URCW Innovation Journal of Creative and Scholarly Works Volume 6/2018

I nnov at i on J o ur na l o fCr e a t i v ea ndS c ho l a r l yWo r k s

Hi g hPo i ntUni v e r s i t y

Vo l u me6/2 0 1 8

Innovation: Journal of Scholarly and Creative Works

2018

Volume 6, 2018

Innovation

The Journal of Creative and Scholarly Works

www.highpoint.edu/urcw/hpu-journal/ journal.urcw@highpoint.edu Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works High Point University One University Parkway High Point, NC 27268

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Editor-in-Chief

2018

Dr. Joanne D. Altman, PhD Director, Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Professor of Psychology

Cover design by Laura Schramm Laura Schramm, creator of Innovation’s cover design, was a nonprofit business major and graphic design minor at High Point University. Schramm won the journal cover design competition hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works in the fall of 2012. She began by brainstorming different ideas and jotting down anything she thought of in her sketch book. She decided to use light bulbs because they symbolize all majors and the trial and error it takes to come up with that one brilliant idea. Schramm graduated High Point University in May 2013 and today works as a graphic designer in North Carolina.

Copyright @ 2018 High Point University

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2018 Board of Reviewers Dr. Thomas Albritton Associate Professor of Economics

Dr. Gerald Fox Associate Professor of Economics

Dr. Pamela Palmer Assistant Professor of Human Relations

Dr. Laura Alexander Assistant Professor of English

Mr. James Goodwin Assistant Professor of Communication

Dr. Virginia Piper Visiting Assistant Professor of English

Dr. Joanne Altman Director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works and Professor of Psychology

Dr. Daniel Hall Associate Professor of Economics

Dr. Melissa Richard Instructor of English

Ms. Kristina Bell Instructor of Communication

Dr. Jennifer Brandt Assistant Professor of English Dr. Matthew Carlson Assistant Professor of English

Dr. Leslie Cavendish Assistant Professor of Education

Dr. Nathan Hedman Assistant Professor of English and Theatre

Dr. Suryadipta Roy Associate Professor of Economics

Dr. Cheryl Marsh Hills Instructor of English

Dr. Peter Summers Assistant Professor of Economics

Dr. Elizabeth Jeter Assistant Professor of Human Relations

Dr. Erin Trauth Assistant Professor of English

Dr. Cara Kozma Associate Professor of English

Dr. Bryan Vescio Department Chair and Professor of English

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Letter from the Editor-in-Chief The office of Undergraduate research and Creative Works (URCW) encourages and supports the establishment of collaborative partnerships between nurturing faculty mentors and enterprising students. Within these partnerships, critical inquiry, brainstorming, debate, and mutual discovery intertwine, leading over time to the production of finished work suitable for presentation, exhibition, and publication. This journal gives students the opportunity to follow their completed work all the way through the professional process to publication.

Thus, URCW is pleased to publish the sixth volume of the refereed journal, Innovation: Journal of Creative and Scholarly Works. In this issue, we include six submissions in a range of disciplines from students who have completed independent undergraduate creative or scholarly work. We hope this journal inspires many young scholars to consider publishing their undergraduate academic work before they graduate college.

Joanne D. Altman, Director of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Editor-in-Chief of Innovation: Journal of Creative and Scholarly Works Keaton J. Case, High Point University ‘19 Student Editor of Innovation: Journal of Creative and Scholarly Works

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Table of Contents Conflicting Symbols of National Identity in Brian Friel’s Translations Rachel Babinat ............................................................................................................ 6

Mrs. Ramsay as a “Lost Artist” in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse Keaton Case................................................................................................................. 13

The Not-So-Fun Fun Home: An Examination of Gender, Art, and Literature in Alison’s Bechdel’s Graphic Novel Sydney Cheuvront......................................................................................................... 18

The Price of Bone Heather Frankel ........................................................................................................... 24

The Impending Need for Response to Intervention in Teacher Preparation Programs Melissa Martins .......................................................................................................... 26

Consequences of 20th-Century British Social Expectations in Ian McEwan’s Atonement Elisa Mattingly............................................................................................................ 32

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Conflicting Symbols of National Identity in Brian Friel’s Translations Rachel Babinat Rachel Babinat, a senior English literature and business administration major, was intrigued by a discussion in an English class led by professor Dr. Carlson about how the character of Sarah in Brian Friel’s play Translations can be considered a symbol for the entirety of Ireland. This led her to think about how many of the other characters seem to be characterizations of other aspects of national identity. Her curiosity coupled with Dr. Carlson's mentorship guided her toward pursuing undergraduate research on the subject. Rachel enjoys learning about history, which made finding historical research about “The Troubles” and postcolonial Ireland extremely intriguing for her. This project allowed her to accomplish her dream of getting a paper published while balancing two majors and preparing for law school. Through working with Dr. Carlson, Rachel has learned to feel confident in her abilities as a researcher and writer. After graduating from High Point University, Rachel will be attending Marquette University’s School of Law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Abstract At the premiere of Brian Friel's play Translations, in 1980, violent conflict referred to as "The Troubles" was taking place in Northern Ireland, which succeeded in fracturing the Irish population into a variety of opposing political and national stances. In order to prompt discussions from his audiences on the controversial topics that were dividing the Irish nation, Friel impeccably incorporates historical elements and differing opinions from the late twentiethcentury into an earlier time period in Irish history, the 1830s. In the little hedge-school in the village of Baile Beag, Friel illustrates the beginning of the English colonization process and how it led to the tensions beginning to rise between the Irish and English people. To show the past's relevance to the present, Friel designs each of his Baile Beag characters as an embodiment of a variety of identities found that were commonplace during twentieth-century Irish history and how they interacted with one another; for instance, Sarah embodies the whole of Ireland; Manus embodies the political party that believes in nationalism and Old Ireland ideals; Captain Lancey embodies the whole of England; and Owen embodies the people who switch parties.

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n his play Translations, Brian Friel creates a seamless dialogue between the characters within a little hedge-school in the Irish village of Baile Beag. Through this setting, Friel is able to illustrate how tensions were beginning to rise between the Irish and English people during the 1830s due to the English colonization process. The attempts at colonizing and

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Anglicizing Ireland would create rifts among the Irish people that would eventually lead to “The Troubles.” In order to show the past’s relevance to the present, Friel designs each of his Baile Beag characters as an embodiment of the stances that were commonplace within twentiethcentury Irish history; for instance, Sarah embodies the whole of Ireland; Manus embodies the political party that believes in nationalism and Old Ireland ideals; Captain Lancey embodies the whole of England; and Owen embodies the people who switch parties. Throughout the play, Friel uses characters – like Sarah, Manus, Lancey, and Owen – who embody particular national and political identities in order to prompt discussions from his audiences on controversial topics that were dividing the Irish nation at the time of the Translations premiere.

Brian Friel first presented Translations in the year 1980 as the first production by the Field Day Theatre Company in the Northern Irish city of Derry. The premiere of Translations took place as “The Troubles” were happening in Northern Ireland. “The Troubles” refers to the “violent thirty-year conflict” between 1968 and 1998 where “two mutually exclusive visions of national identity and national belonging” conflicted against one another (“The Troubles”). On one side of the conflict were the Unionists who were fighting to keep Ireland a part of the United Kingdom, while the Nationalists fought to leave English rule and join the Republic of Ireland.

During the conflict, “violence on the streets of Northern Ireland was commonplace,” and “over 3,600 people were killed and thousands more injured” (“The Troubles”). Though there has almost always been animosity between the Irish and English, the issue that helped spur “The Troubles” conflict was England’s decision to begin Anglicizing Ireland, especially in the form of replacing the Gaelic language with English. Thus, Friel uses this earlier setting and issue to “engage spectators in a cultural and national discussion and tackle the matrix of social, political, and cultural issues of Ireland” that persist into the twentieth century (Al-Khalil 47). Despite providing commentary on controversial topics, Friel never directly chooses a side, yet he creates characters who embody characteristics of varying Irish identities in order for his audience to determine where they stand on the present-day issues.

The most prominent symbolic character throughout the play is Sarah, who can be likened to a representation of the entirety of the Irish nation. In the beginning of Act One, the audience is given a description of Sarah as being “any age from seventeen to thirty-five” and having a “waiflike appearance” (Friel 1). She is also “considered locally to be dumb”; “when she wishes to communicate, she grunts and makes unintelligible nasal sounds” (Friel 1). As Laura Wright observes, “the ambiguity of Sarah’s character’s appearance, age, and circumstances has allowed critics to read her as a metaphor for Ireland, a kind of cipher for the nation” (55). Wright’s theory becomes more prevalent when looking at the relationship between Ireland and England as a parallel for how Sarah interacts with the other characters. From her first description, Sarah, as the representation of Ireland, is considered dumb, which was a commonly held idea by the English on their beliefs about the intelligence of their Irish neighbors. The English have a stereotype of the Irish as being primitive, and the fact that Sarah is only able to communicate in guttural, nasal sounds may parallel how the archaic Gaelic would sound to the ears of an Englishman. Though “dumb” can be defined as being “stupid or senseless,” the Oxford English Dictionary also defines it as an adjective to describe an individual who “does not or will not speak” occasionally because of “astonishment, grief, or some mental shock” (“dumb,” adj. and n.). Thus, Friel may have described Sarah’s character as “dumb” as an act of defiance because she is unwilling to put in the effort to actually speak to her English counterparts. Evidence for this theory can be seen in how she is only capable of speaking coherently to Manus, who embodies nationalist characteristics, when he encourages Sarah (Ireland) to claim her own identity. In comparison,

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when Captain Lancey, who embodies English characteristics, talks to Sarah, he suppresses her unique identity, and as a result, she loses her voice.

A form of literature called the aisling, which was prominent during the late seventeenth century, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an “allegorical poem in the Irish language, often serving as a vehicle for political or social comment, which depicts the poet’s conversation with a spirit woman who is usually a personification of Ireland” (“aisling, n”).

Typically, this woman is greatly loved by her people and must be protected from anyone who could harm or change her, like the English and their Anglicization efforts. To include this traditional form of Irish literature in his play, Friel incorporates the characteristics of the aisling into Sarah’s part. She embodies the entirety of Ireland and can be impacted positively by nationalist Irishmen who are passionate for their homeland and impacted negatively by anyone who chooses to harm or alter her Irish way of life. For instance, the only way Sarah begins finding the nerve to speak is with Manus, the symbolic representation of the strongly nationalist Irishman, who encourages her to believe in herself in the following conversation: SARAH. My… MANUS. Good.

SARAH. My… MANUS. Great.

SARAH. My name is…

MANUS. Yes? SARAH. (Pauses. Then in a rush) My name is Sarah.

MANUS. Marvelous! Bloody Marvelous! (Friel 3) Throughout the play, names play an exceedingly important role as they are intimately connected with the concept of identity. Thus, through Manus’ strong national connection, he is able to embolden Sarah (Ireland) into breaking her silence and speaking out her name with pride. As the play progresses, Sarah again uses her newfound voice in order to inform Manus of Maire’s infidelity with Lieutenant Yolland, which leads to trouble and the necessity of Manus’ departure.

Upon the removal of Manus, who represents nationalism, Sarah is left alone to face Captain Lancey, who portrays the symbolic ideals of the English and the negative impact it has on the “aisling” character. Friel illustrates how when confronted by change by outside sources like the English, the population of Ireland loses its confidence and allows for the powers of England to enforce their own agenda. The following passage between Sarah and Captain Lancey provides a parallel version of the discussion Manus and Sarah had at the beginning of the play with a very different outcome: LANCEY. Who are you? Name! (Sarah’s mouth opens and shuts, opens and shuts. Her face becomes contorted) What’s your name? (Sarah tries frantically).

OWEN. Go on Sarah. You can tell him. (But Sarah cannot. And she knows she cannot.

She closes her mouth. Her head goes down). (Friel 81) With Manus gone, Sarah no longer has someone encouraging her to proclaim her identity proudly. With this regression back into silence when addressed by Lancey, Friel illustrates the physical shutting down of Sarah’s progress of standing up for herself as an indication of the nationalists’ attempt and failure at coaxing the Irish population into resisting the complete intrusion of the English and their culture.

As mentioned before, Manus’ character symbolizes Irish nationalism throughout the play as he embodies the ideals of Old Ireland and opposes the Anglicization of his homeland. Friel describes Manus in the following terms: “His clothes are shabby; and when he moves we see that

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he is lame” (Friel 1). The description showcases how Manus would not be seen as whole in the eyes of the English, and that his physical deformities make him a less superior being. Manus also stands out because he is one of the sole advocates for the hedge-school system that was a common form of Irish education until the English enforced their techniques on the population.

Thus, these handicaps elaborate for the audience how Manus represents Old Ireland in the eyes of the English.

Throughout the play, the audience is provided with even more insight into the animosity Manus feels toward the English and their enforcement of English ways into his culture. At the end of Part One, Manus and his brother, Owen, have the following heated conversation: MANUS. What’s ‘incorrect’ about the place-names we have here?

OWEN. Nothing at all. They’re just going to be standardized.

MANUS. You mean changed into English?

OWEN. Where there’s ambiguity, they’ll be Anglicized. (Friel 36) As a nationalist, Manus is completely horrified by the English’s attempts to Anglicize the Gaelic names because he “represents the uncompromising nationalist position of those who believe that English language must be refused at all costs” (Randaccio 118). Manus understands that once the Gaelic names become “standardized,” many more changes would be enforced, and the Irish culture would slowly be wiped out by the English. To combat this cultural destruction, Manus continuously provides strong resistance against the Anglicization process throughout the play by using his Old Irish ideals. The most prominent and positive resistance stems from Manus’ continual advocating of the importance of hedge schools. Friel illustrates Manus’ love for the traditional Irish way of teaching and understands how these schools are important part of the Irish culture. Because of his Old Irish ideals, Manus is extremely aware of the importance of keeping the distinctively Gaelic language and traditions alive and is one of the few characters that is openly against the Anglicization process beginning to occur in the village of Baile Beag.

However, by the end of the play, his resistance does not end well. Randaccio observes how “his allegiance to Irish language and its cultural traditions, proves unviable and futile” (118). Because Manus’ strong resistance to the English is known, when Lieutenant Yolland goes missing, Manus becomes the primary suspect despite his innocence, which can be seen in the following dialogue between Manus and Owen: MANUS. I had a stone in my hand when I went out looking for him – I was going to fell him. The lame scholar turned violent.

OWEN. Did anybody see you?

MANUS. (Again close to tears) But when I saw him standing there at the side of the road – smiling – and her face buried in his shoulder – I couldn’t even go close to them.

I just shouted something stupid – something like, ‘You’re a bastard, Yolland.’ If I’d even said it in English…’cos he kept saying ‘Sorry-sorry?’ The wrong gesture in the wrong language.

OWEN. And you didn’t see him again?

MANUS. ‘Sorry?’

OWEN. Before you leave tell Lancey that – just to clear yourself.

MANUS. What have I to say to Lancey? You’ll give that message to the islandmen?

OWEN. I’m warning you: run away now and you’re bound to be… (Friel 70) The conversation clarifies how even though Manus is innocent, he understands how it is necessary he leaves before Lancey comes looking for him. Because Manus is the symbol for Old Ireland, this scene is a signifying moment of how there will be permanent change in Ireland

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because of the English’s colonization process. With the weakening and fall of the nationalist movement, this pure Irish form will never again exist and the Irish lifestyle will be forever changed as the Anglicization of Ireland continues to spread and the traditional Irish culture and language is destroyed.

On the opposite side of the symbolic character spectrum is the representation of Captain Lancey as the entirety of England. Friel describes him as being “a small, crisp officer, expert in his field as cartographer but uneasy with people – especially civilians, especially these foreign civilians. His skill is with deeds, not words” (Friel 31). Yolland provides an even more elaborate description when he states: Lancey’s so like my father. I was watching him last night. He met every group of sappers as they reported in. He checked the field kitchens. He examined the horses. He inspected every single report – even examining the texture of the paper and commenting on the neatness of the handwriting. The perfect colonial servant: not only must the job be done – it must be done with excellence. (Friel 47) Friel and Yolland’s descriptions clearly paint the picture of the ideal English soldier and what is expected of the men that are representing England in colonial territories, like professionalism, thoroughness, and superiority. Lancey is expected to be extremely thorough in his role of Anglicizing Ireland. He wholeheartedly believes that anyone who does not speak English, especially the Irish, “are barbarians because they cannot understand him” (Holstein 5). The following exchange showcases this theory when the two British officers are introduced to the students at the hedge-school: JIMMY. Nonne Latine loquitur?

LANCEY. (to Jimmy) I do not speak Gaelic, sir. (He looks at Owen.)

OWEN. Carry on.

LANCEY. A map is a representation on paper – a picture – you understand picture? – a paper picture – showing, representing this country – yes? – showing your country in miniature – a scaled drawing on paper of – of – of – (Suddenly Doalty sniggers.

Then Bridget. Then Sarah. Owen leaps in quickly.)

OWEN. It might be better if you assume they understand you – (Friel 32-33) Friel presents this scenario as a small glimpse into how the English, as a whole, see the Irish as being too primitive and simple-minded for their superior knowledge. However, this is not only applied to the Irish, but to all countries who do not speak English because “for Lancey, all foreign languages are equal and by definition inferior” (Holstein 5). For example, Friel has Lancey misinterpret Jimmy Jack’s Latin for Gaelic. Lancey automatically assumes Jimmy Jack would only be capable of speaking the “primitive” Gaelic. Thus, this showcases how colonizing Englishmen believed they were far superior than their Irish counterparts, despite Lancey’s ignorance in not knowing that the language Jimmy Jack was speaking was actually Latin.

In between the two extremes of Manus’ nationalism for Ireland and Lancey’s nationalism for England, Friel provides another aspect of Irish society in the form of Owen, also known as Roland. Owen provides a representation for all of the Irish citizens who grew up with Old Ireland backgrounds, left to get an education (typically English), and then returned back to their communities with a newfound appreciation for the English culture. A typical response by these individuals upon returning to their old communities is expressed by Owen when he states, “I can’t believe it. I come back after six years and everything’s just as it was” (Friel 27). Upon returning home from the “modern” world he had grown accustomed to while living in Dublin, Owen held a much less apprehensive view towards the English than his nationalist brother,

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Manus, which allows him to form a connection to Yolland and Lancey. Because of his time away from Baile Beag and his stronger exposure to the English, Owen even gets excited at the concept of “standardizing” his village when he explains to Manus how his “job is to translate the quaint, archaic tongue you people persist in speaking into the King’s good English” (Friel 30). However, his excitement about the Anglicization process quickly begins to wane as he becomes enamored again by the Gaelic culture and is disheartened about changing the names of Irish villages.

Owen’s animosity against the English continues to grow the longer he is in Baile Beag and the more he learns of the extent to which Lancey will go in destroying the village in his efforts to find Yolland. Lancey’s proposed act of violence creates a sense of shame in Owen because he had played a part in the Anglicization, and possible destruction, of his home. His complete removal from the acceptance of the English is demonstrated in the conversation below: HUGH. Ballybeg. Burnfoot. Kings Head. Whiteplains. Fair Hill. Dunboy. Greenbank.

OWEN. (Owen snatches the book from Hugh.) I’ll take that. (In apology) It’s only a catalogue of names.

HUGH. I know what it is.

OWEN. A mistake – my mistake – nothing to do with us. (Friel 87).

Thus, Owen “moves from the self-assured joker of the first act to the rejection of his role in the mapping project” (Randaccio 118). Owen seems to greatly regret his former attitude about “modernizing” Ireland, and we get a possible implication that he may have even shifted to a more nationalistic perspective when he states, “I know where I live” (Friel 88). Through Owen’s character, Brian Friel provides a type of political hybridity that can occur when an individual returns home from abroad yet renews their love and sense of nationalism.

Throughout Brian Friel’s play Translations, he provides characters who have been given a specific identity and then allows his audience members to watch as these ideals interact with one another in the small village of Baile Beag. Friel incorporates historical elements and differing opinions from late twentieth-century political stances into an earlier time period in Irish history. In his play, Friel does not take a “black and white” approach by providing a clear response as to where he stands politically on the issue. Instead, Friel provides characters who represent both the positive and negative aspects of the different national identities. Because of his neutrality, the story sympathizes with each of the variations of Irish political identities, which allows his audiences to decide what they believe. This allows for a clear and uncontroversial approach to representing the pros and cons of each political embodiment and retains both the ancient and modern history of Ireland.

Works Cited “aisling, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, January 2018, www.oed.com/view/ Entry/342903. Accessed 10 March 2018.

Al-Khalil, Raja. "Nomination and National Identity in Brian Friel's Translations." International Forum of Teaching and Studies, vol. 8, no. 2, 2012, pp. 47-50, ProQuest Central, http://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1179004294 ?accountid=11411.

Clarkson Holstein, Suzy. “Carrying across into Silence: Brian Friel's Translations.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, vol. 37, no. 2, 2004, pp. 1–10. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4144692. “dumb, adj. and n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, Jan. 2018, www.oed.com/view/ Entry/58378. Accessed 26 Jan. 2018.

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Friel, Brian. Translations. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1981.

Randaccio, Monica. "Brian Friel as Linguist, Brian Friel as Drama Translator." Studi Irlandesi, no. 4, 2014, pp. 113-28. ProQuest Central, http://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url= http://search.proquest.com/docview/1640703257?accountid=11411, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.13128/SIJIS-2239-3978-14672.

“The Troubles.” BBC, BBC, 2018, www.bbc.co.uk/history/troubles.

Wright, Laura. "‘Shout it Out. Nobody's Listening’: (Re)Membering Postcolonial Ireland in Brian Friel's Translations." Commonwealth: Essays and Studies, vol. 30, no. 2, 2008, pp.

49-62, 128. ProQuest Central, http://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=http://search. proquest.com /docview/758901181?accountid=11411.

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Mrs. Ramsay as a “Lost Artist” in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse Keaton Case Keaton Case, a junior English writing major and literature minor, became aware of the unique journey for women developing as artists after reading Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse in a British literature class led by her professor, Dr. Carlson. Seeing her interest in the novel, Dr. Carlson encouraged her to read the essay A Room of One’s Own to further her understanding of Woolf’s perspective on women as artists. Case recognized the struggle women faced in order to create and felt grateful to women such as Woolf for paving the way for her to freely write. In tribute to Woolf and with the help of Dr. Carlson, Case began articulating Woolf’s feminist contributions in the form of undergraduate research. For Case, the most fulfilling element of undergraduate research was finding other scholars writing on the same subject and learning to work in conversation with them through her writing. After graduating from HPU, Case plans to pursue a career in creative journalism.

Abstract Written two years prior to her feminist essay ‘A Room of One’s Own’, Virginia Woolf’s novel ‘To the Lighthouse’ foreshadows many of her ideas articulated in the essay, particularly her idea of the “lost artist.” The lost artist is Woolf’s title for women who have the disposition to become artists, but lack the necessary independence. In ‘To the Lighthouse’, she provides an example of a lost artist, Mrs. Ramsay, a glorified matchmaker, an ideal wife, and a caring mother. Her profound thoughts and keen eye for life’s details make her an excellent candidate for an artist.

However, because of the society-imposed duties attached to her role as a Victorian woman, she remains a lost artist. Woolf uses Lilly, a young female painter untied to the demands of married life who parallels Woolf in many ways, as a lense through which the reader can understand Mrs. Ramsay. As a consequence of this exploration in ‘To the Lighthouse’, Woolf is better equipped to depict the strife of the lost artist later in ‘A Room of One’s Own’.

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ritten two years prior to her feminist essay A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse foreshadows many of her ideas articulated in the essay, particularly her idea of the “lost artist.” The thesis of her essay is that in order for a woman to thrive as an artist she must have a space of her own to create: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” (Room 6). Independence is the key to this female artistic freedom. However, this does not mean the female artistic disposition does not exist if independence is not to be had. But rather, she believes without these credentials, the female lacking freedom will simply have her artistic talent go unrecognized. Woolf provides examples of potential artists of the past who may have been artists had they the independence to fulfill the role: “When, however, one reads of a witch being ducked, of a woman possessed by

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devils, of a wise woman selling herbs, or even of a very remarkable man who had a mother, then I think we are on the track of a lost novelist, of a suppressed poet” (56). In To the Lighthouse, she provides another example of a lost artist, Mrs. Ramsay, a glorified matchmaker, an ideal wife, and a caring mother. Her profound thoughts and keen eye for life’s details make her an excellent candidate for an artist. However, because of the society-imposed duties attached to her role as a Victorian woman, she remains a lost artist.

Mrs. Ramsay’s profound thoughts are often interrupted by her commitments as a wife and mother. After putting her children to bed for the night, she responds with relief that provides insight into the sacrifices of this role. Woolf writes, “For now she need not think about anybody.

She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need of--to think; well, not even to think. To be silent; to be alone” (62). Mrs. Ramsay is able to think and exist independently only in stolen moments after all her duties are complete. When given this space to be alone with her thoughts, she feels the possibility of freedom: “it was thus that she felt herself; and this self having shed its attachments was free for the strangest adventures… Her horizon seemed limitless” (62). However, this idea of freedom comes with the knowledge that her freedom will soon be limited again when the demands of her society bind her in the morning.

Despite a lack of freedom, a symbol of Mrs. Ramsay’s artistic potential is found in the dinner party she carefully arranges. While arranging a dinner party is an archetype of a domestic task, Mrs. Ramsay does so with the vision of an artist. She views her domestic duty as an act of creating: “And the whole of the effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her” (83).

Although this is a creative practice, it is unfulfilling to her. She does not see beauty in the event: “There was no beauty anywhere” (83). Although she does not see the beauty in her act of domesticity, the scene resembles a painting. Like a painting, her creation is described as if suspended in time: “Now eight candles were stood down the table, and after the first stoop the flames stood upright and drew with them into visibility the long table entire, and in the middle a yellow and purple dish of fruit” (97). Here the reader is able to imagine what Mrs. Ramsay could be capable of if she had the opportunity to create in a facet outside of the expectations of her domestic duties, a place where she does see beauty.

Moreover, her thoughts are also held captive by the patriarchal presence of her husband.

While spending time with her son James, she begins to deeply consider the condition and limits of her children's happiness, but she cuts her thoughts short because she knows these thoughts displease her husband: “And, touching his hair with her lips, she thought, he will never be so happy again, but stopped herself, remembering how it angered her husband that she should say that. Still, it was true” (58-59). These sparse moments offer the smallest hint at the intellectual Mrs. Ramsay could be had she “a room of her own,” or simply time and freedom to develop her thoughts.

Additionally, this dilemma is highlighted when Mrs. Ramsay’s husband, a man distant from his children and without nearly the same amount of domestic responsibility as his wife, frets over the kind of writer he could have been had he not married. He bluntly believes “he would have written better books if he had not married” (69). Mr. Ramsay does not have to work under the weight of a society that claims his primary role is to uphold domestic duties, yet he still feels held back by his domestic life. His inability to apply this obstacle to his wife, who handles much more of the pressures of domestic responsibility, shows the hypocrisy in the patriarchal society.

This hypocrisy reveals the lack of empathy through which a woman pursuing art at the time would have to overcome. The irony of the intensity and frequency of female interruption versus male interruption can also be seen when another male figure and aspiring writer in the novel, Mr.

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Bankes, feels inconvenienced when Mrs. Ramsay must check on the food while he is speaking with her: “Mrs. Ramsay had to break off here to tell the maid something about keeping the food hot. That was why he preferred dining alone. All those interruptions annoyed him” (88). While the interruptions Mrs. Ramsay experiences constantly affect her exceedingly more than Mr. Bankes, he expresses no awareness of this reality.

Comparatively, this representation of the male experience versus the female experience is reflected in Woolf’s essay when she imagines Shakespeare's imaginary, but equally talented, sister: “It would have been impossible, completely and entirely, for any woman to have written the plays of Shakespeare in the age of Shakespeare” (56). This theory implies that even with an almost identical upbringing and social standing, gender would prevent the sister from becoming an artist. Like Mrs. Ramsay, Shakespeare’s sister would have been subject to patriarchal expectations that would leave little room for artistic development. While the men in the novel feel they have been shorted by interruptions, it is not comparable to the level of interruptions and obstacles facing the societally designed female.

Furthermore, Lily, a female painter in the novel, serves as a sort of antithesis to Mrs. Ramsay. Unmarried and without children, she has complete independence to pursue becoming an artist. Even with her independence, Lily feels at odds with the societal pressures of the domestic woman she should be, a woman like Mrs. Ramsay, that would hinder her from becoming an artist. Woolf writes, “she heard some voice saying she couldn’t paint, saying she couldn’t create, as if she were caught up in one of those habitual currents in which after a certain time experience forms in the mind, so that one repeats words without being aware any longer who originally spoke them” (159). Woolf develops Lily’s ambiguous thought in A Room of One’s Own by explaining that a history in patriarchal society has been the voice speaking and enforcing the idea that women cannot be artists: “there was an enormous body of masculine opinion to the effect that nothing could be expected of women intellectually” (65). Her patriarchal environment creates Lily’s internal struggle, which centers around coming to terms with what it means to be an artist versus what it means to be a Victorian woman.

Because Lily does not fit the mold of the woman a patriarchal society desires her to be, she reflects on a woman who does fit the societal expectations, Mrs. Ramsay, whom she loves and admires. When observing Mrs. Ramsay in her domestic setting, Lily claims, “‘I’m in love with this all,’ waving her hand at the hedge, at the house, at the children” (19). Mrs. Ramsay has a terrific hold over Lily as Lily struggles to understand Mrs. Ramsay’s unfulfilled artistic disposition, while reflecting on her own potential to be an artist. The competing ideas of what it means to be an artist manifest in Lily through both honoring and grieving the life Mrs. Ramsay lived. She idolizes her for her artistic view of the world. She remembers Mrs. Ramsay’s approach to the world as one that captures a moment the way a painting might. She pictures “Mrs. Ramsay saying, ‘Life stand still here’; Mrs. Ramsay making of the moment something permanent” (161). Yet, she does not want to follow suit in Mrs. Ramsay’s way of life.

Some believe that Mrs. Ramsay is not a lost artist, but an artist herself as much as Lily. For example, Penelope Ingram argues that Mrs. Ramsay’s way of attempting to piece the fragments of life together is a “life-art”: “her goal as life-artist is to achieve unity and wholeness in every sphere of life” (82). This idea focuses on Mrs. Ramsay’s desire to connect people in ways such as encouraging two people to marry or encouraging women to have children in order to make the world feel more whole. Ingram believes her matchmaking art is a necessary means to keep from being overwhelmed by the world: “Though human relations are depicted in the novel as imperfect they are a necessary barrier to an otherwise engulfing life” (82). However, while her

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ability to see the world’s pieces and her desire to arrange them may hint at an artistic disposition, Mrs. Ramsay’s chastisement of herself for this practice reveals that there may be another more fulfilling option for her to exercise her creative abilities.

For example, because Lily is unmarried and without children, Mrs. Ramsay, like society, pushes Lily to get married. When Mrs. Ramsay sees Lily walking with a man, she believes, “They must marry!” (71). However, Mrs. Ramsay recognizes that her Victorian life of marriage and childrearing has at times been unsatisfactory, but she protects herself from this imperfect image of her domestic life by choosing not to recall the negative moments: “She had had experiences which need not happen to every one (she did not name them to herself)… she knew, almost as if it were an escape for her too, to say that people must marry; people must have children” (60). Mrs. Ramsay, too, is aware of the limits this life places on her. To avoid confronting her dissatisfaction, she pushes her lifestyle on others.

Despite her circumstances, Lily ultimately rejects the Victorian model Mrs. Ramsay and her environment provide, but she comes to this decision through approaching the lifestyle with careful reflection and empathy. There is a scene that exemplifies Lily’s empathy after Mrs. Ramsay’s death. Lily thinks of her as she paints; meanwhile, Mr. Ramsay stands nearby. Lily feels the burden of a husband figure that Mrs. Ramsay may have felt while in his presence.

Woolf writes Lily’s observation: “But with Mr. Ramsay bearing down on her, she could do nothing” (148). Lily goes on to observe that it is not specifically Mr. Ramsay that causes her to be unable to write, but rather the patriarchal force through which she must navigate: “Let him be fifty feet away, let him not even speak to you, let him not even see you, he permeated, he prevailed, he imposed himself. He changed everything” (149). Lily’s careful consideration of the Victorian woman is evident. She feels the full weight of a lost artist’s struggle before making the decision to reject the lifestyle that causes it.

The use of Lily in the story serves as a development toward the creation of A Room of One’s Own because Lily, in many ways, is a reflection of Woolf. Through writing herself into the novel, she is able to develop how she fits into the story of female artists before she pursues writing an essay to articulate the experience. One way the novel serves as an explorative means for Woolf to sort her thoughts can be found through the mirrored attributes between her work and her family experience. In many ways, Mrs. Ramsay is a reflection of Woolf’s personal model of a lost artist: her mother, Julia Stephen. Daniela Munca describes Woolf’s mother as the ideal domestic woman: “Being a perfect wife and mother of her children according to her husband, Julia Stephen was a perfect embodiment of the Victorian woman, whose life was centered upon her husband and children, filled with charity work and household duties” (278).

Woolf’s desire to pursue her modernist writing career while understanding the life of her mother can be followed in this novel through tracing Lily’s reactions to Mrs. Ramsay. Munca continues, “By portraying Lily Briscoe, the struggling artist, who had failed to become herself a mother, a wife, a lover, Virginia Woolf stresses the fact that art would assist her in compensating all of the above” (280). Like Mrs. Ramsay, Woolf’s mother chose to live a life that fulfilled domestic duties. This lifestyle was not what Woolf chose for herself, causing a Lily-like internal dialogue on Woolf’s identity as a writer and a woman. Olivia Innamorato explains, “Woolf’s feelings toward her mother and her own decision to reject her mother’s model were often ambivalent; a fluctuation between self-congratulation and self-reproach” (4). Because Woolf writes herself into this novel as Lily, not only does the reader understand the pressures that women must overcome to be an artist, but also the pressures Woolf specifically had to overcome to see herself as an artist. The reader follows Woolf’s fictional exploration of her own artistic identity in relation to

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her mother’s artistic identity. As a consequence of this exploration in To the Lighthouse, Woolf is better equipped to depict the strife of the lost artist later in A Room of One’s Own. Works Cited Ingram, Penelope. “One Drifts Apart: To the Lighthouse as Art of Response.” Philosophy and Literature, vol. 23, no. 1, Apr. 1999, pp. 78-95.

Innamorato, Olivia. Mrs. Ramsay’s Art in To the Lighthouse. Dissertation, Seton Hall University, 2016.

Munca, Daniela. “Virginia Woolf’s Answer to ‘Women Can’t Paint, Women Can’t Write’ in To the Lighthouse.” Journal of International Women’s Studies, vol. 10, no. 4, May 2009, pp.

276-89.

Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. 1929. Broadview Press, 2001.

Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. 1927. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.

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The Not-So-Fun Fun Home: An Examination of Gender, Art, and Literature in Alison’s Bechdel’s Graphic Novel Sydney Cheuvront Sydney Cheuvront, a senior journalism major and womens and gender studies minor, felt awakened to the literary merit of graphic novels after reading the graphic novel Fun Home in an English course led by Dr. Goeke. She was excited by the class’s reading of this text because her love for theater gave her a familiarity with the musical Fun Home from which the graphic novel is based. She noticed that her background in women and gender studies helped her highlight the stark gender roles and power dynamics between the characters in the novel. This newfound ability led her to pursue undergraduate research, where she was excited to find that every time she revisited the novel, she discovered new aspects of the text. Upon graduation, Cheuvront will use the skills of insight she developed in undergraduate research to pursue a career in journalism.

Abstract Allison Bechdel’s ‘Fun Home’ is a landmark story, both for its subject matter and graphic novel presentation. While on the surface it may seem to only be a coming-of-age and coming out memoir, however, careful examination reveals strict gender roles present in the novel as well as power dynamics that result from enforcing said roles. Bechdel’s artwork adds to this aspect by using dark, monochromatic colors and harsh shading to illustrate her discontent and need to take back control of her story. This paper will also discuss how Bechdel references canonical literature to analogize her and her father’s experiences and relationships while living in their Fun Home.

A

lison Bechdel details her turbulent adolescence and coming of age in her graphic novel Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Bechdel uses the graphic novel format to retell her life story, depicting the true nature of her complex father and how their relationship changed over time. Their relationship was bumpy with the father, Bruce Bechdel, forcing traditional gender roles on his daughter by trying to dictate whom she liked and what she wore, all while trying to keep up the act he knew he was supposed to perform as a heterosexual father figure. Because of this, Alison felt like she had no power to make her own choices. Their relationship finally comes full circle when they realize they do share some of the same experiences, most notably the experience of hiding their sexuality around each other and family.

This paper will examine the gender roles present in Fun Home and the resulting power dynamics.

It will address how Bechdel’s use of art and storytelling helps her to take her story back, fully 18

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being able to claim her life again once she is away from him, and how Alison and Bruce’s mutual interest in literature contributed to their relationship.

Gender Roles and Sexuality in Fun Home Bechdel grew up in the traditional “nuclear family” trope, one with a heterosexual mother and father raising and supporting their children. This trope was still most dominant in American cultural expectations surrounding family life. On the outside looking in, the Bechdels appeared to be a typical family for that time: a father, mother, and two siblings living in a nice house, running a family business while her parents also taught. However, on the inside, the family was crumbling while trying to keep up the charade. In Alison’s home, “they ate together, but otherwise were absorbed in…separate pursuits” (Bechdel 134.3). Bechdel also remarks that while her father did not die until she was twenty, his “absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time [she] knew him” (Bechdel 23.2). Bechdel portrays her family’s home in Fun Home as a sort of stage where everyone plays their “correct” parts assigned by society, but altogether fail to remember their lines and movements on the inside.

In order to protect their image, Bruce Bechdel consistently hounds Alison for her boyish looks and nature, considering them to be two very different people, even though they were struggling with the same internal issues. The first instance of this is when Bruce forces Alison to wear a barrette in her hair warning “the next time I see you without it, I’ll wale you” (Bechdel 97.3). Alison prefers to have a shorter, more masculine haircut, which her father tries to “feminize” with the barrette, going so far as to threaten violence if he does not see it in her hair.

This also perpetuates the idea that young girls should be ladylike and dainty, wanting to wear pretty barrettes and other hair accessories, a customary expectation in 1970s American suburbia.

It is important to note that the frame where her father threatens this violence, the background, is significantly darker than the previous and following frames. This casts an ominous tone and shows young Alison’s wariness of her father and pain from having the barrette shoved back into her hair.

Alison’s father furthers this gender role enforcement when they are in a diner and a butch delivery woman walks in, captivating Alison with “a surge of joy” (Bechdel 118.1). Bruce notices this and remarks, “Is that what you want to look like?” (Bechdel 118.2). Alison quickly answers no, because that is what she has been conditioned to say. While Alison experiences cognitive dissonance because of this, she knows she must perform her gender role properly, never disobeying her father for fear of negative consequence. The artwork complements this scene by using sharp, harsh, and dark lines, especially on the drawing of Bruce Bechdel. His jacket has short, dark accents, and the lines on his face are pronounced in comparison to Alison, who has no harsh lines on her picture. This shows how he is the one in control and there is nothing Alison can do to express her sexuality while in his presence. The lines on Bruce Bechdel’s face can also represent the strain he feels trying to keep up his image as the prominent, in-charge father figure.

Because of the way her father raised her, Alison has issues coming to terms with her own identity, only figuring out who she is and admitting her sexuality when she is away from him at college. According to Miriam Brown Spiers in Daddy’s Little Girl: Multigenerational Queer Relationships in Bechdel’s Fun Home, “rather than reacting to her father’s example, either positively or negatively, Alison must create her own narrative” (315). The confusion caused by her father’s enforcement of strict gender roles only adds more struggle for Alison, who is already

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trying to figure out who she is. The creation of her own narrative does not come until she is away from him.

While Alison is trying to find her place in the family and society, her father is having his own internal struggle. Bruce is trying to fit his role as the father and head of the household, however, he is “the patriarch who is not what he seems to be” (Pearl 286). Bruce found himself in a battle struggling to keep up with his image, hence forcing a certain role onto his daughter and becoming, at times, harsh and negative. This also caused issues with Alison’s mother, Helen; they later divorced. Portraying one of her parents’ arguments in a drawing, Bechdel completely colors them in with black, demonstrating not only the separation she felt between herself and her mother and father, but also the immense strain present in the marriage, sucking the color out of each of them.

To most people, according to Monica Pearl, author of “Graphic Language: Redrawing the Family (Romance)” in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, “home is a safe place… [but] with gay identity that is often simply not the case” (Pearl 290). One can see this conflict reflected in Bruce’s rigid and constricted character. In the small Pennsylvania town where he lives, being out of the closet was not accepted, something of which Bruce and Alison were very aware. This is why there is an interesting shift when Bruce takes his children to celebrate the Bicentennial in New York, a much more accepting place for homosexuals in the 1970s.

Bechdel details this trip as “quite a gay weekend all around,” when she was arrested by the “display of cosmeticized masculinity” (Bechdel 190-190.6). This was almost as if entering a new world for Alison, seeing people comfortable with being gay and in a place where they could openly express it. They did not have to follow traditional gender roles like she did at home. Her father even went out one night, presumably to be his true self since he was in the most accepting place.

These strict gender roles represent the time and place the Bechdels lived in. Both Alison and Bruce feel pressure to conform to standard gender roles, both hiding their homosexuality to play the “correct” part. It was only when they got out of their “fun home” that they could break out of the expected conventions.

Power Dynamics These gender roles and both Alison’s and Bruce’s sexualities also contributed to the power dynamics in their household. While Bruce tried to hold power over the entire family, especially Alison, the daughter takes an opportunity to tell her story her own way, through writing and illustrating this graphic novel. The point of writing Fun Home, according to the scholar Anne Cvetkovich, is for Bechdel to “make available the rich and contradictory story of [her father’s] life” (Cvetkovich 113). But she also uses this retelling to take back control over her own story.

Bechdel introduces this theme in the first chapter of Fun Home when discussing her father organizing the family picture in one frame and discussing his indiscretions with teenage boys in the first frame of the same page (17). These two frames show two different sides to Bruce Bechdel: the controlling head of the household and his hidden sexual desires. According to Rebecca Scherr, this page’s layout represents a “subversion of the power of the father, achieved by exposing familial cohesion as an illusion created in large part by the things of family life” (44). In other words, by contrasting these two frames, Bechdel uses the artwork to show readers that her father was straining, trying to uphold the role he presumed.

Another instance that Bechdel demonstrates the unequal power balance and takes back control is when Alison decides to write and illustrate her own poetry and her father “improvised

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the second stanza," discouraging her, taking away her opportunity to have something for herself and causing her to “[abandon] color, too” (Bechdel 129.3-130.1). Bruce took over every aspect of her creative abilities. This is reflected most prominently in the fact that the novel is illustrated completely in monochromatic blue and black, demonstrating how even though she is writing her story, her father’s actions may still influence her. In any case, readers do get to see the truth behind her short-lived poetry career as well as her original accompanying artwork.

This influence accumulates when Alison is college-aged and home with her father. She helps him polish the silver but has trouble talking to him, complicating their father-daughter relationship (Bechdel 218). He spent so many years acting as a domineering figure over her that they never could bond. Because of this dynamic, these connecting and sentimental moments are instead awkward and tense. They have a confined moment in the car where they finally have a breakthrough and find some common ground; Bruce remarks that when he was young he “really wanted to be a little girl,” dressing up in girl’s clothes. Alison gets excited because she “wanted to be a boy [and] dressed in boy’s clothes” (Bechdel 221). It is important to note that the panels in the car scene are very dark with more black in each panel, painting a somber and strained picture.

Although the two have somewhat of a breakthrough, Bechdel shows readers that this is not enough to prompt a closer relationship; there was still a lot to be uncovered and shared between the two that never could happen because of Bruce’s suicide. However, because of literature, Bechdel can continue to find meaning in the relationship she had with her father.

Role of Literature in Fun Home Instead of simply adding captions and word bubbles to enhance her illustrations, Bechdel adds numerous literary quotations and allusions to further tell her and her father’s stories. She finds parallels between literary figures and her father, as well as has a breakthrough with her own identity through reading feminist literature.

Bechdel uses the story of Icarus and Daedalus to open and close the story. Icarus, because of his pride, flew too close to the sun, leading to his downfall. This is an interesting story to begin with because it foreshadows her father's fate; she even writes "it was not me, but my father who was to plummet from the sky," establishing the tone and direction of the novel right away (Bechdel 4.1). Bruce was so concerned about his actions being revealed to others that his hubris swelled, leading him to take his own life. He preferred to die before any more indiscretions were revealed forcing him to face his family.

By contrast with her father’s repression, the adolescent Alison in Fun Home reads prominent women authors, such as Virginia Woolf and Adrienne Rich, using them to confirm her sexual orientation and expose herself to a different world than the one in which she grew up, claiming a “revelation not of the flesh, but of the mind” (Bechdel 74.1). Alison’s sexual awakening can also be connected to other books she reads. She and Joan, her college girlfriend, pore over books while in bed with each other, finding sexual interpretations, for instance, of James and the Giant Peach (Bechdel 81.1). According to Robin Lyndenberg, the books Alison reads are not separate from sexual desires, but “rather enhance the journey” (148). Thus, in addition to her coming out being influenced by intellectual content, the literature also contributes heavily to Alison’s feelings and her relationship with Joan at college.

Interestingly, in this context of literature and homosexuality−specifically, hiding homosexuality− Alison and Bruce have the strongest bonds with each other. In one of the final scenes where they are in the car together, Alison remarks, “I wondered if you knew what you

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were doing when you gave me that Colette book,” opening the floodgates for revelation (Bechdel 220.1). Both Alison and Bruce have an affinity for books, with Bruce being a literature teacher and Alison finding connections among her family, herself, and literary figures, as she goes on to write books of her own. Alison returns her father’s gift with a copy of the feminist writer Kate Millett’s autobiography, Flying, to "[mirror] his own Trojan horse gift," prompting an intellectually stimulating and questioning handwritten response (Bechdel 224). This exchange of literary gifts can be seen as a peace treaty between the two, in which they finally acknowledge each other’s differences and striking similarities, as well as forgive each other for past treatment.

This use of literature to communicate what they could not say in person is compelling in relation to what Bruce leaves behind after his death.

Bechdel senses a connection between her father’s death and Albert Camus’ A Happy Death.

Bruce left this book about “a consumptive hero who does not die a particularly happy death” in plain sight in the house (Bechdel 27-28). Many people thought it was just a freak accident, but Alison saw the connection between fiction and reality and saw how her father was maybe trying to leave behind a clue. This clue leads back to the analogy between Bruce and Icarus. He was such a proud character that he left hints about his mental state shortly before he left the bitter constraints of society. He used this literature to take control and express what was hard for him to openly say.

In the frame displaying the graveyard where her father is buried, Alison illuminates his obelisk headstone in white, contrasting with the monochromatic blue of the other headstones describing it as “a striking anachronism among the ungainly granite slabs” (Bechdel 29.2). This represents somewhat of a redemption of Bruce Bechdel. In reflecting on his death, Alison understood the struggles that made him the man she grew up with. In the frame that follows the illustration of his grave, a living Bruce tells his daughter that obelisks symbolize life, as Alison uses a miniature obelisk to prop open the door to his library, connecting life to the place that housed his precious books. This shows how Bruce can live on in Alison’s memory and further illustrates the connection they had through literature. Perhaps it is even through portrayals of this kind that she was finally able to claim her own story and can forgive her father for trying to write it as she grew up.

Conclusion Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is more than just a coming-of-age story about a lesbian comics artist. There are ingrained gender roles that factor into enforced and broken power dynamics all throughout the story, and Bechdel’s portrayal of these power dynamics, in turn, aid in character development. The literary references and allusions also propel the story and establish relationships between the novel’s two central characters: Alison and Bruce. While the story can sometimes be difficult to process, it is an important one to tell. It is enhanced by Bechdel’s art, which brings a sometimes dark and ironic tone to the recollection of her life experiences. The time Alison spent with her father in their home may not have made for an enjoyable life and coming of age, but it was an important aspect of her life. This time shaped her decisions and outlooks on life, eventually leading her to capture these experiences on paper through dialogue and artwork, inviting readers to experience the “fun home.”

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Works Cited Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home. Mariner Books, 2006.

Cvetkovich, Anne. "Drawing the Archive in Alison Bechdel's Fun Home." Women's Studies Quarterly vol. 26. no. 1/2 2008, pp.111-28. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27649738.

Lydenberg, R. "Reading Lessons in Alison Bechdel's Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic." College Literature, vol. 44 no. 2, 2017, pp. 133-165. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/lit.2017.0008 Pearl, Monica B. “Graphic Language: Redrawing the Family (Romance) in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.” Prose Studies, vol. 30, no. 3, 2008, pp. 286–304. doi:10.1080/01440350802704853.

Scherr, Rebecca. "Queering the family album: the re-orientation of things in Alison Bechdel's Fun Home." Forum for World Literature Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 2011, p.

40+. Academic OneFile, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A287111984/AONE? u=hpu_main &sid=AONE&xid=c66e5fab.

Spiers, Miriam Brown. “Daddys little girl: Multigenerational queer relationships in Bechdels Fun Home.” Studies in Comics, vol. 1, no. 2, Jan. 2010, pp. 315–335., doi:10.1386/stic.1.2.315_1.

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The Price of Bone Heather Frankel Heather Frankel, a senior communication major with a graphic design minor, became passionate about documenting the experience of animals during an HPU summer program spent studying animal behavior in South Africa. While in South Africa, she became aware of the problem of rhino poaching and used the program as an opportunity to gather footage in hopes of spreading awareness of the situation. In progressing the footage into the form of a documentary, Frankel also developed her skills as a producer and media creator. The most fulfilling part of her creative undergraduate research was being able to create a film she was proud of from the beginning stages to its end. Frankel felt satisfied by working hard on something she loved. She feels grateful to her political science and communication professor Dr. Lenoir for his support and advice throughout the creation process, as well as for his narration of the documentary. After graduating from HPU, Frankel plans to use the experience she gathered to continue filming documentaries.

Abstract This project is a 25-minute documentary film focusing on rhino poaching in South Africa. The film covers a variety of topics that relate to rhinos and rhino poaching, including a brief history of poaching in the Kruger National Park, reasons why the Eastern market desires rhino horn, and new technology that could help end poaching. I worked under the guidance of Dr. Brandon Lenoir in the High Point University Department of Communication. This issue usually takes a backseat in our country, but it is an important issue. Through this film, I want to raise awareness about the scourge of rhino poaching, and hopefully, encourage those who view it to help the cause.

U

nfortunately, in the U.S. it seems as though most citizens do not give any attention to the issue of poaching. Here in the States, the idea of poaching isn't foreign to us, but we never really stop to consider the consequences poaching has. While studying animal behavior in South Africa in a High Point University study abroad course directed by Dr. Joanne Altman, I got the chance to come face to face with the animals that could be lost due to poaching.

When I was young, I – like most other children – became obsessed with the natural world and animals. I loved elephants, lions, and rhinos, and I never dreamed that I could one day wake

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up to a reality where they didn’t exist anymore. We do not think about poaching, but it is still happening, and over the past twenty years rhino poaching has increased at an alarming rate.

The Eastern market has been demanding rhino horn for hundreds of years and due to this demand, only five rhino species remain today. A new fever for rhino horn has gripped Asia as rhino horn medications have once again become popular. Rhino horn, of course, has no medicinal value whatsoever, but this has not stopped poachers from cashing in.

My documentary film gives a brief overview of the horrors of rhino poaching, as well as the steps that the private and government owned portions of the Kruger Park have taken to end the slaughtering.

Here is a direct link to the documentary: “The Price of Bone:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSyR76Dwi3Y

If you would like to help save a Rhino, visit the donations page of World Wildlife at the following link: https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Donation2?df_id=12623&12623.donation=form1&s_src= AWE1800OQ18494A01430RX&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzMDTBRDDARIsABX4AWykAv2n9nQOdyGK 7IutbAf3fpD0QgHj4YAjS4BFwTKpEtp4ilj5WwMaAhYbEALw_wcB

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The Impending Need for Response to Intervention in Teacher Preparation Programs Melissa Martins Melissa Martins, a junior elementary education and special education major, originally became interested in learning about Response to Intervention in order to prepare herself to help future students. The more she learned about this system, the more she felt compelled to pursue undergraduate research on the topic so others pursuing positions in the education field could also benefit from what she learned. With the guidance of her mentor Dr. Sarah Vess, doing undergraduate research has been fulfilling for Martins because it has enabled her to learn how to be a more well-rounded student and future teacher. Completing research has challenged her to be more intune to her field of studies. Upon graduation, Martins plans to continue her education through High Point University's master's education program with a concentration in literacy.

Abstract Teachers today are expected to have expanding knowledge and skills that help them implement Response to Intervention (RTI) in their classrooms. Yet many teachers do not have the skills needed to do so. First-year teachers need to have the knowledge and practice with RTI so they can support their students by all means possible, yet many teacher preparation programs do not include RTI in their curriculum (Scott, Gentry, & Phillips, 2014). RTI is a multi-tiered system of supports that includes early, systematic, and intensive assistance to students who are at risk or are already underperforming as compared to benchmark test scores (Preston, Wood, & Stecker, 2016). This paper focuses on the need for teacher preparation programs to prepare teachers on how to use and implement RTI and describes a pilot program that introduced pre-service teachers to RTI during their teacher preparation program.

R

esponse to Intervention, most commonly known as RTI, is a multi-tiered approach designed to identify students with learning needs. It is a framework that provides students with high quality instruction and intervention that is matched with student need (Reutebuch, 2008). By supporting students and monitoring their progress, educators are able to design instruction and create goals for their students. In order for teachers to effectively implement RTI into their classrooms, it is essential for them to understand how and when to use it. However, many teachers report not having enough RTI knowledge (Rogers, 2010). It is necessary for teachers to learn about RTI through professional development when they are initially hired, or preferably in their teacher preparation programs before they are hired.

The multi-tiered approach of RTI includes tier one which focuses on core curriculum, tier two that focuses on small group strategic intervention, and tier three which focuses on individual intensive instruction. Eighty-percent of the student population usually floats in tier one

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intervention, while fifteen-percent of students are in tier two, and five-percent of students are in tier 3 (Preston, Wood, & Stecker, 2016; Reutebuch, 2008). It is important to note that students can move fluidly through the tiers and they are not confined to one tier. Once students get the help they need, they can move back down to tier one, or if more support is needed they can move up the tiers for more individualized and specialized help. RTI enables educators to identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes and then monitors their progress in order to provide evidence‐ based interventions when students exhibit signs of learning problems (Gresham, 2007). RTI has the dual benefit of being an early intervention process as well as a way to determine special education eligibility if students need help beyond tier three interventions. The essential components of RTI include: a school-wide, multi-level instructional system for preventing school failure, universal screening process, progress monitoring, and data-based decision making for instruction and movement within tiered system (Preston, Wood, & Stecker, 2016; Gresham, 2007).

Educators use these components to accurately assess the support students need. Moreover, RTI has fundamentally influenced more general methods of prevention, instruction, intervention services, and decision making in school systems. Although RTI will continue to evolve, core characteristics of RTI that form the basis of state initiatives are founded in intervention and instructional practice. The core characteristics of RTI (i.e., progress monitoring, evidence-based intervention, teaming, and problem solving) represent skills immediately needed by professionalsin-training (Scott, Gentry, & Phillips, 2014).

In order for educators to fully understand students’ needs and how to help them to succeed, teachers need to know the basics of how to implement RTI. Educators’ knowledge about RTI has been proven to help teacher instruction be more effective and allows teachers to discover evidencebased practices that provide more support to students (Mccombes-Tolis & Spear-Swerling, 2011).

For example, Mccombes-Tolis and Spear-Swerling (2011) discuss how RTI practices in reading feature both the early detection of reading difficulties and the provision of targeted early intervention supports, which enables teachers to effectively teach students. The RTI model is valuable for future educators because they will learn how to continually monitor their students’ progress so if someone begins to show signs of inadequate progress, immediate interventions can be put into place within the general education context to help the student. Thus, if teachers are introduced to this model early in their teacher preparation programs when they get jobs in the schools, their self-efficacy in regard to their own ability to deliver the components of RTI will be imperative to the program’s success (Rogers, 2010). The preparation of future educators with RTI will enable them to be prepared with multiple diverse strategies to understand how to teach their students and provide them with interventions to work through academic hardships (Allsopp, Farmer, & Hoppey, 2015).

Historically speaking, educators do not have the training they need when it comes to RTI. Teacher preparation programs often do not provide them with the pedagogical knowledge needed to understand and implement RTI in their classrooms (Mccombes-Tolis & Spear-Swerling, 2011).

Therefore, there is a crucial need to integrate RTI content across all preservice preparation programs, emphasizing content knowledge and mastery of instructional practices that foster positive outcomes for students across the instructional tiers (Allsopp et al., 2015). Making these major changes in teacher preparation programs, teachers will be more prepared at the beginning when they start their new jobs. They will be more efficient, and they will not need as much professional development. First-year educators could become teacher leaders regarding RTI, because teachers who have been teaching for a long period of time were not initially trained to implement RTI. 27

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Preparing educators with the professional knowledge and skills necessary to positively impact student learning outcomes is the responsibility of teacher preparation programs. RTI is a valuable resource within teachers’ professional knowledge because it is a model for improving student outcomes and teachers are directly providing services to students (Rogers, 2010). The multi-tiered intervention delivery system of RTI enables educators to help struggling students by utilizing research-based interventions and progress monitoring. One main focus of RTI is to minimize the number of students placed in special education each year. Studies have shown that RTI and evidence-based interventions will reduce the overall number of referrals and placements within special education (Harry, Klingner, Sturges, & Moore, 2002; Siegel, 2017). Overall, by including RTI in teacher preparation programs, early educators will be able to implement RTI services and they will feel more confident in the skills and support that is necessary to provide the practices associated with the system (Prasse et al., 2012). This study hypothesized that preservice educators who are paired with a cooperating teacher would learn less about RTI in their practicum those than paired with an RTI expert (school psychologist).

Method Participants This research was conducted at a small, private university in the southeast. Participants in this research were enrolled in a course required of all education majors (pre-service teachers) in their junior year of study. Data were collected across four semesters with 63 total participants (n = 8 semester 1; n = 22 semester 2; n = 25 semester 3; n = 15 semester 4). The number of participants varied each semester corresponding with the enrollment in the course. One hundred percent of students enrolled in each course participated.

Procedure A 15-hour practicum field experience is a required component of the course in which participants in this study were enrolled. Historically, as students in this course are pre-service teachers, they were placed with a cooperating teacher in their intended licensure area in a local school. Material covered in this course included collaboration, history of special education, Response to Intervention, co-teaching, differentiation of instruction, and working with families and paraprofessionals. The practicum field experience is intended to reinforce content covered in coursework and provide the pre-service teacher with experience in the classroom. In order to test the hypothesis that students would learn more about RTI if paired with a school team member with more expertise in RTI, students were paired with a school psychologist instead of a teacher for two of the four semesters (semester 1 and 4: school psychologist; semester 2 and 3: teacher).

All students completed a minimum of 15 hours of field experience. Participants paired with school psychologists administered curriculum-based measures and Tier 2 reading and math interventions.

Improvements were made to the design of the school psychologist pairing from semester one to semester four including incorporating some field-based training on an evidenced-based intervention. Participants paired with teachers assisted with classroom instruction and worked with students in small groups at the teacher’s discretion. At the end of the semester, participants completed a survey asking them to reflect on the practicum field experience.

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Instrument Participants completed a 15-item post-practicum experience survey created by the principal investigator. The purpose of the instrument was to get the participants’ perspective of the practicum field experience including how helpful the experience was in contributing to their knowledge of RTI as well as their satisfaction with the experience. Nine items are a Likert scale format asking participants to rate how helpful the component of the program listed in the question was in building their understanding of RTI. Four items were open-ended asking participants to describe specific aspects of their experience. One item was a checklist format asking participants to check all components of RTI they learned about in the practicum experience, and the last question was a forced choice format that asked participants to attribute how much of their RTI knowledge was gained from classwork versus field experience.

Results Participants self-reported a statistically significant change in RTI knowledge from pre- to postparticipation in the course all four semesters (semester 1: t = -5.916(7), p <. .01; semester 2: t = 8.76(20), p <.01; semester 3: t = -10.20(17), p <.01; t = -6.58(14), p <.01).

The percentage of the increase in RTI knowledge attributed to the field experience versus material covered in class differed across the four semesters as well as the level of satisfaction with the practical experience. See Table 1 below for specific data from each semester.

Table 1 Attribution of Learning and Satisfaction with Experience Semester/Pairing Class Content Practical Experience 1/School Psychologist 2/Classroom Teacher 3/Classroom Teacher 4/Classroom Teacher

66.88% 92% 87% 53%

33.13% 8% 13% 47%

Satisfied/Very Satisfied 98% 66.6% 88.9% 100%

The highest percentage of RTI learning attributed to the practical field experience occurred during the semesters in which the participants were paired with an RTI expert, such as a school psychologist (33.13% and 47%) versus 8% and 13% when paired with a classroom teacher.

Participants report high levels of satisfaction with the practical experience across all semesters, however the highest levels of satisfaction were reported during the semesters paired with an RTI expert rather than a cooperating teacher (98% and 100% versus 66.6% and 88.9%).

Discussion All educators must be knowledgeable about RTI in order to maximize the success of their students (Kozleski & Huber, 2010). RTI can help educators identify students who are struggling academically, monitor their progress, and provide evidence-based interventions to support them.

Students can move through the multi-tiered system thus reducing any inappropriate special education referrals. Options for teaching educators about RTI include professional development once hired or during teacher preparation programs before being hired. Incorporating RTI into teacher preparation programs would be ideal because teachers need pedagogical knowledge of RTI in order to successfully help students learn once they start teaching (Prasse et al., 2012). As a future educator, I believe learning about RTI and how to implement it in my teacher preparation 29

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program has prepared me to support my students in an effective way. RTI allows me to implement evidence-based interventions that will help struggling students and it eliminates the “wait to fail” phenomenon. Students will be supported and monitored in my class and I will be prepared to take care of my students. When I think of being a first-year teacher it is frightening but knowing I have RTI knowledge comforts me. In a lot of aspects of teaching, you learn through your own class experience, but RTI is something I need to know before I start teaching so I can effectively lead my students toward academic success. Based on my personal experience and the research conducted for this paper, I recommend that more teacher preparation programs include RTI content in classwork and practical work. This study provides support that future educators can gain valuable RTI knowledge through their undergraduate coursework and practicum experience that will prepare them for implementing RTI in their future classrooms. The data suggest that students who were paired with an RTI expert (school psychologist) gained more knowledge about RTI during the practicum than students who were paired with a classroom teacher. This finding may suggest that the classroom teachers do not have the knowledge of RTI, or they did not think it was essential information to share with the undergraduate student during the practicum. Therefore, it may be wise for teacher preparation programs to consider expanding assigned mentors to other knowledgeable support staff, such as school psychologists, or they can select cooperating teachers who are trained and knowledgeable about RTI. Teacher preparation programs could even change their cooperating teacher criteria and add that he or she must have RTI knowledge and experience.

If future educators are more prepared on how to use and implement RTI when they are hired, school systems can save money they would spend on RTI training.

While student teaching is a natural time to include RTI content, perhaps it is ideal to include RTI content in earlier experiences during sophomore and junior year courses. Students could focus on learning about RTI through partnerships with RTI experts. Data from this project suggest that earlier experiences with RTI were effective in a junior year experience one hour per week. If students have experiences with RTI earlier on it makes the student teaching experience more valuable because students will already have a foundational understanding of RTI which will lessen the learning curve as a student teacher first and then, of course, once hired.

Limitations and Future Directions One limitation of this study is that it included a post survey only relying on the students’ reflective thoughts of the practicum experience. Including a pre-survey also would have improved the design of the study and would have allowed for an objective measure of gained RTI knowledge rather than a self-reflection only of RTI knowledge. If students analyzed how much they knew about RTI before the study and course started, their percentages at the end may have been proportioned differently. This study was conducted over four separate sequential semesters, so time could have been a factor that affected the results. Perhaps if the study was conducted in four classes during the same semester, the results may have been similar to each other because all students would have learned the same academic material in class and had similar practicum experiences. Students being in the schools during different semesters may have affected results due to school changes in policies and procedures during those times. Also, students were only in their placement for one hour a week which may have been why they did not experience RTI being implemented or used while being with a classroom teacher. If students had more time in the classroom with their teacher, they may have learned more about RTI. If this study were to be conducted again I believe it would be beneficial to observe the students in the practicum setting.

Then one could see any differences that the students experience with a school psychologist versus 30

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with a cooperating teacher. Also, I believe the study would be more efficient if it was conducted with multiple groups of students during the same semester.

References Allsopp, D. H., Farmer, J. L., & Hoppey, D. (2015). Preservice teacher education and response to intervention within multi-tiered systems of support: What can we learn from research and practice? Handbook of Response to Intervention, 143-163. New York: Springer.

Gresham, F. M. (2007). Evolution of the RTI concept: Empirical foundations and recent developments. In Jimerson, S. R., Burns, M. K., and VanDerHeyden, A. M. (Eds.), The Handbook of Response to Intervention: The Science and Practice of Assessment and Intervention. New York: Springer. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com.libproxy.highpoint.edu/content/pdf/10.1007/978-0-387-490533.pdf#page=27 Harry, B., Klingner, J. K., Sturges, K., & Moore, R. (2002). Of rocks and soft places: Using qualitative methods to investigate disproportionality. In D.J. Losen, & G. Orfield, (Eds.), Racial inequity in special education (pp.71-92). Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.

Kozleski, E. B., & Huber, J. J. (2010). Systemic change for RTI: Key shifts for practice. Theory Into Practice, 49(4), 258-264. doi: 10.1080/00405841.2010.510696 Mccombes-Tolis, J., & Spear-Swerling, L. (2011). The preparation of preservice elementary educators in understanding and applying the terms, concepts, and practices associated with response to intervention in early reading contexts. Journal of School Leadership, 21(3), 360-389.

Prasse, D. P., Breunlin, R. J., Giroux, D., Hunt, J., Morrison, D., & Thier, K. (2012). Embedding multi-tiered system of supports/response to intervention into teacher preparation.

Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 10(2), 75-93. Retrieved from Eric.

Preston, A. I., Wood, C. L., & Stecker, P. M. (2016). Response to intervention: Where it came from and where it's going. Preventing School Failure, 60(3), 173. Retrieved from http://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1792595007 ?accountid=11411 Reutebuch, C. K. (2008). Succeed with a response-to-intervention model. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(2), 126-128. Retrieved from http://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/211715424? accountid=11411 Rogers, M.A.S. (2010). Impact of response to intervention training on teacher and school outcomes [Masters Thesis]. Retrieved from https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/wcu/listing.aspx?id=7870 Scott, L. A., Gentry, R., & Phillips, M. (2014). Making preservice teachers better: Examining the impact of a practicum in a teacher preparation program. Educational Research and Reviews, 9(10), 294-301. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/ERR2014.1748 Siegel, L. S. (2017). Response to intervention: An idea whose time has come. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 43(3), 5. Retrieved from http://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1968339419 ?accountid=11411

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Consequences of 20th-Century British Social Expectations in Ian McEwan’s Atonement Elisa Mattingly Elisa Mattingly, a senior communication-journalism and English literature major, has considered Atonement her favorite novel for years. When she had the opportunity to read it in a British literature class with Dr. Carlson, the course led her to have a newfound appreciation for the impact of gender and class within the novel.

Mattingly is grateful to Dr. Carlson for challenging her to go beyond her own academic expectations. This challenge inspired her to combine her love for the novel and her insight into gender and class struggle into an opportunity to pursue undergraduate research. For Mattingly, the most fulfilling part of her experience in pursuing undergraduate research was the opportunity to attend and present her research at the 2018 Sigma Tau Delta convention supported by a grand from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works. After graduating from HPU, Mattingly will attend the Disney College Program in the fall, and then has plans to pursue a master's degree in library information and sciences.

Abstract Ian McEwan’s Atonement demonstrates several of the issues surrounding social class and gender roles in early twentieth-century British society. Characters like Robbie Turner, Danny Hardman, and Paul Marshall exemplify the biases of social class in British society. Situations like Cecilia Tallis and Robbie Turner’s relationship and Briony Tallis’ misunderstanding of it demonstrate the limitations of gender roles. It is the influence of Mrs. Tallis’ beliefs about gender roles and social class that force Briony to believe that Robbie is her cousin’s rapist, solely because he is of a lower class and an unfamiliar masculine figure. The strict social class structure and gender roles of early twentieth-century British culture are what allow Robbie Turner to be accused and convicted of rape, while the actual rapist goes free due to his wealth and reputation.

B

ritain experienced many changes during the twentieth century. They fought two World Wars, industrialized their economy, and experienced cultural changes that impeded the continuation of the seeming Arcadia they had lived in before. Many of these cultural changes focused on women and class structures. Women had begun to seek and obtain more freedoms after their involvement in the First World War. They were dressing more provocatively and seeking work. The lower classes were beginning to seek more opportunity and involvement in the political and social structures they had previously been barred from joining. Ian McEwan’s Atonement takes place when these changes began to take hold. Through characters like Robbie Turner, Danny Hardman, and Paul Marshall, the biases of social class in British society are made plain. Through situations like Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis’ relationship and Briony Tallis’ misunderstanding of it, the limitations of gender roles are represented. The strict social class 32

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structure and gender roles of early twentieth-century British culture are what allow Robbie Turner to be accused and convicted of rape, while the actual rapist goes unsuspected.

Prior to the twentieth century, social class in British culture was a deciding factor in what jobs people could obtain, how much education people could receive, and how people were treated by those in other classes. This was beginning to change in the 1900s. People were seeking higher education, even if their parents did not have any. They were going after jobs that would have been kept from them prior to World War I. As Stephen Brooke said of World War II, “the experience of a ‘People's War’ led to demands for a ‘People's Peace’ that promised greater security and equality” (112). They were beginning to expect equal treatment and equal respect from those who lived in higher classes. As James E. Cronin stated, “the core of the new public in Britain was the working class, who were transformed from a mere physical presence—and, given the snobbery of urban ecology, often a barely visible one—into a political and cultural force” (125). They were interested in trying to level their chances for better opportunity with those in higher classes. In Atonement, Robbie Turner is the son of an absent father and a housemaid.

Traditionally, British society would expect him to follow in the same paths as his parents and seek employment in manual labor. Robbie does not do that, however. He receives honors in grammar school and has his education at Cambridge financed by Jack Tallis, the man for whom his mother works. He has dreams of attending medical school and becoming a doctor at the cost of Mr. Tallis.

Robbie’s education is a point of discussion throughout the novel. Both Cecilia and Mrs. Tallis seem to resent him for his education and the means by which he obtains it. Cecilia’s thoughts about Robbie at the beginning of the novel are rather negative. She believes that Robbie attending medical school “after a literature degree seems rather pretentious. Presumptuous too, since her father would have to pay” (McEwan 18). It is never explained exactly why Mr. Tallis has taken such an interest in Robbie’s education. It could be anything from a feeling of being the father figure in Robbie’s life or just an interest in the potential of an intelligent young man.

Whatever the reason, Cecilia seems bitter about the whole affair, which seems to suggest a bitterness towards a lower-class man seeking an education, who, under other circumstances, would not have received any kind of higher education.

Mrs. Tallis doesn’t seem to like Robbie very much and does not condone Mr. Tallis’ involvement in Robbie’s education. She sees her husband’s investment in Robbie’s education as Mr. Tallis’ “hobby” and thinks Robbie is “living proof of some leveling principle he had pursued throughout the years” (McEwan 142). This seems to suggest that Mr. Tallis has taken to helping those who are in a lower social class than himself and that Robbie is one of those cases. It seems that Mr. Tallis is taking hold of the times and seeking to give the poor a leg up in society. She also notes the “self-righteous vindication” Mr. Tallis seems to have whenever he speaks of Robbie, as if he is solely responsible for this young man’s success (142). It is as if it has nothing to do with Robbie’s own intellect, only the money being invested in him. Robbie’s education is one aspect in the novel that is treated with distant bitterness by the Tallis family. He has been somewhat accepted as part of the family but is still an outsider because of his social class and refusal to accept that class. It is this bitterness, especially on the side of Mrs. Tallis, that seems to convict Robbie of wrongdoing long before there is enough evidence to convict him of Lola’s rape.

Beyond Robbie’s education, it also seems that the way Robbie handles himself, and his social class, causes problems within the Tallis household. Cecilia describes how she feels Robbie is mocking her and trying to get her to feel bad about the social classes that separate them, when 33

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he removes his shoes and socks when entering the Tallis house. As Nick Bentley explains, “for Cecilia, Robbie’s actions are placed in a framework of a recognized cultural narrative: the resentful class-conscious parvenu in the aristocratic house” (154). Cecilia takes this as rebuke for her wealth and status⎯ she believes Robbie is trying to humiliate her. In actuality, Robbie blames his awkward behavior on his feelings for Cecilia. Robbie holds no grudges towards the Tallises about their wealth and is very comfortable around those in higher classes, which is not always acceptable behavior.

It is mentioned how Cecilia and Robbie feel differently about their class differences while at Cambridge. Cecilia describes it as awkward that she must point it out to her friends that Robbie is their cleaning lady’s son. Robbie, on the other hand, feels he must make a show out of how comfortable he is with the situation, going out of his way to point out who Cecilia is to him.

He goes so far as to explain that “he was without social unease—inappropriately so, in the view of many,” and how he will answer questions about his parents and his upbringing with “easygoing tolerance” (McEwan 81). It is this show of class differences, and how little they affect Robbie, that seems to further criminalize him. He is comfortable at Cambridge, where wealth and status are plentiful. His comfort in the Tallis home shows his efforts to fit in as an equal. He may have been accepted easily as a childhood playmate, but now that he is trying to fit in as an equal professional and friend, it is too much for certain Tallises, especially Mrs. Tallis, to accept easily. It is unacceptable for Robbie to act as if he belongs in their social class, and it is criminal that he should try and court Cecilia. She believes her daughter is much more suited for men with wealth and status, like Paul Marshall.

Robbie’s class places him below the Tallises and their guests, including Paul Marshall. Paul Marshall is the chocolate magnate who comes to stay as a friend of Leon’s. It is mentioned throughout Part One how Marshall might be a decent match for Cecilia. Even though only Leon knows Marshall, they speak of him this way. Robbie, even though he has been a fixture in the Tallis household since he was seven, is never referenced as a possible match for Cecilia. This is because Marshall is of higher class than Robbie and, therefore, a better suitor for a Tallis. The fact that Robbie is spoken of as “Robbie,” while Paul Marshall is referenced as “Marshall,” seems to suggest a hierarchy of status and power. Marshall is wealthy, so he automatically gains more respect than Robbie, even though they do not know the character of Marshall at all. It is later proven that wealth and status are not everything. Marshall is not the docile gentleman he seems to be.

This social hierarchy, and the characters involved in it, seems to explain why Robbie is accused of Lola’s rape. It also explains why Danny Hardman, a sixteen-year-old worker on the property, is also a suspect, while Paul Marshall, the actual rapist, is never considered. Danny and Robbie are automatically suspected. They are of lower class, so they must also be of lower moral fiber. Paul Marshall, who is a stranger to the family before that night, is only casually questioned by the police and is given the ability to be involved in things like reading Robbie’s letter to Cecilia. He is seen as a faithful ally to the Tallis family for the sole reason of his money. No one questions the scratch on his face or why he feels the need to entertain a fifteen-year-old girl upstairs alone. In chapter six, where Emily Tallis describes how she knows everything that is going on in the house, even when she is resting in her room, she says she can hear Paul Marshall speaking to someone in the nursery. She automatically decides he is speaking to the twins “rather than Lola” because his speaking to Lola alone would be inappropriate (64). She gives Marshall the benefit of the doubt and does not question his intentions, solely because she knows he has money. Danny is only questioned as a suspect because he is of a lower class, and Cecilia and 34

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Robbie continue the belief that it was Danny because of this status. It would seem that social class is the biggest factor in the investigation, instead of actual evidence.

Briony is not immune to the social expectations and biases being taught inside her household. This is obvious by her accusation of rape against the lower-class maid’s son. Briony’s world has been made up of fairy tales and observations of the adult world around her. It is natural for a girl of her age to connect them and answer questions about the latter with the former. As Ana-Karina Schneider explains, Briony sees the interactions between Robbie and Cecilia as scandalous and wrong because “the charlady’s son in the real world ought to know better than aspire to the princess’s hand” (69). Briony has no experience to go on and must use what she is taught. She has grown up around Mrs. Tallis’ traditional influence, so she naturally distrusts Robbie’s seemingly inappropriate and unwarranted advances into a higher class than his own. Thus, Robbie is viewed as the villain of the story Briony is writing in her mind. She, the heroine, must stop him from infiltrating the Tallis household. She will do anything, including twist facts to fit her narrative, to do this.

Along with the societal expectations surrounding social class, the societal expectations around gender also play a central role in Atonement’s plot. Briony accuses Robbie of being Lola’s rapist not because she sees his face or knows his shape, but because she sees him as an aggressive male presence who is threatening her sister and every other female in the Tallis home.

Based on her perceptions of Cecilia and Robbie’s fountain encounter, their interaction in the library, and the letter, Briony sees Robbie as the uncontrollable man that society paints secondclass men to be. Robbie is not esteemed or polished like Leon or her father. He is an entirely different beast. Robbie’s class distinction, tied with his gender and overall masculine disposition, prosecutes him in Briony’s young, inexperienced mind. She has no experience with passion, romance, or other adult interactions. The only men she knows are her family members, and they are docile, amiable creatures. She has never encountered any display of male sexuality and, therefore, misunderstands it. David James notes Briony’s childish perception of “Robbie’s ‘huge and wild’ (p. 123) manliness” (94). As James explains, Briony’s childish perception produces grave consequences: Possibly a rapist, certainly attractive, Robbie complicates her own visual mechanics of perception . . . And when ‘[s]omething irreducibly human, or male, threatened the order of their household’ (p. 114) we find that Robbie’s masculine presence – both intangibly as an ‘air of ugly threat’ (p. 113) and materially in the form of his lust-letter to her sister Cecilia – spurs Briony to try and codify what an adult world around her is rapidly unveiling. (94) Briony, having nothing to compare Robbie and Cecilia’s relationship to, decides that Robbie is a madman who must be forbidden from ruining the order of her household. She has been taught certain social cues and expectations from her family and she is using what little she has learned to persecute Robbie. Robbie is guilty because he does not act like the men she knows, the well-mannered, docile men of twentieth-century Britain. His artistic, passionate behavior does not fit into her well-ordered world, so he must be disposed of. Robbie must be exiled from the Tallis family. Lola’s rape provides Briony an opportunity to be the one who extends that punishment.

Briony has learned her social knowledge from someone, and it seems likely that person is her mother. Mrs. Tallis seems well adjusted to the traditional gender roles of Britain. She is happy to be second-in-command to her husband, even though her husband is never present. Mr. Tallis is respected as the head of house, even though it is plain that he is having an affair and is not actually staying late at the office every single night. As Alina Buzarna-Tihenea-Gǎlbeazǎ 35

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explains, “Mr. Tallis’ patriarchal authority is visible despite his absence from the household and his family’s tacit acceptance of his extramarital relationship in Atonement” (478). Mrs. Tallis is not respected enough to be taken seriously as a parent or a leader of the house, and the children and workers indulge her enough power, so she does not notice how disrespected she is. During the dinner scene, Briony says that to ignore a direct order from her mother would only embarrass her and explains that the only reason the children listen to her orders is to “protect her from seeming ineffectual” (McEwan 119). So, even though Mr. Tallis is not present in the house, “the members of the family respect him as a natural authority” (Buzarna-Tihenea-Gǎlbeazǎ 478). This leaves Mrs. Tallis, as a woman, with stunted power within the household.

Mrs. Tallis seems unconcerned with her obvious lack of power in her household. She seems mostly concerned with her gendered expectations of Cecilia. She looks down on Cecilia’s more modern habits, like smoking and getting an education. These ideas seem to have been passed on from her own upbringing and the beliefs of her husband. While alone in her room, Mrs. Tallis hopes that Cecilia will still be able to find a husband, even though she attends college, smokes, and has “pretentions of solitude” (McEwan 61). She is not happy that Briony is content wearing grimy dresses and running around barefoot because that is not how a lady behaves. She seems uncomfortable with taking power in any situation and is only concerned with the order of her own household. Mrs. Tallis even begrudges Cecilia her education. She explains that “the cozy jargon of Cecilia’s Cambridge” makes her “a little cross, but not remotely jealous” (61). She goes on to explain how she had been educated at home until she was sixteen. This demonstrates how she feels Cecilia’s education, and all women’s higher education, is basically unnecessary and an obstruction to one’s finding a husband. It was unacceptable for a lady to be educated in her own time, and she sees no reason why things should change.

Mrs. Tallis is said to have encouraged Robbie’s arrest. Robbie recalls that Mrs. Tallis “pursued his prosecution with a strange ferocity” (McEwan 214). This suggests Mrs. Tallis has personal reasons to see Robbie out of the lives of the Tallis family. Cecilia herself says it was “snobbery that lay behind [her parents’] stupidity” (196). The fact that Mrs. Tallis read Cecilia’s letter from Robbie and knows about their relationship suggests that Mrs. Tallis is determined to keep the two of them from marrying and that she will do anything, even encourage a prison sentence, to keep the two from being together. Mrs. Tallis’ views on gender and social class hinder her ability to view the situation rationally. She does not want her daughter to marry a man of lesser social value, and the opportunity to get rid of him presents itself in the form of Lola’s rape.

Part One of Atonement is about a young girl who identifies the wrong man as a rapist and sends him to prison. It may seem that Briony made a mistake based on lack of moonlight. It may seem that Mrs. Tallis wanted Robbie convicted because she truly believed her daughter’s story. It may seem that all of this is just about a young girl trying to find excitement in her life. The events are actually based in social class and gender structures of twentieth-century British culture. They demonstrate the problems that arise when old societal expectations mix with modern individuals. They display how social classes restricted equality and show how gender shaped people’s identities in others’ eyes. If social class and gender had not been a factor, Robbie Turner may never have been accused by Briony Tallis and may never have been sent to prison.

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Innovation: Journal of Scholarly and Creative Works

2018

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