Amy L. Beck’s “Struggling for Perfection” and
Dave Barry’s “The Ugly Truth about Beauty”:
Comparing Larry and Farrah, Analyzing the Social
Forces Causing Their Conditions
(If you would
prefer a PDF of this assignment, go here.)
For this
assignment you will co-author an essay based on the following two profiles
of college students Larry and Farrah and the Dave Barry and Amy Beck
“beauty” essays in your book.
While you and your co-author will collaborate on an
outline and a draft, you
may part ways after workshopping the draft and then submit individual
revisions. Remember, the purpose of co-authoring is
-
to teach each
other more about writing, reading, and documentation;
-
to build on
each other’s strengths; and
-
to become more
comfortable working as a team.
Please keep
in mind Barry and Beck’s “beauty” arguments when you re-read profiles 1 and
2 of Larry and Farrah, respectively:
Profile 1:
Farrah
Farrah is a 19-year-old student at
Fallacy College in San Francisco. Whether by means of television,
newspapers, or magazines, she constantly looks for images of “perfect”
faces and bodies. As a result, she is abnormally preoccupied with a real
or imagined defect in her physical appearance. For example, she worries
endlessly that her skin is too pale, her hair is too curly, her nose is
too long, or something else is wrong with the way she looks. Farrah is
so preoccupied with the shape of her thighs that every morning she
stands in front of the mirror wondering if they look any thinner. Her
morning ritual consists of staring into the mirror for an extended
length of time while slapping her thighs with her hands in an
unconscious effort to make them smaller or to make the fat she sees
disappear. She often asks her sorority sisters if her thighs are fat.
Unfortunately, when others tell Farrah she looks fine or that the “flaw”
isn't noticeable, she does not hear or believe it, convinced of her own
imperfection. It doesn’t help that Joshua, Farrah’s boyfriend, has also
become overly preoccupied with the rigidness of his abs and the
thickness of his hair, constantly checking the mirror to make sure that
he is not bald and puny. |
Profile 2: Larry
Larry does not know Farrah, but he is
also a twenty-year-old student at Fallacy College. Since his
sophomore year of high school he has been at least ninety pounds
overweight and has decided that wearing a backwards Giants baseball
cap is much better than a shampooed head of hair; it matches his
stained, unwashed Nike t-shirt usually worn three days in a row. His
mother, a corporate lawyer, often too tired to argue at home, always
found Larry’s personal hygiene habits disturbing, especially since
their home in Pacific Heights has three showers. In general, Larry,
who lives in a Fallacy fraternity house, still showers maybe two or
three times a week, never covers his mouth when coughing or sneezing,
and thinks it is funny--maybe even macho--when he spits near a woman.
Convinced that women enjoy his rugged exterior, Larry usually wastes
no time asking women on dates, often before exchanging names with
them. When these women act shocked or offended, Larry usually
sustains a belch in their direction; sometimes he may even curse
them. Regardless of the scornful glares women burn upon him, Larry
sees a very different person when looking at himself in the mirror: a
wonderfully proportioned, funny, unique man--a real chick magnet.
|
Your
Task
Your argument
will bring together various comparison, causation, and quotation strategies
explored in your assigned reading and on your summary-response sheets.
The point of your essay will be to use Barry and Beck’s essays not only to
explain what has caused Larry and Farrah’s obvious differences but to argue
that ultimately they have something very important in common. Since
this will be a 2-3 page essay, plan on quoting Barry 2-3 times and Beck 2-3
times. Another goal for this task will be to show off your skill w/
transitions, parallelism, modifiers, coordination, subordination, and MLA
style.
Organizational Possibilities
Your organization
must take into account your thesis, of course, as well your
requirement to include
·
the Larry
and Farrah profile material,
·
an
exploration of Larry and Farrah’s differences,
·
a stylish
application of your knowledge of Barry and Beck’s arguments to Larry and
Farrah,
·
an
insightful unpacking of Larry and Farrah’s similarity, and
·
a closing
that demonstrates social concern.
For example,
this structure might have potential:
Opening—Illustration
of or commentary on the issues of beauty, gender, and health in our society
THAT leads to a thesis
Body ¶1—Restate
the profile of Farrah
Body ¶2—Restate
the profile of Larry
Body ¶3—Use
Barry/Beck to explore a cause of Larry and Farrah differences
Body ¶4—Use
Barry/Beck to explore another cause of Larry and Farrah differences
Body ¶5—Use
Barry/Beck to explore another cause of Larry and Farrah differences
Body ¶6—Argue
that ultimately Farrah and Larry have something important in common
Closing—Where
do we go from here in our society?
USE
YOUR INSPIRATION MAP/OUTLINE TO BUILD YOUR ANALYSIS AND CONTENT! SHARE
THE MAP WITH YOUR CO-AUTHOR. |