engineering.

Readers can use these examples to learn how to write effective response essays in their own academic fields. They can also analyze the key features of each example, such as the use of specific examples and evidence to support the argument, and use these techniques in their own writing. By learning from these examples, readers can become skilled response essay writers and effectively engage with complex texts in their academic writing.

Response Essay Topics

Here are 50 response essay topics that are sure to impress your professors:

1. The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

2. The Ethics of Animal Testing

3. The Role of Government in Healthcare

4. The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture

5. The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace

6. The Role of Art in Society

7. The Impact of Technology on Education

8. The Ethics of Cloning

9. The Significance of the Civil Rights Movement

10. The Future of Renewable Energy

11. The Effects of Immigration on the Economy

12. The Role of Women in Politics

13. The Impact of Video Games on Youth

14. The Ethics of Capital Punishment

15. The Importance of Voting Rights

16. The Effects of Globalization on Culture

17. The Role of Religion in Society

18. The Impact of Technology on Human Relationships

19. The Ethics of Stem Cell Research

20. The Significance of the Women’s Suffrage Movement

21. The Future of Space Exploration

22. The Effects of Social Media on Politics

23. The Role of Education in Reducing Poverty

24. The Importance of Mental Health Awareness

25. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Job Market

26. The Ethics of Euthanasia

27. The Significance of the American Revolution

28. The Future of Self-Driving Cars

29. The Effects of Income Inequality on Society

30. The Role of Media in Shaping Public Opinion

31. The Impact of COVID-19 on Education

32. The Ethics of Gene Editing

33. The Importance of Free Speech in Democracy

34. The Effects of Technology on Privacy

35. The Role of Sports in Society

36. The Impact of Climate Change on Public Health

37. The Ethics of Cybersecurity

38. The Significance of the Industrial Revolution

39. The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

40. The Effects of Social Media on Body Image

41. The Role of Animal Rights in Society

42. The Importance of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

43. The Impact of Technology on Mental Health

44. The Ethics of Abortion

45. The Significance of the Women’s Rights Movement

46. The Future of Green Energy

47. The Effects of Immigration on Cultural Identity

48. The Role of Music in Society

49. The Impact of Technology on Privacy

50. The Ethics of Human Cloning

Each of these topics is interesting and important, providing ample opportunity for critical analysis and evaluation. They cover a broad range of subjects, including social issues, technology, ethics, history, and the environment . By choosing one of these topics for your response essay, you can demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in the subject matter and engage with complex ideas and arguments.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is the difference between a response essay and a summary.

A response essay requires critical analysis and evaluation of a text, while a summary simply provides a brief overview of the text. In a response essay, the writer provides their own opinions and thoughts on the text, while in a summary, the writer remains objective and simply summarizes the main points of the text.

2. What is the appropriate tone for a response essay?

The tone for a response essay should be professional and objective, while also expressing the writer’s personal opinions and thoughts. It is important to remain respectful and avoid using emotional language, while also conveying a sense of passion and engagement in the subject matter.

3. What are some tips for writing a strong conclusion for a response essay?

A strong conclusion for a response essay should summarize the main points of the essay and provide a final opinion on the text. It should also provide closure for the reader and reinforce the writer’s thesis statement. To write a strong conclusion, it is important to avoid introducing any new ideas or information and to end on a strong and memorable note.

Response Essay Outline and Structure

A clear and logical structure is essential for writing an effective response essay. Here is a sample response essay outline:

I. Introduction

A. Background information on the text

B. Thesis statement

II. Body Paragraph 1

A. Topic sentence

B. Evidence and examples from the text

C. Analysis and evaluation of evidence

III. Body Paragraph 2

IV. Body Paragraph 3

V. Conclusion

A. Summary of main points

B. Final opinion on the text

This outline can be customized for different topics and purposes by adjusting the number of body paragraphs and the amount of evidence and analysis required for each paragraph. For example, a more complex topic may require additional body paragraphs with more evidence and analysis, while a simpler topic may only require two or three body paragraphs.

Transitions are also important for maintaining a clear and logical structure in a response essay. Transitions help to connect the paragraphs and ensure a smooth flow of ideas. Some effective transition words and phrases to use in a response essay include “furthermore,” “in addition,” “however,” “on the other hand,” and “finally.”

In conclusion, response essays are an important part of academic writing that require critical analysis and evaluation of a particular text. To write an effective response essay, it is important to include key components such as an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It is also important to use a clear and logical structure, including transitions between paragraphs, to ensure that the essay is easy to read and understand.

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How to Write a Response Paper

  • Writing Essays
  • Writing Research Papers
  • English Grammar
  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University

Most of the time when you are tasked with an essay about a book or article you've read for a class, you will be expected to write in a professional and impersonal voice. But the regular rules change a bit when you write a response paper.

A response (or reaction) paper differs from the formal review primarily in that it is written in the first person . Unlike in more formal writing, the use of phrases like "I thought" and "I believe" is encouraged in a response paper. 

You'll still have a thesis and will need to back up your opinion with evidence from the work, but this type of paper spotlights your individual reaction as a reader or viewer.

Read and Respond

Grace Fleming

For a response paper, you still need to write a formal assessment of the work you're observing (this could be anything created, such as a film, a work of art, a piece of music, a speech, a marketing campaign, or a written work), but you will also add your own personal reaction and impressions to the report.

The steps for completing a reaction or response paper are:

  • Observe or read the piece for an initial understanding.
  • Mark interesting pages with a sticky flag or take notes on the piece to capture your first impressions.
  • Reread the marked pieces and your notes and stop to reflect often.
  • Record your thoughts.
  • Develop a thesis.
  • Write an outline.
  • Construct your essay.

It may be helpful to imagine yourself watching a movie review as you're preparing your outline. You will use the same framework for your response paper: a summary of the work with several of your own thoughts and assessments mixed in.

The First Paragraph

After you have established an outline for your paper, you need to craft the first draft of the essay using all the basic elements found in any strong paper, including a strong introductory sentence .

In the case of a reaction essay, the first sentence should contain both the title of the work to which you are responding and the name of the author.

The last sentence of your introductory paragraph should contain a thesis statement . That statement will make your overall opinion very clear.

Stating Your Opinion

There's no need to feel shy about expressing your own opinion in a position paper, even though it may seem strange to write "I feel" or "I believe" in an essay. 

In the sample here, the writer analyzes and compares the plays but also manages to express personal reactions. There's a balance struck between discussing and critiquing the work (and its successful or unsuccessful execution) and expressing a reaction to it.

Sample Statements

When writing a response essay, you can include statements like the following:

  • I felt that
  • In my opinion
  • The reader can conclude that
  • The author seems to
  • I did not like
  • This aspect didn't work for me because
  • The images seemed to
  • The author was [was not] successful in making me feel
  • I was especially moved by
  • I didn't understand the connection between
  • It was clear that the artist was trying to
  • The soundtrack seemed too
  • My favorite part was...because

Tip : A common mistake in personal essays it to resort to insulting comments with no clear explanation or analysis. It's OK to critique the work you are responding to, but you still need to back up your feelings, thoughts, opinions, and reactions with concrete evidence and examples from the work. What prompted the reaction in you, how, and why? What didn't reach you and why?

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How to Write a Critical Response Essay With Examples and Tips

Author Avatar

  • Icon Calendar 20 July 2024
  • Icon Page 5910 words
  • Icon Clock 27 min read

A critical response essay is an important type of academic essay, which instructors employ to gauge the students’ ability to read, react, and respond critically and express their opinions. Firstly, this guide begins with a detailed definition of a critical response paper and an extensive walkthrough of source analysis and its format. Next, the manual breaks down the writing process into the pre-writing, writing, and post-writing stages and discusses each stage in extensive detail. Finally, the article provides practical examples of an outline and a paper itself, which implement the writing strategies and guidelines of critical response writing. After the examples provided, there is a brief overview of documentation styles for people to use in their papers. Hence, students need to learn how to write a perfect critical response essay to follow its criteria.

What Is a Critical Response Essay and Its Purpose

According to its definition, a critical response essay presents a writer’s reaction to the content of an article, text, book, story, film, artwork, play, performance, or any other piece of writing and the author’s strategy for achieving his or her intended purpose. Basically, this type of paper goes beyond mere summary and response, requiring the writer to engage deeply with the material to assess its merits and shortcomings (Wallace & Wray, 2021). The main purpose of writing a critical response essay is to develop a reasoned argument that expresses the writer’s analysis and critique. Moreover, a critical response to a piece of any text under review demands an analysis, interpretation, and synthesis of a reading (Ogbonnaya & Brown, 2023). These parts allow readers to develop their personal positions and reactions concerning the extent to which an author of a specific work creates a desired effect on the audience, establishing it implicitly or explicitly at the beginning. Mostly, students assume that a critical reaction revolves around the identification of flaws, but this aspect only represents one dimension of writing (Davies, 2022). In turn, a critical response in an essay should identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the work under analysis and present them without exaggerating their significance.

Source Analysis

How to write a critical response essay

1. Questions That Guide Source Analysis

Writers engage in textual analysis through critical reading. Hence, students undertake this reading to answer three primary questions:

  • What does the author say or show unequivocally?
  • What does the author not say or show outright but implies intentionally or unintentionally in the text?
  • What do I think about responses to the previous two questions?

Readers should strive to comprehensively answer these questions with the context and scope of a critical response essay. Basically, the need for objectivity is necessary to ensure the student’s analysis does not contain any biases through unwarranted or incorrect comparisons (Ogbonnaya & Brown, 2023). Nonetheless, the author’s pre-existing knowledge concerning the topic is crucial in facilitating the process of critical reading. In turn, the generation of answers to three guiding questions occurs concurrently throughout the close reading of an assigned text or other topics.

2. Techniques of Critical Reading

Previewing, reading, and summarizing are the main methods of critical reading. Basically, previewing a text allows readers to develop some familiarity with the content of any paper, which they gain through exposure to content cues, publication facts, important statements, and authors’ backgrounds (Fort, 1971). In this case, readers may take notes of questions that emerge in their minds and possible biases related to prior knowledge. Then, reading has two distinct stages: first reading, rereading, and annotating. In this case, students read an assigned text at an appropriate speed for the first time with minimal notetaking. After that, learners reread a text to identify core and supporting ideas, key terms, and connections or implied links between ideas while making detailed notes (Lauritzen, 2021). Lastly, writers summarize their readings into the main points by using their own words to extract the meaning and deconstruct reaction papers into meaningful parts. As such, writers should avoid bias in a critical response essay because it undermines the objectivity and credibility of the entire analysis, and, before writing a paper, they should ask themselves the next minor guiding questions:

  • What is the author’s background?
  • What is the purpose of the source?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • What is the main argument or thesis?
  • What evidence does the author use to support their argument?
  • How does the source fit into the broader context?
  • What assumptions does the author make?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the source?
  • How does the author address counterarguments or alternative perspectives?
  • What is the overall impact or significance of the source?

3. Creating a Critical Response

Up to this point, source analysis is a blanket term that represents the entire process of developing a critical response. Mainly, the creation of a reaction paper involves analysis, interpretation, and synthesis, which occur as distinct activities (Lauritzen, 2021). In this case, students analyze their readings by breaking down texts into elements with distilled meanings and obvious links to a thesis statement. During analysis, writers may develop minor guiding questions under first and second guiding questions, which are discipline-specific. Then, learners focus on interpretations of elements to determine their significance to an assigned text as a whole, possible meanings, and assumptions under which they may exist (Lauritzen, 2021). Finally, they create connections through the lens of relevant pre-existing knowledge, which represents a version of the element’s interconnection that they perceive to be an accurate depiction of a text. In turn, the length of a critical response essay varies by academic level and the specific requirements of the course or instructor. Here are general guidelines for the length of critical response essays at different academic levels:

High School

  • Pages: 2-4 pages
  • Words: 500-1,000 words

College (Undergraduate)

  • Pages: 3-5 pages
  • Words: 750-1,500 words

University (Upper Undergraduate)

  • Pages: 5-8 pages
  • Words: 1,500-2,500 words

Master’s

  • Pages: 8-12 pages
  • Words: 2,500-4,000 words
  • Pages: 12-20 pages
  • Words: 4,000-8,000 words

Critical Response Essay Format

IntroductionIntroduce the work under analysis with its title and author, including a brief summary in 1-2 sentences, to provide further context.In a well-known novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee explores sensitive themes of racial injustice among people and their moral growth.
Thesis StatementPresent your main argument or perspective on the work.Lee uses Atticus Finch as one of the central characters to highlight the pervasive racial injustices of the American South.
Summary of the WorkProvide a concise summary of the work, focusing on key points relevant to your analysis.The novel presents the main character of Scout Finch, a young girl, as she grows up in a racially divided town and witnesses that her father defends a Black man accused of rape.
Analysis: ThemeDiscuss the main themes of the work and how they are developed.The theme of racial injustice is central to the novel, and it is illustrated through the trial of Tom Robinson.
Analysis: CharactersExamine the main characters and their development.Atticus Finch embodies moral integrity, serving as a role model for his children and the community.
Analysis: TechniquesAnalyze some literary techniques used by the author (e.g., symbolism, imagery, narrative style).Lee uses symbolism, such as the ‘mockingbird,’ to represent innocence and the destruction caused by evil.
Personal ReflectionReflect on your personal response to the work and explain how it resonated with you and why.The novel’s portrayal of justice and morality deeply impacted me, prompting me to reflect on my own beliefs.
Supporting EvidenceProvide specific examples and quotes from the work or other credible sources to support your analysis and reflections.Finch says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… .”
ConclusionSummarize your main points, restate your thesis, and provide final thoughts on the work’s significance.Through its strong themes and compelling characters, Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” remains an outstanding example of literature concerning justice and human dignity.

Note: Analysis sections can be added, deleted, or combined with each other in 1 paragraph depending on the type of the source under review and assignment requirements. Other sections must be provided to ensure writers follow the key rules of critical reading criteria.

Critical Response Essay Outline Template

I. Introduction

A. Summary of an article. B. Thesis statement.

A. First body paragraph

  • The idea for the first paragraph.
  • Evidence for the first point from an article.
  • Interpretation of the evidence.

B. Second body paragraph

  • The idea for the second paragraph.
  • Evidence for the second point from an article.

C. Third body paragraph

  • The idea for the third paragraph.
  • Evidence for the third point from an article.

III. Conclusion

A. Summary of three points that form a body section. B. Closing remarks.

The presence of a summary in the introduction and an interpretation for each piece of evidence are defining features of a critical response essay. Typically, the introduction, being one of 5 parts of an essay, does not contain a succinct summary of a source that an author uses in body paragraphs (Campbell & Latimer, 2023). In this case, the incorporation of a summary and response in the introduction paragraph provides the audience with specific information concerning the target article. Specifically, such a work differs from other response papers because it emphasizes the provision of reasonable judgments of a text rather than the testing and defense of one’s evaluations or arguments (Wallace & Wray, 2021). In turn, writers do not provide evaluation for their judgments, which implies critical responses may be different but correct if a specific interpretation is reasonable to the audience.

Expanding an Outline Format Into a Critical Response Essay

1. introduction.

The introductory paragraph in a critical response essay consists of two primary sections: a summary of an article and a thesis statement. Firstly, a summary of an article consists of the text’s central argument and the purpose of the presentation of the argument (Davies, 2022). Basically, students should strive to distill the main idea and purpose of the text into a few sentences because the length of the introduction is approximately 10% of the essay’s word count. Then, a summary provides the audience with adequate background information concerning an article, which forms a foundation for announcing the student’s primary idea. In this case, writers may include an additional sentence between a summary and a thesis statement to establish a smooth flow in the opening paragraph (Campbell & Latimer, 2023). However, learners should not quote thesis and purpose statements because it results in a fragmented introduction, which is unappealing to readers and ineffective.

  • All body paragraphs have in a critical response essay four main elements: the writer’s idea, meaningful evidence from a reading text, interpretation of the evidence, and a concluding statement.

A. Writer’s Idea

The writer’s idea for a paragraph appears in the first sentence of a paragraph, which is a topic sentence. For example, if students know how to write a topic sentence, they present readers with a complete and distinct idea that proves or supports a thesis statement (Davies, 2022). In this case, authors should carefully word their topic sentences to ensure there is no unnecessary generalization or spillovers of ideas from other paragraphs. Notably, all the topic sentences in the body of a critical response essay share a logical relationship that allows the audience to easily follow the development of the central idea of a paper.

B. Evidence

Students should provide evidence that supports the idea they propose in the topic sentence. Basically, the evidence for all body paragraphs is the product of critical reading of an article, which allows writers to identify meaningful portions of a text (Wallace & Wray, 2021). During the presentation of evidence, learners should ascertain that the contextual meaning of paraphrases or quotations is not lost because such a strategy will harm interpretations that follow after it. In turn, critical response essays must not contain lengthy or numerous quotations unless the meaning or intended effect of a quotation is not replicable upon paraphrasing.

C. Interpretation

Interpretation segments of paragraphs allow writers to explain the significance of the evidence to the topic sentence. In a critical response essay, the interpretation is the equivalent of an author revealing the possible assumptions behind a text paraphrase and commenting on whether or not he or she finds them reasonable (Campbell & Latimer, 2023). Moreover, students make inferences concerning their meaning in the context of the entire narrative and its relation to the paragraph’s idea. In turn, learners should refrain from reading too much into a piece of evidence because it may result in false or unreasonable inferences.

D. Concluding Sentence

The concluding statement is the final sentence of any paragraph. In this case, the primary role of the concluding sentence is to emphasize the link between the topic sentence, evidence, interpretation, and the paper’s central idea (Davies, 2022). Besides, the concluding statement should not contain an in-text citation because it does not introduce new evidence to support the topic sentence. Therefore, authors use concluding sentences to maintain the unity between body paragraphs and a critical response essay in its entirety.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion comprises three core elements: a restatement of a thesis statement, a summary of the main points that writers present in body paragraphs, and closing remarks. In particular, the first sentence of the conclusion draws the attention of the audience to the central idea, which an author proposes in a thesis statement (Campbell & Latimer, 2023). Then, students review the main points of their papers to demonstrate that written arguments in body paragraphs adequately support a thesis statement. Moreover, writers should summarize the main points of a paper in the same order they appear in the main part and guarantee logical patterns in the body are readily discernible in summary. Finally, learners make their closing remarks, which creates a sense of wholesomeness in a critical response essay or ties a paper to a larger relevant discourse.

Writing Steps of a Critical Response Essay

Step 1: pre-writing, a. analysis of writing situation.

Objective. Before a student begins writing a critical response essay, he or she must identify the main reason for communication to the audience by using a formal essay format. Basically, the primary purposes of writing reaction papers are explanation and persuasion, and it is not uncommon for two objectives to overlap (Davies, 2022). However, one of the purposes is usually dominant, which implies it plays a crucial role in the wording, evidence selection, and perspective on a topic. In turn, students should establish their purposes in the early stages of the writing process because the purpose has a significant effect on the essay writing approach. Beginning a critical response essay correctly also effectively sets an appropriate tone and provides a clear direction for the whole analysis (Fort, 1971). All opening sentences must introduce the subject, set the context, and hint at the writer’s perspective or main argument. Here are ten examples of starting sentences:

  • The famous narrative of [Title] by [Author] shows [main theme], revealing [author’s message or argument].
  • In [Title], [Author] masterfully employs [literary device] to explore [theme or issue], prompting readers to consider [related question or implication].
  • The powerful depiction of [subject] in [Title] by [Author] challenges conventional views on [topic], offering a new perspective on [specific aspect].
  • Through [Title], [Author] presents a compelling argument about [issue], using [specific elements] to underscore [main point or message].
  • The thought-provoking themes of [Title] by [Author] allow readers to critically assess [related topic or issue], shedding light on [specific aspect].
  • In [Title], [Author] explores the complexities of [subject], using [specific technique] to highlight [main idea or argument].
  • The evocative imagery in [Title] by [Author] serves to illustrate [theme], encouraging readers to reflect on [related issue or question].
  • By examining [specific aspect] in [Title], [Author] effectively critiques [related issue], providing valuable insights into [main point].
  • The dynamic characters and intricate plot of [Title] by [Author] offer a rich exploration of [theme], challenging readers to think critically about [related topic].
  • In [Title], [Author] uses [specific technique] to convey [main idea], ultimately arguing that [related point or implication].

Audience. Students should establish a good understanding of the audience’s expectations, characteristics, attitudes, and knowledge in anticipation of the writing process. Basically, learning the audience’s expectations enables authors to meet the organizational demands, ‘burden of proof,’ and styling requirements (Lauritzen, 2021). In college writing, it is the norm for all essays to attain academic writing standards. Then, the interaction between characteristics and attitudes forces students to identify a suitable voice, which is appreciative of the beliefs and values of the audience (Davies, 2022). Lastly, writers must consider the level of knowledge of the audience while starting a critical response essay because it has a direct impact on the context, clarity, and readability of a paper. Consequently, writing a critical response essay for classmates is quite different from a paper that an author presents to a multi-disciplinary audience.

Define a topic. Topic selection is a critical aspect of the prewriting stage to respond. Ideally, assignment instructions play a crucial role in topic selection, especially in higher education institutions. For example, when writing a critical response essay, instructors may choose to provide students with a specific article or general instructions to guide learners in the selection of relevant reading sources (Wallace & Wray, 2021). In this case, students may not have opportunities for independent topic selection in former circumstances. However, by considering the latter assignment conditions, learners may need to identify a narrow topic to use in article selection. Moreover, students should take adequate time to do preliminary research, which gives them a ‘feel’ of the topic, for example, 19th-century literature. Next, writers narrow down the scope of the topic based on their knowledge and interests, for example, short stories by black female writers from the 19 th century.

B. Research and Documentation

Find sources. Once a student has a topic, he or she can start the process of identifying an appropriate article. Basically, choosing a good source for writing a critical response essay is much easier when aided with search tools on the web or university repository (Davies, 2022). In this case, learners select keywords or other unique qualities of an article and develop a search filter. Moreover, authors review abstracts or forewords of credible sources to determine their suitability based on their content (Ogbonnaya & Brown, 2023). Besides content, other factors constrain the article selection process: the word count for a critical response essay and a turnaround time. In turn, if an assignment has a fixed length of 500 words and a turnaround time of one week, it is not practical to select a 200-page source despite content suitability.

Content selection. The process of selecting appropriate content from academic sources relies heavily on the purpose of a critical response essay. Basically, students must select evidence that they will include in a paper to support their claims in each paragraph (Wallace & Wray, 2021). However, writers tend to let a source speak through the use of extensive quotations or summaries, which dilutes a synthesis aspect of a critical reaction essay. Instead, learners should take a significant portion of time to identify evidence from reliable sources, which are relevant to the purpose of an essay (Davies, 2022). In turn, a student who is writing a critical response essay to disagree with one or more arguments will select different pieces of evidence as compared to a person who is writing to analyze the overall effectiveness of the work.

Annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is vital to the development of a critical response essay because it enables students to document useful information that they encounter during research. During research and documentation stages for a critical response essay, annotated bibliographies contain the main sources for a paper and other sources that contribute to the knowledge base of an author, even though these sources will not appear in reference lists (Wallace & Wray, 2021). Mostly, a critical response paper has only one source. However, an annotated bibliography contains summaries of other sources, which may inform the author’s response through the development of a deep understanding of a topic. In turn, an annotated bibliography is quite useful when an individual is writing a critical response to an article on an unfamiliar topic.

Step 2: Writing a Critical Response Essay

A. organization.

Thesis . A thesis statement sentence is a crucial component of a critical response essay because it presents the student’s purpose, argument, and the conclusion that he or she draws from the textual evidence. In this case, the thesis statement is the response to the thesis question, which an author creates from assignment instructions (Davies, 2022). After completing the research stage, students can develop a tentative thesis statement to act as a starting point for the writing stage. Usually, tentative thesis statements undergo numerous revisions during the writing stage, which is a consequence of the refinement of the main idea during the drafting. In turn, these examples of sentence starters can help writers to craft a strong thesis statement that clearly defines a critical response lens and the main argument or insight:

  • In [Title], [Author] effectively/ineffectively uses [element] to convey [theme or message], prompting readers to … .
  • Through [specific technique or element], [Title] by [Author] offers a compelling critique/endorsement of [issue or theme], illustrating that … .
  • The portrayal of [character/element] in [Title] by [Author] serves as a powerful commentary on [issue or theme] because of … .
  • In [Title], [Author] explores [theme or issue] through [specific technique or narrative], demonstrating … .
  • The [specific element] in [Title] by [Author] highlights the complexities of [theme or issue], suggesting that … .
  • By examining [element or aspect] in [Title], [Author] provides a better insight into [theme or issue], challenging readers to consider…
  • In [Title], [Author] uses [literary device or technique] to address [theme or issue], ultimately arguing … .
  • The narrative structure of [Title] by [Author] effectively/ineffectively conveys [theme or message], encouraging readers to … .
  • Through the lens of [specific perspective], [Title] by [Author] reveals the intricacies of [theme or issue] and suggests that … .
  • In [Title], [Author] employs [specific technique] to critique/celebrate [issue or theme], making a particular situation when … .

Weigh the evidence. Based on the tentative thesis, an author evaluates the relative importance of collected pieces of textual evidence to the central idea. Basically, students should distinguish between general and specific ideas to ascertain that there exists a logical sequence of presentation, which the audience can readily grasp (Wallace & Wray, 2021). Firstly, for writing a critical response essay, learners should identify general ideas and establish specific connections that exist between each general idea and specific details, which support a central claim. Secondly, writers should consider some implications of ideas as they conduct a sorting process and remove evidence that does not fit. Moreover, students fill ‘holes’ that are present due to the lack of adequate supporting evidence to conclude this stage.

Create an outline. An essay outline is a final product of weighing the significance of the evidence in the context of the working thesis statement. In particular, a formal outline is a preferred form of essay structure for a critical response paper because it allows for detailed documentation of ideas while maintaining a clear map of connections (Campbell & Latimer, 2023). During the formation of an outline, students use a systematic scheme of indentation and labeling all the parts of an outline structure. In turn, this arrangement ensures elements that play the same role are readily discernible at a glance, for example, primary essay divisions, secondary divisions, principle supporting points, and specific details.

Drafting. The drafting step involves the conversion of the one-sentence ideas in an outline format into complete paragraphs and, eventually, a critical reaction essay. In this case, there is no fixed approach to writing the first draft. Moreover, students should follow a technique they find effective in overcoming the challenge of starting to write a critical response essay (Davies, 2022). Nonetheless, it is good practice to start writing paragraphs that authors believe are more straightforward to include regardless of specific positions they hold on an outline. In turn, learners should strive to write freely and be open to new ideas despite the use of an outline. During drafting, the conveyance of meaning is much more important than the correctness of the draft.

Step 3: Post-Writing

Individual revision. An individual revision process focuses on the rethinking and rewriting of a critical response essay to improve the meaning and structure of a paper. Essentially, students try to review their papers from a perspective of readers to ensure the level of detail, relationship and arrangement of paragraphs, and the contribution of the minor ideas to the thesis statement attain the desired effect (Campbell & Latimer, 2023). In this case, the use of a checklist improves the effectiveness of individual revision. Moreover, a checklist contains 12 main evaluation categories: assignment, purpose, audience and voice, genre, thesis, organization, development, unity, coherence, title, introduction, and conclusion.

Collaborative revision. Collaborative revision is a revision strategy that covers subconscious oversight that occurs during individual revision. During an individual revision of a critical response essay, writers rely on self-criticism, which is rarely 100% effective because writers hold a bias that their works are of high quality (Wallace & Wray, 2021). Therefore, subjecting an individual’s work to peer review allows students to collect critique from an actual reader who may notice problems that an author may easily overlook. In turn, learners may provide peer reviewers with a checklist to simplify the revision process.

Editing . The editing step requires authors to examine the style, clarity, and correctness of a critical response essay. In particular, students review their papers to ascertain their conformance with the guidelines of formal essay writing and the English language (Davies, 2022). Moreover, sentence fragments, subject-verb agreement, dangling modifiers, incorrect use of punctuation, vague pronoun references, and parallelism are common grammar issues that learners eliminate during editing. Then, writers confirm that their critical reaction essays adhere to referencing style guidelines for citation and formatting, such as the inclusion of a title page, appropriate in-text citation, and proper styling of bibliographic information in the reference list (Wallace & Wray, 2021). In turn, students must proofread a critical response paper repeatedly until they find all errors because such mistakes may divert the audience’s attention from the content of a paper and consider the following criteria to ensure a comprehensive and reflective piece:

  • Clear Thesis Statement: Present a clear and concise thesis statement that reflects your overall response to an assigned text or experience, outlining your main argument or perspective.
  • Personal Connection: Describe your personal connection to the subject matter and explain how the text or experience resonates with your own experiences, feelings, or beliefs.
  • Summary of the Source: Provide a brief summary of the source under analysis you are responding to, highlighting key points relevant to your response.
  • Detailed Analysis: Analyze specific elements of the source that are important to you, including characters, themes, settings, or any other aspects that lead to a strong reaction.
  • Supporting Evidence: Use quotes, examples, or references from the work under review or other credible sources to support your response and personal reflections on the actual content.
  • Emotional and Intellectual Reflection: Balance your emotional reactions with intellectual analysis and reflect on why certain aspects make you feel a particular way and explore any deeper meanings or implications.
  • Organization: Ensure your essay is well-organized, with a clear and strong introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion that ties everything together.
  • Clarity and Coherence: Write clearly and coherently, making sure your ideas flow logically from one point to the next, avoiding ambiguity, and ensure each paragraph transitions smoothly.
  • Personal Voice: Maintain a personal and engaging tone throughout the entire composition, making your writing genuine and authentic.
  • Conclusion: Summarize the main points of your writing and reflect on the overall impact of the source on your thoughts and feelings or discuss any changes in perspective or insights gained.

Example of Writing a Critical Response Essay

Topic: American Capitalism: The New Face of Slavery

I. Sample Introduction

Capitalism is a dominant characteristic of the American economy. In this case, Matthew Desmond’s article “In Order to Understand the Brutality of American Capitalism, You Have to Start on the Plantation” discusses the role of slavery in shaping contemporary business practices. Specifically, the author attempts to convince the audience that the brutality of American capitalism originates from slavery. In turn, Desmond lays a strong but simple foundation for his argument, which ensures that the audience can conceptualize the link between plantation slavery and contemporary American capitalistic practices.

II. Example of Body Paragraphs

A. American Capitalism

Early in the article, Desmond informs readers of the high variability in the manifestation of capitalism in societies, which creates the impression that American capitalism is a choice. For example, Desmond (2019) argues that the brutality of American capitalism is simply one of the possible outcomes of a society built on capitalistic principles because other societies implement the same principles in a manner that is liberating, protective, and democratic. Moreover, Desmond begins his argument by eliminating a popular presumption that exploitation and oppression are unavoidable outcomes of capitalism. In turn, this strategic move to establish this fact is in the introductory section of the article because it invites the audience to rethink the meaning of capitalism. Furthermore, its plants doubt regarding the ‘true’ meaning of capitalism outside the context of American society.

B. Slavery and American’s Economic Growth

After establishing that the perception of capitalism through the lens of American society has some bias, Desmond proceeds to provide detailed evidence to explain the attempt to camouflage the obvious link between slavery and America’s economic growth. For instance, Desmond (2019) notes the role of Alfred Chandler’s book, The Visible Hand, and Caitlin Rosenthal’s book, Accounting for Slavery, in breaking the link between management practices in plantations and modern corporations by suggesting that the current business practices are a consequence of the 19th-century railroad industry. In this case, Desmond uses this evidence to make a logical appeal to the audience, which makes his argument more convincing because he explains the reason behind the exclusion of slavery in the discourse on modern industry. As a result, Desmond dismisses one of the main counterarguments against his central argument, which increases his persuasive power.

C. Input vs. Output Dynamic

Desmond emphasizes the link between slavery and American capitalism to readers by using the simple input vs. output dynamic throughout the article. For example, Desmond (2019) compares the Plantation Record and Account Book to the heavy digital surveillance techniques in modern workplaces because they collect data, which the employers use to maximize productivity while minimizing inputs. In particular, the comparison reveals that employers did not stop the practice of reducing laborers into units of production with fixed productivity thresholds. Moreover, the constant repetition of the theme of low input and high output dominates the body paragraphs, which makes it nearly impossible for readers to lose sight of the link between slavery and business practices under American capitalism. In turn, the simplification of the underlying logic in Desmond’s argument ensures its clarity to the audience.

III. Sample Conclusion

Desmond carefully plans the presentation of his argument to the audience, which allows readers to follow the ideas easily. In particular, the author starts with a call for readers to set aside any presumptions concerning capitalism and its origin. Then, Desmond provides the audience with an alternative narrative with support from seminal texts in slavery and economics. On the whole, Desmond manages to convince the audience that the American capitalistic society is merely a replica rather than an aberration of slavery.

Citing Sources in a Critical Response Essay

A critical response essay contains specific thoughts of the article’s author and direct words of the text’s author. In this case, students must conduct proper documentation to ensure readers can distinguish between these two types of ‘voices’ (Wallace & Wray, 2021). Moreover, documentation prevents incidents of plagiarism. Usually, instructors mention a referencing technique that students should use while writing a critical response paper. However, if assignment instructions do not identify a specific documentation style, writers should use a referencing technique that is acceptable for scholarly writing in their disciplines.

In-text citation:

  • Parenthetical: (Desmond, 2019).
  • Narrative: Desmond (2019).
  • Desmond, M. (2019, August 12). In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation. New York Times . https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/slavery-capitalism.html
  • Parenthetical: (Desmond par. 1).
  • Narrative: Desmond argues . . . (par. 1).

Works Cited:

  • Desmond, Matthew. “In Order to Understand the Brutality of American Capitalism, You Have to Start on the Plantation.” New York Times , 14 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/slavery-capitalism.html.

Harvard Referencing

  • Parenthetical: (Desmond 2019).

Reference List:

  • Desmond, M 2019, ‘In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation,’ New York Times . Available from: <https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/slavery-capitalism.html>. [06 June 2024].

Chicago/Turabian

In-text citation (footnote):

  • 1. Matthew Desmond, “In Order to Understand the Brutality of American Capitalism, You Have to Start on the Plantation,” New York Times , August 14, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/slavery-capitalism.html.

Bibliography:

  • Desmond, Matthew. “In Order to Understand the Brutality of American Capitalism, You Have to Start on the Plantation.” New York Times . August 14, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/slavery-capitalism.html.

Final Provisions on a Critical Response Essay

  • Adequate reading is a precursor for writing an effective critical response essay.
  • Students must conduct adequate research on a topic to develop a proper understanding of a theme, even if only one article appears on the reference list.
  • Notetaking or annotation is a good practice that aids students in extracting meaning from an article.
  • Writers should plan for all activities in the writing process to ascertain they have adequate time to move through all the stages.
  • An outline is an organizational tool, which learners must use to establish the sequence of ideas in such a paper.
  • The purpose of a critical response essay has a significant impact on the selection of evidence and the arrangement of body paragraphs.
  • Students should prioritize revision and editing, which represent opportunities to refine the content of composition and remove mechanical issues.
  • Collaborative and individual revision are equally important because they play different roles in the writing of a good paper.
  • Evidence selection is dependent on the purpose and thesis statement of a critical response essay.

Campbell, K. H., & Latimer, K. (2023). Beyond the five-paragraph essay . Routledge.

Davies, M. (2022). Writing critical reviews: A step-by-step guide. In S tudy skills for international postgraduates (pp. 194–207). Bloomsbury. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312965969

Fort, K. (1971). Form, authority, and the critical essay. College English , 32 (6), 629–639. https://www.jstor.org/stable/374316

Lauritzen, J. (2021). Read, write, and cite . Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Ogbonnaya, C., & Brown, A. D. (2023). Editorial: Crafting review and essay articles for Human Relations . Human Relations , 76 (3), 365–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221148440

Wallace, M., & Wray, A. (2021). Critical reading and writing for postgraduates . Sage.

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What Response Essays Are and How to Tackle Them

Writing a response essay might seem like a challenging task at first. Firstly, you need to understand to a great extent what the study that you are responding to is talking about and then make sure that you write an insightful, true to the source essay about it. Even if you need to write a response essay as part of your homework for faculty studies or high school assignments or you want to exercise your argumentative skills, it might seem like a lot of work at first. However, having in mind a clear structure of your future response essay is essential.

Before beginning to go through the main structure points that you need to check when writing a response essay, there are some tips that you need to know and that will help you lay your thoughts on paper in a more efficient way. First of all, after reading the essay or the article that you are responding to, you need to settle on whether you want to attack the ideas presented in that article or to agree with them. Based on that, you will structure the components of your response essay. For example, if your response essay is talking about protecting the environment and you want to show your agreement with the ideas presented in the original essay, then you should build your response essay around the idea of consolidating the thoughts in the main source.

Secondly, it is important that your readers clearly understand your position after reading your response essay. This means that you need to expose all possible arguments which might strengthen or attack the ideas presented in the main article. In order for you to achieve a strong position, it might be helpful to also expose a personal experience that can be related to the topic you are writing an essay about. This will not only make your argument points stronger but will also help your readers empathize with your writing. Also, it is important that you keep in mind that your response essay should be a response to something you have read, something that is a hot topic at the moment in various social contexts or something that has been debated for a long time and you want to present a new approach to things.

You also have to keep in mind that the more knowledge you show to your audience in your response essay about the author and the topic that is being debated, the more credibility you will gain. Read some cause or effect essay topics to get inspired. This is why it is important to also present a context in your response essay, such as details about the author and the paper you are choosing to respond to. Finally, after debating the ideas of the original text, you can also choose to talk about the effectiveness of the source text. It can be about how the main paper managed to reach the audience, if the writing style was effective, and how the author you are responding to had chosen to expose their ideas.

If we were to summarize the main points you should keep in mind before starting to tackle the components of a response essay, these would be:

  • Make sure to clearly expose your position regarding the article or paper you are responding to
  • Don’t forget to expose the personal experiences or thoughts that might help you relate to the matter in question and your reader to empathize with your way of writing
  • Prove that you have knowledge about the author of the main text and can put your response essay in a context
  • Evaluate the main text’s effectiveness and how it managed to reach the audience

Get Started: Write an Introduction

One important thing when writing a response essay is the way you structure the introduction. This is one of the key parts of your essay, as it embodies the topic you are about to debate and the premises you are basing your essay on. The introduction will make your audience decide if they want to keep reading your response essay or not. This is why it is important that you keep in mind the following tips:

  • Introduction is all about catching your audience’s attention
  • It should provide a brief description of the topic
  • You should be able to briefly summarize your thesis
  • Don’t forget to give a short description of the author and the article you are responding to

It might be the case that the source article that you are about to discuss contains several parts or has different ideas which can be debated and your response article refers only to a part of them. In this case, don’t forget to also mention this. Do not forget that you need to keep it short and catchy.

How to Make Your Introduction Catchy – Introduction Ideas

Writing a catchy introduction that will make your reader read the whole response article is challenging. This is why you will find here some ideas to start with, such as:

  • Making use of a statistic: some puzzling conclusion that researchers might have reached at some point and which is relevant to the topic you are about to respond to.
  • Citing someone who is related to the area of expertise of your topic or is known for having deep knowledge about the topic. The more popular the person you are citing is, the more efficient your introduction will be.
  • Story-telling or reproducing a dialogue might also help, provided they are relevant and short.
  • Starting with a question or with a situation regarding the topic you are about to talk about might also be a good introduction idea.

You might even want to combine some of these ideas and write your introduction based on an example and a statistic or any other possible combination. Whatever you choose, make sure it stays to the point and is catchy to the eye of the reader.

How You Can Connect Introduction to Conclusion

Another important aspect that you need to consider when writing your introduction to the response essay is that you need to somehow connect it to the conclusion. In order for you to achieve a perfectly cyclic response essay, you need to find a way to make the two feel correspondent. This will help your response essay have a “frame” and will help your writing style be more efficient.

It might be a bit difficult at first to start with an introduction and end with a conclusion that are connected, mostly if you want to write very long and thorough response essays. However, one important suggestion that might help is to always make sure that before starting off your response essay, you are clear about the ideas and position you want to present. This will help you avoid changing your position as you advance in writing your essay and make your introduction and conclusion connected, giving a sense of symmetry to your text.

Below you can find some examples of how you can connect your introduction with the conclusion:

  • If you are writing about the usage of mobile devices in our everyday life, you could start your introduction by exposing a real-life experience, maybe someone who is driving to work on a normal day and is stuck in traffic. You could start by asking your readers what they would do on their phones as they wait in traffic and end with several possible outcomes of this scenario.
  • If you are choosing to present an essay about a personal experience and you start with an introduction about how a certain day started in your life, you could end your essay with how that day ended. This way, you will make sure you keep your readers connected to the story and have their attention all throughout the essay.
  • If you decide to write about any other topic, such as a topic of national importance or even an environmental topic, you could start by stating the facts to which you want to draw the attention and end with the facts about the current situation or how it can be improved.

How to Write a Strong Thesis

After making sure that you have caught your readers’ attention, it is all about making it clear to them what your position regarding the source article is. However, you should also provide a context to your response article by mentioning details about the author and the main ideas in the article that you have chosen to respond to. It can be that you are choosing to respond only partially, to a few of the ideas presented there, so this is the reason why it is important to clearly state the ideas of the article you want to respond to. Make sure to give an account of whatever it is debated in the article, by presenting the information in an objective way. At this point, it is more important for your readers to understand what you are trying to agree or disagree with than hear your personal opinion. Also, exposing the ideas of the source text in an objective, impersonal way will help your readers decide for themselves if the position you are taking is one that they would take or not.

Afterwards, it is vital that you expose what is known as “thesis statement” by allocating one paragraph in which you clearly state if you agree or disagree with the main topic presented in the source text. This should start with “I agree/I don’t agree with” and should be followed by a short and powerful message about the main reason why you are taking this position regarding that text.

The next step is to talk more about the reasons you are considering attacking or agreeing with the ideas presented in the original text. This can be done by either reviewing what the author is saying or just expanding on the main ideas. You can, for example, try to understand why the author has reached a certain conclusion that you are debating by trying to relate it to the author’s background or career. It can be that the author has chosen to promote oil drilling because they work in a factory that wants to make this process a sustainable one. It is important that you stay true to your debate and present the situation from both points of view: yours and the author’s.

How to Respond to Articles – Ideas

After tackling the introduction and the conclusion, the main body of your response essay is left to deal with. This is mainly the way in which you choose to present the source text and where you are standing regarding it. It is up to you if you choose to agree or disagree, however, what you have to keep in mind is that you need to be consistent and stay true to the topic you have chosen to debate.

One way to do that is to map the main three components of the response essay, namely, the introduction, body, and conclusion. Here are some helpful suggestions on how to structure your responding ideas:

  • Whether you agree or disagree, you can state 3 or more reasons for which you are doing so. Make sure to start each new paragraph and allocate enough space for your ideas to be clearly distinguished and stated.
  • If you are partially agreeing or disagreeing, make sure to always mention that so that your readers will clearly understand your position.
  • It is always important to see how the author’s ideas managed to reach the audience and in which ways the ideas were brought forward.

How to Better Structure the Body of the Response Essay

Make sure to utilize evidence to back-up your thesis. In order to do this, you can use quotes, author tags or simply rely on other readings and give references.

Make sure that you achieve a personal voice throughout the text. This can be done by differentiating yourself from the author and using author tags.

By using author tags, you communicate to your readers the fact that it is the author you are responding to who has a certain idea or it is their article that makes this reference. You can use any of these suggestions when talking about someone’s article:

  • The author mentions
  • The author refers to
  • The author is suggesting
  • The author writes
  • The author asks
  • The author recommends
  • The author is presenting
  • The author points out
  • The author relates
  • The author pleads
  • The author denies
  • The author’s remarks point to
  • The author explains

Write a Conclusion Your Readers Won’t Forget

One important thing to keep in mind when writing a conclusion to your response essay is that you shouldn’t repeat the arguments in the same form in which you have presented them in the body. Offering a conclusion to your response article is still needed, as this will help your readers make a clear decision whether they agree or disagree with the ideas presented in your response essay.

Besides making sure that your essay is built around a very powerful introduction and a conclusion that sums up the main ideas of your position regarding this essay, you can also:

  • Present the topic that you have been debating throughout the essay in a broader perspective; for example, if the topic you are tackling is national, you can connect this topic to the situation in other countries worldwide
  • Promote an organization or an event that has some influence on the topic you have been responding to
  • Present the current situation of the topic you are talking about and ring the alarm if anything needs to be done about it
  • Summarize how your arguments shed a new light on the topic

A Brief Summary of How a Response Essay Should Look Like

Keeping everything in mind, the essential parts of a response essay and the main suggestions that you have to keep in mind when starting to write are:

  • Paragraph 1: The first part of the introduction which needs to be vivid, catchy and reflect the point you are about to make.
  • Paragraph 2: Provide a context to your response essay: details about the source-text and the author and what the main points in the article are.
  • State your position regarding the ideas presented in the introduction and if you agree with the author’s take on the matter or not.
  • Clearly mention if you are going to question the author’s position or expand on the author’s account of the facts.
  • Give clear arguments pro or against the matter and allocate one paragraph to each of these arguments.
  • Use statistics, story-telling, research findings, scientific discoveries, and any other tools suggested in this article.
  • Provide an insightful and catchy conclusion that correlates with the introduction you have chosen for your response essay.

How to Write a Compelling Comparative Essay

  • How To Write A Persuasive Speech
  • How to Write a Dissertation
  • How To Write a Case Study
  • Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement
  • How to write a CV or Curriculum Vitae

example of a response essay

How to Write a Response Paper: Understanding the Basics

example of a response essay

Writing a response paper is an important task for students. It allows them to critically analyze a text, express their thoughts and opinions, and improve their writing skills. In this comprehensive guide, our ‘ write my essay ’ experts will explore the basics of how to write a response paper, pre-writing steps, and crafting a winning introduction, body, and conclusion. So, let's dive in and discover a flawless response paper at the end!

Defining What is a Response Paper

A response paper is a written assignment that requires the student to read a text and respond to it by expressing their views on the topic. It can be a stand-alone assignment or part of a larger project. When writing a response paper, it is important to remember the audience you are writing for. Are you writing for your professor, classmates, or a broader audience? This will help you tailor your writing style and tone accordingly.

Moreover, this kind of academic assignment should not only summarize the text but also provide a critical analysis of its main arguments and ideas. It should demonstrate your understanding of the text and your ability to engage with it in a thoughtful and meaningful way.

Purpose of Crafting a Response Paper

Writing response papers aims to demonstrate your understanding of the text, give your opinions and thoughts, and provide evidence to support your claims. In addition, this type of paper can help you develop critical reading skills and formulate coherent arguments. By engaging with the text, you can identify its strengths and weaknesses, evaluate its claims, and form your own opinions about the topic.

Furthermore, crafting response paper examples can be a valuable exercise in self-reflection. It allows you to articulate your thoughts and feelings about a particular topic and can help you better understand your values and beliefs.

Types of Response Papers

There are various types of response papers, each with its own unique characteristics and requirements. These include:

How to Write a Response Paper

  • Personal response : Here, you express your personal opinions, thoughts, and emotions about the text. This type of paper allows you to engage with the text more personally and explore your reactions to it.
  • Critical response : Involves analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting the text to provide a critique. This type of paper requires you to engage with the text more objectively and analytically, focusing on its strengths and weaknesses and providing evidence to support your claims.
  • Research-based response : Research-based response paper examples involve using external sources to support your claims. This type of paper requires you to engage with the text and supplement your analysis with evidence from other sources, such as scholarly articles, books, or interviews.

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How to Write a Response Paper: Pre-Writing Steps

Before diving into the writing process, laying a strong foundation through effective pre-writing steps is crucial. These initial stages not only provide clarity and structure but also enhance the overall quality of your response. And if you aren’t sure how to write a reaction paper , these steps can also be employed for your assignment.

How to Write a Response Paper

Carefully Read and Analyze the Text

The first step in response paper creation is to carefully read and analyze the text. This involves more than just reading the words on the page; it requires critical thinking and analysis. As you read, pay attention to the author's tone, style, and use of language. Highlight important points, take notes, and identify the author's main argument and themes. Consider the context in which the text was written and how it relates to contemporary issues.

For example, if you are reading a historical document, think about how it reflects the social and political climate of the time. If you are reading a work of fiction, consider how the characters and plot relate to larger themes and ideas. By carefully analyzing the text, you will be better equipped to write a thoughtful and insightful response.

Take Notes and Highlight Key Points

Another important step is to take notes while reading, as it helps you organize your thoughts and ideas. As you read through the text, jot down your reactions, questions, and observations. Highlight key points, evidence, and quotes that support the author's argument. This will make it easier to refer back to specific parts of the text when you are writing your response.

Additionally, taking notes can help you identify patterns and connections between different parts of the text. This can be especially helpful when you are trying to develop your thesis statement and outline.

Develop a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a central argument that you will be making in your paper. It should be clear and concise and provide direction for your essay. Your thesis statement should be based on your analysis of the text and should reflect your own perspective.

When developing your thesis statement, consider the main argument of the text and how you agree or disagree with it. Think about the evidence and examples that the author uses to support their argument and how you might use those same examples to support your own argument. Your thesis statement should be specific and focused and should guide the rest of your essay.

Create an Outline

If you want to unlock the most important tip on how to ace a response paper perfection, it lies in creating a well-organized outline. Identify key points, evidence, and arguments that you want to discuss and organize them into a well-written paper format. Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Start by introducing the text and your thesis statement. In the body paragraphs, discuss your main points and provide evidence from the text to support your argument. Use quotes and examples to illustrate your points. In conclusion, summarize your main points and restate your thesis statement. In the following paragraphs, we'll delve deeper into writing each section with more details.

Actual Writing Process with a Response Paper Format

Now that you have completed the essential pre-writing steps, it's time to delve into the actual writing process of your paper. In this section of our comprehensive guide, we will explore how to start a response paper along with developing insightful body paragraphs and culminating in a powerful conclusion.

Engage the Reader In Your Introduction

The introduction is the first impression that your reader will have of your paper. It is important to make a good first impression, so you want to engage them right from the start. There are several ways to do this, such as providing context, using a hook, or starting with a rhetorical question.

For example, if you are writing a paper about the effects of social media on mental health, you might start with a hook like:

'Did you know that the average person spends over two hours a day on social media? That's more time than they spend exercising or socializing in person.' 

When working with your paper, this hook immediately grabs the reader's attention and makes them interested in learning more about your topic.

Provide Context and Background Information

Once you have engaged the reader, it's important to provide context for the text you are analyzing. This includes information like the author's name, the title of the work, and the publication date. This information helps the reader understand the context of the text and why it is important.

For example, if you are analyzing a poem by Maya Angelou, you would want to provide some background information about her life and work. You might mention that she was a civil rights activist and a prolific writer and that the poem you are analyzing was written in 1969, during a time of great social and political upheaval in the United States.

Present Your Thesis Statement

Finally, it's important to present your thesis statement in the introduction. The thesis statement is the main argument of your paper, and it should be presented clearly and concisely so that the reader knows exactly what your paper is about.

For instance, if you are crafting a response paper example about the effects of social media on mental health, your thesis statement might be something like:

'This paper argues that excessive use of social media can have negative effects on mental health, including increased anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation.'

By presenting your thesis statement in the introduction, you are setting up the rest of your paper and giving the reader a roadmap for what to expect. This helps them stay focused and engaged throughout your paper.

Meanwhile, you can find out more about how to write an essay format and set the right referencing style for your assignment!

Crafting the Body

One key aspect of ensuring a well-structured and articulate paper is to utilize your typical response paper outline as a reliable roadmap. By following it, you can maintain focus, coherence, and logical flow throughout your response. Moreover, keep the following points in mind as you proceed with crafting the body of your response paper:

  • Use evidence and examples from the text:
  • Incorporate relevant quotes, statistics, or other evidence that supports your opinions and arguments.
  • By using evidence from the text, you can strengthen your argument and demonstrate a deep understanding of the material.
  • Analyze and interpret the text:
  • Demonstrate your critical thinking skills by thoroughly analyzing and interpreting the text.
  • Explain how the text relates to your thesis statement and overall argument.
  • Provide a clear and concise response that showcases your knowledge and understanding of the material.
  • Address counterarguments and alternative perspectives:
  • Acknowledge and address opposing viewpoints to demonstrate your ability to consider different perspectives.
  • Explain why your argument is stronger than the opposing viewpoint.
  • Provide evidence to support your claim and solidify your stance.

Concluding Your Paper

In the conclusion of your response paper example, it is essential to consolidate your reactions, ideas, and arguments regarding the text. Summarize the key points discussed throughout your paper, drawing inferences whenever applicable. 

When uncertain about ​​ how to write a conclusion for a research paper , the first important rule is to refrain from introducing new ideas or reiterating information already presented in the introduction of your paper. Instead, provide a concise and coherent summary that encapsulates the essence of your response, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

Response Paper Example

To show you how to write a response paper effectively, our essay writer has provided an amazing example below. It will inspire you and help you on your own learning journey. Get ready to explore new ideas and expand your knowledge with our response paper sample.

As we conclude this comprehensive guide on how to write a response paper, you have acquired the essential tools and knowledge to embark on your writing journey with confidence. With a firm grasp of pre-writing strategies, the art of crafting an engaging introduction, organizing a well-structured body, and understanding the significance of supporting arguments and addressing counter arguments with a good response paper example, you are poised to leave a lasting impression.

And if you ever find yourself struggling to find inspiration or facing challenges with any aspect of your essays, order essay online and take advantage of the opportunity to seek assistance from our professional writing service team. By trusting us with your college essays and ordering a response paper, you can confidently navigate your academic journey!

Take the Stress Out of Writing Response Essays!

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Daniel Parker

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

example of a response essay

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How to Write a Personal Narrative

example of a response essay

Introduction

Goals and Goal Setting

Goals Common to All RST Writers

Other Goals to Consider

Defining My Own Goals

Advice about Assignments

Getting Started: Listing Topics to Write about in the Tutorial

Narrative One: Personal Piece on a Significant Experience

Narrative Two: Academic Piece on a Significant Experience

Summary/Response One

Summary/Response Two

Tutorial Evaluation Postscript

On Using the Resources for Writers

Generating and Developing Ideas

Finding/Expressing Main Ideas

Showing v. Telling Sentences

Focusing Topic Sentences

Thesis Statements

Reading Strategies

Assessing Your Reading Strategies

Summarizing

Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays

Discourse Analysis Worksheet

Trade Magazines

Selecting Readings

A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting details unless they are central to the main idea. Most summaries present the major points in the order that the author made them and continually refer back to the article being summarized (i.e. "Damon argues that ..." or "Goodman also points out that ... "). The summary should take up no more than one-third the length of the work being summarized.

The Response:

A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.

Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays:

1. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block:

Intro/thesis Summary (two to three paragraphs) Agreement (or disagreement) Disagreement (or agreement) Conclusion

Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is not mandatory.

2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each body paragraph summarizes one point and responds to it, and a conclusion wraps the essay up.

Intro/thesis Summary point one; agree/disagree Summary point two; agree/disagree Summary point three; agree/disagree Conclusion

SAMPLE RESPONSE PAPERS

Below is a collection of strong (and exceptionally strong) response papers from students.   All received high grades.   They are good examples of insightful thinking and strong writing.   I would especially encourage you to notice that most of them don’t have obvious organization; most of them let their ideas develop and wander.   Many of the best responses are later in the list.   I continue to add to this collection as I find new examples of strong writing.   As always, I will look at drafts when I can.   [Please Note: Responses here are single-spaced to be read quicker.]

The first example, however, is one I wrote as a sample for the first reading response.

Chris McGee

ENGL 380-01

            Of all of the common assumptions that we discussed in class, I think one of the most common is the idea that a children’s text should in some way teach the reader something.   We of course talked about the term didactic, and how a didactic book strongly pushes a lesson onto the reader, telling them that they should believe this or that.   Many times a reason for that lesson isn’t even given, as though the young person reading the book should just accept that lesson because they are told to, because the other knows better.   As I was reading Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, the book I selected for the assignment, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be as didactic as most other children’s books, and that it would be as playful and exciting as I remember as a child.   On the last two pages of the book, however, the absent mother returns home, the cat has disappeared, the children are behaving nicely, sitting in chairs, and it is pretty obvious that even though they got into mischief they are still good children after all.   Nothing really has changed at the end of the book.   Although all sorts of things got played with, and the children broke the rules I am sure they know about (like, “Don’t fly kites in the house”), major boundaries were never crossed.  

            We talked about how the opposite of a didactic book might be an ambiguous book, or a book that encourages the reader to think about issues, to make decisions for themselves .   In that kind of book, the author usually wants to the reader to think for her or himself, to understand that some things are difficult, even for adults.   The author may present a problem and ask you what you think, or might just never come around to saying exactly what you are supposed to believe.   The last page of Cat in the Hat ends with the narrator saying, referring to the mother, “Should we tell her about it? / Now what SHOULD we do? / Well . . . / What would YOU do / If your mother asked you?” (61) .   In some ways, this is probably a pretty ambiguous ending.   The author asks the reader that if your mother left, if someone wanted you to do what you weren’t supposed to, if you did it anyway, and if you didn’t get caught, then would you tell your mother or father what happened?   Most adults wouldn’t tell what happened themselves, but the question is there anyway, and it seems to be really asking children what they believe.

            But it doesn’t seem really that ambiguous.   If the book were really ambiguous it would be breaking the Typical Case Prototype of children’s books, and in almost every other way the book keeps to those prototypes.   As Nodelman describes it, children’s books are typically bright, colorful, funny, entertaining, and maybe sometimes rhyming.   Children’s books portray children as the way adults typically think of them, as crazy kids who aren’t serious like adults, or innocent angels who would never really do any harm when they play.   Dr. Suess portrays typical kids, bored by the rain, wanting to do something wild.   Although Seuss’s style is strange, the children even look like the sort of standard white children that appear in most books, the girl in a dress and ribbon in her hair.   We saw in class how these children are a lot like the standard one’s in Cassie’s history textbook   And although strange things happen in the book – a talking cat, a couple of strange Things, a lot of things getting thrown around – it is the kind of play we come to expect in children’s lives, especially in the sorts of standard things shown on television and in movies.

            In fact, the children never quite seem to trust the Cat, and they always just sort of watch him play.   The children never really do anything that crazy themselves.   The Fish, who sounds a lot like an adult, is always there to warn them, and in the end everything gets cleaned up.   Of course the book is fun and playful, and is obviously one of the most famous and liked picture books ever made, but it is still pretty straightforward.   Cat in the Hat reinforces and demonstrates almost all of the typical assumptions about childhood, and it fulfills all of the typical case prototypes of children’s books.   Examining it made me think about how the book might have changed in recent years, especially since children are rarely bored when they are at home any more (with all of the stuff they own to play with).   But more than that, it made me think about why we expect all children’s books to be like this, why it is always considered one of the best books for children.   Although I like typical children’s books, it makes me also interested in books that don’t do what we expect.   The book was written 1957, and in so many ways children’s books have become so incredibly different since then.   But in a lot of other ways, some good, some bad, they haven’t changed at all.      

====================================================================================

STRONG EXAMPLES FROM STUDENTS

             The book George and Martha (as well as all of the other books in the series), by James Marshall , is in most ways a typical case prototype.   The reading level that is assigned to the book is for ages four through eight.   Each book is divided into five stories, and the stories are about two hippopotamuses that are best friends and act like humans.   Each of the stories starts with a title page that has bold yellow bubble letters.   As the pages are turned the left hand page has the print for the story and the right hand page has the illustration for that portion of the story.   This is very much typical case prototype—very consistent, very simple in both a visual and a reading sense.   And each story is short in length endorsing the idea that children get bored easily.  

All of the illustrations are simple—basically white backgrounds with bold black outlines and three or four colors used to emphasize certain parts of the images (namely grey, green, yellow, and red).   The pictures tell the story of everything that is going on, which makes it more or less unnecessary for a child to be able to read in order to understand what is going on in the story.   In fact, the pictures include almost no object in that is not directly involved in the story, meaning there is nothing used in the background of the pictures to fill the space.

The story is as simple as the illustrations using little or no complex language or difficult vocabulary.   The story, however, is not told using rhyming endings or any kind of rhythm in the sentence structure, which is less typical case prototype, even though plenty of children’s literature does not utilize rhythm or rhyme.   The story also includes only two characters (save the image of the dentist in the last story).   There are no other characters introduced which also keeps the story simplified.

  George and Martha supports many of the assumptions posed with typical case prototypes; in some cases the story even supports two opposing assumptions about children.   The assumption that children like books about fantasy is supported in that the main characters are animals that have the characteristics of humans—they are hippopotamuses walking around on two feet, wearing clothes, and talking to each other.   At the same time, the assumption is made that kids are so egocentric they only like literature to which they can personally relate.   While the main characters are animals, everything else about the book is based very much in a reality they can understand.   George and Martha live in a world like ours, where everyone lives in houses, cooks meals, takes baths and goes to the dentist.   The issues brought up in the book are even those to which children could relate, such as: not liking split pea soup but having to eat it, losing something that is dear to you, irritating habits that friends have, or invasion of privacy.   These are all concepts that a child can understand, and therefore it fits this typical case prototype as well.

The book is extremely didactic.   Each story ends with the moral that is presented in it, and the morals are very plainly stated in no uncertain terms.   There is no real room for coming up with one’s own ideas or opinions on how the presented situation should be dealt with, because the answer is given—the writer’s view of the issue at hand is almost shoved in the face of the reader.   In some ways, a child who thinks beyond simply what the book is telling him/her, might look at what takes place and determine how he/she might have dealt with that situation, but so many people treat reading as such a passive activity that they simply would not occur to them to look any farther than what is directly presented.  

Though the book seems so simple at first glance, it might also be argued that the book brings up more adult issues in the sense of right and wrong, such as in the story in which George is peeking through Martha’s window when she is in the bathtub.   Now, on the surface this is an issue presented and treated in that it is wrong to invade one’s privacy, but looking at it more deeply might be suggesting peeping-toms and a much more sexual elements of invading privacy than is obvious at first, and that is certainly not a typical case prototype.   Nor is the response that Martha has when she realizes that George is peeking in her window, which is to dump the bathtub on his head and yell at him; that could be construed as a violent reaction.   The story of the mirror brings up the issue of vanity or even pride.   George deals with Martha’s pride in her own appearance by pasting a funny picture on her mirror to trick her into not looking at it anymore.   That is a scenario that may be funny to children, but it may also be looking at the more “adult world” of the seven deadly sins for instance—pointing out the negative tendencies of the human being.  

Despite these deeper rooted possibilities of what the book may be trying to convey, in most cases it would be considered a typical case prototype.   It is built around most of the assumptions made about kids and their views of literature and of the world.   Only when looked at closely does this book show any evidence of underlying meaning or issues being presented, and those clues may be simply a complete coincidence.

Nodelman discusses the Typical Case Prototype portrayed in adult-written children’s books.   Nodelman’s stereotypes include bright colors, fantasy, common childhood experiences, and simple linguistics.   Richard Scarry’s picture book, THINGS TO KNOW demonstrates all of these qualities producing a didactic anecdote.

            Color radiates from the pages of this short story.   From the pink background on the front cover to the bright blue costume worn by an elephant on the title page, the book is filled with bright shades.   The use of color culminates to the very last page, which exemplifies and identifies the colors used in the book (23).   The book ambiguously teaches correct color schemes by ensuring each object is the color found in nature.   For example, in the “Seasons” grass is green, the sky is blue, sand is brown, apples are red, pumpkins are orange, and snow is white; the author easily could have painted these objects in hues of imagination, however the writer chose to demonstrate these objects in their naturally expected forms, encouraging standard ideals of the world (14 ,16,18 , 19).

            While the color usage discourages imagination, Scarry’s use of fantasy promotes creative ideology.   A personified animal or insect represents every character in the book.   Animals play instruments, eat with spoons, count to ten, have hands, arms, and noses, rake leaves, watch TV, write, and eat cookies (5 ,6,8,12,11,17 , 22,9).   Scarry limits the readers’ imagination, allowing only classic fantasy.   Richard Scarry personifies the characters to be similar to his readers.

            Nodelman’s research suggests the ideal that children enjoy characters they can relate to.   Scarry creates childlike characters based on their actions.   Illustrating childlike behavior, a pig spills a glass of juice, a cat wears an inner tube to swim in ankle deep water, and a worm jumps in a pile of autumn leaves (8 ,16,17 ).   The children are distinguished from the adults by size, position, and in some cases clothing.   On page one, a giraffe sits on a stool wearing a suit and tie reading a book to a tiny, casually dressed mouse.   Of course the mouse is the childlike character and the giraffe is the adult; the giraffe know how to read, is formally dressed, and is much taller than his counterpart. This example signifies the view of adults being superior to children and being responsible for the knowledge children gain.   In the manners section a tall pig wearing a dress helps a short pig in red overalls put on a rain jacket, obviously this is the mother aiding her child (10).   This suggests that children require parents to guide them even in simple tasks.

            Finally, the language of the book signifies children’s short attention span and the idea of reading levels.   The syntax is limited to include no more than eleven words, the longest sentence being, “We rake the falling leaves and pick apples in the autumn.” (17) .   The vocabulary of this book is simplistic, using predominately one or two syllable words to identify objects, directions, or sizes.   The book contains only two four-syllable words; accordion and interrupting (5, 8).   The language is simple for young readers and the identifying nature of the book is most likely targeted toward a preschool audience.  

            The book overtly teaches the things adults believe small children should learn; like distinguishing the four seasons and naming body parts (13-20, 11).   The most obvious example of a moralistic or instructive agenda is the section titled “Manners”.   Scarry devotes four pages to “Manners”, while most other topics have two pages.   Scarry clearly encourages his ideas of etiquette when he writes, “Everyone should have good manners. Do you? I hope so.” (9).   Other examples of the educational goals appear in sections labeled “Count to Ten”, “Opposites”, “Shapes and Sizes”, “Things We Can Do”, and “Colors” (12, 3, 1, 21, 23).   The book didactically impresses children with adult view of essential knowledge and encourages the stereotypical natures Nodelman mentioned.  

In the 2003 Universal Pictures version of “Peter Pan,” the children are depicted as strong, independent individuals with their own agency throughout a great portion of the film.   However, there are numerous examples of interpellation, during which the children fight against and conform to the interpellation of family and society.   In the following paragraphs, I will explain how “Peter Pan” is a movie with both interpellation and agency.   Also, I will explain how the film is adult-centered in spite of the agency the child characters possess.

The movie “Peter Pan” begins with three children living in a nursery all together.   One day, the children overhear the adults talking about Wendy, the oldest child in the nursery.   They are saying that it is time for her to grow up and spend more time with adults.   Wendy does not like the idea of growing up, and the children go on a magical adventure where children never grow up, where there are pirates, fairies, and countless adventures.   However, soon Wendy realizes that she truly does wish to grow up and decides to return to her home with her parents.   In the end, Wendy, her brothers, and the lost boys all end up home with parents.   However, Peter Pan still refuses to give up his childhood fantasies and flies away forever.  

The adult characters in “Peter Pan” are highly interpellated into their roles in society.   For example, the mother and father are wealthy socialites who attend grand parties, wear grand clothing, and (attempt to) conduct themselves in a dignified, proper manner.   At one point, the father is seen practicing his small talk because Aunt Millicent has told him that “wit is very fashionable at the moment.”   They are very much concerned with what the neighbors will think of them and their proper place in society.   Wendy’s adult family has been interpellated into their roles in society.   However, the children are still concerned with fun, games, and adventures.   The thought of growing up is not an appealing one for them at this point.   It simply does not look like it is any fun.

            In one scene, the entire family is gathered together in a family room.   The children are telling stories and being generally silly.   When Wendy begins to talk of her dreams of adventure, her Aunt Millicent puts a stop to it.   After all, a young lady should not think of adventure, but marriage according to the interpellation in this film.   During this scene, Wendy talks with her Aunt Millicent about her future plans.   “My unfulfilled ambition is to write a great novel, in three parts, about my adventures,” Wendy says.   Aunt Millicent replies, “What adventures?”   “I’m going to have them,” Wendy says, “they’ll be perfectly thrilling.”   Aunt Millicent clearly indicates what role she believes Wendy should possess in society with her reply, “But child, novelists are not highly thought of in good society, and there is nothing so difficult to marry as a novelist.”   In this same scene, Aunt Millicent asks Wendy to walk toward her and turn around so that she might appraise her.   Afterward, she declares Wendy as having possession of a “woman’s chin” and a “hidden kiss” on the corner of her mouth.   She declares the kiss as the “greatest adventure of all” and states that it “belongs to” someone else.   Aunt Millicent clearly thinks that Wendy will believe that possessing woman-like qualities will make her want to act more grown up and that possessing a hidden kiss that belongs to someone else will begin Wendy’s search for a respectable husband.   Aunt Millicent is attempting to convince Wendy that her proper place in society will be an adventure if only she lives up to the expectations of her family.   Aunt Millicent is attempting to interpellate Wendy into a certain role.   She addresses the “problems” of Wendy’s need for adventure and desire to become a novelist, neither of which will do for a young lady in high society.

By watching the whole first half of the film, one might believe that Wendy has not been interpellated into the role her Aunt Millicent wishes for her.   She is clearly against the idea of giving up her adventures to become a wife.   Soon after, she meets a magical boy and runs away with him, along with her brothers to a world where children have their own agency.   In Neverland , children live with no parents, do as they please, and fight their own battles.   There are Indians, mermaids, and pirates.   It is a great adventurous place for children to live when they do not wish to be interpellated into a role in society by their parents.  

During one Neverland scene, Hook has captured Wendy’s brothers and taken them to the Black Castle .   There, the adult pirates treat the children as worthy adversaries.   This indicates that the adult pirates believe that the children do, indeed, have their own agency.   The pirates do not indicate for a moment that these are only children and easily defeated.   Rather, they wait in ambush for Peter Pan and Wendy to attempt to rescue the boys.   Wendy shows Peter that she is entirely capable of brandishing a sword against the pirates.   Here, Wendy is displaying her own agency and letting him know that she will not need protection any more than the boys.   Then, Peter tricks the pirates into releasing the other children.   This shows that the children in the scene are much more cleaver than the adults.   Afterward, a great fight scene ensues between the children and the pirates.   The pirates sword fight with them as if they were adults.   In fact, the children manage to defeat the pirates and escape unharmed, once again indicating that they have their own agency in that they are clever and able to take care of themselves.   When there is a problem, they figure out a way to get out of it on their own.   They do not rely on adults to solve their problems.  

            In spite of all of the agency the children display during the Neverland scenes, I would argue that this film is adult centered.   After being in the Neverland for a while, Wendy realizes that she does not belong there and chooses to return to the safety of her family.   Even the Lost Boys desperately want a parental figure in their lives, and they end up returning home with Wendy and her brothers to live with their parents.   Wendy has been interpellated by her parents after all.   She realizes that she wants her life that she left behind.   The power that Wendy felt at the beginning of the film seemed repressive to her; however, it has become ideological.   In other words, the ideological power that Wendy’s family has over her has worked.   She now sees that her happiness lies in the role that her family has been trying to establish for her.   Furthermore, Wendy’s brothers and the Lost Boys all realize that they want to have parents who will care for them and that growing up is not all that bad.   In the end, all of the children have parents except one.   And, all of the children seem happy except one – Peter Pan.

            While it is odd to think of a film having both interpellation and agency, I am suggesting just that.   However, I am also suggesting that there are two separate worlds in this film in which the two issues occur.   Interpellation clearly occurs in the beginning of the film while the children are with their parents and Aunt Millicent.   They are taught how life should be and who they should be when they grow up.   The Neverland world is a place where children have agency.   It is clear to the adults and children in Neverland that children are to be taken seriously and treated as equals.   However, in the end, the children choose interpellation over agency and return to the nursery and their home with their parents.   In this film, the children have been interpellated to believe that their role at home will be much more fulfilling and rewarding than the agency available to them by remaining children forever in Neverland .

            In closing, Peter Pan is a complicated film that displays agency and interpellation.   While it displays both, the film is adult centered, as the children end up interpellated into the roles their families wished for them.  

Resisting Interpellation: Beauty and the Beast

            As a little girl, I pretended I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast . I wanted desperately to find my prince charming. I danced around to the songs, and I would have loved a castle filled with enchanted creatures, or a library filled with books up to the ceiling. Years later, after watching the same story unfold, I can honestly say that Belle could be a role model for me in the way she lived her life. Her personality is one of strength, open-mindedness, and abundant love. Throughout her story, Belle is faced with opposition and obstacles that push her to define and think about who she is. Gaston and the rest of the townspeople try to push and mold Belle into the type of person that they feel is “normal.” The story of Beauty and the Beast is one of Belle defying the idea of what is normal, what is right, and what is supposed to be.

A major way of society interpellating a person is by shunning the marriage or union between people with huge differences. Society applauds when the normal path is taken, whether it is a marriage between a man and woman, or the relationship between two people of the same race. The main motif or theme of Beauty and the Beast , which occurs in many children’s stories, is that of two people of different species falling in love and overcoming their obstacles. Belle, a human, and the Beast, a human enslaved in a beast-like body, are blinded to reality by their love. They do not look at each other with eyes focused on appearances, but look through the skin into each other’s souls. In the garden playing with birds, the Beast and Belle come to realize that they care for each other, despite the hesitations that first accompanied their situation. The beast is surprised that “when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw,” and Belle is taken aback “ that he's no Prince Charming but there's something in him that I simply didn't see.” Though surprised, Belle resisted the temptation to fall in love and marry a human, thus not giving in to interpellation. This movie also expresses distaste for interpellation in the sense that it expresses the acceptance of things not of the norm. It basically says that you do not have to settle for the town football hero, just because you are the cheerleader. Instead, you can hold out, find a person with whom your souls connect, and live happily ever after. There is also a trace of the “if you truly love them, let them go, and if they love you too, they will come back” theme present in this movie. For example, when the Beast releases Belle as his prisoner, he gives her the freedom to truly love him. It is only through this relinquishing, that Belle can understand her true feelings.

A different way society tries to interpellate a person or a person’s life is by giving them a name. By naming a person, the parent is predetermining their child to answer and identify with that name. The name Belle translates to beautiful or beauty from the French language. Yet while Belle is beautiful, she does not let her name, or it’s meaning, get in the way of her personality. Traditionally, an interpellated “Belle” would be flirtatious, using her good looks to gain social standing. This type of behavior would be accepted in Belle’s community, as other seemingly beautiful women gush and moon over Gaston, throwing themselves at him in the hopes he will throw them a bone. Bell though, almost seems unaware of her good looks. For example, while Belle walks through town, her head buried in a story, she is oblivious to all the commotion she is bringing about. One man even goes as far as to say, “Now it's no wonder that her name means 'beauty' Her looks have got no parallel!” As the story unfolds, she does not dress to impress anyone, and never gives the impression of caring what others think of her appearance. I believe the rose in Beauty and the Beast is a reminder of Belle’s inconsistence with the typical towns lady. The rose, while beautiful and seemingly fragile, has managed to live for ten years. While it is enchanted, the rose must still be protected, and is held in high regard. Belle, similarly, is beautiful and dainty, but strong. She earns respect through her decisions, and does not need to be taken care of. She is strong enough to find her father, strong enough to give her life for his, and strong enough to stand up to the Beast.

Belle also questions the interpellated messages she receives from the general public. The people of Belle’s town believe that, as a young lady, you should live up to specific social standards. Belle breaks these traditions in numerous ways. To begin, even as Belle walks through the “quiet village,” the townspeople talk about how she is so strange and unusual; how she does not quite fit the mold. They shake their heads and cannot understand why she is “Never part of any crowd.” She “doesn't quite fit in” with the ladies trying to find a husband, or with the ladies who sit around doing what it is the conventional ladies do. Instead, she is described as “Dazed and distracted” because she always has “her nose stuck in a book!” It is evident that Belle is resisting interpellation by continuing to read, and to read often. Instead of succumbing to the ideals and values of the townspeople who feel “It's not right for a woman to read--soon she starts getting ideas...and thinking,” she relishes her stories, and continues to be excited about new possibilities. She also does not try to hide the fact that she loves to read. She sat on a fountain, in the middle of the town, and sang about her love of books. People like Gaston, who try to force their ideas on society, feel that all a woman should be is a “little wife, massaging [her husband’s] feet, while the little ones play with the dogs.” When Belle flat out refuses Gaston’s attempts at wooing her, the other ladies of the town, who have fallen into the common way of thinking, say, “What's wrong with her?” Yet Belle knows that “There must be more than this provincial life!”

Indeed, there is a different way to live life, at least for Belle. Unlike many women, Belle is not one to be influenced by appearances, good or bad. She is not impressed with Gaston’s impressive looks or rippled muscles (because he is, after all, “Perfect, a pure paragon”). Instead of dreaming about being Gaston’s wife, Belle is more interested in enjoying life, taking care of her father, and being true to herself. She does not fall into the trap of liking the cool guy, just because everyone else does. She knows that Gaston is “handsome all right, and rude and conceited and” not for her. Another example of Belle’s passiveness towards appearance occurs with the Beast. While her first reaction to the Beast is terror, she does not actually fear him. If she feared him, she would not have spoken out to the Beast like she did. Not intimidated by his looks, she talks to him like the mean-spirited person he is. This showcases the amount of agency Belle has determined is rightfully hers. In many instances, she does not give in to the Beast’s demands, even though, technically, she is his prisoner. For instance, she does not give in to the Beast’s demand that she come to dinner, instead, she tells him, “I'm not hungry” and refuses to eat with him.

Some may feel that Belle is the typical young lady, looking to find her prince. After all, her favorite part of the book she reads by the fountain is when the girl meets her prince, but does not know it yet. I would argue that the books she finds so intriguing are an escape. While the particular storyline read by the fountain does predict the outcome of the movie, it also illustrates and shows how Belle is feeling. She feels trapped, like the only way she can escape her suffocating world is to read about others where there is adventure and romance. She may want the romance and the white knight on the horse, but she is not willing to compromise who she is inherently, for the gain of something she does not deem true and worthy. Belle turns to her books because, as she puts it, “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere/ I want it more than I can tell/ And for once it might be grand/ To have someone understand/ I want so much more than they've got planned.” So she is not dreaming of her prince, or a life as a princess. She wants to be a person, first and foremost, and have someone understand what she feels. Before meeting and falling in love with the beast, the only “people” who understand her, are the people in the books she reads, because they have the same desires as she.

Belle avoids the interpellation of her peers and society through staying true to herself, and, in the end, she gets her prince. She does not succumb to the prodding of Gaston, and even her father in the beginning, to marry and become a mainstream household wife. Instead, she uses her ability to love truly to find the man, or beast, with which she is meant to be. It is through this rebellion of society’s norm that Belle uses her agency in life to stand firm against interpellation.

“ South Park : Bigger, Longer and Uncut” is a true depiction of carnivalesque imagery. The entire film is centered on a movie the children go see, called “Asses of Fire.”   This movie causes great controversy between the children and parents, because its only purpose is to, make fun of bodily functions, and curse as much as possible.   The children in “ South Park ” love this movie, and even claim that it will make their lives “complete.” The idea of carnivalesque is that is mocks and humiliates what is supposed to be official, and customary by focusing on humorous and grotesque bodily functions.   These children who praise a movie that is clearly derogatory, and gross degrades the ethical teachings they should be learning.   The stereotype for children is that they should learn valuable, and critical lessons that will help them in life.   “ South Park ” greatly destroys these lessons, as the children perpetually get more offensive and silly as the mimic the actors in “Asses of Fire.”

The movie also demeans authority figures such as, the government, the president, teachers, principles, parents etc.   One of the best examples of this idea of carnivalesque is when Cartman defies his authority figures.   While sitting in class Mr. Garrison (the boy’s teacher) demands Cartman to answer a question.   Unwilling to cooperate, Cartman instead curses at the teacher and is sent to the office.   In the office, he again curses at the principle. Both authority figures are surprised by these acts of defiance; they do not know how to punish this behavior.   Instead, Cartman is free to say and do what he pleases, to whomever. This scene depicts the role reversal of authority.   It is Cartman who holds the power, and not the typical adult authority figure.   Throughout the movie the adults struggle to gain power over their children’s tainted behavior.   They are repeatedly unsuccessful.   This is the essence of carnivalesque , as it uses absurdity and humor to undermine what is normally revered.

            South Park proves to be a progressive movie for a number of reasons.   Although, it is seemingly playful, silly and gross, it explores new grounds by mocking norms for children’s movies.   Much like a traditional Disney musical, “ South Park : Bigger, Longer, and Uncut” begins with the character Stan singing a song.   In this scene, Stan is walking down a snow-covered street as he sings about his “quiet mountain town.”   Deer cross his path, and beautiful Pine trees line the road.   As Stan approaches his town he is singing about how wonderful it is, and how people treat each other well.   However, it is obvious, that the people are actually pushy, rude and hateful towards one another.   By no means is this place the “quiet mountain town” Stan describes.   In fact, by the end of the song the entire town joins in on the chorus and adds that they live in a “quiet little white trash redneck mountain town.”   This is an ironic twist to how the film first began.   In the beginning “ South Park ” seems to be a normal children’s movie.   It depicts the innocence of nature, and a song about love, happiness, and people getting along. As the song continues, it drastically changes from pleasant, to disturbing and silly. People are cursing one another, babies are being thrown through windows, and homeless men are drinking on the side of the road.   These images mock and criticize the normal innocence in children’s film.   Therefore, with its mocking nature “ South Park ” challenges what we deem as a stereotypical normal children’s film and proves to be progressive.   In addition, “ South Park ” is progressive as it gives power to those that would not normally have it.   Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny all have a great amount of power within this movie, as they defy their parents and curse at authority figures.

However, this movie also gives a great amount of power to a woman.   Kyle’s mother consistently gains command as she speaks out against the two Canadian actors in “Asses of Fire” that have contaminated the children’s minds.   In one seen Kyle’s mom pushes President Clinton out of the way of a camera interview and provides a speech on ending the actor’s lives to save the children. Her forceful behavior of pushing the President out of the way shows how “ South Park ” truly defies the norm.   In a normal situation the President would be seen as the highest authority, but here a mother from a “redneck town” is depicted as stronger. By giving power to both the children and the mother, “ South Park ” is extremely progressive by challenging and defying the ideas of a stereotypical normal children’s movie.

            Much like the “ South Park ” movie, the TV series “Family Guy” also portrays carnivalesque imagery.   One of the main characters in “Family Guy” is Stewie , a baby who has an adult British male’s accent.   His hilarious, uncommon voice greatly shows carnivalesque .   Unlike a normal baby, Stewie not only can speak his mind, but he also can do it articulately, like an adult.   In fact, he is smarter, more talkative and wiser than the stupid immature dad, Peter, in the show.   Specifically, the episode “Emission Impossible” shows how Stewie is more competent than his parents.   Repeatedly, he disrupts his parents from making love in order to stop them from creating another baby. In one scene Stewie walks into his room, hits a button on the wall, which collapses and shows a hidden spaceship behind it.   He uses the spaceship (which shrinks to a microscopic level) to go in Peter’s body and terminate all his sperm.   Stewie succeeds and the parents never end up having a baby. Symbolically, the spaceship represents all the power Stewie has in his life. Such a complicated, high-tech machine for a baby to control signifies how he has the command to manipulate what he pleases. By inhibiting their chances of creating a baby, Stewie clearly portrays the carnivalesque idea of role reversal.   It is not coincidental that Stewie’s strong character is that of a baby.   “Family Guy” is using this role reversal of giving a baby power over it’s parents to, like “South Park”, mock what is supposed to be authoritative.   Parents are normally the ones that direct the life of their baby.   However, Stewie diminishes this norm, which is an apparent depiction of carnivalesque ideas.

            “The Simpsons ” is another great example of carnivalesque .   In the episode “ Tis the Fifteenth Season,” Homer realizes he is a selfish person and thereby declares he will become “the nicest guy in town.”   However, Flanders already holds that title. In result, a battle breaks out between them, as they struggle to gain the title of the “nicest guy in town”.   In one scene Homer becomes jealous when he hears Flanders has given everyone a Christmas gift.   He therefore begins to plan on how he will buy everyone a car to exceed Flanders act of generosity.   However, Lisa stops her dad and explains, “Dad you don’t have to out-do Flanders .   Just remember the spirit of the season.”   She then declares that Christmas is not about presents or competitions, but about family and love.   Once again, the roles are being reversed.   Lisa, a little girl, has to explain an extremely important concept to her father.   Parents are usually the ones to teach these lessons to children; however, Lisa is the true “parent” in this scene.    In addition, this episode depicts Homer to be as dumb as a cat or dog.   All three (Homer, the cat and the dog) are wearing Christmas sweaters. As the dog and cat roll on the ground biting at theirs, so does Homer.   Carnivalesque often portrays these types of role reversals, and undermining of authority.   Stereotypically, the male adult figure is one that carries the most knowledge, power and authority.   However, Homer truly acts like a child.   He is selfish, silly and immature.   Instead this intelligent and powerful status is given to a seven or either year old girl.   Carnivalesque is depicted, as a complete opposite role reversal is apparent.   Without Lisa’s insight and awareness, Homer would have succeeded in ruining the concepts of Christmas.  

            Both “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons ” are progressive as well.   The strong characters in these two shows are the children, Stewie and Lisa.   These shows dramatically change what is normally viewed as traditional.   Parents no longer teach their kids, rather the children teach them.   In addition, the parents do not have the ability to direct their children’s lives; instead their children are directing their lives. Much like “ South Park ,” “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons ” depict families as if they are on the other side of the mirror.   They are merely reversed.   These thoughts encourage us, as the audience, to rethink what we consider as normal.   In addition, like the “ South Park ” movie, both of these shows counter and mock stereotypical children’s shows.   Conservatively children’s shows are supposed to protect innocence, show adults as authority figures and teach what is typically right. “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons ” obviously bend these rules and are therefore extremely progressive.

            “ South Park ,” “Family Guy,” and “The Simpsons ,” are only a few of the shows that possess these ideas of carnivalesque and progressiveness.   However, all three portray these concepts beautifully.   From role reversal, to degrading authority, and to using humorous situations, voices, and bodily functions to mock the revered, these shows are carnivalesque .   In addition, they break the stereotype that creates a conservative work.   Instead they are progressive as they challenge us to rethink what should be, and uniquely see the ideas that contradict our norms.  

The fairy tale Snow-white and Rose-red , by the Grimm brothers, is an excellent example of a conservative, adult-centered text.   In this text, the agency is with the adults and the children are seen as nostalgic images of childhood.   Snow-white and Rose-red prove that children are good and follow the direction of adult figures even when the adult may not be present.  

            The conservative nature of this text is overwhelming.   The author is not challenging children to do anything; but rather teaching them that if they are obedient then they will be happy.   For example, Snow-white and Rose-red are described in various ways throughout the story: “ . . . the sweetest and best children in the world, always diligent and always cheerful . . . they always walked about hand in hand whenever they went out together . . . they drew round the fire, while the mother put on her spectacles and read aloud from a big book and the two girls listened and sat and span . . . the tender-hearted children . . .”   The children are described as wonderful and obedient children who help anyone in need.   They are seen as a quaint family that never argues, listens to their mother read stories around a fire, and did traditional “girl” things like spinning.   The ending shows that because of their good hearts they were rewarded: “Snow-white married him, and Rose-red his brother, and they divided the great treasure the dwarf had collected in his cave between them.   The old mother lived for many years peacefully with her children . . . ”   This “fairy tale” ending shows that if you are a good child then good things will happen to you.   The text does not wish for children to challenge the things that their mother tells them to do.   The text reinforces a sense of good behavior and family closeness.  

            In this family, the mother is the one with the authority and all of the agency.   The girls are attentive to the instructions of their mother and follow them with haste.   There are several things that the girls did to help their mother around the house and around the woods: “Show-white sat at home with her mother and helped her in the household …[ they] kept their mother’s cottage so beautifully clean and neat that it was a pleasure to go into it…the mother sent the children into the wood to collect fagots…the mother sent the two girls to the town to buy needles, thread, laces, and ribbons.”   This shows their obedience because the children did what their mother told them without hesitation or argument.   In an adult-centered text, children understand that adults know better than children so they must follow what adults say.   Another example when the children listen to the knowledge from their mother is when the mother tells them, “‘Rose-red, open the door quickly; it must be some traveler seeking shelter.’ Rose-red hastened to unbar the door… ‘Snow-white and Rose- red, come out; the bear will do you no harm; he is a good, honest creature.’”   The text ends with the mother being correct when the bear’s “skin suddenly fell off, and a beautiful man stood beside them, all dressed in gold.”   By listening to the mother and her knowledge, the story had a happy ending.   This shows the readers that children should listen to their mothers or other adult figures because, of course, they know more than a child.   This adult-centered trait is highly visible throughout the text.  

            Yet another image of the children, in this adult-centered text, is when they follow the directions of their mother even when she is not there.   The mother has engrained the children with the importance of being kind to everyone.   They show kindness to the dwarf throughout the story even though he was not nice to them.   Some of the rude comments that the dwarf makes about the girls are: “ ‘You stupid, inquisitive goose!’… ‘Crazy blockheads!’ … ‘Curse these rude wretches, cutting off a piece of my splendid beard!’… ‘ you toadstools’… ‘Couldn’t you have treated me more carefully?   You have torn my thin little coat all to shreds, useless, awkward hussies that you are!’” The girls have saved his life three times and yet the dwarf can only be ungrateful and mean to them.   This does not deter the girls from their kind-heartedness and helping anyone in need.   “The girls were accustomed to his ingratitude, and went on their way and did their business in town.”   This shows that, without their mother’s advice, the girls continued to rescue the dwarf and treat him with kindness.   This is an excellent example of an adult-centered trait.  

            Snow-white and Rose-red are perfect symbols of the nostalgic childhood images who end up being rewarded for their good nature and kind hearts.   The authors are showing that if a child is obedient and good then they will surely receive a reward in the end.   There are many attributes of an adult-centered text that this story has which contributes to the conservative nature of the text. This text is extremely conservative and adult-centered in various ways.

“Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children,” begins Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s famous fairy tale, “Hansel and Grethel .”   “Hansel and Grethel ” is a magical tail about two children who cleverly outsmart their evil stepmother, and a wicked witch to stay alive.   This fairytale encompasses some of the topics we have discussed in class.   It not only is incredibly child centered, but it also is progressive.  

            “Hansel and Grethel ” is extremely child centered. The Grimm brothers depicted both Hansel and Grethel as smart, capable people.   After she told her plan of leaving the children off in the woods alone to the father, the wife maliciously stated, “They will not find their way home again, and we shall be rid of them.”   Fortunately, Hansel and Grethel both heard this speech, and decided something must be done to outsmart her evil plot. As Hansel dropped pebble after pebble on the road to help them find their way home, the wife noticed that he consistently looked back at the house.   “Hansel what art thou looking at there and staying behind for,” the wife demanded.   He replied, “I am looking at my little white cat, which is sitting up on the roof and wants to say goodbye to me.”   “Fool, that is not thy little cat, that is the morning sun which is shining on the chimney,” explained the wife.   Although Hansel’s answer is silly, the wife and father did not suspect his pebble trail.   Therefore, his plan worked and he and his sister are able to find their way home after being left in the woods.   By, having the ability to outsmart the adults, Hansel proved to have a great amount of agency.   He not only had the courage to secretly plot against them, but also managed to trick them into believing he was just a childish boy fantasizing about his cat.   His lie about the cat is significant because it shows that he understands adults have these assumptions that children are childlike in their thinking.   He is able to use this stereotype about children against his parents, ultimately tricking them into thinking he is incapable of “adult like” complex thinking and planning.  

Grethel also had her moment of greatness when she tricked the witch.   Smartly, Grethel told the old witch she did not understand how to get in the oven.   The witched replied haughtily, “Silly goose, the door is big enough; just look, I can get in myself!”   As the evil hag climbed into the oven, Grethel courageously shoved her inside and locked the door.   Ultimately, the witch was engulfed in flames resulting in her ruin. Like Hansel, Grethel is depicted as a stronger, smarter character than the adults, especially the witch, within this fairytale.   Since, child-centered texts always portray the children as the most powerful, capable, independent characters, it is fitting that “Hansel and Grethel ” would fall under this category.   Both children easily trick the adults.   In addition, they have the power to find their way through the woods at the end of the story with no pebbles or bread to guide them.   The two children truly have an enormous amount of agency as they not only can outsmart the adults, but also can manipulate nature to help them.   As they came to a “great piece of water” on their journey home from the gingerbread house, they realized they had no means to cross it.   However, Grethel noted, “a white duck is swimming there; if I ask her, she will help us over.”    Indeed, the duck does help them, and they return home safely.   It is as if Hansel and Grethel gain more confidence, and agency as they manipulate and conquer every obstacle crossing their path.   

Another example of why this text is child-centered is how the adults are depicted.   First, it is important to note that it is only the children who have names.   All of the adults in this text are referred to as, the “father,” the “wife” and the “old witch.”   This is a very child-centered quality, as it gives no individuality to the adults, thus exemplifying their lack of importance.   In addition, the adults are all portrayed as selfish, weak, and evil.   The wife was clearly selfish and evil, as she wanted to “be rid” of her children so she could have more food to eat.   In complaint to his wife’s wishes the father replied, “How can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest? The wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces!”   Selfishly and uncaringly the wife cried, “O, thou fool! Then we must all four die of hunger, thou mayest as well plane the planks for our coffins.”   She would rather her children be torn to pieces by “wild animals” than have to share her food, and sacrifice her own hunger.

Also, although, the father was undoubtedly seen as the “good” parent of the two, he was plainly a weak character.   The father barely stood up for his children, and let his wife send them to their deaths. After agreeing to go along with her plan he sadly said, “But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same.”   Not once, was the father threatened by his wife. He merely gave into her, even though it was clear that he loved his children dearly.   This lack of confidence completely undermines the father’s authority as an adult.   Although he is a good character, he has no power to stand up for what he believed and felt strongly for. In addition, describing the old woman with the candy covered house, the Grimm’s wrote, “she only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the house of bread in order to entice them there.” She, like the stepmother is evil. Therefore, it is apparent, that all three adults in this story are perceived as evil or weak, making this a truly child-centered text.

In addition to child-centered, “Hansel and Grethel ” also is significantly progressive.   In the beginning of the story, when the stepmother described her plan to leave the children, she stated, “They will not find their way home again.”   The stepmother assumed that the children were naïve and incapable of taking care of themselves.   She believed that they could never locate their way out of the woods because they were mere children, and would have no adult to guide them.   However, they break these assumptions by finding their way through the forest not once, but twice. This is extremely progressive, because it challenges some of the stereotypical assumptions about childhood.   Children are often thought of as very dependent on their parents and innocent; however, Hansel and Grethel clearly do not need their parents to find their way.   They are also far from naïve.   They are well aware of the stepmother’s wicked intentions.

In fact, the children not only found their way through the confusing woods and saved themselves from the horrid witch, but they also saved their father. The Grimm brothers wrote, “ Grethel emptied her pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add to them.”   This shows how much agency the children had, as they saved themselves and then came home with enough diamonds and jewels to support their father as well. The story ends, “Then all the anxiety was at an end, and they lived together in perfect happiness.”   This fairytale is truly progressive as gives the power over to the children. In a more conservative text the father would have been the savior; however, it is Hansel and Grethel who hold all the power and save the day.

  “Hansel and Grethel ” is an excellent example of a progressive, child-centered text. It challenges assumptions about children, and gives children a great amount of agency.   Hansel and Grethel are depicted as capable strong characters, whereas the adults are seen as evil and weak.   The children also reject the norms of childhood that suggest life for a child is simple and fun, as they understand their lives are complex, and they work hard to control the situations around them. In total, “Hansel and Grethel ” challenges us as readers to truly see how powerful children can be.

8.   ( from Final Exam)

~Interpellation is the idea that we are “bred” to think, act and react in certain ways.

~We are interpellated from the day that we are born into specific roles that society has created for us

~Girls being portrayed in magazines playing with dolls and loving the color pink is an example of gender role interpellation

~Interpellation is subtle—the point of interpellation is for a person to feed into something without even realizing that they are doing so.

~ Interpellation is used in almost every aspect of our society, especially in the marketing of merchandise

~Interpellation can be found in many situations, but the most prominent example of interpellation that I always think of is the typical male and female roles that we are “assigned” from a very early age. There are certain things that are “normal”, if not expected of a boy, simply because he is a boy. By there same token, there are certain things that are expected of a girl to maintain her societal femininity. From a young age, we are lead to believe that boys are the dominant, more powerful sex. Females are portrayed as care takers and are often seen as being more compassionate and caring then males are. Men are expected to rougher and less sensitive. The men are expected to work hard to bring home money to support their families. Females are often portrayed as being more in touch with their emotions. None of these ideas applies to any one person any more so then do personality traits, but our society interpellates these ideas into our minds every minute of every day. The following passage is from my paper on the Goonies , in which I highlight some examples of the interpellation typical female and male roles in this movie.

“The interpellation of society’s view of typical female and male roles is very obvious in this movie. The boys seem to be portrayed in the usual ways, as being mischievous and thrill seeking, while the girls are shown as weak and scared. The oldest girl, Andy, seems more concerned with her crush throughout the movie then she does with finding the gold and taking an active role in the adventure. There is a point in the movie where Mikey tells Andy that she may want to hold his hand because it was dark up ahead and it may be dangerous. This is another example of the girls and the guys being put into common roles that society has created for them. As we have been told since we were young children through fairy tales and everyday life, men are supposed to take care of females and be there to protect them. Another example of interpellation is when Brent, Mikey’s older brother, makes a comment in the movie asking why he couldn’t have had a little sister instead of a little brother, as if to say that only a boy is daring enough to start the trouble that they are in.   This statement reaffirms the idea of interpellation of typical male and female roles in this film.”

~ The following excerpts looks at an example of interpellation from the 1980’s classic, The Goonies :

“Something that is interesting in this movie is that the Goonies all seem to be misfits. There is a scene where the developer’s son drives past Mikey’s older brother, Brent. The developers son is driving a convertible and wearing his letter jacket and has two girls in his car, while Brent is wearing ratty old sweats and is riding his little brothers bike. Interpellation is shown in the idea that the rich kids are cool and popular, while the poor kids are unpopular and outcasts.”

“ Mikey’s family seems to be having some emotional problems. Mikey’s older brother, Brent, always makes fun of their father and doesn’t seem to have a lot of respect for him. This shows the idea that families who don’t have a lot of money are less stable and ultimately less happy.   At the end of the movie, when the family realizes they have enough money to save their home, they come together and hug each other and really show affection towards each other for the first time in the movie. Again, interpellation is shown in that money and material things bring happiness. “

~We seem to idealize wealthy families in our society because we are under the warped impression that they are happier then ourselves because they have everything that they want. Children who are born into wealth and privilege are showcased in reality television and documentaries, further rubbing our noses in the fact that there are parents who can provide for their children in ways that you or I could never imagine (from a material standpoint). Our culture seems to go out of its way to display this quality, to make those who have more feel better about themselves and those who have less feel worse. We are interpellated be jealous of other peoples luck and fortune, when we should be thankful for the opportunities that we have instead of being angry about the opportunities that we don’t. I think this reoccurring theme is strong in the Goonies . As described in the excerpt Mikeys family is portrayed as poor and unhappy. Nothing seems to go right for them, mainly because of the fact that they don’t have any material wealth. The rich family holds the happiness of the poor family in its hands. The rich family has all of the agency while the poor family has none. Like in our society, the poor are at the mercy of the rich.

~We are interpellated to believe that the main centers of power and authority in our society, i.e. the government, our parents, the president, are inherently good and always right—they(the powers that be) do this to try and keep us in our place. They want to keep power in the hands of those who have always had it, and usually on of the only ways to do that is to interpellate society to believe that that is where the power and authority belong in the first place.

~Like the magazine add that you showed us that said “All girls love princesses, pink and parties” (or something to that effect), we are spoon feeding interpellated gender roles to our children. Certainly, all girls DON’T love princesses and all girls don’t love pink. In fact, I always hated princesses and pink for that matter. By saying “All girls”, marketing agencies are really embracing interpellated gender roles and using them to try and sell their product, which often works (unfortunately).

~I wrote about the role of interpellation in Jack and the Bean Stalk. Below are some detailed examples of interpellation that I found in this particular version of the story:

“Jack goes into town to sell Milky-White to try and get money for he and his mom. He is stopped along the way by a strange old man. The picture of the old man in this story is interesting because the old man is dressed rather uniquely. I think that this shows interpellation because it shows that strange people dress differently from normal people. The illustration provides the reader with a distinction between “strange” and “normal” based solely on appearance. It reaffirms the idea that one can determine who is normal and who isn’t, simply by looking at them.”

~I think that this is a common idea in our society. In the United States , we assert ourselves and are identity at first impression, based solely on our clothing. We have been interpellated to look critically on those who dress strange or different then ourselves and are often interpellated from a young age to be weary of those who “look” different from us. Like I said in the paper, distinctions between strange and normal are made all of the time based on clothing. If I were to dread lock my hair, someone might look at me and think I was perhaps dirty or unprofessional, when my goal is doing so was only to embrace a low maintenance lifestyle. We make assumptions like the previous constantly, based on appearance alone. First impressions, based almost entirely on looks, determine who we do and don’t interact with. We are interpellated to believe that we must dress certain ways for certain occasions. Different outfits are appropriate for different events and not knowing what is appropriate when can prove to be a very big problem in some people’s eyes.

~Below is another part of my Jack and the Bean Stalk paper which highlights an example of interpellation through male and female roles within the text:

            “The depiction of typical male and female roles in this story are almost overwhelming. After Jack climbs the beanstalk, he finds the giants wife, who just returned from picking flowers. He asks her for something to eat and she says that she will make him something to eat, but that they must be fast because her husband gets home soon. The female giant is portrayed as the common “homemaker” type. She is patiently waiting for her husband to get home and is picking flowers to pass the time and she is the one who does all of the cooking for her husband. The wife also seems to be at the mercy of her husband. In the story she invites Jack inside but warns him that her husband likes to eat little boys. Interpellation is shown in the idea that the giant has the control over his wife and her opinion on the welfare of Jack is irrelevant to him. As soon as the giant gets home, he demands dinner and his wife, who has already had it prepared, brings it to him right away. Again, this is reaffirming typical male and female gender roles in that it is the female’s responsibility to wait on her husband. Another good example of interpellation is when the male giant says “wife, bring me my bags of gold, and I will count my money before I take a nap” (11). The female giant seems to act like a servant to her husband; throughout the story he demands things and she brings them for him right away. It is also interesting that the husband is only concerned with eating, sleeping and money, which is a very typical depiction of males.

~ We are interpellated through religion, politics and the school systems.

Kingdom Hearts as a Child-Centered Text

            In the Playstation 2 game Kingdom Hearts , players are introduced to a young boy named Sora who is thrown into a struggle to save not one, but multiple worlds from a mysterious force known as the Heartless. Sora finds himself suddenly wielding a magical weapon called the Keyblade , which just happens to be the only thing that can fight the Heartless, and an artifact that Donald Duck and Goofy have been ordered by Mickey Mouse to find. Sora has a different mission- he is looking for his two best friends, Riku and Kairi , who disappeared when his world was destroyed by the Heartless. Together, Sora , Donald and Goofy venture to different worlds, meet many other Disney characters, and battle the Heartless in hopes of restoring balance to the worlds. However, their quest is much more complicated than saving the world from evil- the line between good and bad becomes blurred as the corrupting power of the Heartless affects Sora’s friends, and Sora himself must learn where his strength lies and decide whether or not to use it. At first, Kingdom Hearts appears to be a light fairy-tale about good fighting evil, but it soon becomes apparent that Sora and childlike characters like Donald and Goofy are dealing with issues not typically found in adult-centered texts, and more importantly, they are doing it without the aid of just, authoritative adults.

            The adults in Kingdom Hearts are a far cry from the knowledgeable, caring, strong individuals typically found in adult-centered texts. The first major group of adults consists of the villains from various Disney movies who are working together with the Heartless to take over their worlds. This group includes such characters as Jafar , Captain Hook and Maleficent, all of which are most likely already infamous to the player for their deeds in their respective films. The game presents them as completely irredeemable- they are evil, corrupt, and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, even if it means dealing with the mysterious Heartless. Of course, one by one their plans backfire and they are either defeated by Sora or betrayed by the Heartless, which is a rather adult-centered way of dealing with bad adults. However, the second major group of adults makes up for this. These characters are the heroes that the villains originally battled- Aladdin, Tarzan and Jack Skellington , for example. While they are on Sora’s side, these characters are still far from all knowing and perfect, and can even act more like children than Sora does. Upon arriving in Halloween Town , for example, Sora , Donald and Goofy are shocked to see that Jack has recruited the Heartless in the annual Halloween festival. Fortunately, they soon learn that Jack doesn’t actually realize how dangerous they are- he just thinks they’re really scary-looking and would be a great addition to the celebration. In addition to these two groups of adults, Kingdom Hearts features adults that appear to be in positions of authority, but in reality have little or no power over children. In the world of The Little Mermaid , King Triton has lost much of his control over Ariel- the scene where he originally destroys all of her treasures becomes much less devastating in the game, where he only destroys an item that is later revealed to be useless anyway. In fact, Triton’s power as an authoritative figure is decreased so much that Ariel and Sora have to save him from Ursula. The game makes brief mention of Sora’s own family, but it is clear that like King Triton, they have very little control over Sora . His mother is heard once at the beginning of the game, where she calls him for dinner, but the same exact scene shows Sora sneaking out of the house through his bedroom window. After that, there is no mention at all of his parents- Sora doesn’t even appear to miss them. Mickey Mouse is the closest thing to a central authority figure the game has because he is the main reason why Donald and Goofy are exploring the worlds, and thus, the reason why Sora is brought along. He also knows much more about the invading Heartless and the Keyblade’s powers than anyone else. However, it is interesting to note that Mickey is more of a childlike character than an adult, due to his being an animal.  

            In addition to Mickey Mouse, Donald and Goofy are also very childlike. Donald still has a short temper and is very annoyed at the idea of the legendary Keyblade Master being a kid. He and Sora do not get along very well, but their arguments are small and childish, and they usually make amends shortly after. Goofy tries hard to be the mediator between the two, but he usually ends up doing what Donald tells him to avoid causing more trouble. Both characters display a large amount of agency late in the game when they are forced to make a difficult decision regarding being with Sora or following Mickey’s orders- Sora loses the Keyblade for a short time, during which Donald and Goofy leave him because they can’t let it out of their sight. However, Goofy soon realizes that Sora is too good a friend to just abandon and has a change of heart. Donald is a bit more stubborn, but sees Goofy’s point and rejoins them. Sora himself also has a huge amount of agency, possibly more than anyone else in the game. His agency is represented by the Keyblade , which is regarded as a symbol of great power in every world he visits. When he loses it, he can only get it back by realizing that its strength comes from his heart. Sora receives the Keyblade by resisting the Heartless when his world is destroyed- it recognizes that he is strong and good-hearted. When he learns of his destiny as the Keyblade Master, he embraces it rather than running from such a huge responsibility, if only because he hopes that it will lead him to his missing friends. One of Sora’s friends, Riku , also displays agency, but it comes at a price- instead of resisting the darkness that destroyed his and Sora’s world, Riku joins it and ends up being possessed by the leader of the Heartless. However, he realizes that he is being used to hurt his friends and fights back. In an attempt to atone for the things he did while working for the villains, Riku offers to help Sora seal off the Heartless, but this act will leave him trapped with the Heartless as a result. Sora is distressed at the thought of being separated again, but Riku insists, and his confidence in Sora allows them to seal away the Heartless.

            Kingdom Hearts still has some elements common to adult-centered texts, one of which is the mostly conservative plot. Sora is trying to restore the norm instead of change it, and the forces trying to cause change and disrupt the balance are the Heartless and the Disney villains. Even so, bringing order back to the worlds is not Sora’s main concern- to him it is just a means of finding his friends and repairing his own world. Sora also learns lessons throughout the game by interacting with the various characters within the Disney worlds. These morals typically connect back to Sora’s search for his friends- for example, Hercules and other competitors in the Olympus Coliseum teach him that true strength comes from friendship, and Tarzan teaches Sora that his friends are always with him if he keeps their thoughts in his heart. The lessons are highly didactic and Sora ultimately accepts them, but at the end of the game, it is clear to the player that he is still given the choice of acknowledging them or not. Finally, there is the question of what the Heartless truly represent. There is no doubt that the Heartless are pure evil- they corrupt everything they touch and bring out the very worst in anyone who deals with them. By looking at the Heartless as an adult- centeric theme, this could be a way of enforcing a common assumption about childhood- that they symbolize “adult” issues that children should not have to deal with. They could also represent the antithesis of an adult in an adult-centered text- they are called “heartless” because they are not capable of being caring, just, or anything that an adult is supposed to be. Then again, the Heartless could also represent a more child-centered view- that children have the ability to resist evil. Sora wields the Keyblade , which is the only weapon that can truly stop the Heartless, and he gains it by resisting the darkness. Meanwhile, Riku , who is a few years older than Sora and therefore less childlike, willingly joins the Heartless. Also, the adults who indulge in the evil perpetrated by the Heartless end up being defeated, or worse, completely swallowed by the darkness. However, the game makes it clear that it is not childlike innocence that allows Sora , Donald and Goofy to effectively fight the Heartless- as a child-centered theme, the Heartless represent a false sense of maturity and power that can only be overcome by a strong sense of right and wrong, friendship, and courageousness, which the trio have gained by working together. Riku also realizes this after being used by the Heartless, and therefore he also gains the ability to fight them.

            While Kingdom Hearts features didactic lessons and a conservative storyline, the focus of the game lies with the childlike characters. Sora has only enlisted himself in the fight against the Heartless because he hopes it will lead him to his friends. The Disney characters he meets throughout his journey act more childlike than he does, and even Mickey Mouse, the central authority figure of the game, is childlike. While there are some adult-centric ideas present in Kingdom Hearts , the game is mostly a child-centered text because the children and childlike characters act with a great amount of agency and deal with things that are typically not associated with common assumptions about childhood, while adult figures are either powerless, bad, or flawed and complicated themselves.

Assumptions of Children’s Literature as Seen in Tumble Tower

            Anne Tyler’s first children’s book, Tumble Tower , fits several classic assumptions about children’s literature while it breaks down others.   The simple story relates an incident of a flood that enables Princess Molly the Messy, a member of a tidy and neat royal family, to rescue her them through her messiness, and ultimately shows the value of her individuality.   With its bright, quirky pictures by Mitra Modarressi , the story’s look and length fit the typical case prototype of a children’s book easily. However, examining Tumble Tower using Perry Nodelman’s findings on typical expectations of children’s literature reveals that the story bucks several norms.  

            The main area where Tyler strays from classic patterns involves the message of the story.   Molly’s messiness ends up being a comfort to her fastidiously clean family when a flood forces them up to her “ Tumble Tower ” ( Tyler 15), seeking a dry refuge.   By the end of tale, Molly’s room is neither condemned nor cleaned; Molly is also never directly praised for her messiness, but the other family members loosen up their own neatness standards by the book’s close.   Nodelman’s compilation of classic expectations for children’s literature reveals that most people feel stories “should teach valuable lessons about life” ( Nodelman 73), yet Tyler ’s message of messiness is hardly valued in our culture.  

Through Tyler ’s text and Modarressi’s artwork, Molly is presented as an able individual because of her untidy ways, a huge difference between herself and the other family members.   In fact, Tyler even suggests that messiness may not only come in handy, but it could also be a means of rescue.   Tyler ’s portrayal of messiness hardly establishes an example of generally “acceptable behavior” ( Nodelman 73), and instead, shows negative behavior “that…children might choose to imitate” ( Nodelman 73).   Clearly Nodelman’s research argues that most people associate positive values and behaviors with children’s literature. Unkempt behavior is certainly not an upheld value in our society, thus Tyler shows a turning-away from the format of a typically didactic child’s book.  

            However, parts of the story do embody typical ideas about children’s literature (though sometimes with a twist).   One such twist relates to the belief that “children are innocent by nature, blissfully naïve and inherently good” ( Nodelman 73).   In Tumble Tower , Molly’s parents and brother refer to her messy behavior in a way that shows their personal disapproval of it, but they never ask her to make a change or clean her room.   Thus, Molly never disobeys her parents because a specific request, which she could obey, is never present.   Furthermore, as the book progresses, each manifestation of Molly’s clutter finds glorification in the eyes of friends and her family.   Molly’s playmate considers the jumble a treasure-trove of riches.   Her old, outgrown clothes on the floor warm her little brother, her dirty dishes and leftovers feed her hungry parents and the books in bed are at arm’s reach for story time (14, 21-24).   In essence, Tyler portrays Molly as innocent and kindhearted, sharing her space and using all she has for good, even though her disorderly ways would typically be naughty behavior.   Tyler spins a web of opposites, showing innocence in a slovenly room.

            Tyler ’s story also fits the mold of a typical children’s book when she plots a tale that “children […] can relate to: [a story] about typical childhood experiences” ( Nodelman 72).   Clearly, a messy room relates almost universally to all children who might enjoy a tale about this quality.   However, Tyler treats messiness much differently than many parents would by showing its benefits, not its repulsiveness.   Also, Nodelman supposes that most adults think of   “ children [as] egocentric…and they aren’t interested in matters outside their own immediate experience” (73), a thought which Tyler follows, too.   Most children posses messiness seemingly inherently and would revel in a book about their way of life.   On the other hand, some children are especially clean and neat and may relate to Molly’s brother or parents, neat-nicks by nature.   Tyler provides a character to identify with, no matter who the young reader is.  

            Tumble Tower represents an interesting blend of standard formats and counter-culture messages.   Though the story is didactic, its message teaches the individuality of personality in children.   By the book’s close, the parents and uptight brother learn from Molly’s example and laid-back attitude, a quality of a child-centered text, used to show Molly’s agency.   The book is simple, and it seems to fit a typical-case prototype’s mold at first glance.   However, though the point Tyler communicates is hidden amidst silliness, the plotline ultimately retains its own individuality in the realm of children’s literature and sets the story apart from common assumptions about children’s literature.      

           

A Closer Look into “Mary Poppins ”

            The classic Disney movie “Mary Poppins ” is a wonderful story of how a stereotypical, upper class family in London has their world turned upside down by their new nanny.   Even though the movie is one of the most popular Disney films it shows some underlying examples of interpellation.   There are also some issues of agency that display the intricate way that Mary Poppins changes the degree of agency in the household.

            When watching the film and trying to figure out who has agency over whom it seemed difficult because of the fact that there are several characters that are involved.   When the film begins everything seems to be typical when it comes to agency.   Mr. Banks is the man of the house and tells everyone what to do and everyone in return obeys him.   The first song Mr. Banks sings is about how proud he was of how orderly his life was.   He felt that it was his duty to give commands and do everything in the exact order that they were supposed to be done in a stereotypical sense.   It seemed that all was in order and that order was given by Mr. Banks alone.   The minute that Mary Poppins comes into their door the agency is taken away from Mr. Banks immediately.   Even though he has no idea that he no longer has power because of the fact that Mary Poppins is wise enough to know that if she lets him think that he tells her what to do and that he comes up with all of the ideas then he will never know.   This does create a slight fight for power between Mr. Banks and Mary Poppins because Mary always has to stay one step ahead of Mr. Banks and he is always a very close step behind her.   When the dynamics of the household become so happy and seemingly perfect Mr. Banks is angry because he can almost feel himself losing his power which is what causes him to become so bossy.   When things involve Jane and Michael they are not directly given any agency but seems to be able to take some of the agency away in certain circumstances.   Anytime they seemed to disobey an adult it was either a misunderstanding or they were quickly turned around.   The only obvious time that agency was displayed by the children was when Michael was at the bank and he was adamant that his money go to feeding the birds instead of in the bank.   When Mary, Bert and the children jumped into the picture they were able to go out on their own for awhile without supervision but that would be the person with the agency allowing them to have a little leeway.   Mary gave them chances to be their own judge but she was always there to pull them back and take over when things were out of hand.   She allowed agency to be taken when there was a lesson to be taught in letting them go.   After Mary has accomplished what she came to do, which would be to show the family how to be a family and how to have fun and take the time they have and cherish it, she allowed the agency to be taken back by Mr. Banks.   It was very interesting to see how manipulative Mary could be when dealing with people and getting her way; it was apparent that she was an expert at stealing agency from others.  

            This film drips with interpellation even though it is not always obvious.   The first example that comes up is the fact that Mr. Banks has the final say in everything and that is played out as if it should be that way.   I found it ironic that the spunk Mrs. Banks had when Mr. Banks was not around was astounding but that changed as soon as he enters the picture.   She is introduced in the film as a women’s rights activist and how she protests all the time and is incredibly active in things that could easily get her arrested; when Mr. Banks is home she is extremely submissive.   For example when she is leaving the house to go to a protest Mr. Banks runs into her at the door and tells her to sit down and start taking notes and immediately she then replies “yes dear” with a smile and obeys.   Though there may be some sarcasm meant by the writers of the film it still says to society that it is okay to have your own opinions as a women but when it comes to her husband she better be obedient and believe what he says.   Mrs. Banks opinions are totally contradictory to things that Mr. Banks says but when she talks to him she agrees with everything he says.   Something else that was interesting is that Mary Poppins is continuously viewed as being “practically perfect in every way” which makes people believe that she is the ideal women.   Her description is rosy cheeks, never cross or cheery disposition, she is thin, and this is what most would consider very ladylike as well; this all points to what women are continuously told to be.   When Mary, Bert and the children are in the painting and they get on Merry-go-round horses Mary rode the lavender one with a smug ladylike look on its face, Jane rode the pink one with long eyelashes, Michael rode the blue one with slit eyes and Bert rode the orange one.   Even though this was a small detail of the movie it still displays what girls and boys should be like and what colors they should wear.   When the children went to the bank with their father the whole trip was centered on Michael, even though Jane went along he was the one that was supposed to invest his money and see what his dad does.   The thought of Jane investing her money in the bank was never even thought of or even the idea that she had any money.   Men are supposed to take care of all the money and be the ones that earn it and that is what the whole bank trip reinforced.   Michael always seems to be the one taking the action, in the end when they go fly a kite Michael is the one flying it with his father and Jane and Mrs. Banks are in the background watching.   And when the children run from the bank and Bert grabs Jane she is the one that’s helpless and Michael is trying to get him off.   The film interpellates us to think that the men are supposed to be the ones acting on their feelings and saving people and even thinking.   The only dominant role that a women plays in the film are the cook, maid and nanny; Mary Poppins is a controversial character because of her ability to do as she pleases even around men but she still plays right into the stereotype that the male should be in the dominant seat. The film does seem to have a hint of sarcasm about the role of the women as stated earlier but in the end it seems to be just a bit of humor that does not disprove the interpellation.  

            In the end everything is “as is should be” says Mary Poppins as she leaves.   Apparently “as it should be” means that the father is back in a domineering role although he is a bit more relaxed and the mother is still beneath him.   Things seem to all fall into the stereotypical place that society likes for them to be in both in terms of agency and interpellation.   It seems as if in this case interpellation coincides with agency which seems to put the happy ending to the movie.

In Disney and Pixar’s A Bug’s Life , there are many characters that attempt to gain agency by resisting interpellation—in both its ideological and repressive forms.   The movie is about a colony of ants that spends most of its time gathering grain for the grasshoppers, who intimidate and frighten them into doing it.   It leaves the ants little time to gather food for themselves before the rainy season begins, but it is a part of their culture, and so they continue to repeat the tradition year after year.   In the beginning of the movie, the ants are preparing their yearly offering when it is ruined by Flik , an ant in the colony.   The grasshoppers are very angry and demand that they gather twice the amount of food before the last leaf falls.   Flik decides to travel to the “city” to find “warrior” bugs to help fight off the grasshoppers.   He finds what he thinks are warrior bugs, but are actually circus bugs, who in turn think that Flik is a talent scout.   They travel back with him to the colony, impress everyone, and then discover their real purpose for being there.   They end up staying however, and the ants come up with a plan to keep away the grasshoppers—they make a bird to scare them.   They all work together, but in the end their plan is foiled.   Flik , however, stands up for the colony, the grasshoppers are scared away, and the head grasshopper, Hopper, gets eaten by a bird.   In the end the ants no longer have to gather food for the grasshoppers—only themselves.  

The first character I wanted to talk about that demonstrates resistance of interpellation is Flik .   Flik is like the black sheep of the ants, but only because he’s trying to help out but ends up making things worse.   The main problem is that through trying to make things better for the colony, he brings in new ideas that the colony is not willing to accept.   They are so stuck in their old ways/traditions, that anything new seems threatening or bad.   For example, at the beginning of the movie, Flik comes up with an invention that will cut down grain stalks, so that it’s easier to gather the grain, instead of having to crawl up the stalk and get each grain piece by piece.   The problem is, the invention isn’t perfect at first and almost injures Princess Atta .   One of Atta’s advisors gets angry with Flik and says to him, “. . . You wanna help us build this thing, then get rid of that machine, get back in line, and pick grain like everyone else!”   The advisor is essentially telling Flik that he needs to fit in with the rest of the colony—be interpellated —in order to help the colony.   He is almost repressively interpellated , in that the other ants try to force him to act like everyone else.   Another advisor (a bit older than the first) even says, “We’ve harvested the same way since I was a pupae .”   This provides the viewer with the information that almost every ant but Flik is dedicated to preserving their culture and traditions—everyone else is ideologically interpellated —they all want to work hard just like they feel they are supposed to.   An example of this is while the ants are in line to deposit their grains onto the pile; a leaf falls on the path of the line, and the ant it falls in front of freaks out.   All of the other ants know so firmly what is expected of them that when anything different is expected, they can’t handle it—they are interpellated to do exactly as every other ant does .   When that is impossible, they flip out.  

Flik resists interpellation, which also provides him with agency.   There are several examples of this throughout the movie, one of which is the way that he stands up to Hopper.   In the beginning of the movie, he tells Hopper to leave Dot (Princess Atta’s sister) alone, and then at the end of the movie he gets beaten up by Hopper because he admits that the making of the bird was his idea.   He tells Hopper that ants aren’t meant to serve grasshoppers and are a lot stronger because they are so numerous.   In this way, Flik gains agency because he acts on behalf of himself and admits that he resisted interpellation purposefully.

Another example of Flik gaining agency is when he left the colony.   He thinks that he’s leaving of his own will, but in actuality the princess and her counsel were going to probably kick him out, due to his resistance of interpellation.   The colony did not like that someone tried to be different than what was expected of them, and were willing to punish Flik because of it—another example of how their interpellation is repressive.   Flik , however, decides to go off on his own to try (again) to help his colony.   He acts as a free agent in that sense—it was his idea to leave, although he did have to get permission.

Another resister of interpellation is the ladybug.   The ladybug is actually a male, but is constantly being hit on by males and assumed to be den mother to the Blueberries (Dot’s scout group).   He usually gets pretty angry when this happens, and tries to inform the other bugs that he is a male and being a ladybug does not necessarily make him a lady.   In the end, however, he becomes more feminine, due to his affiliation with the Blueberries.   In contrast is Heimlich, the caterpillar who desperately wants to fit in with his species by growing wings and becoming a butterfly.   He mentions this several times during the movie, and finally at the end we see him fall out of his cocoon with teeny wings on his back, which, because he is so fat, can’t help him to fly.   However, he is incredibly happy because as a caterpillar, he wanted so badly to go through the same transformation that other caterpillars go through—due to ideological interpellation.   In this way, Heimlich is a foil for the ladybug—they represent opposing desires and goals.

Additionally, Dot is a marked contrast to her sister, Atta .   Dot is younger and likes Flik because he is different, while Atta is older and more worrisome, and she doesn’t like Flik because he makes her look bad.   As leader of the colony, everything is Atta’s responsibility, including things that go wrong (Hopper informs her of this).   Dot is very rebellious and attempts to gain agency in a few ways, the first of which is trying to use her wings to fly before they were fully grown.   She knows that she’s not supposed to, but she tries anyways because she is a free-spirit.   However, her desire to fly could also be attributed to interpellation—she wants to be able to do what everyone else is able to.   But Dot also demonstrates agency by leading the Blueberries into hiding from the grasshoppers when they come to collect their grain at the end of the season.   She goes on her own to find Flik to bring him back and help the rest of the colony—and this time she is able to fly.   Her ability to fly and the complete growth of her wings can be interpreted as a symbol of her independence and power.   When she finds Flik , she gives him a rock (to represent a seed) to remind him of what he told her in the beginning of the movie: she may be just a small seed, but she will one day grow into a big, strong tree and be able to do anything.   So Dot, the little girl, teaches Flik , the young man, a lesson, which helps her to gain agency.  

In contrast is Princess Atta , who tries throughout the movie to follow successfully in her mother’s footsteps.   Atta is ideologically interpellated to believe that she must be infallible in order to govern the colony.   She seems very rule-oriented and unable to function unless she knows what it is she is expected to do.   She seems to be unable to simply observe a situation and come up with an answer—she has to know what was done in the past, what her mother did, etc.   In this way, Princess Atta is deeply interpellated ; she can’t even think outside of what is expected of her.   However, by the end of the movie, Atta gains agency, in that she is crowned as Queen by her mother, who apparently decides that she is ready.   Atta also resists interpellation—she saves Flik by grabbing him and flying off with him.   He tells her to fly away from the ant hill while it is raining (which is very dangerous for the ants), and she responds that the ant hill is the other way.   It would be in her nature to return to the ant hill in a time of danger, but she resists and listens to Flik , who leads her and Hopper (who is following them) to a bird’s nest, and the bird eats Hopper.  

Some of the characters in the movie resisted interpellation in a healthy way, and some were interpellated in a healthy way, but some were also interpellated in an unhealthy way.   Heimlich’s following was healthy because it made him very happy to become a butterfly; Dot, Atta , and Flik were all happier after representing their individualism and gaining agency; and the colony were interpellated to such an extent that they could not function if anything changed.   In the end, however, everyone recognized that change was good, because everyone started using Flik’s invention and relaxing a bit more—they had no more grasshoppers to gather for, only themselves, and they had plenty of time, as Flik’s invention sped up the process.

Meta-textual sources call attention to themselves as a created thing by being self-referential, breaking the fourth wall or defamiliarizing their audience.   This causes the source, whether it is television, movies or books to recognize itself as what it is, and for the audience to also realize that they are indeed only an audience and are not actually a part of what they are witnessing.   Meta-textual sources do not offer the experience in which one gets lost in what they are watching or reading, instead it causes the audience to do the opposite and remember exactly what it is that they are doing.   This paper will reflect some of these meta-textual ideas by giving examples of ways these ideas can be portrayed.

            When watching Full House as a kid I felt as if I was right there on stage with DJ, Stephanie and Michelle.   I loved the close nit family that they shared and when watching it nearly every night on television after school, I began to feel a part of it as well.   Those girls were my sisters and the experiences they went through seemed to always be exactly what I was feeling as well.   Sitting in the middle of my living room floor I would be completely engrossed in what was happening on TV that I would not even remember where I actually was.   The final episode was tragic because it seemed like my family was leaving me forever; however, that alone was not enough but the editor of the series probably made the biggest mistake it ever could.   Once the episode was over, without any commercial interruptions, the cast lined up across the kitchen floor and took a bow and I heard the roar of an audience.   The camera paneled up, through the fourth wall of the set and showed me what I never knew had existed, because there, giving a standing ovation, were tons of fans of the show watching as the cast took their final bow.   Not once in any episode had I ever wondered why I had never seen that fourth wall of the kitchen, bedroom, living room or garage, instead it seemed like I was actually there in the midst of it all with the fourth wall behind me.   Finding out that Full House was actually a television show and that Michelle, Stephanie and DJ were all actors and were not related to each other or me in any way completely broke my heart, and I still have not forgotten that feeling to this day.   Breaking the fourth wall completely ruins the feeling of getting lost in the episode, and takes away all closeness the audience ever shared with the cast.

            In the movie Monty-Python and the Holy Grail, the cast chooses to act without the use of many props, or the ones that you would typically expect, and also the plot and scene location is oddly chosen; yet, the movie gives off the appearance that all of this is taking place during medieval times.   The main character is acting as if he is the King, and goes throughout the countryside, not on horseback but followed by his sidekick with clinking coconuts, claiming that he needs to find the Holy Grail.   Watching throughout the entire movie the audience is thinking that they have been taken back in time, until the very end when cop cars pull up to the actors, get out and start arresting them.   The director closes the scene and all of the extra characters in the background take a knee and rest while the cops are asking what is going on.   The main character claims that they are just filming a movie, however the cops still shut down their attempts anyway.   This is a prime example of a movie being self-referential because it dedicated an entire scene to show the audience that they are not back in medieval times, but are actually in the rural countryside of modern day Europe .  

            The first scary movie that I ever saw was Scream when I was about eleven years old.   I had never been more terrified in my life, and the first time I saw little through cracked fingers over my face.   But as I continued to watch it, literally over ten times, and as the sequels came out they became my favorite and always promised a good scare.   Then during the first few years of high school, stupid comedies began to be the biggest blockbuster hits and with these came the release of Scary Movie.   At first it did not seem appealing to me, but eventually I was dragged by one of my friends and this comedy brought about an entire new meaning to my favorite scary movie series.   Seeing that goofy looking scream mask with the tongue sticking out, and watching the horrible acting of a girl running from the killer completely defamiliarized me to the movies that I loved most.   After seeing this new series of “scary movies” I got together with a group of friends to actually watch the real Scream series, and we could barely make it through the first half of the first movie before we were laughing our heads off.   I wish I had never seen those movies because then I would still be able to sit down and watch them and get a good scare every now and then.

            In conclusion, I feel as though meta-textual texts are an entity of their own and are capable of providing entertainment if that is what the audience is in the mood for; however, if the audience is not expecting it and it is not planned properly, as I feel in the Full House situation, it can ruin the audience’s experience and their connection that they once shared with the show.   If one knows that what they are going to be seeing is funny, fictional and is established in order to provide them with a good laugh, then I feel that meta-textual sources are capable of providing great entertainment for the people that experience it.

            In Shel Silverstein’s picture book, The Giving Tree , many of Nodelman’s common assumptions are reinforced and challenged throughout.   The book does have an emotionally powerful story that shows a tree sacrificing itself over the years to make the boy happy. In many ways the tree is like the boys mother, who would sacrifice anything for their child just to bring them happiness.   The tree having human qualities, such as speech and the ability to feel emotions, gives the book a fantasy aspect which is one of the common assumptions found by Nodelman .   This factor does make the book more appealing to children by appealing to the imagination but uses this to bring about more serious themes which many wouldn’t assume to be in a children’s book.

            The tree being represented as a mother figure is used to challenge many of the common assumptions.   The tree starts out loving the boy for no apparent reason besides he is there like a mother would love a newborn baby. As a child the boy plays all the time with the tree and as he grows up he begins to only come to the tree when he wants something.   The tree acts as an old woman being visited by her son in a retirement home, asking the boy to spend time with it by climbing up the trunk and swinging from the vines, only to have him wanting material objects.   Instead of money and the old family house, the boy takes the trees precious apples and the majority of the trees body to build a house and a boat.   The ending is bittersweet for the tree which gets what it wanted all along, to just be with the boy, but the tree has been reduced to an old stump because of him.   The tree is like an old woman who sacrificed her medication money for their son and is dying because of it, but still feels happiness to have that same son come and visit them.   Such an ending does go against the common assumption of having a happy ending, because the mother figure in the story is taken advantage of and the son of the story doesn’t learn a lesson at the end which leaves the reader with an ambiguous ending.

            The ambiguous ending does challenge the assumption of teaching valuable lessons about life in a fun way.   It is true that the valuable lesson in this book could be interpreted as to never take advantage of a mothers love, but there is nothing funny about the mother figure in the book being used up at the end and the so called “boy” as an old man near death. It could be seen that the old man came to the tree to die; he says that he needs “just a quiet place to sit and rest.   I am very tired.”   The boys’ tiredness would probably not be seen as being near death in most children’s minds, but parents should notice the subtleties.   The image of the only human character in the book being shown right before death is definitely not a typical happily ever after ending.  

            The two characters in The Giving Tree rely on each for different things.   The Tree relies on the boy for his happiness and company, while the Boy relies on the Tree for the different objects it can provide him.   The two are on common grounds at the end when the only thing the Tree can offer the boy is a seat and its company, and all the boy wants is a place to sit.   But throughout the story the Boy and the Tree aren’t the most positive of role models which challenges one of the common assumptions about children’s literature.   The Boy doesn’t realize that he is hurting the Tree and cares only about himself, asking it to sacrifice itself for his own good.   The Boy does love the tree, but smiles while carving his name into the tree which would hurt a living emotional creature such as the tree.   The trees desperation for love seems rather pathetic as it willing gives up its body to him, also the fact that everything it gives up was its own idea and not the Boys adds to her desperation.   A positive role model would be confident and show dignity, which are two qualities that neither of these characters posses.

            At the start of the story when the Boy is actually a boy, he seems like more of a role model possessing innocent qualities much like the children reading the book would contain.   As the story the progresses the boy’s age drastically changes from child to teenager to adult to elder to a frail dying old man.   Such a variety of ages couldn’t possibly be related to by a child of any age and thus goes against the common assumption that children only like books they can relate to.   The child innocence the boy possessed is the only stage of the Boys life any child could truly understand.   The desires for a wife and a home are things which children never desire.    But they are aware of these things from interacting with the adults in their life, just not able to fully comprehend the need for such grown up things. A child could most likely understand the Tree and its need to make the Boy happy since many children would do anything to make their parents happy.

            One of the most disturbing ways that the Tree tries to make the boy happy is when it tells him to cut it down so he can make a boat out of it.    This leaves the tree as nothing more but a stump, which is what is left of a tree after it was chopped down and killed.   But the tree remains alive and says how it isn’t really happy when in the past it has been happy to sacrifice itself for the Boy.   This makes the image of the Boy carrying away the tree seem frightening because its true that the branches and the apples could be seen as part of its body but taking away its trunk seems like taking away its whole body, leaving its soul in the stump.   This challenges the common assumption that frightening images can’t be shown in children’s stories.   It’s true that the cutting down of the tree is not nearly as grotesque as cutting an actual person in half, but the tree is a character in the book with emotional resonance with the reader.   So, cutting the tree down is the emotional equivalent of cutting a character in half and could be a frightening image to many children.   

            In Shel Silverstein’s picture book, The Giving Tree , many of Nodelman’s common assumptions are reinforced and challenged throughout.   The book does challenge more than reinforce many of Nodelman’s listed common assumption or typical case prototypes.   The story starts out more accustomed to children’s common assumptions, but drifts into more of an emotion heavy story that challenges many of the prototypes in order to get the theme across.   The story maintains its status as a children’s book because of the human qualities associated with the tree and the pictures, even though they are not bright.   The theme is evident in the story and should be realized by most children after multiple readings and talks with their parents.

            When I was little, there was no public library where I lived. A service was started when I was five years old called The Bookmobile that would come to our county every three weeks. It would park at specific sights and people could come and check out books or read magazines. To this day, I vividly remember the first book I ever checked out—Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham . I was absolutely fascinated by the book. I remember how shiny and new it was compared to the Bible story books and fairy tale books that I had, and how it was filled with wild and wacky looking creatures. I read it over and over and tried my best to see how fast and far I could read the different sections without taking a breath. If I could read the last section starting with, “Say! I like green eggs and ham!” all the way to the end where it said “Thank you Sam-I-Am” (59-62) without taking a breath, I considered it a victory worthy of the title “World Rhyme Reading Without Taking a Breath Distance Champ.”

            Of course at that time I wasn’t concerned with whether anyone thought this was an appropriate book for children, I just knew that I liked reading it. However, if you were searching for a book that reinforced the typical case prototype which Perry Nodelman wrote about, then this book could be the poster child for this type of book. For example, one of the assumptions Nodelman points out is the belief that children’s books should have simple texts. In this book, if you count the hyphenated name of the character Sam-I-Am, there are only two words in the entire book that are larger than five letters long. The other word is anywhere, which like Sam-I-Am, can be separated into words of less than five letters. It’s almost as if the goal from the start was, “Let me see if I can write a book for kids with words no bigger than five letters so I know they can understand and read it. I’ll make an exception for anywhere because it stresses the importance of the idea of eating what we’re given, and it can be broken down into words a child can understand.”

            Not only the words are simple, but the illustrations are simple, being a few steps above a line drawing. There are only six different colors used in the entire book, which makes it visually simple—almost like a children’s carton of the 1950’s and 60’s, which is when the book was written. The creatures are extremely imaginative, but even though they are fantastic, they are not in any way threatening, for threatening and scary creatures are a no-no in the typical case prototype.  

The very nature of the rhyming, as in, “I would not, could not, in a box. I could not, would not, with a fox.” (34), is also indicative of the assumption that is sometimes made that children’s poetry should rhyme or they will not understand or enjoy it. It also reinforces the assumptions that children have short attention spans and learning must be made fun. For instance, while the book itself is fairly long for a picture book, most of the pages contain little text. Also the rhyming, rhythmic nature of the words encourages young readers to make a game of the rhymes, just as I did as a child. The premise is that this will keep the children from being bored and will “trick” them into continuing to read even when the pages contain more text.  

            Green Eggs and Ham also supports the contention that books should teach a lesson or moral. While it is not didactic to the point that it specifically says, “Eat whatever your parents tell you to eat or whatever they give you,” that lesson is made perfectly clear when the unnamed main character eats the green eggs and ham and is rewarded by having something new that is good to eat. This lesson is also not given as a directive that should be obeyed without question. Rather the lesson is you shouldn’t be stubborn. You should be reasonable—“Try them! And you may (like them).” (53) I think this aspect of the book, despite the simple words and pictures, makes the book very adult centered. It is also very adult centered in that the book has a happy ending. In the beginning of the book, the unnamed character very specifically states, “I do not like that Sam-I-Am” ( 9 ) and “I do not like green eggs and ham.” However, by the end of the book he has tried them and discovered that green eggs and ham “are so good, so good, you see!”, and he and Sam-I-Am are now friends. This friendship is evidenced by a change in attitude and body language, and most obviously by his putting his arm around Sam-I-Am at the end of the book (62).

It does deviate, however, from the traditional child and adult roles in some ways. One way it does this is in the characteristics of the two main characters. Although the smaller, child-sized character of Sam-I-Am keeps asking “Would you…?” much like a child tends to ask “Why?,” he is obviously in the role of the nagging adult who keeps trying to get the larger, newspaper reading character to eat the green eggs and ham. The larger character is also childlike because of his very stubbornness, which in the assumptions Nodelman wrote about could be considered the opposite of maturity and adulthood. It is possible this role reversal was done as a devise to stress how unreasonable it is to act in this way. Being stubborn and unreasonable is the opposite of how an adult would act, so therefore this type of behavior is shown to be even more undesirable and incorrect and children should strive to behave like Sam-I-Am.

While this book is in most ways a typical case prototype, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Every child is different, with different reading levels, interests, and levels of maturity. To say that only one style of book is good for children and should be read by children is to limit them and possibly foster bad connotations with reading. I know that this is not what Nodelman is advocating; rather he is attempting to point out that there is a lack of logic and consistency in these assumptions. I loved this book as a child and still love it now. Green Eggs and Ham gave me an opportunity to play with and enjoy reading at a level I was comfortable with at that time. It also encouraged me to try and make up my own rhymes and fantastic creatures.   There is a very important place for this type of children’s book, just as there is an important place for books which challenge children and make them think about sometimes difficult subjects. I know that I loved this book as a child and I still love it now. All of my boys loved it and my ten year old still takes it out sometimes just to have the fun of reading, listening, or playing with the rhymes. I’m sure they will probably read it to their children one day, but I know I’m still the “World Rhyme Reading Without Taking a Breath Distance Champ,” –at least in my family.

         Of all the books we will read in class this semester, perhaps none challenge the typical case prototype quite like The Bad Beginning from Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.  It practically spits in the face of nearly all common assumptions what children’s books and childhood in general should be.   Many, certainly most, children’s books are based upon at least some of the notions of childhood that we’ve discussed: children’s books should be colorful, simple, and cheery to keep the attention of the simple-minded, easily distracted child.  They should not tell of death, violence, or evil, nor should they present scary or threatening situations because children do not really understand what “evil” is, and they may try to imitate the bad behavior which they encounter.  Kids need to have good examples set for them so that they will grow into good, clear-thinking adults, and they need to have these lessons taught to them in a fun way because children, as a rule, don’t like to learn or be taught. But the Lemony Snicket books clearly do not hold the listed assumptions as truth, instead presenting the strong, smart Baudelaire children to prove each generalization false.  Right from the first line – “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” – we know that this is not your typical children’s book.  It opens with a death, features the children in uncomfortable and miserable situations, and describes only darkness and pain.  In a more traditional children’s book, few, if any, of these events would take place, and if they did occur then it would be made clear that there is an overwhelming goodness that will eventually provide for a happy ending.          The characters are not what one would expect either.  Violet is a fourteen-year-old inventor, Klaus is twelve and a brilliant reader, and even the infant Sunny is very bright but has trouble saying what she means with only baby-talk.  Adult characters are either evil geniuses or bumbling fools who refuse to take the orphans seriously.  The Baudelaire orphans cannot turn to a trusted adult for help in their hardships; they must rely on their own intellect and cunning to save themselves .  Indeed, it is the adults that they are most often fighting against.  This is also quite uncommon.  Usually, grown-ups are there to help and guide the children; it is still quite controversial for an adult to be portrayed in such a negative light.  Furthermore, children are conventionally shown to need help and guidance, but here the Baudelaires prove themselves to be remarkably self-sufficient.  The children are intelligent, eager to learn, and able to think about and react to the situation at hand.        Another relatively uncommon feature of this book is that it is not didactic in any traditional sense.  The adults in the story are certainly not role models, and they do not display behavior that a parent would wish their child to imitate.  There is no moral, no happy ending, and no clear “good path” to take.  The children succeed because they are different from the adults, not because they have been assimilated into miniature versions of them.  Typically this sort of writing makes some parents nervous that their children will learn to be rebellious, but really the author is depicting these children’s mental autonomy and ability to make their own decisions and forge their own path.        Because it is so vastly different from the typical case prototype of a children’s book, The Bad Beginning helps the reader to question some of the common assumptions about children, mainly that they are simple-minded and cannot understand complex situations.  This is most readily shown when Mr. Poe comes to the shore to tell the Baudelaire children that their parents have died: “‘Your parents,’ Mr. Poe said, ‘have perished in a terrible fire…‘Perished’ means ‘killed.’”  Here we have these brilliant children faced with the horrible death of their parents, and all Mr. Poe can think is that he might be using words that are too big for them.  “‘We know what the word ‘perished’ means,’ Klaus said crossly.”  The children are fully aware of what is happening to them; furthermore they realize that Mr. Poe is being condescending, and they don’t appreciate his looking down on them.          But this is what the children are used to dealing with.  In fact, they are unsure of how to act around the friendly Justice Strauss because they “were not used to kindness from adults, and weren’t sure if they were expected to do anything back.”  Far from being as “childish” as the adults seem to think, the Baudelaire orphans work themselves out of situations that seem way beyond their control, using their wits and superior intellect to rescue each other time and time again from the evil plans of Count Olaf. By challenging the common assumptions about what a children’s book should be and what childhood should be , The Bad Beginning proves itself to be a very progressive text.  It distances itself from the conventional cheery brightness of so many “fluffy” books and actually acknowledges that children aren’t always happy and playful.  Much of children’s literature seems to overlook the fact that kids can hurt and feel pain; the Lemony Snicket books seem to revel in it.  But rather than being the simple creatures that we are used to seeing in so many children’s books, the Baudelaires are fighters and not easily defeated.  And rather than struggling against a dragon or monster, they fight against the adults who try to take advantage of them. The Bad Beginning goes counter to every traditional assumption listed in the beginning of this paper.  It’s dark, dreary, child-centered, and full of dangerous adults – everything that many people think a children’s book should avoid.   And yet, the Series of Unfortunate Events has become one of the most popular and highly-regarded series around.  By producing a body of work so fresh and different, Lemony Snicket has created a world that draws readers in and provides a much broader look at childhood and the children’s book than stories such as The Littlest Elf ™ could ever hope to do .

            “Boy Meets World” episode 1-6 Boys II Mensa , is didactic in the sense that we learn a lesson from the experiences and mistakes of young Cory Matthews. From the opening scene through the end of the show the viewer witnesses Cory’s attempts to please and impress the adults in his life. His admiration of grown-ups, along with his character’s portrayal of the stereotypical “imperfect child,” makes this a very adult-centered text.

The first character displayed in the opening scene is that of Cory’s intelligent teacher, Mr. Feeney. He is passing out book reports, showing his superiority by dressing in a suit and standing tall, requiring the sitting students, whose papers he just evaluated, to look up to him. The viewer then sees Cory putting on a clown nose and making silly faces. His behavior is quite a contradiction to the composed and dignified teacher in the scene, leaving the audience with an impression that adults are more perfect than children. Mr. Feeney does not punish Cory for misbehaving in class, but instead, in a disappointed tone, says, “Mr. Matthews,” which demonstrates his respect for the child and reminds Cory of his adult presence. This presence is intended to correct the child’s fallacy and get him back on track. The “track” is a pathway to a more perfect world, the adult world.

As Mr. Feeney continues to pass out the book reports he congratulates a student, named Rick, for his efforts. He then returns Cory’s paper, saying that the report was not one of his better efforts. This causes a sudden change in Cory’s expression. He is no longer smiling and appears confused. Cory glances at Rick’s paper and discovers that they both received the same grade. Still wearing the clown nose, Cory tells Mr. Feeney, “Hey this isn’t fair. Rick and I both got C’s. How come you tell him he did good work and you tell me it wasn’t one of my better efforts?” With this statement the child is desperately seeking the adult’s approval and praise. He appears frantic and upset that his teacher isn’t satisfied with him, which gives the adult the power role in the story line. Mr. Feeney, who unlike Cory, is very collected in his appearance, thoughts, and behavior informs Cory that Rick worked hard for his C and Mr. Feeney respects him for it. The teacher then looks down at Cory still wearing his large red foam nose and suggests that he not waste his time being the class clown. Cory’s concern with Mr. Feeney’s opinion of him will later cause the child to do anything, even misbehave, in attempt to impress the adults in his life.

In this episode Shawn, Cory’s best friend, finds an IQ test in the trashcan after both boys finish their detention sentence. Then, a janitor walks by the misbehaving boys, bringing an adult presence to the scene which symbolically reminds the boys that they are “doing wrong.” When Shaun sees the adult, he hides the paper behind his back and smiles in attempt to depict “the innocent child.” As though reciting what an adult had once told him, Cory objects to the idea of reading answers to a test that he will soon be taking. He then contradicts himself, by looking at the test, because he wants Mr. Feeney to think that he is a genius. He knows the “right thing” to do, but demonstrates his stereotypical inability to make a wise decision, probably because the choice was not assisted by an adult.

            The scene then changes to Cory’s home. His mom and younger sister, Morgan, are discussing when Morgan can get a Halloween costume. The mom tells Morgan that she is very busy with work but that Eric, the oldest son, will take her shopping. Eric enters the room and asks Morgan, “Want to learn how to be a big girl?” Morgan with great excitement answers, “Yeah!” This sends the message to the children viewing the show that being a “big girl” or grown-up is more desirable than being a child. Eric responds to her excitement by saying, “Because big girls know how to take out the trash so their brothers don’t have to.” Morgan knows better than to fall for this, but the scene exemplifies interpellation in the sense that Eric has been given a typical male job. Morgan becomes impatient and again announces her desire for a Halloween costume. Eric agrees to help but can not do it unassisted. He still needs his mom to take them to the store and his dad, when he gets off from work, to then pick them up.

Morgan returns home with a costume of a Zombie. Because of her interpellations of what little girls should be, Morgan’s mother is somewhat upset that she didn’t choose a princess costume. She looks at Eric, giving blame to her older son, and announces that she wanted Morgan to pick out her own costume. This is giving the child agency and allowing her to express and expand her own imagination. Later in the episode the mother is asked why her daughter’s clothes do not match. She explains that Morgan picks out her own clothes because they like to give her freedom of expression. The question contains illocutionary intent that if an adult had picked out Morgan’s wardrobe then it would be considered more perfect than the child’s attempt. This is another example of interpellation, because whoever decided clothes have to match or what should be considered a match? With Morgan’s costume, the parents are upset that Eric influenced Morgan, though it is never proven that she did not choose the zombie costume herself. It is through the parents’ and our own gender interpellations that we assume that Morgan, if left alone to decide, would have chosen a princess costume, the more typical “girl-costume.” Morgan then announces that she choose the costume because, “The undead are cool.” The audience assumes this is the child parroting what her older brother said in the store showing an inability to create her own ideas, but it is quite possible that she is expressing an early rebellion of social interpellations. Though the parents do not seem to approve of the child having a scary costume, the Dad says, “ Oooh nice hanging eyeball,” while smiling and playing with her. It seems as though they are trying to protect her from the messages of disappointment that they are sending to their older son Eric. The director, in this scene, displays an agreement with the common assumption that children are innocent and need to be protected.

            We then return to Cory’s school, the results from the IQ test have been determined and Cory is, by score, a genius. Mr. Feeney congratulates him verbally but appears doubtful through his facial expressions. Cory is worried that Mr. Feeney knows he cheated and that he will tell his parents. He announces that he does not like lying to his parents. Shawn attempts to reduce Cory’s fear and convince him that they are both “innocent victims.” He concludes that if adults had not have given them detention, then they never would have found the test and everything following that moment would not have occurred. However, they fail to realize that it was their initial mistake that caused the adult to give the detention sentence. Following “We’re innocent victims,” Cory exclaims, “It’s good to be a kid.” Cory is not expected to be perfect. He knows that adults assume that he is fallible and will love and take care of him despite his mistakes.

            The bell then rings and Mr. Feeney announces that he wants to talk to Cory. The student looks nervous and gets out of his seat slowly, as though he is about to meet his death. This is an example of how an adult’s opinion is so highly valued to the child. Cory looks as though he is going to be physically hurt, though he knows Mr. Feeney is only going to talk to him about his high IQ score. He asks Shawn to tell his mom that “He went out like a man.” Cory, through interpellation, considers men as strong and brave in tough or violent situations. This quote also reinforces his admiration of adults because he is associating Mr. Feeney’s poor opinion of him with dying. Cory’s final request before dying is to insure that his mother (again an adult figure) has a positive perception of him.

            Mr. Feeney sits down with Cory and asks if there is anything he wants to share. He explains that Cory will be transferred to an advanced school where the school is committed to giving children all that they deserve. Mr. Feeney then says, “I think you deserve everything you are going to get .” He stresses the word “get” to add an empowering tone and ensure that Cory realizes that the child’s secret is known. Cory is aware that his parents and teacher know that he cheated on the IQ test. The “all-knowing” adults guide the child to tell the truth instead of punishing him by making it evident through their tone, as opposed to diction, that they are aware he cheated. They give him this agency to allow for Cory’s personal growth, feeling that Cory will learn his lesson more thoroughly if he admits to his own mistake.

            Before finally admitting to his parents that he found the answers to the IQ test, Cory takes a second intelligence test. This test reveals that he has the IQ of an average sixth grader. Cory proudly says, “Yep, that’s me. The lights are on but nobody’s home.” By saying “nobody’s home,” the writer indicates that someone of sixth grade intelligence is brainless. It is this common assumption that adds to the adult-centeredness of the episode because adults like Mr. Feeney are portrayed with high intelligence, while the child is not corrected when calling himself a moron.

            At the end of the episode Cory tells his parents and teacher the truth; which gains him the respect he so desired from his teacher. The episode is didactic because Cory has learned that he should tell adults the truth and he should never cheat. He accepts the fact that he is inferior to adults, a point which I do not like about the episode, but a typical adult-centered characteristic. Cory is grounded for his actions, but being the “good parents” that they are, Cory’s grounding begins the day after Halloween and under the condition that he no longer cheats. This positive portrayal of parents makes it impossible for the viewer to be mad at the adults for punishing Cory, especially since Cory realizes that he deserves punishment, and therefore, is not upset. Though Cory makes mistakes, he is a “good child.” Everyone, including the audience, is happy at the end of the episode, all problems were solved through adult guidance, and a lesson was learned, stereotypically making this episode a very adult-centered text.

The fairy tale, The Little Mermaid was story that I could not go to sleep without hearing. I was about six years old when I first heard this story and it allowed my imagination to meander into the world of mermaids. Whether I was at the beach swimming like a mermaid in the ocean or simply reading the story over and over, I was fascinated by the mermaid world under sea. I was nearly obsessed with mermaids and wished I could be one of them. This story created the magic in my imagination; however, as I read the story more and more, I came to see the practicality in it. Maybe I was convinced that there really were mermaids out there so the story became practical to me? Also, maybe I related her death to reality and relating the daughters of the air to the mermaid’s kind of heaven? Most children have seen Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid, and although it is one of my favorites, it does not give the original version of Hans Christian Andersen’s justice.

  Typically, the elements in a fairy tale are similar to the type case prototype of children’s books. When I think of children’s books, the first few things that come to mind are fantasy adventures, good triumphing over evil, and, of course, happy endings. The tale describes the youngest sister as “a curious child, silent and thoughtful” (Andersen 31). To illustrate, The Little Mermaid portrays a young mermaid with these typical characteristics, but Andersen takes it a step further. The mermaids in each version of the story differ greatly, especially the reasons behind each mermaid's wish to go to land with the people. Andersen's mermaid wants to be a human being so she can have an eternal soul after she dies. While I was young reading this story, I thought that the little mermaid was risking her life to gain the prince’s affection; however, my take on this story has changed. After reading it again, I realize that it is a story about the mermaid’s lack of soul, and how by falling in love she was able to gain one. As the story tells, the little mermaid “would give a whole three hundred years I have to live, to become for one day a human being and then share in that heavenly world” (Andersen 53). She is driven to become a human. The little mermaid “longed for their [humans] company. Their world seemed to her to be much larger than her own. There was so much that she would have liked to know” (50). Indeed, the little mermaid’s main purpose of becoming a human was to gain an eternal soul.

Disney made The Little Mermaid a traditional fairy tale, because Andersen's ideas could not be translated into a modern cartoon that was socially accepted for children. So Disney used the classic battle between good and evil, which is typically understood everywhere, instead of the mermaid's battle within herself as Andersen wrote. In my mind, fairy tales represent the good conquering over the evil after a significant challenge. In contrast, Andersen displays the sea witch winning the battle. The little mermaid does not look back on her life under the sea, but looks forward to her chance to attain an eternal soul. Although, for example, I found it odd that the sea witch exclaimed, “How stupid of you! Still, you shall have your way, and it’ll bring into you misfortune, my lovely Princess” (Andersen 58). Why would the sea witch say such a thing that might change the little mermaids mind about becoming a human? I assume that the reasons for this line may be to enforce the adult figure in the story. The sea witch is older; therefore, she is wise and guides the young mermaid. Another large difference between Disney’s version and Andersen’s that is definitely not a typical case prototype of children’s stories is the fact that the sea witch cuts the little mermaid’s tongue out instead of stealing her voice through a shell like in the movie. To illustrate, the sea witch states, “Put out your little tongue and let me cut it off in payment; then you shall be given the potent mixture” (Andersen 59). Moreover, the ending portrays evil winning because of the little mermaid’s death.

  Andersen’s version of The Little Mermaid does not follow the traditional case prototype of children’s books because of its shocking ending of the little mermaid not marrying the Prince. For example, Disney reveals the story to have a happy ending in that the little mermaid and the Prince marry. One could conceive the ending to have different meanings. For instance, the Prince cries about his new Princess to be the one who “rescued me, when I was laying half-dead on the shore. Oh, I’m too happy!” (Andersen 69). For this purpose, the little mermaid “kissed his hand, and already she felt her heart was breaking. The morrow of his wedding would mean death to her to foam on the sea” (69). The little mermaid had failed and evil had won. However, this tale is much deeper and suggests that the main theme is the mermaid’s internal struggle with herself to gain an eternal soul, not to marry the Prince. Although this was not a huge theme in the story, it definitely helps to prove that Andersen’s style is not that of a traditional fairy tale author.

In the original Andersen story, The Little Mermaid , she does not marry the Prince, which is what seems to be what she should do. Still, she learned to love unconditionally, and did not turn into sea foam, as mermaids do. She ascended and obtained a human soul from entering the daughters of air. The daughters of air are portrayed to be a spiritual movement. When I read this story as a child, I can see why I related the daughters of air to heaven. For example, the narrator describes the moment as a “voice of melody, yet so spiritual that no human ear could hear it, just as no earthly eye could see them. They had no wings, but their own lightness bore them up as they floated through the air” (Andersen 74). Finally, by losing her life, she wins the hope of immortality because of her 300 years of good deeds. Specifically, the little mermaid’s decision not to kill the Prince and his new bride was what, I believe, rewarded her with an eternal soul. It is almost like viewing death as a reward in this story because she in fact did win and gain her immortal soul.

In contrast to many fairy tales, Andersen’s tale of The Little Mermaid ended unhappily, as well as presented gruesome events that are also not typical prototypes in a children’s text as discussed in class. After reading the story at age nineteen, what really struck me was how the little mermaid did not get what she thought she wanted, but ended up with something much more important or valuable: her immortality. As a result, I have discovered that this tale is not just about the selfless love of a mermaid who endures every suffering for the sake of her beloved Prince, but more importantly, the little mermaid’s endless desire to obtain an immortal soul.

Many of today’s children’s books fit the typical case prototype of a book.   This means that they fit what we would assign to children (right or not).   Some qualities include being didactic, easily relatable to children, it’s not frightening, and the books are bright and colorful with happy endings. This, among other terms, will be used to weigh through the book Giraffes? Giraffes! By Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey to assess how it relates to other books.

On absolute first glance, this book is the perfect example of the typical case prototype children’s book.   It fits the look of an educational book.   What I mean by this is that when I think of an educational book, I associate lots of photographs, small amounts of text (simply to explain the background information or captions to pictures), and a particular layout for their pages.   This vision of a particular educational book is founded in the strictly educational, typical case prototype books I used to read as I was younger; the Eyewitness book series used to be my absolute favorite book to read for the very same reasons listed above.   They disguised learning to be fun and painless.   To continue on, this book has a very similar layout to that series.   Part of a series itself, the authors and designers purposely tried to model the visual presentation of an Eyewitness look in this satiric series, as to help create its ambiance. On every single page there is at least one photograph in which the surrounding text pertains.   The diagrams or drawings are all clearly labeled, as well as the photographs, to keep things clear.   Moreover, there is a pocket on the back inside cover of the book where they provide several activities to complete.   These activities are representative of ones that someone might find in a Chick- fil -A kid’s meal (small, educational, and fun activities).   Each diagram has a specific purpose; this purpose is to support the text, and bring it clarity.

More importantly than the pictures or layout of the book, is the actual text.   As mentioned earlier, at first glance the book looks like it set the standards for the typical case prototype book.   When one reads the text, however, they are shocked from the lack of validity, completely crushing any thought of this book fitting the typical case prototype.   I believe this is true, because the text of a book is far more important than the pictures.   The book goes out of its way to make fun of all educational writing.   Every situation presented in the book is presented as fact, no matter how farfetched it is.   It is as if the book is telling joke after joke, and keeping a straight face the whole time.   The text is comprised only fictional scenarios or facts, while the pictures and layout design lead you to believe otherwise.   One of my favorite paragraphs from the whole book is in reference to a giraffe’s legs; I think that this proves it’s absurdity very nicely.   “The legs of a giraffe are filled with various types of fruit juice.   You see, giraffes love drinking fruit juices…but their bodies have no real use for fruit juice, so it all trickles down to their legs where it stays and squishes around.   This should have been obvious to you” (pg 9).   This is only one example of how the book is so unbelievable; on every single page, there are multiple examples of such ridiculous statements.

The mere appearance of the book is shockingly similar to those I have read as a tool to induce learning.   Instead of being completely false, the book Giraffes? Giraffes! Does contain a small amount of educational material in it.   For instance, on page 48, there are two diagrams of fish; one of the colored pictures labels the outside organs of the fish, while the other informatively labels some of the inside organs.   This does not have much to do with that page’s text (it does, however, pertain the slightest bit) but it accurately labels the fish.   The same case occurs on pages 6, 9, 13, 38, and 43. A child reading this book would be able to sort out that this piece of information is correct, compared to the extremely farfetched text of the story.   Because the whole rest of the book is in outfield, learning about the fish is somewhat disguised.   Even if the reader has some negative stigma towards learning, they will not realize what is happening.   The reader is subconsciously focused on not believing anything about the giraffes.   When they see information that is true, they do not remember that they are learning.   These comparatively small diagrams in the book are a very good reference for information.  

For this reason, I feel that the book has both typical and atypical case traits.   The appearance of the book and hidden learning tools are created for children to induce learning.   The ridiculous text, however, completely bashes any hope of it fitting into the typical case mold.   The book is just too progressive and turns how we would normally react to a story from natural to unnatural.   The readers have to be conscious to how they respond to such material, as opposed to a conservative book that reinforces old ideas or beliefs.   For these reasons, the text outweighs the visual presentation, meaning that the book does not fit the typical case prototype of a children’s book.  

Because this book fits so strongly (in a visual sense only) the typical children’s book, but yet so strongly and more importantly disproves itself as one with it’s text, it makes us look at educational books in a different perspective.   This defamiliarization causes us to challenge all that we have known to be true about educational books.   Going back to the example of the Eyewitness books, it made me think of how naïve of a reader I used to be.   When I read those books, I would never give a second thought to whether or not what I was reading was true.   I would completely trust the narrator and authors.   After reading a book that tricks you to believe that it might be true, I will never be able to read an Eyewitness book in the same light.   That is the heart of defamialization ; it permanently causes something to be looked at differently.

One tool that the author uses to defamiliarize the readers is metafiction . To work through the term metafiction , we’ll use the same quote about fruit juice from earlier, it is also a good example of how the narrator does too much of his job.   “This should have been obvious to you”, is not something a narrator typically says.   The irony in this quote, is that what the authors are claiming is so absurd, that there is no way it would be obvious to anyone.   No one would know to think that, because it is not based on any hint of truth.   The narrator defiantly steps over the line of what is considered appropriate for a reader/narrator relationship.   This concept is one of several that help explain the term metafiction .   In metafiction , not only does the narrator do too much or too little, the lines between the fictional world and the real world are blurred.   The book is doing something, whether it is a quote, picture, etc., to draw attention to itself as an artifact and make the reader think about the content.   After reading the above mentioned quote on page 9, and also looking at pages 7 and 13, it becomes clear that the author is drawing attention to the absurdity of the text.   This tool is used to heighten the satiric nature of the book.

To work from this same quote, (because I feel it encompasses many of the book’s themes in this one quote) the sheer statement, “this should be obvious to you”, makes the reader second guess whether what you are reading is true or not.   From pure common sense, we know what the text claims is not true (about fruit juices); such claims have no scientific standing.   We, as readers, have grown to trust the narrator so much in stories, that when he says something like “you should have already known and believe this completely false fact”, we second guess ourselves.   When the author also jokes later in the book about personifying words, we have to second guess that as well.   On page 20, the author once again blurs reality by saying (referring here to words), “…they cannot be printed here.   (They were not dirty words, they simply cannot be printed here because they are currently vacationing in Miami )”.   This silly statement about words calls attention to the fact that the reader is actually reading.   It is something used to make the readers rethink how they are conditioned to react to books.  

This challenge is seen as progressive, and breaking the mold.   Essentially, Giraffes? Giraffes! is a very unordinary book, and should be taken in as something trite.

A children’s film that strongly demonstrates the concepts of being adult and child-centered and also displays agency is the 1990 movie Home Alone . This film illustrates the main character, an eight-year-old boy named Kevin McCallister , as a mischievous yet sincere child who when left alone in his house, discovers that family relationships are a crucial part of growing up. Home Alone also showcases many stereotypes of children that coincide with the typical case prototypes discussed in class. Metatextual concepts are featured in this movie as well, which help to involve the child audience. These concepts, as well as the character of Kevin, discover the underlying meaning of the movie. I believe the center of Home Alone is the consistent change noted in Kevin’s behavior and attitude. He not only breaks free of the typical child roles and standards, he is able to use the thought of them to his advantage when confronted with two burglars attempting to break into his home. By Kevin saving his house, he realizes he is much older than he thinks and begins to appreciate his life and what is in it, mostly his family. This interpretation of Home Alone presents more than it just being a humorous movie about a boy and two robbers.

            Once his family leaves for a Christmas vacation in Paris and he is left all alone in his house, Kevin McCallister gains total agency in this film. He no longer has any parents to tell him what and what not to do. Before his family left, Kevin was punished because he was fighting with his older brother and was getting in everyone’s way. Now, Kevin can run around the house and jump on beds, while having no one to tell him to stop. He also takes his brother Buzz’s toy rifle from his room and plays with it, something that would have been totally forbidden if Buzz were there. A perfect example of Kevin displaying agency is when he makes a total mess in the kitchen, eats a huge amount of junk food and ice cream and watches a movie that is not appropriate for him. Kevin knows what he is doing is wrong and calls to his parents just in case they are still in the house, “I’m eating junk and watching rubbish, you better come out and stop me.” Now that Kevin is no longer under control of adults, he has the freedom to act on his behalf. The roles of child and adult are also reversed. Although Kevin is doing all these things that would normally get him in trouble, his parents are portrayed as the irresponsible ones for leaving their child alone in the house.

Home Alone does a great deal of displaying typical child case prototypes throughout the film. Adult perceptions of children are especially construed through the two burglars, Marv and Harry. The two men are completely confident that they can break into the McCallister home because Kevin is the only one there. Marv repeatedly says to Harry, “He’s a kid. Kids are stupid,” “Kids are scared of the dark” and “He’s only a kid. We can take him.” These stereotypes relate to the ones discussed in class, characterizing children as innocent and not yet civilized. The perception that children do not know anything is clearly demolished by Kevin, because he is able to exceed the burglar’s expectations and not only deliver them to the police, but send them through many traps and painful excursions along the way. Marv and Harry finally realize this as Harry says, “I think we’re getting scammed by a kindergartener.” This aspect in the movie demonstrates that children are smarter and more intuitive than adults, even when faced with danger. Kevin was completely aware of the situation but still continued to fight the burglars because he knew he had to defend his house. Protecting himself and his house became more important to Kevin than doing what stereotypical children do and run away.

In one particular scene, there is a reference made that does go against these typical case prototypes, which is also one we have discussed in class. While Kevin’s mother is riding home with a traveling polka band, the lead singer played by John Candy is talking to the mother about how she left Kevin all alone for Christmas. He then tells her a story of how he left his child alone one day at a funeral parlor. He makes a joke about how his child was impaired for a few weeks after but then says, “Kids get over things, they’re resilient like that.” This is a great comment to show how children can go against stereotypes. This character was implying that children are not permanently damaged by certain experiences and I think this is an incredibly important feature of the movie as a whole. If his family leaving him alone for days had negatively affected Kevin, then he would not have recovered and would not have learned the lessons he did by being put in that situation.

The less obvious element of Home Alone is the metatextual concept. Throughout this film, Kevin is constantly talking to the audience, because no other characters are around him. The narrator-like characteristic Kevin has in this movie makes the audience aware that he is talking directly to them, letting the viewers know what is going on and what Kevin is doing. There is one moment where Kevin actually does speak directly to the audience, looking straight into the camera. After Kevin learns that his family is not in the house and no one to be found, he says out loud “I made my family disappear,” with a concerned and nervous edge in his tone. Then, contemplating all the possibilities he now has with being home alone, he looks right into the camera and repeats the line “I made my family disappear,” this time with a conniving tone and devilish grin. Kevin breaking the fourth wall and creating this metatextual moment in the movie lets the audience in on the upcoming events as if it were a secret between them and the narrator.

Another concept I noted is the deus ex machina role. In the film, this role is played by the elderly neighbor, who Kevin is afraid of for the majority of the movie. However, after talking and the old man admits that he has become a different person because of lost relationships in his life, Kevin provides him with advice as well as takes it himself. Kevin becomes aware that he needs his family and does not want to lose them like the old man lost his. So the two agree to change and do something about their unfortunate situations. After this conversation, Kevin returns home but once he has used up all of his traps to mislead the two burglars, he runs next door to call the police. The men are aware of his game this time and catch him before he is able to. Then, when it looks like there is no escape for Kevin, the old neighbor hits both burglars and saves Kevin, taking him out of the house and away from danger. The adult character coming in at the end to save the child is typical of many children’s texts and also relates to the child and adult centered notion also featured in this film.

            Throughout Home Alone , Kevin embraces being a kid with no parents to listen to and no roles to follow. However, over the days he is left by himself, he demonstrates a great amount of change. At first he is scared of Marv and Harry trying to break into his house. But later he states, “I can’t be a wimp. I’m the man of the house” and overcomes his fear of the burglars as well as his fear of less important matters, like his basement. Kevin recognizes that he must take some control of the situation, because riding sleds down the stairs and turning the whole house upside down is unacceptable behavior when there are criminals trying to break into his house. Kevin begins to take on typical adult roles, including going grocery shopping, doing laundry and washing dishes. These are not chores most eight-year-olds complete on a daily basis. Kevin is forced to become more mature throughout the story and does so by not only outsmarting burglars, but also by accepting the fact that his family is important to him and wanting them to come back.

            Even though Kevin McCallister displays a great deal of agency, I do believe Home Alone is more adult-centered than child-centered. His family is the center of the story and is the element that is continuously referred to. Kevin is given total freedom to do whatever he wants and although he does use this to his advantage in the beginning, after awhile he begins to miss his family and regret ever saying he could live without them. His family becomes more important to him than the ability to do whatever he wants and he even makes it his Christmas wish saying, “Instead of presents, I just want my family back.” While watching this movie, I could not help but compare it to Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak . In that book, the main character Max wants to be away from his mother and not have to obey her as an authority figure. While living with the wild things though, Max takes on an adult role, much like the one of his mother. He also begins to miss his mother and miss the idea of being a kid.

This is exactly the change Kevin reaches in Home Alone . Although he enjoys having a break from parents and rules, he does long for his old life where although there were some hardships, he was surrounded by people who love and care about him. Children need family relationships and in these particular texts, the children only discover this when those relationships are deterred from. Although I stated earlier that Kevin matured throughout the film, I also think he became more vulnerable at the same time. Accepting such a dramatic change in their lives leaves the children in these texts very sad and distressed. So as much as children can go against their own stereotypes, they can still manage to “act like a child.” I do not think Home Alone is predominantly didactic, but I do believe there is a very subtle lesson to be learned from this movie and that is to be careful what you wish for. Fortunately for Kevin, his situation was temporary, but for children watching it could stand as a lesson to cherish and respect the relationships in your life, particularly with your family, because you never know when they can be taken away.

In fifth grade Officer Brown, my D.A.R.E. instructor, asked my class to draw a picture representing the physical characteristics of a typical drug dealer.   I drew an evil looking man with snake like eyes.   He was wearing dark black clothing, and he was standing on a grungy street corner in front of an abandon warehouse.   The purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate that anyone could be a drug dealer.   A drug dealer could be a sweet Suburban soccer mom who bakes homemade cookies for her children, or a drug dealer could be that evil looking guy wearing black clothing on the street corner.   Officer Brown explained that as a society, we tend to associate negative characteristics with drug dealers because the media depicts drug dealers in this manner.   As a result, this negative imagine of drug dealers have been imbedded into our minds at a very young age.

            Disney movies have been instrumental in influencing children’s views of good versus evil.   The movies place great emphasis on the characters’ physical appearance.   For example, In The Little Mermaid , Ariel is beautiful and skinny.   She has long flowing red hair, big bright blue eyes, perfectly full red lips, and she seems to have a glow about her.   She is very feminine, and her voice is high pitch but pleasing to the ear.   The males in The Little Mermaid are strapping and handsome.   They have big bulging muscles that can aid them to rescue mermaids if they get into trouble.   The men also have a full head of hair that always says in place.   The “good” characters in Disney movies are always portrayed with good characteristics.   In fact it is as if they are perfect.   On the other hand, the “evil” characters are described as perfectly repulsive.   Ursula, a sea witch, in The Little Mermaid is an ugly dark looking creature with a long pointy noses, and long fingers.   She has monster sharp teeth and a gruff manly voice.   Ursula does not possess one positive quality.   Like other “evil” characters, Ursula is on the other end of the continuum compared to Ariel.  

            The environment is also use to depict differences between the “good” and “evil” in Disney movies.   For example, in The Little Mermaid, Ariel lives in a well-maintained golden castle.    The water surrounding the castle is crystal clear.   On the floor of the sea, there is green seaweed and bright colored flowers.   There are also various forms of life swimming around the castle.   The fishes, shrimps, crabs, and other animals are bright vibrant colors.   Ursula on the other hand, lives in a dark dreary cave.   During parts of the movie, the water surrounding the cave is black, and at other times, the water is dark blue.   Ursula’s cave is unkempt, and it is full of dieing souls and skeletons.   The only form of life near the cave is Ursula’s assistances , eels.   The eels are black with slanted snake like eyes that glow a yellowish-green color.   The floor of Ursula’s cave is not made of grass.   Instead the floor is made of dirt and rocks.   The entire atmosphere surrounding the castle represents death.

            In the pervious paragraphs it was alluded that the use of color also helps distinguish between “good” and evil.   Scenes involving the “good” characters contained an abundant amount of color.   There are mostly bright vibrant colors, such as yellows, reds, oranges, purples, and blues. For example Flounder, Ariel’s friend, is bight yellow with a mixture of dark and light blue strips.   Most of the fish in the sea are a mixture of two colors.   The fishes are either red with yellow fins, purple with yellow fins, blue with red fins, and blue with purple fins.   Other animals are red and orange.   There is also some pink mixed among the animals.   The scenes involving the “evil” characters lack color almost entirely.   The little color that is use is cold and dark.   The most abundant color representing Ursula is black.   Ursula herself is a dark purple, and there are some dark blues and greens.   There is also the yellowish-green glow that comes out of the eels’ eyes.

            Officer Brown was on to something when he stated that the media influences our opinion.   It may not be obvious to children as they watch The Little Mermaid or another Disney movie, but that movie is influencing their opinion.   The movie gives children a template as to how   “ good” individuals should look, how they should act, and even what they should possess.   Of course, the movies also give children a template for “evil” individuals.   The template teaches children that “evil” individuals should look, act a certain way.   It also teaches them that evil people should not possess certain items.   For example, in The Little Mermaid Ariel lives in a castle, but Ursula was not even good enough to have a house.   Instead she lived in a damp dreary cave.   As they grew, children take these images of “good” and “evil” and adopt them as their own beliefs.   Louis Althusser coined the term interpellation, the idea that as individuals we tend to accept society’s norms as our own.   Therefore in the beginning of the paper when I described my picture of a drug dealer in the fifth grade, it could be conjectured that I obtain those images from society, and not from reality.   In reality there is no such concept as a “typical” drug dealer.   As officer Brown stated, anyone could be a drug dealer.

In a way, I revisited my childhood over the weekend. Growing up, I read Freaky Friday over and over. In fact, I still have that same paperback copy of the book—the cover is half torn off, passages are penciled, its got the little grease spots where I ate potato chips while I read it, and there is even a stain where I spilled some Pepsi. Coming back as an adult, over twenty-five years later, and re-reading this very book and physically seeing the remnants of my thought process was eye-opening. As a child immersed in the story, I was enthralled with the idea of a kid   becoming an adult overnight, and of your mother changing bodies with you. This book took the idea of switching bodies, which is not uncommon, and made it a little different by making it cross a generation. This helps to show the lesson that is being handed down by the mother, Ellen Andrews, who is very frustrated with her daughter, Annabelle. So often, in the mother-daughter relationship, there is a battle between opposing sides and ideas, and it is difficult for each side to see the whole picture from the other’s perspective…unless you can magically change bodies with your daughter to teach her a lesson. That is what gives this book its subtle, yet overwhelming, adult undertone, and it is clearly defined from the first chapter of the book.

            Annabelle Andrews, the narrator of the story, is thirteen, and thirteen is an awkward time in life. She describes herself in a nondescript way on pages two and three with “…brown hair, brown eyes, brown fingernails. (That’s a joke—actually, I take a lot baths.) “ she goes on to say that she doesn’t know what she weighs but she’s “watching it” and that she’s not “completely mature” in her figure yet. She then goes on to describe her parents and her brother. She complains that her mother is overly protective and strict, or “stricter” as Annabelle says (4) and effectively doles out examples of her mother’s unfairness, such as Ellen wanting Annabelle to clean her room, make good grades, and be nice to her brother. As a mother, she wants to protect her daughter and does not allow her in Central Park alone or even with a friend, which is a sore point for Annabelle, who firmly feels that   “ …I’m old enough to be given more than I’m getting” (5) and then laments that she did not get to go to a boy-girl party because it was not properly chaperoned. Additionally, Annabelle is in love with Boris, but because her mother made her get those ugly, nasty braces, Boris will never get past who she was in the past and take notice of her. The list of wrongs that her mother has heaped upon her, such as keeping her hair neat and nails trimmed, wearing what she wants, going where she wants, and keeping that room clean only prove to Annabelle that her mother is just unfair (6).

  All of these injustices build up and Annabelle finally has it out with her mother and says: “You are not letting me have any fun and I am sick of it. You are always pushing me around and telling me what to do. How come nobody ever gets to tell you what to do, huh? Tell me that! ”.   Now, I remember having this conversation with my own mother, and her response was something similar to Ellen Andrews’ reply of “…when you’re grown up people don’t tell you what to do; you have to tell yourself, which is sometimes more difficult” (6) and it really never answered the question satisfactorily then for me, and in this instance, neither did it do so for Annabelle. The argument ends with Ellen marching out of the room after Annabelle says she just wants to be responsible for herself and her mother responds “We’ll just see about that!” (7).

And then, Annabelle wakes up and she is her mother. The inability for Annabelle to see things from her mother’s perspective propels the switch and reveals the adult centered theme of this book. As Annabelle begins to see things from an adult’s perspective, her own, immature and childlike perspective begins to recede. But first, Annabelle is thrilled with the change! She has nice teeth, a good body, and enjoys putting lots of makeup on ‘their’ face (8-9). She fakes her way through breakfast, gets dressed up, pushes the kids off to school (and notices an Annabelle appears to have not changed at all) and suggests that she and her father/husband go to see an X-Rated flick; obviously, Annabelle is still a child because she does not think of the consequences that type of outing could bring (not to mention the emotional scars for life!), and then, after a round of boardgames with Boris, Annabelle fires the maid (46). But, then things the take a turn and the day is no longer fun. The situation becomes more than her thirteen year old mind can handle. In this way, the inability of Annabelle to cope with adult situations and problems, shows that there is a clearly defined line between adulthood and childhood. Annabelle is still a child, but as her mother, she has to tackle some adult responsibilities, and Annabelle is clearly not at that point in life where can do so without further confusing things.

            While the story remains funny and page-turning, it is easy to see what is going to occur here. It is obvious that this “switch” has taken place to teach Annabelle’s a lesson. Also, Annabelle’s bad attitude is to blame for this mind boggling turn of events, so as in all adult centered texts, the strong, caring, and superhuman adult has distributed knowledge and punishment in a justifiable manner. As Annabelle’s day progresses, she begins to see that life is not easy for her mother and that she is not prepared to be an adult. As the book continues on, Annabelle begins to see herself as other people in her life see her; for example, the cleaning lady refers to Annabelle as “a little pig” who’s “got no discipline” who will be “on drugs before you know it.” Annabelle is angered by this statement and   takes this time to fire Mrs. Schmauss (46). Before the incident with Mrs. Schmauss , Boris comes downstairs to return a colander, and it is during this time that we learn, in no uncertain terms, the Boris hates Annabelle (which is too bad for Annabelle because she is totally in love with Boris!). She also is embarrassed by her room (the same room which propelled the argument with her mother and caused the switcheroo to occur) and tells Boris that it is her brother Ben’s ( ApeFace’s ) room—canopy and all (30). We learn that Annabelle four years earlier had cut open Boris’ head with a tin shovel (31) and that Boris thinks that Annabelle is “a bad seed” (31). This continues throughout the book, but it happens the most predominantly during the conference at school with Annabelle’s teachers and her principal and learns what her teachers really think about her as they criticize her at the conference.

            This is the turning point in the book, Annabelle’s catharsis. It is also when we see the author handing out a lesson about studying hard and handing work in on time. This is drilled into the reader throughout the conference, and the fact that Annabelle is not doing it really hits her hard. When she finds out that she had flunked English, she goes numb (86) and discovers that she is wasting everyone’s time. She discovers that she has a very high IQ, higher than “a college freshman’s” (86) and that her English teacher, Miss McGuirk blames herself for Annabelle’s failure as a student. This opens Annabelle’s eyes to see her teacher in a very different, more compassionate manner (87) an by the end of the meeting, Annabelle has realized that her behavior has been bad, and that she needs to start doing better. She promises the educators at the meeting that “on Monday morning I’m sure you will see a completely different Annabelle,” to which the school psychologist replies   “ Let’s not get our hopes up too high… we can’t expect her to change overnight” (95-96).   She leaves the meeting, looking for herself—literally.

            Annabelle has learned many lessons today and has heard how everyone in her life feels about her. It is a humbling experience, especially when she realizes that the person who loves her the most is the person she treats the worst, her brother (56). When she realizes that he’s not half bad, her attitude towards him begins to change, and she begins to change as well. It is an event concerning Ben which really makes her see that she is not ready to be an adult, and that she wants to go back to her own body. Her brother gets kidnapped.   Well, not really. But, Annabelle thinks that Ben has been kidnapped. She comes home from the meeting to find that her brother was taken away by   “ beautiful chick” (100), described by Boris. Now, as the reader, I knew all along that it was Annabelle’s mother in Annabelle’s body who came and took Ben away for ice cream, but in Annabelle’s state of panic, the thought never occurred to her. Mainly because in her thirteen mind, she had contemplated all the different people her mother may have chosen to be that day, and Annabelle was uncertain if her mother would even want to be Annabelle. Therefore, when Ben comes up missing, Annabelle freaks out and   calls the police, and ends up almost having her mother committed for being crazy after she breaks down and says that her mother switched bodies their minds into each others bodies. Of course, these officers do not believe her, and think they have a “fruitcake” on the line (12). Boris takes charge, reveals his love for Mrs. Andrews, and Annabelle thinks “what a waste” (114) because he is love with Annabelle but not Annabelle. Confusing, yes, but not if you read the book. Actually, the entire exchange is very funny, and it shows that some adults are silly, but it does not change the overall tone that reveals this is an adult centered book, and the theme again emerges when Annabelle just gives up and tells the police the truth, that she is “only thirteen. I’m just a little girl who has been turned into her mother” (113). Annabelle has had enough and is ready to just go ahead and give up. She doesn’t want to do this anymore, she is overwhelmed, and her brother is missing. In her moment of greatest need, she is in her mother’s room, lying on the bed, and admitting her mother was right. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You wanted to teach me a terrific lesson? O.K. I learned a terrific lesson.” (119). And poof! Mom’s back. And, Annabelle has learned her lessons. She even became a beautiful chick (131-133), because Mom was finally able to go and get the braces off, get Annabelle’s hair cut, and buy new clothes. Annabelle’s transformation is complete—from old Annabelle to Mom to new Annabelle. Her attitude is different, and she has learned that perhaps she should clean her room-to impress Boris.

            At the beginning of the book, Annabelle wanted to be in charge of her own life, and wanted to know why nobody told her mother what to do, and that she wanted the same rights. So, Annabelle’s mother switched them to teach Annabelle a lesson, so that Annabelle could understand exactly what she was saying, and to learn for herself how Annabelle is wrong about adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it.   Many things are revealed to her as she learns through the interchange with her father, that Annabelle is a constant source of irritation between the two of them, and as the book progresses, she becomes more aware of the way people view her, and it is not very good. Annabelle is learning a hard lesson, she is hearing what people say about her, how they feel about her, and she first reacts in anger by firing the maid and then eventually, changing her inside appearance while her mother changes Annabelle’s outside appearance. Interestingly enough, the physical changes her mother makes result in Annabelle becoming a more attractive person, but at the beginning of the book, she just wanted to be left alone to grow her own hair and chew her own fingernails. And, in an odd twist of fate, Annabelle becomes worried that her mother is not in her body, and that careless Annabelle is dead under a number 7 bus somewhere (99). Annabelle had nagged her mother for freedom, to go to the park, to not be told what to do. Ellen had always denied Annabelle these privileges because she feared for Annabelle’s safety; when Annabelle realizes just how irresponsible she actually is, she becomes worried for her own safety. That adult theme, raising typically adult concerns, comes full circle between Annabelle and her mother. Situations arise, and eventually Mom comes back and saves day and returns everything to normal—except now the two of them have a better, stronger relationship build on mutual respect and understanding. And, the fact that Mother knows best.

23. In the Japanese animated television series Inuyasha , a fifteen-year-old high school student named Kagome is attacked by a monster in an old well on her family’s property. She falls into the well and reemerges to find herself five hundred years in the past where magic and demons are everyday occurrences. Kagome learns that the demon in the well attacked her because she is the reincarnation of a priestess who died guarding a powerful jewel that gave demons immense power, and that she is now the keeper of the jewel. When more demons appear to try and steal the jewel, Kagome unseals a half- demon, half-human boy named Inuyasha and enlists his help to battle the monsters. During one of these battles, however, the jewel is shattered and its pieces are scattered throughout the country, and Inuyasha and Kagome decide to team up and locate all of the shards before they can fall into the wrong hands. However, their quest becomes a backdrop to their budding relationship and the issues they face. Inuyasha , for example, deals with prejudice and isolation because of his heritage. Kagome must fulfill her obligation of protecting the magical jewel from those who would abuse its power in the past, but at the same time she has to keep up with her schoolwork in the present. While many of the major and reoccurring characters are teenagers, and one of major focuses of the series is the interaction between Inuyasha and Kagome, the series is more of a soap opera than a young adult text. While there are some instances of progressive themes in Inuyasha , the show mostly falls back on the teenage mystique. At the beginning of the series, Inuyasha is very much the definition of the teenager as a potential problem. When Kagome first unseals him, he actually tries to attack her like the rest of the demons in order to steal the jewel for himself, and is at first reluctant to help Kagome recover all of the jewel shards. He wants the jewel in order to use it to become a full demon, claiming that he desires the power a full-blooded demon has. Inuyasha seems to resent his human blood because it makes him weaker than other demons, and takes offense to being mocked for his heritage. One of Inuyasha and Kagome’s traveling companions, Miroku , is also depicted stereotypically as a potential problem. Miroku is eighteen and a Buddhist monk, but his behavior is extremely atypical of his profession. Before joining Inuyasha and Kagome, he used his status as a priest to con people, and even after joining them, he gets food and shelter for their group through manipulation. Miroku is also extremely lecherous. Almost every time he meets a woman, he pleads with her to bear his children, and usually ends up groping her. While his sexual behavior is usually a source of comic relief, he often gets himself and the others in trouble due to it. However, Inuyasha and Miroku’s troublesome behavior changes over the course of the series. Miroku develops feelings for another member of their group, Sango, and even eventually proposes to her though he still gropes her on occasion. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Inuyasha resents his human side not only because it makes him weak, but because of the discrimination he has faced because of his mixed blood. He also begins to consider using the magic jewel to become fully human instead of demon, or even destroying it entirely so that it can never be misused. The series also enforces the theme of adolescence as a temporary stage before adulthood. This is very predominant in Kagome’s development throughout the story. At first, traveling with Inuyasha is a necessity for her because of her naivety and unfamiliarity with the world she finds herself in, but as the series progresses, Kagome learns to better defend herself and even battles demons without Inuyasha’s help. While her experiences in the past make her more self-reliant, however, she is forced to become more mature much faster than normally. During her brief returns to the present to make up for her absences in school, viewers get to see Kagome interacting with her friends. At first, Kagome is still as boy crazy as her girlfriends are, and often comes to them for relationship advice when she and Inuyasha are having problems (though she remains vague about who and what he actually is). However, Kagome begins to become distanced from her friends at school as they remain flighty and she grows more serious. The show does not seem to view this as a necessarily bad thing, however- Kagome’s maturity is a positive aspect of her character, despite that she may be growing apart from her friends in school as a result. The relationship between Kagome and Inuyasha is also an example of the emphasis on the development from adolescence to adulthood, since as they mature, so does their love for one another. Many of the initial obstacles their relationship faces are due to stereotypical portrayals of teenaged boys and teenaged relationships in general. Inuyasha is portrayed as extremely stubborn about his feelings and flat out refuses to acknowledge them for most of the series, though it is clear that he develops feelings for Kagome and is obviously confused about what to do about it. Both he and Kagome are also extremely jealous and overreact whenever someone or something else comes between them. Kagome, for example, will angrily retreat to the present time when Inuyasha does not return her feelings and complain to her mother and her friends, leaving Inuyasha to sit and brood. Inuyasha , on the other hand, becomes extremely agitated if another man tries to woo Kagome, and will even overexert himself in battle to prove that he is more desirable. However, these more stereotypical aspects of their relationship become less apparent as the series progresses and they mature, and when they do arise, it becomes mostly for comic relief. Another interesting point to note is that Inuyasha and Kagome’s relationship blossoms despite never becoming sexual- the most sexual experience that they have together is accidentally seeing one another naked during baths. Adults in the series are typically absent or used as comic relief, and very few of them have a positive impact on the teenaged characters. Inuyasha’s parents are both deceased, and Kagome’s father is rarely mentioned and it is never stated whether or not he is alive. Their travel companions also have deceased parents, all of which died in traumatic ways. Two adult characters that do appear regularly are Myoga and Jaken , both of which are in subservient roles to younger characters and are often the source of comic relief. Myoga is a flea demon that was once the retainer to Inuyasha’s father, a powerful demon lord, and now acts as a retainer to Inuyasha himself. Despite this, however, Myoga is a coward and often runs from battle much to the annoyance of Inuyasha and his companions. Jaken is much like Myoga , though he acts a servant to Inuyasha’s half-brother, Sesshomaru . Jaken , despite being thousands of years older than Sesshomaru , is in such awe of his lord that his adoration becomes ridiculous. He is also a bit of a coward, but he tries not to show it in order to impress his lord. Two adults that are shown in a positive light are Kagome’s mother and Kaede , an elderly priestess in the past. While Kagome’s mother does not play a very large role in the show (she isn’t even given a name), she is very supportive of her daughter’s obligations in the past as well as her relationship with Inuyasha , and she also offers Kagome advice whenever she and Inuyasha have been arguing. Meanwhile, Kaede is definitely a mentor figure, dispensing wisdom to the younger characters and especially Kagome, who also has spiritual priestess powers due to being a reincarnation of one. Despite her age, Kaede has occasionally fought alongside the teenaged characters and is shown as being as powerful and competent as they are. In Inuyasha , adults are mostly absent, or used as comic relief, and teenaged characters display troublesome behavior. Kagome’s maturity is viewed as a positive thing, even though she is distanced from her friends in the present as a result. In general, the show rewards the development of teenaged characters from adolescence into adulthood. While Inuyasha has some progressive themes, it is mostly enforcing stereotypes associated with teens.

In children’s film Anastasia (which is not a Disney movie) there are a lot of forms of interpellation, which I have never noticed before. Interpellation is when a film or book works to make certain social values more important. These can be values of race, gender, class, or any other values society thinks are important. In the video “Mickey Mouse Monopoly” they look at how Disney tries to portray values within their films. Some watch this and can’t believe they did not see it before but that is why interpellation is so important, it is mostly done unconsciously.

Anya is a strong willed, brave, and intelligent girl. Through out the film she is learning to become Russian royalty, all the character surrounding her expect her to become the Princess Anastasia. Dimitri and Vladimir have their own selfish reason for trying to trick the Empress Marie that Anya is her long lost granddaughter Anastasia; they will receive a large sum of money from her. Anya has always wanted a family and the only clue to any is a necklace that says “together in Paris .” She can not get to Paris on her own and when Dimitri finds her and see how much she looks like the Princess Anastasia he uses her want for a family against her. Rasputin knows that she is the lost princess and so through the movie he tries to complete his curse on the Romanov family by killing her. After Sophie tests her with only questions Anastasia would know, she joins the group in trying to get her to become the princess. Anya is surrounded by pressure to become the Princess Anastasia.

Even as a little girl I loved history. The film Anastasia has always been one of my favorite movies because it not only has rich Russian history but it is also about “a rumor , a legend, a mystery” that is Anastasia’s story. One way society can use interpellation is through there portrayal of history. Most children’s movies “dumb down” history because the believe children cannot handle the violence that actually occurred. In Anastasia they don’t necessarily change history, but rather don’t tell the whole story. The Romanovs were killed but it was not because Rasputin but a curse on them. Rasputin did not have magical powers but was with the Romanov because of his influence over Tsarina Alexandra whom he became a personal advisor and confidant to. Also the Romanovs were killed because Nicholas II was not a good czar and the military took over. This is sort of shown in the movie, but Nicholas II is portrayed as good czar. It is much like in Pocahontas when the Europeans and Indians think each other are savages, then they realize there is nothing wrong with each other and the Europeans go home; it never mentions the genocide of the Indians!

One of the most common was a movie uses interpellations is through gender. Child’s movies portray females as the weaker sex and males as the stronger. When Dimitri , Vladimir, and Anastasia are traveling to Paris on a train there is an explosion and Dimirti goes out to investigate and tells Anastasia to stay where it is safe. This is saying that it is the male’s job to protect the female and make sure she is safe. There are two events in which Dimitri comes to Anastasia’s rescue. Once is when she is sleep walking and almost jumps off a ship. When he wakes her up she runs into his arms and cries. The other time is when Rasputin attacks Anastasia and she is about to fall into the river. This is saying that a women needs a man to come to her aid, she cannot save herself. Another way to just gender is that females should act in a particular way. There is always the idea that all girls want to be a princess and that a princess should act a certain way. At one point Vladimir says, “ she certainly has a mind of her own,” in which Dimitri responds “yeah. I hate that in a woman.”   This gives that idea that if a woman wants an attractive man like Dimitri , a female should not have a mind of her own. In the song “Learn To Do It” some of the lyrics say, “Now, shoulders back and stand up straight/ And do not walk, but try to float/ You give a bow/ Your hand receives a kiss/ Now, elbows in and sit up straight/ And never slurp the stroganoff.” These lyrics are telling Anastasia how she should act to become a proper lady, a lady of royalty. At certain times in the movie Anya dresses up in beautiful dress, hair done perfectly and lovely jewelry. At all these times when Dimirti becomes either nervous around Anastasia, gives her a compliment or is total shock at her beauty. This tells little girls that it is ok to use your body to get a man’s attention instead of using your intelligence.

The story of Anastasia is about a Russian girl with Russian men, Dimirti and Vladimir. Then why doesn’t Anastasia and Dimitri look Russian! Both of the main characters look more English or American then they do Russian. This unconsciously shows that the United States and Britain are more important then other countries. When the main characters get to Sophie’s house there is a maid who is dressed up in an extremely sexy maid outfit. This is a stereotype that shows French maids are all sexy and wear skimpy clothes. The characters go showing in Paris before they go to the play, where they sing a song called “Paris Holds The Key To Your Heart.” During the song there show many stereotypes against the French. For example most of the people on the streets are in love and when they go into a bar, there are Can-Can dancers. Not everyone in Paris is in love or a Can-Can dancer! The lyrics for the song also confirm that all French people must be in love, “There’s love in the air/ The French have it down to an art/ When your heart says don’t/ The French say do!”

Another form of interpellation is the idea of class, which I believe is used a lot in the movie. When Dimitri and Anastasia care children, Anastasia who is rich is polite and listens to her father whereas Dimitri who is poor is causing mischief and stealing apples. In another part a poor man sings “I got this from the palace/ It’s line with real fur” this is saying that all poor people steal, which is not true. When Anastasia is “poor” she is in rags and has her hair hidden in a hat but when Dimitri gives her a new dress she comes out looks gorgeous with a tight fitting blue dress and her hair brushed and in a bow, saying that the rich are cleaner and better then the poor. At one point Dimitri , who has fallen in love with Anastasia says, “ princesses don’t marry kitchen boys.” This is society’s idea that a princesses or someone with money should only marry someone within their social class. At the end of the movie, everyone dressed in elegant clothes and go the ballet. Anastasia is dressed in a beautiful purple dress with sparkling diamonds. She not only gets “check out” by Dimitri but it says that only the rich go to the ballet. I find it rather interesting that the ballet they are watching is Cinderella , which in some ways mirrors Anastasia’s life. Cinderella had a harsh life with her stepmother and stepsisters but eventually founds her place with Prince Charming. Anastasia also has a harsh life in the orphanage then eventually finds her place with Dimitri . I also find it interesting that both Anastasia and her grandmother are wearing purple with is the color of royalty.

Anastasia is different then a lot of the Disney princesses because she has a lot of agency over her life. She does dangerous things throughout the movie which some would believe a woman should not do. At the end of the movie Dimitri saves her, but after he saves her, she stands up to Rasputin and it is her who kills him. Throughout the movie Anastasia is under great pressure to become the lost princess. At the end of the movie she chooses not to be the princess but instead to be with Dimitri . This could be taken in two ways. One that she is giving up her agency to be with a man, much like in Mulan when at the end of the movie after taking on the role of a man she once again takes on the woman’s expected role of getting married. The other way to view this is that she took her own agency in not becoming the typical princess but being without her love because he is from a lower social status.

Interpellation is a process in which individuals take in and “soak up” ideas without first thinking about how those ideas may affect their lives.   These ideas are presented in a manner by which the individual acts as a human sponge and absorbs the information without thinking about it.   This process is a part of every day life, and is deeply imbedded into children’s literature.   This is a way for authors to pass on their ideals without observably stating the idea they wish to pass on.   This is how many children learn and eventually form opinions of their own concerning various topics and how the world works.   This can be done through books, movies, and the mass media in general.   Interpellation affects how individuals view gender, race, and social or class status of themselves as well as those around them.  

Text Chosen :

            The Black Cauldron is a Walt Disney film based on the first two books in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander.   The movie was released in 1985 and was met with much criticism.   The story is about a young man, Taran , and his quest to keep a powerful, magical cauldron from coming into the possession of the evil Horned King.   The story is set in the mystical land of Prydain during what appears to be the Dark Ages.   This is where Taran works as an assistant pig keeper under the supervision of an older gentleman named Dallben .   There is never any mention of Taran’s parents, and so Dallben takes on a fatherly role for him.   Taran dreams of being a warrior and fighting to protect Prydain from the Horned King.   When Taran discovers that Hen Wen , the big he tends to, is an oracular pig, he is pushed to take on a new role.   In some ways he gets his wish, but he has to prove to himself that he is capable before he can fulfill his role.   He is give much more responsibility and has to learn to believe in himself before others will.  

            Early on in the film, Taran is set up to be the hero of the story.   He starts his journey as an anxious young pig keeper, and has to work hard to keep the cauldron from falling into the hands of the Horned King.   When the kind discovers that Hen Wen can reveal the secret location of the cauldron, Taran is told to take the pig and keep her safe.   He alone can keep her away from the king, and has terrible odds to work against.   Dallben orders Taran to take the pig to a cottage in the forest to keep her safe.   As Taran leaves, Dallben makes a comment concerning the responsibility Taran has taken on by stating, “so much, so soon…to rest on his young shoulders.”   This is where Taran accepts the role as hero and protector.   This responsibility gives him agency over the situation at hand.  

            When Hen Wen is captured by the Horned King, Taran is forced to show him where the cauldron is to save both his life and the pig’s.   he helps Hen Wen escape and is locked in the dungeon of the King’s castle.   He vows to find the cauldron before the Horned King does so that Prydain will be safe.   While locked away in the king’s dungeon he meets Eilonwy , a princess who was also captured to find information about the cauldron.   Upon meeting Taran , who is frustrated because he has fialed Dallben , she asks, “ are you a lord? Or a warrior?”   Taran answers, stating, “uh…no.   I’m an assistant pig keeper.”   Eilonwy responds to this with some degree of sorrow, “oh…What a pity.   I was so hoping for someone who could help me escape.”   The princess assumes that because he is just a pig keeper, he is not capable of helping her to escape from the king’s dungeon.   This also leads the audience to believe that she cannot escape on her own.   She is using the princess role and being interpellated into the idea that she has to be rescued.   Later on, she does just that, she is rescued by Taran after he has found a magic sword and he and Eilonwy have met another prisoner, a minstrel by the name of Fflewddur Fflam .   As the three of them are being chased by the Horned King’s henchmen, Taran looks to Eilonwy and says, “I am going to get you out of here.”   This is the point where he accepts his role as her hero and she as the damsel in distress.

            The three escape from the castle and set out to find the cauldron.   Taran finds Hen Wen with the Fairfolk and one of the fairies, Doli , lead the three of them to the last known location of the cauldron.   Once they arrive there, they are “greeted” by three witches.   One of them tries to seduce Fflewddur .   She is a larger woman, but by far the prettiest of the three. She has rosy cheeks, long red hair, large breasts, and on of the warts that her sisters possess.   Taran strikes a deal with the sisters to trade his sword for the cauldron.   Once they have received the cauldron, the witches inform Taran and his companions that the only way to stop the evil magic of the cauldron is for someone to willingly climb into the cauldron and give their life.   Before they can decide what to do, the three are again captured by the Horned King.   He takes the cauldron and raises his army of dead soldiers.   Taran , Eilonwy , and Fflewddur are rescued by Gurgi , a rambunctious, childlike creature who befriended Taran in the woods during his original quest to keep Hen Wen safe.   Taran decides to sacrifice himself to the cauldron to save Eilonwy and Fflewddur .   However, before he can, Gurgi jumps into the cauldron himself and reverses its evil magic.   Taran rescues Eilonwy and Fflewddur again and gets them out of the castle again before it collapses.  

            In the end, the witches return, wanting the powerless cauldron back.   Taran bargains with them again and asks that Gurgi be returned to them from the cauldron.   His demands are granted but only once he tells the witches that they can keep his sword.   Taran has saved the day again and become the hero after all.   He has given in to his role as a hero and a rescuer.   Eilonwy , however strong-willed and outspoken she may be, has also been interpellated into her role as a damsel in need of a rescuer.   They leave the forest together….

and live happily ever after…

            I found several examples of gender interpellation as I was watching the movie.   Most of these observations are of Eilonwy and the way she is portrayed and treated throughout the film.   There are few female characters at all in the movie- Eilonwy , Hen Wen , a fairy, and the witches- this is keeping in mind that Hen Wen is a pig with a relatively small, however important, part.

            First of all, I have to comment on the clothing of the characters.   All of the males ( Taran , Fflewddur , Dallben , etc.) are dressed in dull earthy tones.   Taran wears a dark green, whereas Eilonwy is wearing a pale purple dress.   One of the fairfolk , a young female fairy, is dressed in pinks of various shades while all the boys are wearing greens and blues and oranges.   During one point in the film, Eilonwy crawls out of a dusty tunnel into a dusty room and takes the time to wipe the dirt off of her dress, knowing that she is going to get just as dirty all over again.

            Next is the role of Princess Eilonwy .   She is the only major female role in the movie.   She is the damsel in distress.   She is personally strong-willed and comes off as independent, but in the end she still needs to be saved by a male.   She is smart enough to find her way through the castle and even lead Taran out of the dungeon, but she cannot escape on her own.   She is under the impression that she has to have a warrior come and save her, and in the end she does.

            Once Taran has gotten Eilonwy and Fflewddur from the castle, we come to a scene in the forest.   Taran is playing around and swinging his sword through the air while Fflewddur plays his harp behind a group of bushes.   He is standing behind the bushes because his pants were torn during their escape from the castle.   Eilonwy is sitting on a log sewing up his pants.   This shows that she is somewhat domesticated.   The men are having a good time while she fixes Fflewddur’s pants.   Sewing is something that is stereotypically done by a woman.   Later in the woods, the three are discussing their escape.   Taran tries to take credit for their getaway, but Eilonwy points out that the sword Taran carries is enchanted, thereby transferring some of the credit to the sword.   Taran responds with a relatively sexist remark, “ what does a girl know about swords?”   This is to say that girls could not know anything about swords because they are something that only boys would know about.   Eilonwy tries to defend herself and fight back, but eventually gives in to her emotions and cries.   She storms off and he follows her to apologize.   This could lead one to believe that females are fragile and overly emotional.   This assumption of emotion comes up again later when Taran doubts himself and his abilities.   She supports him and even tells him “I believe in you.”   These words would not mean the same thing if they were coming from Fflewddur .   They renew Taran’s faith in himself because they come from a caring and emotional person—a ‘woman.’

            I noticed that while there is a distinction between the classes of the main characters, none of them seem to have a problem with the fact that they are from different levels of society.   Eilonwy is a princess, this means that she is of royal blood, but she seems perfectly content to be friends with a pig keeper.   Taran is an assistant pig keeper, who becomes the princess’s rescuer.   And in between these two is Fflewddur Fflam , the minstrel.   Ordinarily, it would have been his job to entertain people of stature such as Eilonwy , but she never asks him to, or orders him to, or even suggests it.   They see each other as people, not different occupations and places or levels in life.   Their differences in status do not prevent them from befriending each other.

            I think that the film wants the audience to walk away with a feeling of possibility.   Anything is possible.   While there are several indications in the film that boys are better rescuers, and that women are just emotional and have to have the assistance of a male, I don’t feel that this is the main message of the film.   The characters went up against terrible odds; they faced the Horned King, and defeated him.    The befriended total strangers, and in the end they won out over evil.   I feel that this was the main purpose of the movie, to show that no matter what we are faced with, there is always a way.   The movie explored the land of the mystical: talking creatures, winged dragons, and magic cauldrons.   This excites the imagination of the audience, and makes all the little idiosyncrasies of the movie seem to fade away.   One gets caught up in the film, and doesn’t notice that Eilonwy’s dress is purple, or that Gurgi is childlike.   They see interesting characters who work together to conquer a magical king and save the world.

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  1. How to Write a Response Essay With Magazine Article Example

    Outline. Introduction (1-2 paragraphs): grab the reader's attention and state your subject and purpose. Body (3 or more paragraphs): Summarize the article you read in 1-2 paragraphs. Give three or more responses to the article with evidence to back them up. Responses include answering the following: What do you think about the ideas in the ...

  2. Guide to Writing an Effective Response Essay

    1. Identify the main topic or issue you will be responding to. 2. State your position or stance on the topic clearly and concisely. 3. Provide a brief preview of the key points or arguments you will present in your essay to support your thesis. Remember, your thesis statement should be specific, focused, and debatable.

  3. How to Write a Reading Response Essay With Sample Papers

    5 Responses. Your reaction will be one or more of the following: Agreement/disagreement with the ideas in the text. Reaction to how the ideas in the text relate to your own experience. Reaction to how ideas in the text relate to other things you've read. Your analysis of the author and audience. Your evaluation of how this text tries to ...

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    Below is a sample summary response essays example to help you better understand how to write one. A Summary of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 5. Share Your Reaction. After summarizing the original material, the second part of a response paper involves writing your opinion about author's point of view.

  5. How to Write a Reader Response (with Examples)

    Views: 449,225. To write a reader response, develop a clear thesis statement and choose example passages from the text that support your thesis. Next, write an introduction paragraph that specifies the name of the text, the author, the subject matter, and your thesis. Then, include 3-4 paragraphs that discuss and analyze the text.

  6. How to Write a Reaction Essay, With Examples

    A reaction essay is an essay about your thoughts and feelings about a topic. It's a response to a piece of media, such as a book, event, article, movie, or podcast. How is a reaction essay structured? A reaction essay follows the same structure as other types of essays. Here is an example of a five-paragraph reaction essay outline:

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  8. 5.7: Sample Response Essays

    Sample response paper "Typography and Identity" in PDF with margin notes. Sample response paper "Typography and Identity" accessible version with notes in parentheses. This page titled 5.7: Sample Response Essays is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Anna Mills ( ASCCC Open Educational Resources ...

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    Response Essay Examples. 75 samples. A response essay is a sub-genre of critical writing. It describes your impressions from a book, movie, art, music, research paper, or any other creation. Its distinctive feature is the unlimited subjectivity allowing you to express whatever emotions the analyzed object has evoked.

  10. How To Write A Response Essay.

    An introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion are the most important parts of a response essay. The introduction should give background information about the text and include a that shows the writer's opinion about the text. The writer's from the text in the body paragraphs. The conclusion should restate the main points and give a ...

  11. How to Write a Response Paper

    Record your thoughts. Develop a thesis. Write an outline. Construct your essay. It may be helpful to imagine yourself watching a movie review as you're preparing your outline. You will use the same framework for your response paper: a summary of the work with several of your own thoughts and assessments mixed in.

  12. How to Write a Critical Response Essay With Examples and Tips

    1. Introduction. The introductory paragraph in a critical response essay consists of two primary sections: a summary of an article and a thesis statement. Firstly, a summary of an article consists of the text's central argument and the purpose of the presentation of the argument (Davies, 2022).

  13. How to Write a Response Essay (Reaction Essay)

    In many cases, a response or reaction essay is completed in response to a video, reading assignment, or special event. For example, if something interesting or shocking has been reported in the news, you might write a response or reaction paper that expresses your viewpoint on the events.Similarly, if you're in a class that has taken a trip to an art museum, you might be called upon to write ...

  14. How to Write a Response Essay Guide: Tips, Topics, Examples

    Introduction. Paragraph 1: The first part of the introduction which needs to be vivid, catchy and reflect the point you are about to make. Paragraph 2: Provide a context to your response essay: details about the source-text and the author and what the main points in the article are. Body.

  15. How to Write a Response Paper: A Comprehensive Guide

    Carefully Read and Analyze the Text. The first step in response paper creation is to carefully read and analyze the text. This involves more than just reading the words on the page; it requires critical thinking and analysis. As you read, pay attention to the author's tone, style, and use of language.

  16. PDF Luc Writing Center "How to Write a Summary Response Essay"

    A summary response essay summarizes and responds to an author's argument on a particular subject or issue. Firstly, this requires careful, faithful explanation of what the author ... point in roughly half of your essay (Example: in 2 1-2 pages if the limit is 5). If you have two paragraphs per page (See "The Essay Paragraph Equation ...

  17. Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays

    A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style.

  18. How to Write a Summary, Analysis, and Response Essay Paper With Examples

    Sample Essays. Men and Women in Conversation: Example response essay to Deborah Tannen's article about how divorce can be prevented if people learn the communication signals of the opposite gender. Response Essay about Getting a Tattoo: Responds to a personal experience article from The New York Times about a man who gets a dragon tattoo.

  19. SAMPLE RESPONSE PAPERS

    The first example, however, is one I wrote as a sample for the first reading response. EXAMPLES: Chris McGee. ENGL 380-01. Response 1 Of all of the common assumptions that we discussed in class, I think one of the most common is the idea that a children's text should in some way teach the reader something.

  20. How to Write a Personal Response Essay

    Write Your Response. If you've already done a thorough job outlining your paper, the step of actually writing it will be one of the least arduous parts of the whole process. Go through your outline and expand on your thoughts. The most challenging part of this will be linking your thoughts in a logical flow.

  21. Sample Reading Response Paper

    The following sample response essay was written as part of an in-class exercise I did with my freshmen college students. Each student wrote a response, and we compiled the best comments into one essay. I then took the essays from both classes and wrote up the following example. The essay responds to "Let's Stop Scaring Ourselves" by Michael ...

  22. 12.9: Essay Type

    The Response Essay. The response essay is likely the most informal type of literary analysis essay students will encounter in a literature course. This essay simply asks the student to read the assigned text (s) and respond to said text (s). There are several purposes in writing such an essay. This kind of essay:

  23. 5.7.1: Annotated Sample Response Essay- "Spread Feminism, Not Germs"

    Spread Feminism, Not Germs. COVID-19 is not the first outbreak in history and probably won't be the last one. (Note: The opening statement provides the essay's overall context: the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic.) However, its effects will be long-lasting. (Note: The followup statement introduces the essay's particular focus: the impact of ...