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Irony In Rae Spoon's Prairie Gender

362 Words2 Pages

The short story, Prairie Gender, written by Rae Spoon examines ones’ difficulty identifying with a single gender. Spoon uses the literary device, irony in order to express the confusion and difficulty people have with gender. More specifically, the use of irony is used due to the fact that the gender conventions of society are flipped in the protagonists home town. Throughout the short story, the protagonist struggles to identify as a male or a female, primarily, due to the strict gender conventions society places on each gender. However, the town the protagonist grows up in, the gender expectations are reversed therefore amplifying her confusion. In society, stereotypically men are viewed as more powerful, stronger and dominant to women.

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