Appleman-Chapter 5

When is comes to feminist theory, I agreed mostly with a particular quote that Appleman states in chapter 5.

"As students read and interpret literary text, feminist theory can help them to notice salient issues of gender--the portrayal of women in the world of the novel, the gender of the author and what relevance it may bear to how the work is both written and received, the ways in which the text embraces or confronts prevailing ideologies of how men and women are situated in the 'real world,' and the ways in which our own interpretations as individual reader are gendered" (Appleman, 76-77).

I think this particular statement in the chapter serves as a feminist theory mission statement when using it with young adolescent readers. Each thing that Appleman states as helpful when it comes to feminist theory creates different approaches and angles that can be done in an English classroom. Having this many approaches into feminist theory may be good to have for classroom environments that may not feel comfortable addressing each of these angles. However, it is good to touch base with each of these when reading a novel that displays feminist theory.

I really enjoyed Appleman's examples of student responses using a feminist perspective. Some of the conversations between the females in the class and the males in the class were quite intriguing. It was a bit of a reality check for me in terms of what issues and verbal attacks that can occur when discussing a theory like feminist theory. I think that allowing these conversations in the classroom, as long as they stay appropriate, is a great learning experience for both parties to gain perspective.

Since feminist theory can obviously become a controversial issue in the classroom, I think it is an important theory to teach in order for young adolescents to understand different points of view. This will then expand their horizons and allow each student to find deeper meanings in the text relating to the feminist theory.