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She’s Not There

A LIFE IN TWO GENDERS

Jennifer Finney Boylan

+Viewing She’s Not There From the Perspective of an English Major

Formalist:

Language, scene, sensory, musing, plot, character, setting, point of view, tone, etc.

Readers Response:

Creates personal meaning, involve yourself during interpretation, make personal connection.

Historical:

Historical approach to literature, real people, places &times, background information.

Feminist:

Concerned with gender role, women status, double standards relating to gender, stereotypes.

Ethnicity:

Assumptions about language, customs, history, race, heritage, nationality, and religion origin.

+Type of Book Memoir

Autobiography

Fiction

Non-fiction

Romance

Horror

Historical

Mystery

Science Fiction

Tragedy

Comedy

Sequel

Violence

Note From the Editor

Dear Reader,

Have you ever walked into a cocktail party and felt you had no one to talk to? That your clothes were all wrong, our gestures uncomfortable? That you needed to be witty and charming so no one would notice how out of place you were? For Jim Boylan, life was a perennially awkward cocktail part. Funny and smart, he was often the life of the party, but in his heart he knew that his true self and his external persona were at odds. This is a book for anyone who has felt uncomfortable, out of sorts with the world, misunderstood by peers. As Boylan says, ‘While the dilemmas of transgendered people are arcane to most people, it’s my hope that this book will connect anyone who has ever wanted to do something they feared was impossible, to anyone who has ever been guided along a difficult path by the people that they love.’ She’s Not There is startling for the universality of Boylan’s human emotions-and the exuberance and ease which they presented.

Best, Deb Futter

+Literary Elements Language

Tone

Style

Sensory

Voice

Musing

Descriptions

Fluency

Comprehension

Dialog

+Reading Elements

+Things to Consider

Targeted Audience Stated in back of book

Morals and Beliefs of Author Each reader could interpret this differently

Topics and Themes Gender, Sexuality, Love, Life, Finding One’s Place in Society, Adversity…

Time Era and Location 1974-2002

Societies Views on Topic How we as readers view this topic and how characters presented in the book view this topic

+Erica’s Approach to Reading

Formalist Framework Perplex characters Jim/Jennifer, Grace, Russo, Luke, Patrick Style of writing within the book The way the reader is guided through the book Book

broken up into pieces, flashbacks from past to future, Title of sections…

Reader’s Response Perspective Personal thoughts on gender role Personal thoughts on life and love

Feminist Framework Looking at a women’s life from a mans perspective Stereotypes presented within the book

+Alyson’s Approach to Reading

Framework Perplex characters Style of writing within the book The way the reader is guided through the book

Perspective Personal thoughts on gender role Personal thoughts on life and love

Framework Looking at a women’s life from a mans perspective Stereotypes presented within the book

+Helping You to Understand She’s Not There from an English Major Perspective

Page 155- “I recognized the insanity of this kind of talk, recognized it from the lives of the women I knew, and as I moved into this territory I realized, not for the first time, that all of the cruel expectations that society puts on women- and that so many women put upon themselves- were now falling on my shoulders.”

Feminist Framework/Reader Response

Internal reflection on women’s struggles in society

Idea that society puts these expectations on women but also that women put these expectations on themselves

Goes on to further discuss the idea of weight and looks

Personal reaction to this

How did you feel when reading this?

+Helping You to Understand She’s Not There from an English Major Perspective

Page 117- “On this occasion I decided to leave the confines of my hotel room, and so it was that in June of 1999, for the first time since my Baltimore days, I went out in the world wearing a skirt. I spent about two hours getting ready, making sure I’d covered every nuance, shaving my arms, my legs, my face. I made sure my makeup was perfect…”

Formalistic Framework

Character feels comfortable in dressing as a women and going out in public, major rise in plot of story

Character’s self-reflection on self, sense of confidence

Out of usual setting and in Amsterdam

First time public sees Jim as Jennifer

+Helping You to Understand She’s Not There from an English Major Perspective

+Helping You to Understand She’s Not There from an English Major Perspective

+Questions to Consider

How does the relationship between Grace and Jim change once Jim decides to fully become Jennifer? Do you see a gradual change? How would you feel if you were Grace? Would you handle the gender transformation in a similar manner, or differently? Explain.

What symbolic elements do you notice being used through out the book? Why do you think Boylan decided to use such images in her writing? What do these images represent?