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Essay 2: Assignment, sample red essays, blue and green samples.


The assignment

Write an interesting, tightly-built, well-proven argument about Susan Douglas’s "Narcissism as Liberation". You will be proving a thesis about the Douglas essay, but bring in the Percy essay as contrasting evidence.

Choose from one of the following approaches:

- Attack the essay. Prove that Douglas makes a move in her argument that ends up undermining her credibility in some fundamental way. You might focus on the concept of ‘narcissism’ as it’s defined in the essay, or on Douglas’s hypocritical embrace of some specific kind of advertising technique, or on her treatment of other women in the essay… the possibilities are endless. Make sure to include in your attack at least one contrast to a specific and appropriate passage in the Percy essay.

-Defend the essay. Prove that what seems like weakness or self-contradiction is actually a surprising or subtle strength of "Narcissism as Liberation". Hone in on any of the topics listed above ("narcissism," ad technique, sisterhood), or come up with another topic that has particular power to sway someone who might have doubts about Douglas’s message. Make sure to include in your defense at least one specific contrast to a passage in the Percy essay.

-Build your own argument. Feel free to draw on any work that you’ve already done in the Douglas responses—as long as it serves to feed a clearly articulated thesis that is proven, in a step-by-step fashion, over the course of five pages. Make sure to include in this step-by-step proof at least one specific comparison to a passage in the Percy essay.

Sample Essays

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Susan Douglas’s essay is the thigh and buttock she advocates for. Not the "perfectly sculpted, dimple-free upper thigh and buttock," (119) but the "rump [that] bore...the marks of age, responsibility, work, or motherhood," (129) in other words, the signs of experience. These marks are shown through Douglas’s use of emotion, and her incorporation of quotes from advertisements she has seen. Narcissism as Liberation is its topic, it is designed to be the thigh and butt that has seen it all, that isn’t "flawless," (128) but rather is knowledgeable in the way capitalism has controlled feminism.

The "ideal rump" (129) is not welcome in Douglas’s essay. Instead she prefers the constant use of commas as "character lines," (122) always adding additional details that could be considered excess but rather add to the depth of Douglas’s analysis. Take for example the sentence structure found in the following example on page 125: "Sunny, it turned out, didn’t like those ‘little commas’ at the corners of her mouth, her crow’s feet, or the lines on her forehead." Notice the excess use of those ‘little commas’ that Sunny didn’t like, but that Douglas found a home for, because she values imperfections. To Douglas these "are now my friends," (132) and they help mold her essay into a symbol of experience.

When Douglas quotes examples she is further proving to the reader her awareness of the situation. There is a formula that Douglas uses when incorporating quotes from ads. First, she introduces the product; then, explaines what the product does, or gives its slogan, using a quoted example from the ad; and finally, she gives a witty response about what the slogan is really doing. The formula can best be seen on page 117: ...Virginia Slims (the product) "You’ve come a long way, baby" (the slogan) campaign, which equated liberation with the freedom to give yourself lung cancer (the witty analysis). Through the use of a large variety of ads and topics Douglas is saying to the reader that this ‘butt and thigh essay’ was written by someone who has seen a lot.

This experience factor is very important when it comes to credibility. Whereas Walker Percy lived in a land of make believe and tried to convey his message through the use of fictional characters and storylines, Douglas is giving real quoted facts as evidence to support her claims. This contrast is like reading a Dr. Seuss book and a dissertation and deciding which is more factual. Of course the dissertation will be taken more seriously because it incorporated empirical evidence-legitimate observations, which is exactly what Douglas does, not Percy.
This factual evidence showing experience can also be seen contrasting Percy and Douglas’s generalizations. Percy prefers to act all knowing in his essay when he uses terms like "every explorer," (565) and includes everyone in one word, "sightseer" (566). However, Douglas limits her statements, only saying things based on what she has experienced and observed. Her best generalization is, "every woman I know," (117) because it is powerful but not based on an assumption.

Speaking of that little phrase "I know" it is also used by Douglas to demonstrate her level of experience. She says assertively on page 121, "I know that in 1987 the FDA had cracked down on cosmetics ads...," and "I know that putting collagen on your skin does nothing." She uses these thoughts in her essay to convey her knowledge to the reader. Another way Douglas conveys her intelligence to the reader is through the use of politics. Most people don’t care too much about politics but Douglas is saying that politics is one of the problems. Her references to Reagan’s policies show how they encouraged narcissism among women. "...women in the age of Reagan [saw] elitism and narcissism merge in a perfect appeal to forget the political already, and get back to the personal..." (118). Since women couldn’t do anything to change politics, because it was secretly undermining the feminist movement, they might as well take care of themselves.

Since this essay is Douglas’s attempt to become the ideal rump she decides that to show maturity it should include mature references. She takes this essay up from being rated PG with her references to "the crotch rot in the can," (117) and "pubic hair" (129). Doing this makes her essay exemplify "the marks of age," (129) one of the characteristics necessary for Douglas’s ideal rump. Another characteristic is "work" (129). To accomplish this Douglas’s essay is a few pages longer than the average essay. This length shows the paper took more time to write, and therefore exemplifies work, after all, the pages don’t write themselves.

More and more Douglas’s essay seems to become the rump she intended it to be, exhibiting characteristics she defines in her essay to be that of the normal woman, not of some "teenage beach bunnies" (130). Although it may seem strange that Douglas would purposely create her essay to be just like its main topic, the thigh and buttocks, she’s not alone. Walker Percy’s essay too is written to be just like one of its topics, the "preformed complex" (566). By using little tidbits of information and sectioning them off we receive each scenario in Percy’s essay as an individual, preformed experience. The reader never starts a new situation in Percy’s essay without first finishing the old one. His essay is preformed just like the topic he describes. So is it a bad thing to write an essay based around the criteria of the main topic? The answer is no, because in doing so one can gain a new understanding of what is meant to be gained from an essay. Based on this new knowledge of the similarity between the structure of these two essays, wouldn’t it make sense that if Douglas goes about her essay the same as Percy, but uses quoted examples and is easier to understand, she deserves an enormous amount of credibility? Much more than Percy’s make believe fairy tale. If you still have a problem with the idea of an essay being written following the criteria of one of its topics than I leave you with one final question: If you are what you eat, than why can’t an essay be its topic?

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Who’s the Narcissist?

Susan Douglas cleverly adopts multiple tones throughout her essay "Narcissism as Liberation," in such a way that is effective and appealing to the reader. It may seem that this approach displays some of Douglas‚s own narcissistic personality because her tones fluctuate constantly, as though she‚s searching for "approval or acclaim"(p.119); but in actuality, her style is quite effective because her different voices throughout the essay keep the reader interested, and help relate to more of a universal crowd. Walker Percy, on the other hand, uses one tone consistently in "The Loss of the Creature" that either bores or intimidates the reader, conveying his point in a negative manner.

Douglas begins her essay by quoting Cybill Shepard from a well known t.v. commercial that‚s been running for years. Right off the bat, the reader either recognizes the actress or the ad and can visually picture them in his/her head. It is easy to feel on Douglas‚s level because her choice of familiar examples creates a sense of in-formalness, as though you are friends chatting over coffee. She continues to use pop culture throughout her essay: "It was beautiful, rich, and successful Sunny Griffin, versus the rest of us"(125), because these concrete examples allow for a communication between author and reader that Walker Percy disregards.

Percy begins his essay with a gut wrenching sense of authority. In the very first sentence he uses the word "Formosa"(p.565) to describe what every explorer names his island. Most likely this word confuses rather than helps the reader to feel acquainted with his thesis. He/she feels like Percy‚s preaching to them with a pedantic tone, rather than conveying a meaningful idea. His continuance to refer to elite people and places, like "Sarah Lawrence College"(576), and "Garcia Lopez de Cardenas"(p.565), makes him come across like a pretentious snob. The remaining characters he sketches are drab and undetailed, like, "A young man in France"(p.571). This makes it more difficult for the reader to find fault with these fictitious characters like Percy does, because they are mere stick figures of his imagination.

Speaking of imagination, many times Douglas uses hers to incorporate a sarcastic tone in her writing. It may seem that she‚s "measuring herself against others", and hoping someone will "laugh at one of her jokes"(p.119); but in reality her sense of satire really helps point out how ridiculous ads about woman can be. For example, on page 122, after describing an ad for Lutece Bath, she says, "Woman like this are passive, inactive, supine. Yet make no mistake about it, these woman are in complete control: they are dependent on no one, their time is their own, they are beyond the cares of the world, they long for nothing they don‚t already have". This is humorous because she is pointing out how silly it is to assume that bath mud could make any female look gorgeous, and all she had to do was just relax. This light hearted tone is very effective for Douglas because it makes her essay an easier, more pleasant read. If Percy incorporated sarcasm at all, which is hard to tell, then it was directed less at the media, and more as an offense to the common Joe. The reader is more likely to abandon his essay out of anger, than one they can laugh to.

Not only is Douglas funny, she's raw and uncut. Unlike Percy, she presents herself with all her flaws. She is angry at the media because even though she knows better than to get sucked into their stereotypes, at times she still feels the need to improve her appearance based on their standards. "Now before I get on my high horse about cures for what the fashion magazines call ‘orange peel skin’‚ and subdermal rehydrating systems, let me be perfectly honest about my own vulnerability to these preposterous ploys"(p.121). It is impossible to be consistently unaffected by these ads that are always being shoved in your face. I think that for Douglas not to admit to this would be narcissistic, because she would be searching for her female readers to "envy"(p..119) her for being above the media‚s ploys. This is a trait of Walker Percy, for he speaks to us like he is totally flawless. He talks as though the media has never gotten the best of him and thwarted his view of "it"(p.565). His inferiority complex creates distance, and makes him harder to believe.

Another effective trick in "Narcissism as Liberation," is Douglas’s use of hyperbole. It appears that her need to go way over the top to prove her point is because she is "consumed by self-doubt"(p.119), and isn’t sure she has a valid point. In actuality, her listing of similar adjectives like on page 117: "self-indulgent, self-centered, private, hedonistic," helps drive her point home because it creates a vivid picture for the reader, and relates to a wider range of people. Percy’s use of hyperbole is less effective and tends to bore his reader. When he describes the "American couple in Mexico," he gives us a lot of added information to help illustrate the point; but in actuality, it distracts and loses the reader.

Susan Douglas and Walker Percy both have great points to be made about how the media uses propaganda to manipulate us into having pre-formulated ideas about a person or place. Douglas however, attacks them in a real concrete manner, using familiar, relevant evidence. Her ability to get on a level with her reader makes her message easier to digest. Her reader is her friend and she is just trying to alert them to the corruption they come in contact with everyday. In contrast, Percy speaks as though he is condemning his reader for not being perfect like he and a few select others. It is clear Douglas is no narcissist, but one could speculate that Percy's downfalls in his writing techniques are due to his own narcissistic personality. "Narcissists had a strong belief in their right to be gratified and were constantly searching for heightened emotional experiences, for instant gratification, to stave off the fear that life is unreal, artificial, and meaningless"(119). I found this quote really exemplifies the "it" that Percy based his entire essay on. It is clear he has not discovered this farce which he describes, but since he's "skilled at managing impressions"(p.119), he convinces his reader he has all the answers. In reality, his "need for admiration"(p.119), is what causes him to adopt the authoritative tone in his writing.