It is easy to read Gay’s text — she delights us with humor and…

ChefNarwhal2665 It is easy to read Gay’s text — she delights us with humor and…It is easy to read Gay’s text — she delights us with humor and speaks conversationally about a subject that seems accessible to many of us. But, of course, we can also learn a great deal from taking her writing seriously — not necessarily every single instruction, but rather the ways she invites us to think about gender. How is gender set up? What does it encourage and discourage us from doing? An essay in which you consider Gay’s text in terms of arguments about gender more broadly. What do these instructions imply about gender? What does Gay want us to see about women, femininity, men, and masculinity? Quote specific passages and be sure to explain what interpretative moves you have to make as a reader to get from your supporting quotations to Gay’s arguments (or questions) about how gender works on us, with us, and against us.A significant way to learn about Gay’s piece, and about writing more generally, is to take on the style and form of the essay you are reading to understand for yourself as a writer what the form allows and makes possible. For this assignment, first consider the list form of Gay’s work: How does she execute this form? What are some of the signature moves in the list form? How might you instruct someone else about how to “write like Roxane Gay” — or at least write like her in this particular piece?Once you’ve given those questions some thought and taken some notes, design a list-form essay of your own. You might begin with the title “How to .” Like Gay, you want to make a list of thirteen, or another number, of instructions, and like Gay, you want your title to be something interesting and perhaps something one would not typically give instructions about. Also like Gay, you’ll want your piece to delight its readers, but you will also want it to encourage your readers to consider larger cultural, philosophical, or political questions about our world today. After finishing your essay, compose a postscript in which you describe the process of writing it. What did you learn about the form? How do you measure your success in pulling off this alternative form? Gay ends her piece on a particularly resonant note, writing:   My mother’s favorite saying is “Qui se ressemble s’assemble.” Whenever she didn’t approve of who I was spending time with, she’d say this ominously. It means, essentially, you are whom you surround yourself with. (p. 345)Here, Gay is sharing a personal story from her own upbringing, but she is also sharing a philosophical view (via her mother’s expression). Spend some time with this idea. What do you think it really means that a person is who they surround themselves with? How have you seen this idea to be true in your own experience? Are there ways you would complicate or challenge this idea? Think about your own life: Are you who you surround yourself with? And if you are, what does that mean for you? What questions and challenges does that pose, and what can you learn about yourself and others from thinking about your life through the lens of this philosophy?  Arts & HumanitiesEnglish