Characterization
This word best describes the narrator’s attitude toward people who judge her without knowing her.
What is defiant?
The narrator opens the story by responding to people who believe she fits a certain stereotype.
What is the belief that she is not a “good girl”?
The story is told from this point of view, allowing readers to hear the narrator’s uncensored thoughts.
What is first-person point of view?
One major theme of the story is the importance of self-identity.
What is identity?
Readers can infer that the narrator has been judged like this many times before.
What is unfairly or stereotyped?
The narrator’s reaction to labels shows she values this personal trait above all else.
What is independence (or individuality)?
Much of the story focuses on the narrator explaining why others’ assumptions are this.
What are inaccurate (or unfair)?
Draper’s use of informal language and dialect helps make the narrator feel more ________.
What is authentic (or realistic)?
The story suggests that labels placed on people are often this.
What are limiting (or misleading)?
The narrator’s defensive tone suggests she feels this emotion beneath her confidence.
What is hurt (or frustration)?
The narrator’s tone suggests she feels this way about society’s expectations for girls.
What is frustration?
Rather than a traditional action-based plot, the story develops through this type of conflict.
What is internal conflict?
The author repeats certain phrases to emphasize the narrator’s resistance to being labeled as this.
What is a “good girl”?
A central message of the story is that individuals should be judged based on this.
What are their actions and character?
The narrator’s need to explain herself implies that society often expects girls to behave this way.
What is quietly obedient (or “proper”)?
This type of character is the narrator, since she tells the story using her own thoughts and feelings.
What is a first-person narrator?
The story ends with the narrator asserting control over this aspect of her life.
What is her identity (or how she defines herself)?
By choosing a conversational tone, Draper makes the story feel more like this type of text...
What is a personal reflection (or a monologue)?
The narrator’s experiences support the idea that stereotypes can limit this.
What is personal freedom (or self-expression)?
The narrator’s frustration hints that she has struggled with this issue over time.
What is being misunderstood or mislabeled?
The narrator’s repeated insistence on defining herself reveals her internal conflict with this force.
What are stereotypes (or societal expectations)?
The central tension of the plot revolves around how the narrator is seen versus how she ________.
What is sees herself?
The author’s choice not to include many other characters highlights the importance of this idea.
What is self-identity (or the narrator’s voice)?
Overall, Draper argues that personal identity should be defined by the individual, not by ________.
What is society (or others’ expectations)?
From the narrator’s perspective, readers can infer that being labeled a “good girl” would require her to sacrifice this.
What is her authenticity (or individuality)?