In the book, “Weetzie Bat” by Francesca Lia Block, the fairy tale styled story focuses on Weetzie’s life in Los Angeles, California based on her preferences and decisions. In summary, Weetzie, a bleached-blonde girl, met a boy during high school named Dirk, who she felt connected with. Their relationship was so close that they would do everything together, from going to bars, concerts, and soon live together. Since they were really close friends, Dirk trusted Weetzie enough to come out to her as gay. That was good news to Weetzie because she figured that they can “duck hunt” together. Eventually, Dirk meets his dream lover and his name is Duck, a surfer with freckles on his nose. Something unique about this novel is that it consists of unusual …show more content…
as much as she did. Throughout the book, Weetzie visits several places that brought her joy and that are exclusive to California. For example, Weetzie and Dirk would frequently attend shows at the Starwood, the Whiskey, the Vex, and Cathay de Grande. The Starwood was a music venue in West Hollywood, California on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and North Crescent Heights Boulevard. It closed down on June 13, 1988, but it still remains as a well-known place in California that celebrated punk and heavy metal culture in California. Cathay de Grande night club eventually closed down as well in 1985 due to frequent violence and legal issues. However, the Whiskey, or “Whiskey a Go Go” remains open on Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood. The image that Weetzie portrays of California by attending these punk night clubs is that CA is a place where one can live freely and recklessly. Essentially, recklessness is what punk and rock is. This image is central to the story being told because Weetzie was able to make many reckless decisions while living in CA, and still survive. It is as if people in California have the opportunity to live this way, but many outsiders from different states would view this sort of lifestyle as insane. This goes to show how California is a land full of
You are lucky, Little Bird, for you have wings. But you must learn to master them. Look at the baron’s hawk there on her perch. Just because she doesn’t flap her wings all the time doesn’t mean she can’t fly. ”(Cushman 83).
Jazz Jennings is a fifteen year old transgender girl who has spent her life trying to live a normal life. When Jazz was around three years old, her parents started to notice signs that she wanted to be a girl. They spent time researching and found that Jazz had gender identity disorder. The author uses the literary themes, conflict, motivation, and sequence of events to help the reader better understand her story.
In this essay I will touch on what intrigues me about Alison Bechdel’s creative and powerful art in Fun Home. Specifically this essay will look at a couple of pages that include her most interesting panels in the whole book. I compare the panels to others and discuss the feelings I have toward her choice of drawings and dialogue. By looking closely at and analyzing her artwork, I will show how Bechdel arouses curiosity with only two pages. First I will discuss a few panels on pages 220 and 221 that include Alison talking to her father after she has returned from college.
Zadie Smith’s “The Girl with The Bangs” is a vivid account of a romantic relationship between two incompatible characters with vastly different personalities. Told from a first person perspective, it traces the narrator’s journey through an unusual relationship with the girl Charlotte, exploring what it is like “being a boy” – enthralled by a girl’s physical features and thus willing to tolerate any faults of any magnitude (188). His optimism and attraction to Charlotte eventually leads him to grief, where, blinded by their relationship, he is caught unawares and replaced by another boy. Yet, he also achieves an epiphany: that the relationship is built on irrational obsessions and motives and is thus ultimately unsustainable. Told in introspection,
Samurai Kids Samurai kids by Sandy Fussell is set in feudal Japan. A young teenager called Niya who was born with one leg, dreams of being a Samurai. Throughout the book his experiences allow the personal growth that makes his dream possible. Niya was rejected by his father’s old Ryu because of his one leg. Later he found Cockroach Ryu and friends who helped him achieve his dream.
According to Savin & Williams (2006:41), sexual identity is defined as personally selected, socially and historically bound labels attached to the perceptions and meanings individuals have about their sexuality. Sexual identities usually fall within existing social categories such as straight, bisexual, transgender and homosexual (gay/lesbian). Klein in Evans et al. (2010:307) stressed that sexual identity does not only include sexual activity but also includes emotional preference, social preference, lifestyle, and self-identification, as well as sexual attraction, fantasy, and behavior. All of these things should be considered to provide a complete picture of sexual identity.
Do you think being gay is an option or is someone born that way? I 'm here to talk about someone who is trying to figure out feelings dealing with options. The author of The Gay Option, Stephanie Farmington tells us that she wrote a letter explaining her being gay and how she feels that it 's optional. This is important because it allows the reader to know what the just of the article will be about. Starting with the letter impacts the reader to an extent were they kind of feel sorrow for the Author.
“This morning, I wake in a room I do not recognize. I often wake in strange rooms” (Alexie 1). Flight is about a teenage orphan named Zits who wakes up as numerous different people in many different situations throughout the book. Zits goes on a journey to learn several lessons about life and his self worth. Sherman Alexie included many literary devices to help and represent Zits’ growth.
Transgender is the term used to describe an individual whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth. The documentary, “Growing up Trans”, is a sensitive clip to watch about young youths who attempt to navigate family, friends, gender, and the medical decisions they face at puberty. “Growing up Trans” focuses mainly on transitioned young youths. The transgender youth from the documentary links to many theories from chapter eight. Theories such as socialization, gender, sexuality, homophobia, transphobia, and microaggression are associated with “Growing up Trans”.
Gender is it a concept or is it made apparent by our DNA when you are born or does it change as you grow older? Often gender is something that society defines at birth. According to society certain gender roles are pre established when we are born. The majority of society believes that if you are born to a specific gender you should adhere to the gender roles while other people believe that instead we may be born to a gender but it does not always decide if you are that gender. Science has proven that just because you are born a male or female does not mean that you mentally see yourself as that gender.
In Perks of Being a Wallflower, the novel introduces a character named Patrick, Patrick has suffered from bullying because he is unique; his sexuallity choices have made him stand out from the rest of the average crowd. He is also experiencing problems with his partner Brad. Brad and Patrick are in a relationship and Brad is not quite ready to come out . He also bullies Patrick to demonstrate that he has no connection with Patrick. Because of this, Patrick is hurt and does not know what to do to escape from the fact that Brad is not ready to go public with Patrick. Nevertheless, he consumes drugs to try to forget what he is going through.
Although some may classify Weetzie Bat as strictly a tale of reality or fantasy, this novel displays elements that associate with both storylines. Therefore, based on hardships and undesirable events that contrast with circumstances of a fantastical lifestyle, Weetzie Bat categorizes as both a reality and a fantasy. In many aspects of the book, Weetzie Bat depicts a typical reality, defined by challenges that the characters encounter. These complications range from events such as a breakup between a couple to more extreme strains; for instance, the death of a family member.
Transgender stereotyping has come a long way. It used to not be understood, let alone accepted. It has taken many years, and the world has started to comprehend the changes transgender individuals want to make. We often take changes like these and pay no mind to them, because it is only human nature to judge others unlike you. It is unknown to us, therefore we are apprehensive about it.
If I was your girl – Book Review At first glance, If I was Your Girl (author Meredith Russo’s debut novel) seemed like the typical basic, easy going holiday read; A girl named Amanda moves to a small American town to live with her dad, and meets a guy named Grant. In fact, I almost put it back on the shelf, if not for one key factor that caught my eye; Amanda was born a boy named Andrew. This alone set a great premise for the plot line, and I was not disappointed one bit. Even if the story dragged in places, this book is still a firm favourite of mine due to the well-developed characters and vivid language. A key factor to keep in mind is that Russo herself is in fact also transgender, which in turn means the novel reads true to her experiences.
What would you do if you got beat up with a shovel because you were small? Keevan, the main character from the short story “The Smallest Dragonboy” by Anne McCaffrey, would be very patient. Keevan is the smallest dragonboy and people are constantly making fun of him and hitting him for it. The only way for Keevan to gain some respect is to earn a dragon. Although faced with many challenges along the way, Keevan pushes through and it rewarded with a bronze dragon, the most valuable dragon.