Short Story A Doll Pretty But Empty
Sadie Neville
Mr. Odegaard
English 103
31 May 2016
A Doll, Pretty But Empty “Black Box” a short story by Jennifer Egan was published as a series of “tweets” on the popular social site Twitter. The story is told through the recorded thoughts of an unnamed woman who is the protagonist of the story. Shortly into the story, it is made obvious to readers that the woman is a spy who has been sent on a mission to become the companion or “beauty” of her “designated mate”, a man known to be dangerous. It is understood that the woman’s thoughts will be made into a field guide for later agents, and it is revealed that the story is the unedited record of her thoughts, allowing readers to conclude that the protagonist is speaking freely throughout the story. Despite the fact that she is a spy gathering important information, the woman is repeatedly treated like an object and is subject to the misogynistic tendencies of the dominant men around her, causing her to be disempowered. Through the progression of the story, the objectification of the protagonist by both the men in her immediate vicinity and the agency she works for is apparent. At the start of the story the protagonist has just begun her mission of playing the part of a “beauty” for a criminal. The use of the term beauty refers to the outside appearance of the women. The men in the story have reduced the …show more content…
Media such as pornography perpetuates this misogyny, causing men to mistakenly believe women to be objects or “playthings” not worthy of respect or care as human beings. Even through meaningful work, such as serving one’s country, there are ways in which women are mistreated. Just as the protagonist in the story, women everywhere are objectified and dehumanized, treated as lesser citizens by the patriarchal society they live
Mr. Odegaard
English 103
31 May 2016
A Doll, Pretty But Empty “Black Box” a short story by Jennifer Egan was published as a series of “tweets” on the popular social site Twitter. The story is told through the recorded thoughts of an unnamed woman who is the protagonist of the story. Shortly into the story, it is made obvious to readers that the woman is a spy who has been sent on a mission to become the companion or “beauty” of her “designated mate”, a man known to be dangerous. It is understood that the woman’s thoughts will be made into a field guide for later agents, and it is revealed that the story is the unedited record of her thoughts, allowing readers to conclude that the protagonist is speaking freely throughout the story. Despite the fact that she is a spy gathering important information, the woman is repeatedly treated like an object and is subject to the misogynistic tendencies of the dominant men around her, causing her to be disempowered. Through the progression of the story, the objectification of the protagonist by both the men in her immediate vicinity and the agency she works for is apparent. At the start of the story the protagonist has just begun her mission of playing the part of a “beauty” for a criminal. The use of the term beauty refers to the outside appearance of the women. The men in the story have reduced the …show more content…
Media such as pornography perpetuates this misogyny, causing men to mistakenly believe women to be objects or “playthings” not worthy of respect or care as human beings. Even through meaningful work, such as serving one’s country, there are ways in which women are mistreated. Just as the protagonist in the story, women everywhere are objectified and dehumanized, treated as lesser citizens by the patriarchal society they live