External and Internal
In Twenty- Five Great Essays, I discovery the essay “About Men”, written by Gretel Ehrlich, “On Discovery”, written by Maxine Hong Kingston and “A Women Beauty: Put Down or Power Source?” written by Susan Sontag have some of the same ideas. These authors all tell about their opinions about gender and identities. Those essays tell us that external is not the only way to define whatever men or women, internal is very important. It is the idea between “outside” and “inside”.
In “On Discovery”, Kingston tells us a story. The character in the story, Tang Ao, goes into a world that he thinks is strictly controlled by women and when he enters the world, he somehow undergoes a sex transformation. When reading this essay, it would make one question their own identity and try to establish which way is right or wrong. Are those people who undergo surgical processes confused with their gender?
“About Men” is a story written in first person. Ehrlich claims that men are not as tough as they seem. Ehrlich’s essay is written in a casual analysis of how cowboys are perceived. Through her use of first person, Ehrlich creates a one-to-one experience with the reader. She finds the stereotype of cowboys too simplistic. She has an inside perspective to share with the readers because she is from Wyoming and has had “inside” experience with male ranchers (Ehrlich 84). She gives vivid details and imagery to show that there is more to a rancher that just being “tough and rough”. Ehrlich is trying to show more than one side to a rancher, a side that is not obvious to an outsider or a person who does not know much about a cowboy. When someone says the word “cowboy” certain things come to mind, tough, rough, and a male who rides a horse. Ehrlich is trying to add more depth to the word. She uses imagery and diction to convince her readers that cowboys are not the tough, gruff men on the inside as they seem to be on the outside....