Ruiz1

VanessaRuiz
ProfessorDitch
English113B
08May2015

BreakingGenderNorms
Thenovel,
TheGuernseyLiteraryandPotatoPeelSociety
byMaryAnnShafferand
AnnieBarrowstellsthestoryofabookclubthatwas
formedafterbeingcaughtbysoldiersafter
curfew
.There

are
manymembersinthebookclub
,suchas,
ElizabethMcKennaandJuliet
Ashton.JulietsawriterwhostartedwritingtoDawseyAdams.DawseywritestoJulietto
asking
herformorebooksbecausetheywereonlyasmallamountofbooksontheisland.
Throughout
the
novel,MaryAnnShafferandAnnieBarrowsportrayElizabethandJulietas
strong,
independentwomen
who,despitepopularbeliefs,breakgeneralgendernormbyperforming
braveacts.
InAaronDevorsarticle
BecomingMembersofSociety:TheSocialMeaningofGender
in1994issueofComposingGenderarguesthatbeforewebecomegenderedmembersofsociety,
wefirsthavetofindourgenderidentities.Genderidentities
help
guidepeopletolearngender
rolebehaviorsthatareappropriatefortheirsex.Genderroleshavebeensociallyconstructedin
whichmalesshould
be
masculineandfemalesshould
be
feminine.Somemasculine
characteristics
includebeing
strong,brave,freeandindependent.Ontheotherhand,feminine
characteristics
includebeingc
aring,familyorientedanddependent.Whenamaleactsmore
feminineorafemaleportraysmoreofamasculineroletheyareseenasoutcasts.Ifandwhenthe
personfailstofollowthesegenderroles,theywouldbeisolatedbysociety.Becausesocial


Ruiz2

normoftendetermineourexpectationsforthepersonalitytraitsandbehaviorsthemenand
womenbothadoptandenact,failingtoconformtothesesociallyprescribedgenderrolesmay
resultinbeingperceivedandevaluatednegatively.(Sirin,McCreary,Mahalk120)Inthe
article
DifferentialreactionstomenandWomensGenderRoleTransgression:Perceptionsof
SocialStatus,SexualOrientation,andValueDissimilarity
statesthatwhenwomenormenfailto
followthesegenderrolestheybecomenonconformistinsocietyandwouldbelookedupon.
Womenareseen
asgenerally
weakerfortheirfemininegenderbut
ElizabethandJuliet
challengethese
preconceived
roles.Inthenovel,
ElizabethandJulietperformmanydifferent
actionsthatmaybeseenmasculine,whichmakesElizabethandJulietnonconformistsintheir
society.
Asthenovelcontinues,Elizabethmustconfrontherrebelliousness.
ElizabethMcKennaperformed
manyotheractsthatmebeseenmasculi
ne.Thenightof
thepigroast,themembersofthebookclubwerewalkinghomepastcurfewwhentheygot
stoppedby6germanofficers.Dawseyquotesinherletterto
J
ulietThenelizabethdrewinher
breathandsteppedforward.Elizabethisnttall,sothosepistolswerelineduptohereyes,butshe
didntblink.Sheactedlikeshedidntseeanypistolsather.Shewalkeduptotheofficerin
chargeandstartedtalking.(Shaffer,Barrows29)Allofthe
members
exceptElizabethweretoo
scaredtospeak.butshetookchargeandwithoutfearshe
respondedtothe
germanofficers.
Elizabethhasthecouragethatnoneoftheothermembersofthebookclubhad.Sheperformeda
masculinetraitbystandinguptothegermanofficers.
Elizabethcommitted
moreactswhichwouldbreakthegeneralnorms
.
Anotheractionshe
tookwouldbehiding
JohnBooker,
which
didnotworryabouttheriskshewouldgetherselfin
whilehelpingJohn.Mrs.MaugeryandElizabethMckennacametowarnhimthatthe


Ruiz3

commandanthadorderedalljewstoreporttotheGrangeLodgeHoteltoregister.Elizabeth
warnedJohnBookeraboutthegermanssuspicions.ElizabethmadeaplanforJohnBookerto
pretendtobeLordTobiashimself.(Shaffer,Barrows90)Elizabethdidnotmindriskingher
freedomforBookerwhichmakesherbrave.Inpage82,AdelaideAddisonwritestoJulietShe
helpedshelterandfeedanescapedprisonerofthegermanarmy.Shewasarrestedandsentenced
toprisononthecontinent.Elizabethunderstoodifshehelpedaprisoner,shewouldbearrested
andsenttoprisonbutshestilltookthechancesandgotarrested.
Alloftheseactscanbe
consideredbravewhichinreturnportraysherasmasculine
.Thegenderfeminineis
typically
seenasweakandfragil
ebutElizabethprovedthattobefalse.
Shewasbrave,an
dheroicin
timesofperil
.Inthearticle
CultureandCommunication
byAnastaciaKuryloarguesthatWhen
generalizingaboutaspecificculture,peoplecanerroneouslyviewmembersofthatcultureas
onedimensionalcaricatures.Inthisway,generalizationscanleadtostereotyping.Stereotyping
occurswhenpeopleexpectallculturegroupmemberstohavethesamecharacteristicsand
engageinthesamebehaviors.InthearticleKurylostatesthatsocietyshouldntgeneralizea
culture
sincethereismorethanonesidetoaperson.
Mostofthepeopleinacertaincultureare
differentthaneachother.Elizabethbelongstothefemaleculturebutattimesdoesnotresemble
thesamefemininequalitiessocietyhasledustobelieve.
Mostwomenwouldbutherfamily
welfarebeforeherownbutwhileshewasriskingherfreedombyhelpingtheprisoner,shewas
alsoputtingherdaughterinrisk.Whenshewasarrestedandsenttoprison,sheleftherdaughter
alone.
Onceagain,provingthatelizabethtookcontrolofherownactionsandbrokegeneral
norms.


Ruiz4

Next,
JulietAshtonportraysamasculinerolethroughbraveactsinthenovel.Julietwas
forcedtobeindependentatsuchayoungage.Julietwasanorphanattheageof12.Heruncle
raisedherbutdidntpaymuchattentiontoher.Shespentmostofhertimeataboardingschool.
Shedidnotliketorelyonmenlikemosttraditionalwomen.
Some
womenwishtogetmarried
andhaveafamilyandespeciallyinthe1940s.JulietwritestoSophieStrachanWhatisthe
matterwithme?Amitooparticular?Idontwanttobemarriedjusttobemarried.Icantthink
ofanythinglonelierthanspendingtherestofmylifewithsomeoneIcanttalkto,orworse,
someoneIcantbesilentwith(Shaffer,Barrows8)JulietexplainstoSophiethatshecannever
seeherselfbeingmarriedjustsoshecanfollowthegendernorms.Shewantstobemarried
becauseshechoosestobeandshecontinuestosaythatmarriagesoundsabadwayofspending
herlife.JulietbreakstheGendernormsbynotdesiringtogetmarried.Julietalsoperformsother
braveactsthatleadshertochallengingthegendernorms.
JulietAshtonisawriterwholivesinLondon.ShestartswritingletterstoDawsey.She
wantstowriteanarticleaboutthepeopleintheGuernseyIslandtotakeherwritingintoanother
direction.Julietloveshercareerandshowshowpassionatesheistohercareer.Inthe1940snot
manywomencarriedcareers.AccordingtotheNationalBureauofEconomicResearch,Inthe
1940sonlytwentyeightpercentofwomenwereworkingintheworkfield.Inthearticle
My
Hips,MyCaderas
byAlisaValdesRodriguezstatesButmostLatinomenwillnotlovemy
mindastheydomybody,becauseIamanAmericanizedprofessional.Indeed,theywillfeel
threatened,andwillsoonloseinterestinhipsthatwanttoandarporlacallecomeunhombre
(carrythemselveslikeaman).Rodriguezarguesthatthelatinomenfeelattackedwhenwomen
arewelleducated.Mostmenwanttofeelstrongerandwishestohavecontroloverthefemales.


Ruiz5

Whenthefemaleshaveacareeroriswelleducatedtheyturnindependentandthemenlosethe
poweroverthem.Julietbuildsacareerasawriternotcaringifthemalesfeelthreatened.She
followsthecareershelovesanddoesnotworryifnomenwishedtomarryherbecauseshedoes
notrelyonanybody.JulietisbreakingtheGenderrolesbyperformingathebraveactofhaving
acareerinthe1940s.
Some
peoplewouldseebreakingthegendernormsasanegativeactionbutElizabeth
hadpositiveoutcomes.Elizabethbreaksthegendernormsoftenthroughoutthenovelwhich
leadstoherdeath.OnJune1946,thebookclubmembersreceivedtragicnews,Elizabethwas
killedatRavensbruckConcentrationCampinMarch1945.Manyactionsleadtoherdeath.One
daywhileelizabethandsomeoftheotherprisonersweredoingtheirduties,Alineoneofthe
prisonersstoleapotatobutdroppedit.AOverseerdiscovereditanddemandedtofindthethief.
Elizabethstoodupandtooktheblame.Shewassenttothepunishmentbunkerforoneweek.She
overtookthemasculineroleandshowedstrengthwhiletakingtheblameforsomeoneelse.
Genderbreakingactionsliketheseleadtoherdeathbutshehelpedmanyotherprisoners
throughouttheway.Herdeathcanbeseenasanegativeoutcomebuthermasculinerolecanbe
seenasheroic.
Inconclusion
,theauthorsofthenovel
TheGuernseyLiteraryandPotatoPeelSociety
portrayElizabethandJulietasindependentwomenwhoperformbraveactswhichleadsthem
intobreakinggenderroles.ElizabethMcKennaandJulietAshtonchallengedthegenderroles
thatweresociallyconstructedbyplayingmoreofamasculineroleinsteadofafemininerole.
AccordingtotheGenderroles,malesshouldactmasculineandfemalesshouldactfeminine.
ElizabethMcKennastandsupforthebookclubwhentheygetcaughtaftercurfewandshehelps


Ruiz6

hidJohnBookerfromtheGovernment.JulietAshtonbreakstheGenderrolebynotwantingto
getmarriednotwantingtospendallherlifewithsomeoneshecan'ttalktoandalsohavinga
careerasawriterwhenonlytwentyeightpercentofwomenhadacareerinhertime.
Boththese
womenshowthatyoudonothavetobeamantodowhatmustbedone.


Ruiz7

WorksCited

Devor,Aaron.BecomingMembersofSociety:TheSocialMeaningofGender.Composing
Gender(2009):3545.Print.

Kurylo,Anastacia.CultureandCommunicationMarymountManhattanCollege

Sirin,SelcukR.,DonaldR.McCreary,andJamesR.Mahalik."DifferentialReactionstoMen
andWomen'sGenderRoleTransgressions:PerceptionsofSocialStatus,SexualOrientation,and
ValueDissimilarity."
JournalofMen'sStudies
12.2(2004):119.
ProQuest
.2Apr.2015.

ValdesRodriguez,Alisa.MyHips,MyCaderas.MSMsUnderwireApril2000.Print