Looking through the Gender Theory Scope and Relieving the Anxiety of Re-reading Texts

            While sitting in on an ELA 10 class, one of the female students commented during class that she hated the book (Of Mice and Men) and the teacher asked why that was.  She said it was because there was only one girl in it and she has a very insignificant part.  The teacher said that while she is not even given her own name (she is only referred to as “Curley’s wife”), her role in the novel aids the reader by explaining the time period; thus, her character is important.  The teacher told the class that they would explore the gender roles next class, but unfortunately I was not present. Helping students to understand why she is characterized in the manner she is would break down some of the judgements of the novel.

This example is a good lead into Appleman’s chapter on the gender lens as a way for students to use it as a focus when attempting to gain insight to characters that they would not be able to make connection to otherwise.  It is important when using a gender lens to also examine the male construction of gender and how it fits into the novel.  The class should also look at Curley in the construction of hyper-masculinity and patriarchal power structures as this may help students better understand his character and the historical context.  The gender lens also allows students to discover how their gender affects how they view individual characters.  It will teach students about the social construction of gender and hopefully it will help to begin to break down some of the barriers that surround this issue. 

            Gallanger’s text discussed different ways to get students to re-read difficult parts of texts.  We need to teach students the skills to be able to infer what is beyond the written words of the text.  They need to be able to understand deeper meaning and to read between the lines.  Various strategies for us to use are brainstorm charts and frame questions that ask students to go beyond simple plot regurgitation. Also asking them to predict what they think is going to happen is a good strategy to get students really thinking about and interested in the text. We need to get students to really reflect on the text and draw meaning from it on their own…with some guidance of course!