The End.

So I submitted my paper to three different venues as mentioned in a previous post. BYU Scholars Archive, AWE: A Woman's Experience, and The International Student Journal. It was scary at first, but now that it's done I feel more confident. I am excited to explore more publishing options with upcoming projects that I have in mind.

Goodbye to all my classmate bloggers! I say goodbye to this blog, but not to blogging. Here is my finished product. What a journey! I've learned so much.

How to enjoy writing an academic paper:

The journey to my finished product has been long and not without turbulence. Yet here I am, with a literary analysis paper behind me and I really enjoyed creating it. Here is a little bit about my process and what I have learned from interaction based research.

In the first post I wrote on this literary research blog, I summarized the novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. Annalee was the first to comment about how there are several feminist aspects in the novel that I could relate to Alice in Wonderland. I shared it with my Facebook friends and got a lot of people interested in the paper I was beginning to construct. Even though I was trying to avoid feminism, I took Annalee's repeated advice to incorporate feminist tones and it led me to my finished product. Until I was convinced, my first working thesis (or tweethis statement) dealt with control more than the role of women in literature. Sophie suggested I use more formal analysis and bring the author into the paper more, which was great since formal analysis is a weakness of mine. Annalee commented as well and expressed that there was still not a real "so what" in my argument. The only way to rectify this was to finally let feminism in and start talking about men and women as well as control. 

As I circulated my ideas to my friends on Facebook, I asked some general questions to get a conversation flowing. I asked what people thought about the book Ella Enchanted and was linked to some helpful websites. I also asked what people thought about feminism in Young Adult Literature. Later, I was able to get some helpful opinions about the definition of beauty. In a comment on my new post, Kate confirmed that what Annalee had been telling me for several posts now was true. I needed to address the feminism in Ella Enchanted.

Formal publications, here I come!

I have explored many different places where I could submit my paper about Gail Carson Levine' fairy-tale adaptations for publication, but I have come to the conclusion that the best place for it to go is to the BYU Scholars Archive. I have contemplated several guest blogs such as Interesting Literature but decided that my paper is too formal for that kind of blog, and the literature that I am analyzing is not "classic" literature which is what they seem to be looking for.

The other venue that I am seriously considering is called the International Student Journal. It accepts more formal papers and on a variety of topics. It's perfect for my Ella and Aza analysis! I am going to focus on those two venues now as I focus my paper throughout this week.

Addendum: I have also submitted my paper to AWE, the BYU Women's Study Journal since I am addressing topics of feminism in literature.

Two down, three to go!

On Monday I wrote a post about my literary analysis goals for this week. Now it's Wednesday and I have been able to accomplish some of them so I thought I would post an updated “Goals List” at my mid-week mark. 

Goals for the next two days:

• Complete a close-reading of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine.
• Look again at the sources I have now and incorporate them into my working paper.
• Find which sources that I have already complied aren't working for me with my revised thesis, and replace them with new ones.
• Organize the ordering and structure of my paper in preparation for Friday's half-draft.
• Complete 4-5 pages of organized, purposeful text to bring to class on Friday.*

It's good for me to post this, even though it embarrasses me a little to display all that I still have left to do. I think that's why it is so good for me to post it. It embarrasses me and thus motivates me to move more quickly through my goals. 

*I added this last goal because I want to bring something to class on Friday that is worth being peer reviewed. I don't want to waste my classmate's time. I want to bring something that they will enjoy reading and be interested in critiquing. 

Go for the goals.

CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0

There comes a time, when writing a literary analysis paper, when one must stop and appreciate the progress that has been made, as well as assess what still needs to be done. I have a pretty good handle on what I would like to address in the novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, but now that I have included Fairest (by the same author) in my paper, I feel the need to do some close reading with it. I have only read Fairest once all the way through and so I think I need to take some time to really study it in context of my topic. Also, I think I have several sources that aren't as relevant any more now that I have shifted the direction of my topic. I'd like to replace some of those with fresh sources that are more applicable.

My goals for the rest of this week:

• Complete a close-reading of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine.
• Look again at the sources I have now and incorporate them into my working paper.
• Find which sources that I have already complied aren't working for me with my revised thesis, and replace them with new ones.
• Organize the ordering and structure of my paper in preparation for Friday's half-draft.

Disney Symposium

How cool is it that the BYU English Symposium had a panel called: "A Whole New World: Disney, Adaptation, and the Americanization of Fairy Tales"? Pretty much, really cool.

The paper that helped me the most was "From Adoration to Antagonist: Father Figures in Popular Cinderella Tales" by Jenna Cooper. It was about the father-role in Cinderella book and film adaptations. One of her examples was Ella Enchanted! She wrote not only about how fairy tales are retold, but also about gender roles. Needless to say, this was a very helpful paper for me to listen to.

Cooper wrote about how Hollywood fairy tale adaptations have to adapt to the movie watching culture, which has little connection to the traditional tales. Novels have the power to be more literary and can thus connect audiences more easily to traditional fairy tale literature. She made the point that films tend to have a father role who is loving, supportive, and vital to Cinderella's determination and success, whereas books usually portray the father as a demeaning antagonist more like the original story of Cinderella. Because really, who would marry such a wicked woman as Cinderella's step mother?

I loved listening to what Jenna Cooper had researched and collaborated and found it really helpful to hear very similar ideas from a completely different angle. After the presentations, I approached her and asked her a few questions and explained the paper I have been working on. She agreed to let me see the entirety of her paper while we both expressed our love for the novel Ella Enchanted.

I don't know why I have never gone to the English Symposium at BYU before.

What Walt Disney Never Told Us

J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" poster from 1943

My favorite way to find enthusiasts is by contacting the authors of articles that have been helpful in my writing process. I wrote an email to one such author expressing my appreciation for her work and explaining how it has enhanced my own paper. Her article explores the male-directed film adaptation of Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine arguing that the film eliminates the feminism that is present in the novel, and also explores feminist fairy tale media in general. I have been researching feminism in Gail Carson Levine's fairy tale adaptations Ella Enchanted and Fairest. This article has inspired me look more closely at why in some parts of the novels, feminism makes way for the sake of the fairy tale. The article's bibliography also led me to several more helpful sources.  I explained to the author I would be citing her article in my paper.

The reply was enthusiastic to say the least. She offered me links to even more related sources, and advice for how to keep things organized. I again expressed my appreciation for the time and effort she was exerting on my behalf. We messaged back and forth on Goodreads until I felt comfortable asking her if she would be interested in reading a few pages from a draft of my paper. Her reply, "I'd love to see a draft of your paper. Thank you again for reaching out."  She often thanks me for "reaching out" and continually mentions how much she appreciates that I found her article, read it, enjoyed it, used it, and asked her questions about it.

deviantart.com

deviantart.com

As a result, she feels a desire, rather than an obligation, to read my paper too and give meaningful feedback. It's amazing what happens when we take the time to care about someone else's work.

The most exciting discovery that I have made recently is an article in The Journal of American Folklore called "Things Walt Disney Never Told Us". This article is the reason I have decided to include Fairest by Gail Carson Levine in my paper about Ella Enchanted because it directly addresses Cinderella and Snow White and the messages they teach society. This is exciting because I have a direction and can really feel the momentum now.

The article explains how the two princesses really aren't people at all when their characters are analyzed. This is going to help support my claim that these two fairy tales oversimplify women and in both cases, Levine restores feminine balance and reality to these stories. 

Snow White and the Seven New Sources

hakirah.org

In writing my literary analysis paper on fairy tales and feminism, my focus has shifted to include more of the novel Fairest as well as Ella Enchanted. Fairest is a retelling of Snow White by the same author: Gail Carson Levine. As I have been reading Fairest, I have become convinced that I need to write about it along with Ella Enchanted.

Here's an updated thesis:

The novels Ella Enchanted and Fairest are both fairy tale adaptations written by Gail Carson Levine. The young female protagonists, Ella and Aza, teach opposite lessons than the fairy tales they are retelling, redefining a woman’s beauty, success, and happiness as a result of hard work, wit, and determination rather than the effect of external actions, people, and circumstances.

As I was trying to research, I felt like I had already exhausted my efforts to find new sources. That is before I had a wonderful chat with a BYU librarian at 11:30pm. I couldn't believe it. My husband was amazed that there was someone willing to help me so late at night. I'm telling you guys, talk to the librarians if you haven't already done so. It was so helpful. I was led to these a source that helped me uncover all of these new sources below (and more).

Ella Enthused

Wikipedia Commons

I originally had too many ideas for my paper. Now that I have narrowed it down and eliminated the ideas that I felt didn't connect as well, I have been left with a problem. I think my paper lacks a "so what?" After writing this much, it seems to me that the goal of my paper has become a comparison, taking Ella Enchanted and Cinderella side-by-side and talking about what each text teaches young girls about womanhood. There aren't high stakes.

Does anyone have an idea of how I can make this idea matter? I think I am summarizing and pointing out some general truths, but I need help finding a way to make it have more weight. What if I incorporated how women have to fight to be a heroine, whereas men are expected be the hero? Thoughts?

Ella Enchanted: Regaining Feminist Control

There are certain roles society assumes appropriate for women and they are often reflected in literature. Young adult literature in particular envelopes the topic of gender as a dictator of status and expectations for young women. In the novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine there is no mistaking the feminist connotations. It is meant to be a retelling of the classic fairy-tale Cinderella; however, Ella, the young female protagonist, is teaching an opposite lesson than Cinderella. Ella begins the novel by explaining a curse of obedience that prevents her from having the agency to make her life her own. She is also fighting something much greater than her curse. The plot follows Ella's journey to rectify this curse of obedience, and along the way Ella defines a woman’s beauty, success, and happiness as a result of hard work, wit, and determination rather than from the actions of external people or circumstances as in Cinderella.

In Cinderella, her outward feminine beauty defines her worth. It is her pretty dress from her fairy godmother that gets her the prince in a matter of moments. In Ella Enchanted, this idea of beauty is addressed and discredited.

“I collapsed on the stool next to the stove, sobbing so hard I couldn't catch my breath. Then Mandy's arms were around me, and I was crying into the ruffles along the neck of her apron, where I had cried so many times before for smaller reasons...
“She couldn't be a fairy. Fairies were thin and young and beautiful. Mandy was as tall as a fairy was supposed to be, but who ever heard of a fairy with frizzy gray hair and two chins?" -Ella Enchanted

Welcome to the Real World.

Logo from goodreads.com

I have been on Goodreads exploring different reviews that members have written about the YA novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I stumbled upon an extensive review with a link to a whole article on feminism in Ella Enchanted. I was pretty excited, because it relates really well to the ideas I have been exploring for my literary analysis paper. I messaged the author of the article (a college student from Pace University) to thank her for her helpful article and asked her if she had any thoughts about feminism in Young Adult Literature specifically in fairy tales. She responded to me in literally 20 minutes:

"Hi Tori! Thanks for getting in touch. It's so nice to know people still find that review on here and actually read the article..."

She went on to give me links to several more articles and her thoughts about my topic. Wow. That was so helpful and it happened so fast. Plus, it was so easy. People really do wan
t to talk to me about my little paper! I was blown away by her eagerness.

I also have an old Facebook group from a class last fall semester and we have kept it going this semester even though we are all in different classes now. I don't know the people very well, all I know is that that are a little bit nerdy and have a lot of great thoughts about my ideas. This Facebook group I have quite honestly ignored for the past few months has become a great resource. 

I have also been looking for ways I can get my paper out to people who might care about reading it after I finish writing it. I had no idea that there were so many ways to publish undergrad essays online! I am very grateful for this informative blog post about how to find authentic audiences for my work, even while I am still a student. It has been very motivating.

BYUlogo.png

First of all, I am definitely going to submit my work to the BYU repository called the ScholarsArchive because it accepts any kind of student research. It would be a cool place to be published since I am attending school at BYU and I'd feel like I was leaving my mark here. 

I would also love to submit to the International Student Journal because I love the variety of topics and the range of research that they accept. People from all over the world can submit to this journal. I think my paper about YA literature, feminism, and gender roles will find a home there.

This blog: Interesting Literature is calling for any papers on literary analysis which is exactly the kind of paper I'm working on right now. This is one of my favorite options becuase I feel like guest blogging is more low-key. I feel pressure to write something worth reading, but I am not overwhelmed by the formal elements of a journal submission.

Chris on Flickr: shutterhacks

This blog: PURM is more geared toward bloggers who want to discuss the process of undergrad research. This isn't one that I could submit my paper to but it is something that is beginning to interest me. It makes so much sense for us to be looking for authentic audiences now while I am a student, and yet, I have never done it before. Why haven't I? I've decided it comes down to two things: fear and ignorance. I'm afraid of an authentic audience and I haven't bothered to learn how to find them. It's much more comfortable to settle for a contrived audience.

But no more. 

Real life is beginning. Undergrad researchers of the universe, are you with me?!

Regaining Composure

Things are getting out of control.

There is way too much going on in my brain. There was more going on than I even realized. Mapping it out was so simple, but so helpful for me because I didn't realize how separate some of my ideas were. I know that I need to eliminate the thoughts that aren't helping my ideas multiply. Also, I realize there were a lot of ideas that did connect that I didn't realize were connected. 

It's easy to see that I have too much going on.

I think I've narrowed it down to the main themes of control and feminism and how they are connected. I am steering away from Alice in Wonderland and will focus more on Ella's world using general examples from other texts.

So here is my shell of a paper.

Ella En-control

I've been thinking a lot this week about a character's control of their surroundings and the things that happen to them in the novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. What are characters in control of in a text, and why? The main character, Ella, starts her journey with very little control over her decisions. She is bound to the desires of those around her. Yet she drives and controls the flow of the novel. Her happy ending is achieved when she regains control over her own decision-making. My question then is what does this mean in connection with the men in Ella's life? The two men I am most interested in writing about are Ella's father, Sir Peter, and of course, Prince Char? What do they do to support or conflict with the feminist themes in the novel?

I am going to circulate my new ideas on Goodreads and a Facebook group I am still a part of from a class last semester. Feel free to comment!

Cinderella: The Anti-Feminist

I have been exploring Cinderella and the novel Ella Enchanted and how the latter is much more rich and realistic. There are several parts of Ella's story that teach an opposite lesson than the classic fairy tale Cinderella. This leads me to my latest question: What role does feminism play in how beauty, success, happiness is defined in Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine? 

Beauty:

What makes a woman beautiful?

Creative Commons License 2.0

"I collapsed on the stool next to the stove, sobbing so hard I couldn't catch my breath. Then Mandy's arms were around me, and I was crying into the ruffles along the neck of her apron, where I had cried so many times before for smaller reasons. A drop landed on my finger. Mandy was crying too. Her face was red and blotchy. "I was her fairy godmother too," Mandy said. "And your grandmother's." She blew her nose. I pushed out of Mandy's arms for a new look at her. She couldn't be a fairy. Fairies were thin and young and beautiful. Mandy was as tall as a fairy was supposed to be, but who ever heard of a fairy with frizzy gray hair and two chins?" -EE

Ella asks the question, "Who ever heard of a fairy with frizzy gray hair and two chins?" and the rest of the novel answers it. Mandy is beautiful because of who she is not because of what she looks like. Dame Olga, Hattie, and Olive are all ugly because of the way they act more than their physical appearances. Lucinda, the fairy who cursed Ella, masks her true nature with make-up, perfumes, and beautiful clothing in an attempt to stand out and appeal to people. Her shallowness make her instead, very unappealing. 

Feminist message: Beauty is not dictated by how society, particularly men, think women should look in order to be "beautiful", rather, beauty is being yourself and not altering your appearance for the sake of a man.

From stockmonkeys.com

Success:

In the story we all know, Cinderella does little to nothing to fight against her very unjust living situation. While she is treated as a slave and denied all that she could ever want, she simply takes it, crying silently to herself until magically she is rescued because of a few tears. It always bothered me that all Cinderella did to summon her Fairy Godmother was cry. Didn't it bother you a little too? When I have throw-myself-on-my-bed moments I have never been rescued by a fairy godmother or given a pretty dress.

Ella has no choice but to obey. 

“If someone told me to hop on one foot for a day and a half, I’d have to do it. And hopping on one foot wasn’t the worst order I could be given. If you commanded me to cut off my own head, I’d have to do it.” -EE

Ella is required by her father to go to finishing school where she is taught to eat, sit, sew, sing, and dance "properly" as a young lady should. Ella makes a great comment about how she doesn't "want to be finished" and disagrees that there is one way a lady should behave. Ella can't sew very well, but she is very skilled at picking up foreign languages quickly. She gets scolded for letting a conversation distract her from her sewing while at finishing school. Ella is even more constricted than usual with teachers and students telling her why she isn't a "proper lady". 

Feminist message: Women aren't solely homemakers and objects to be used for their elegant skills. If a woman is skilled with construction, linguistics, law, or business, they should have equal opportunities for these professions and not expected to learn the more "womanly" skills. 

Happiness:

In the classic tale, the fairy godmother comes, and gives Cinderella everything she's ever wanted.
Which is what, exactly? To go to the ball, to be with people, make friends maybe. It is interesting to me how all it takes is a pretty face and dress and boom, she has landed a high place in society and that is the end goal. Yay. Now she has everything she wants. So it seems pretty shallow and empty when I look at the story like that. I think we all realize how shallow and empty it is and maybe that's what makes Ella Enchanted so wonderful.

Ella’s Fairy Godmother doesn't come and rescue her in her moment of need. Instead, she is there all along, quietly encouraging and teaching her how to accept and deal with problems. Ella does not passively accept all of the demands of her odious stepfamily members.

Feminist message: Women don't need a man (or anyone) to come and "save" them.  Women can save themselves and create their own happiness based on the choices they make, not a shift it class because they "married up". 

And who doesn't like raspberry truffles?

One of my "general question" posts.

I didn't think my Facebook friends would respond well to an academic thesis post. Instead, I've been posting a series of very general questions like, "Who has read Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol? Tell me what you think about his writing." and "What's your favorite part of Ella Enchanted?" I found that these questions probably resulted in more responses than a specific thesis would have.

The most useful comment was a link to a book/movie review from my cousin. So awesome. I wouldn't have even known she had written it.

People care. Not just about what I am about writing about, but what I have to say about what they're writing about. On this group blog it's been neat to read posts with my name in them. It makes me feel like I really am helping other people with their papers. People want their opinion to be heard. This process has been fulfilling and validating for me.

I received some helpful comments on my tweethis statement blog post from Sophie and Annalee. Sophie suggested that I look at the literary techniques each author uses and how it affects their portrayal of decision-making and control. Awesome! I really liked that idea. Annalee also commented and suggested that I relate the idea of their lack of control to the male main characters.

Combining these comments made me think about how the gender of the writer plays a role in the perspective they each have on womanhood. From the beginning I have wanted to avoid feminism but it keeps cropping up and I'm considering it some more before I dismiss it entirely. I'm going to ask the Facebook community about feminism in young adult and children's literature and see what they have to say about it! #gettingexcitedaboutsocialproofs

At the beginning of this process, I've learned that ideas can fluctuate in importance. They come and go and create new ideas with different concepts. Sometimes I have to let an idea go so that a better one can take shape. Sometimes we need to pass up truffle in order to make way for a raspberry caramel turtle truffle.



This blog and the associated activities have already taught me a lot about how ideas work. 

They don't happen alone.

Control Issues

Annalee commented on my Ella Enchanted post and got me excited about something I hadn't thought about before: Ella and Alice both live in worlds in which they are out of control. The only thing is, I need a reason why that matters before it can be a good thesis.

So here's my working tweethis statement idea:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine takes place in a world where Ella isn't in control of her actions. In Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the lack of control in Wonderland leads Alice to make strange choices that aren't helpful. These two young heroines battle to gain control of their lives and both discover that they are more powerful than the conditions they've been placed in.

I'll be posting it on Facebook and Twitter to see if I can get any more feedback. HELP ME!

What is Good About Cancer?

Mom, me, and Dad: Summer '13

You don't think about your dad passing away when you're 20 years old and engaged to be married.

I had always imagined dancing with him to a daddy-daughter song at my reception. I had imagined him playing with my kids and being their grandpa, giving them all the advice he's given me.

Life has a way of being unexpected.

What's Good About Cancer?

What’s good about cancer? I’ll tell you.

‘Tis something together we beat.

Though death comes to all and we never know when,

to conquer lung cancer’s a feat!

This sickness has brought us much closer.

Together we conquered the foe.

No matter what happens hereafter

this trophy forever will glow.

The struggle has helped prepare for the day

when gathered to fathers we’ll be

when we finish this race of mortality

more ready, courageous, and free."

My dad wrote this poem last fall when he heard that we had beat his lung cancer. Three months later, in December, his cancer was back, this time Stage 4, and incurable. 

Cinderella, you have some explaining to do.

My first encounter with Gail Carson Levine was in Elementary School when I stumbled upon her collection of fairy tales retold entitled The Princess Tales.

I was immediately drawn to Levine’s writing style and skill with fairy tale adaptation.

I yearned for more.

A few years later I picked up this Newbury Honor book: Ella Enchanted.

I’m surprised I didn't find Ella sooner.