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rht paper - comparison and contrast |
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Megan Savasky
Professor Masood
RHT 150
27 October 2008
Debating the Issues of Date Rape: A Comparison and Contrast of Two Essays
The dictionary defines date rape as, “sexual intercourse forced by a man upon the woman with whom he has a date.” Many people have different opinions and views on the subject of date rape. Author Camille Paglia wrote “Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminists Know,” addressing her opinion that feminism has hid the truth from young women in regards to “the truth about sex.” Paglia stated that feminists believed rape to be a crime of violence rather than sex, which she concluded not to be true at all. Contrary to feminist belief, it is an act of initiation in which “a boy becomes a man.” According to Paglia, date rape is the result of uncontrollable male hormones. Susan Jacoby, author of “Common Sense,” suggested a that date rape can be a result of mixed messages. She offered the idea what this crime is not only a man’s fault. It is due, in part, Jacoby said, to mixed signals possibly portrayed by women. However, Paglia’s essay was stronger than Jacoby’s in successfully debating the issues of date rape.
One reason that Paglia’s essay was more successful was her title: “ Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminists Know.” Right away the reader can assume that they will be reading an essay discussing the views of feminists towards rape. That assumption is safe. Throughout the paper there are regular connections between the issue of date rape and how feminists are misled and that “they do not expect rape from the nice boys from good homes who sit next to them in class.” Paglia also declared that feminists demand equality between the sexes and this is not possible while the world is not perfect. She proved that the feminist viewpoint is a danger to a woman’s perception of what date rape is. Her title was clear and understandable and gave the reader a specific idea as to what the paper he or she was reading would be about. However, Jacoby’s title is nowhere as comprehensible as Paglia’s. Titled “Common Decency,” there is much left to the reader’s imagination and they are left wondering what the paper will be about. What does “common decency” refer to? This question is left unanswered as the paper begins. She could be talking about the “common decency” of anything. A specific and clear title is one reason that Paglia’s essay concerning date rape is better than Jacoby’s.
Another are the distinctively different tones the authors portrayed in their essays. Paglia portrayed a very professional tone, not wasting time with unimportant fillers and instead focusing on the most important, strongest arguments. Every paragraph had a specific point and was without redundancy. She also mentioned herself in a short, personal story to help prove her point that men and women are not, as feminists would say, equal. A male student slept in a pyramid in Egypt while on a trip and, very clearly and pointedly, she remarked, “I am a woman. I will never experience that. I am not stupid enough to believe I could ever be safe there.” Paglia also brought science into her claim that men and women are not equal quite knowledgably. She stated, “There are sexual differences that are based in biology” and went on to explain that men are “at their hormonal peak” when first leaving their mothers and need to establish their masculinity. According to Paglia, one way to do so is to have sex with a woman. On the other hand, Jacoby’s essay was not as professional. The paper began with her telling a fuzzy story of her own past where she sent mixed messages to a boyfriend. Her past relations are unimportant to the reader and unnecessary. The personal references to one of her own problems takes away the universality as well as the professional feeling to the essay. A professional tone is another reason why Paglia’s essay was more successful in debating the issues of date rape.
Finally, a reason Paglia’s paper was better was her thesis. The very second sentence in her essay was, “Yet feminism, which has waged a crusade for rape to be taken more seriously, has put young women in danger by hiding the truth about sex from them.” In the beginning of the next paragraph she elaborated on her thesis by discussing how feminists believe consent must be given before sex. That way, “young women have been convinced that they have been the victims of rape.” It was very easy to locate the thesis of her essay. In contrast, Jacoby’s thesis is difficult to locate in one clear, precise place in her paper. Of course, she discusses women giving men mixed messages and even gave her own personal experience with doing so, but the closest she came to a thesis was the second paragraph. There she said her boyfriend accepted her apology for giving “mixed signals.” The thesis is important in clearly and accurately stating the main purpose of the paper. Without it, the reader feels lost. The lack of such a thesis in Jacoby’s paper makes it inferior to Paglia’s.
There are many different viewpoints and opinions concerning the touchy subject of date rape. Paglia debated that feminists had the wrong ideas about it. Jacoby suggested that mixed signals were a factor, too. However, Paglia’s essay was stronger in debating the issues than Jacoby’s due to a more professional tone, a better title, and a clearer thesis.
 ThaddeusTheThird · Mon Oct 27, 2008 @ 12:46am · 0 Comments |
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