Track the character development of Kate Winslet's protagonist, April, in the film "Revolutionary Road," (with Leonardo DiCaprio, 2008).
And then track the character development of Nora Helmer, the protagonist in Henrik Ibsen's play, "A Doll's House,."
How is the study of one (female) protagonist a framework for study and insight of the other?
Are both equally caught by and damaged by misogyny?
Misogyny in the Movies/Literature: Effects on Female Protagonists
Your Task
Track the character development of Kate Winslet's protagonist, April, in the film "Revolutionary Road,"(with Leonardo DiCaprio, 2008). And then track the character development of Nora Helmer, the protagonist in Henrik Ibsen's play, "A Doll's House," (Copenhagen, 1879). (This is in our text.)
On the basis of these protagonists' similar (though superficially different) "inner Journeys," write a convincing, credible college-level essay with the help of the guidance below. Length 4-6 pages of your text. You need NO outside sources.
I. In the first section of the body of your paper, start with the notion that these two great artistic works both happen in cultures of strict conformity: both women and men must "play roles" in almost all aspects of their daily lives. Illustrate and explain this idea using orderly examples from both the film and the play. (This is an important section of the essay).
II. Then in a second section, introduce your sense of the misogyny of each culture-define it, how it manifests, in whom and in what institutions, and devote a large portion of this section to showing what, where, how, or why each protagonist's human vitality (neither protagonist submits easily to the status quo) is twisted or distorted because of misogynist behaviors of individuals and cultural/institutional beliefs of the times and places. (This is perhaps the most important section of your essay, persuasively speaking).
III. Finally, (in what may be the second most important section of the essay) explain why you think these protagonists, both "caught" or trapped by their cultures' misogyny, either triumph over the cultural attitudes or are doomed by it; i.e., do you see the endings as optimistic or tragic? Or some variation on this spectrum.
IV. Conclude your essay with a summary of your thesis and a paragraph explaining what studying the topic and these works have meant to you.
Prompt Question for Focusing Your Outline and Thesis:
Q. How is the study of one (female) protagonist a framework for study and insight of the other? Are both equally caught by and damaged by misogyny? These are great protagonists, remember.
Success:
• As with the fairy-tale/short story essay, the topic sentence-outline will keep these papers organized and concise; i.e, handle both protagonists in each topic sentence.
• Remember, as in the fairy-tale/short story essay, one work is a frame or reference for the other; so the works need not be written about with equal weight or space.
• Consider each example you choose as "typical and representative" of others you need not go into. Your examples should "represent" some bigger idea, something general. Therefore, choose examples on your own, and choose them with great care.