The Danish Girl Sparknotes

The novel, Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse takes place in the Netherlands during the German occupation of the Holocaust. A young girl, Hanneke, who is involved in a black market operation is faced with an unusual and presumably impossible task; she had to find the young Jewish girl that mysteriously disappeared from hiding, while in her neighbor's house. Throughout the novel, Hanneke learns many valuable lessons, which can also be applied to the readers lives, making the novel meaningful in my opinion.

In the novel, The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, there is a girl named Jessica. Jessica is a sixteen-year-old girl and a runner. Her whole life is running. She loves the sport and was a champion until there was an accident and she lost her leg. On the way back from a race, Jessica’s school bus was hit by a truck driver who was drunk. Her teammate Lucy, who was sitting right in front of Jessica died. Jessica was left with a horrible injury, her leg was lost. As Jessica is recovering from her accident, she learns to get help, believe in herself, she has a new special friendship with a girl with a disability, Rosa, and she finds a new love.

In conclusion, there are two people in this world: those who can deal with life’s challenges and those who cannot. Guy could not face the fact of staying in poverty and decided to escape and find freedom elsewhere. Lili dealt with life’s challenges so she could give their son a better life then what they had. Danticat did a fantastic job by incorporating a historical reference to this story. The similarity between Boukman and Guy were identical.

Through out her book she continues to raise questions to make you think such as: “What does it mean to be a man?” and “What does it mean to be a woman?” In her circumstance she is a male to female transsexual who is also a lesbian, whose girlfriend actually ended up transitioning from female to male. And she raises the question, “What does all of this mean?” she also talks about those who define themselves as neither gender (Bornstein). Through her book she strives to make readers think about their life and the people around them. The overall questions she asks are: “What is Identity?” and “What is your identity?” She uses personal experience, stories, theories, political activist, television shows, and humor to back up her theories and arguments while continually raising questions about gender, orientation, desire, and why we as a society are so attached to a dualistic gender system. She does a great job of achieving her goal in teaching readers about the basics of the topic while making readers think.

There is a theme in “The Girl in Blue” by Ann Rinaldi. The theme is that gender does not affect skill level. “The Girl in Blue” is set in 1861, and is about a Michigan native by the name of Sarah Louisa. She is about to be forced to marry a man of her abusive father's choice when she decides to run away and join the army. She joins the army under the ruse that she is a boy and participates in the battle of Bull Run but her gender is eventually found out by her doctor and general. She is not punished for her actions but discharged and sent to work as a spy for the Pinkerton agency. She is sent to spy on a southern ally who is under house arrest to find out how she is sending messages to the south. She discovers how and is rewarded with a break. She travels home to find her abusive father had died and her sister is betrothed to the man she ran from. She leaves to go back to her job as a spy and that is where the story ends. Some of the reasons the theme could be gender not affecting skill level is that first of all the general does not punish her for her actions. Second, she is sent to work as a spy for a job only a woman could do. Lastly, before she even goes to war she has to do all the work for the house instead of her father.

In the film Lars and the real girl by Craig Gillespie, an important character developed is Lars. Lars lives in a tight knit community based in a small American town. Lars has a fear of human contact which results in him suffering form a delusional disorder where he falls I love with, Bianca, a life sized ‘real’ doll. Through his relationship with Bianca he is provided with unconditional love and lack of criticism he desires. This inurn helps him gain confidence he requires to engage in his community and begin to relate to those around him. Gillespie shows the development Lars undergoes through the techniques setting, costume and dialogue.

Self reflexive writing is a method used by authors where they write about writing. It is often an abstract concept, and the way that David Arnason uses it in his narrative “A Girl’s Story” adds a unique perception to the story. Throughout the story it is made clear that, at times, things may be entirely different than they appear to be at first glance, and how, in general, meanings are not absolute. The piece of writing “A Girl’s Story” is a story about a writer, writing a story about a girl who is having problems with her fiancé as she feels unfulfilled. It is supposed to be a somewhat cliché short story, as the writer even acknowledges that himself. He does this by stating why he made various decisions when constructing the main character such

People in the real world have huge abilities past what is thought to be conceivable, and the ability to take advantage of one’s greatest potential originates from his/her identity. Throughout a person’s life, it is important to find what defines him/her and figure out how he/she can gain more independence and self-sufficiency as a human being. An overcoming and conquering tone is created throughout the novel to portray the main character’s “awakening” during her life and to show that life is hard at times, but can be regained as she unleashes her inner self. In The Awakening, author Kate Chopin uses revealing details and figurative diction to establish a triumphant tone when discussing Edna and her capability to gain her own individuality,

In the article “America’s Transition” Steinmetz reports that George traveled to Denmark to begin his transition to a woman named Christine Jorgensen (40). In the 1950s the transition from male-to-female was very rare. The subject of transition from an assigned sex at birth to the opposite was taboo. After Christine’s story was published in the New York Daily News and Time, American society began to question the definition of gender and why George was now Christine. Deceptively like today, as Time magazine mentions, “history is filled with people who did not fit society’s definition or gender (40).” Media talks about transgender, and it seems new, but it is not. Transgender is not something that just occurred today and had never been heard of before. This subject is just now coming out into the open more often than usual. In parallel to the “coming out” from transition, society is not far from the 1950’s because there is still stereotypes and discrimination against the transgender

Abortion is one of the most controversial issues among American Citizens. Many Americans believe that life begins when a child is conceived while others insist that a child is not alive until a few months into the pregnancy. Although supporters for abortion agree that life begins during a few months into the pregnancy, they support abortion until around twenty-two weeks. This contradiction of beliefs among abortion supporters sparks anger with those who are pro-life. This argument between pro-life and pro-choice has continued on for a long span of time although there are many arguments for pro-life that need to end this debate. Abortion has been a major issue in

Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, had been raised by strong women’s rights advocates, which makes her characterization of the women in her story a wildly controversial discussion topic even all these years later. Mary Shelley’s philosopher father paid for her high education, and her mother wrote several works about equality for women. She lived a substantially progressive lifestyle, considering the time period in which she lived. This has raised many questions regarding the weak female characters in her story, due to her own very contrasting beliefs.

Nancy Oliver’s movie Lars and the Real girl depicts a story that shows of a life that is lost and confused. Lars, a 27 year old man, does not have decent social interaction with others. He struggles with family and social encounters. He has a brother named Gus who is married to Karen. They are soon expecting a child on the way. Gus and his wife live in the house of Gus’s deceased parents. Lars lives out in the garage on their property. Soon on into the movie Lars gets a girlfriend that he supposedly meets online and tells his brother about it. Gus and his wife soon realize what online meant when they met his girlfriend Bianca. Bianca is actually a life-size doll. Lars treats her as normal and even tells Gus and Karen about her life as a child.

Susanna Kaysen’s “Girl Interrupted,” is an autobiography in relation to Kaysen’s two-year stay at a mental hospital as she battles borderline personality disorder. Although in denial, Susanna Kaysen is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder but is unable to come to terms with her illness as she reassures herself she is fine. The reader learns that Kaysen is an unreliable narrator that is unable to discover the truth behind her illness. Through the exploration of her relationships, actions, and opinions, enhances the fact that Kaysen is mentally ill. Through her past and present relationship’s, Susanna demonstrates her self-destructive tendencies. Kaysen’s impulsivity in the novel is another indication that her diagnosis is fitting. Finally, Kaysen’s thought process and anxious behavior further prove her as a candidate for BPD.

In Max’s experience of being intersexed, Max suffered a subjective horror regarding his sex. Max was born with both genitalia, but upon the surgeon’s decision of removing Max’s male genital, he grew up facing dissonance between his gender and sexuality. He constantly felt discomfort when trying to start his relationships, often feeling something was wrong or off. When he found out his sex, he said that he was a monster. In contrast Max’s experience, Koh, rather than having an internal conflict in herself, chose to embrace who she was, a ladyboy. She believes that she does belong in the social constructs of gender, but rather suggesting that it makes no difference. She found a man she loves and is willing to get married even though she was a