Reading Response 4: Motherhood

“The Mental Load of Motherhood” (Ruhle)
The above reading is posted at “Class Topics and Assignments” >> “Motherhood”
“The Gentle Lena” (Stein)
“The Cooboo” (Prichard)
“The Paper Nautilus” (Moore)
“Birth” (Nin)
“Making the Jam without You,” “The Envelope” (Kumin)
“Housewife,” “In Celebration of My Uterus” (Sexton)
“Prayer of an Ovulating Female” (Laing)
“The Mother’s Charge (Gilman)
“A Worn Path” (Welty)
“the mother,” The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” (Brooks)
“Good Country People” (O’Connor)
from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(Angelou)
NOTE: Some readings may be available in multiple assignments. You may use each reading ONLY once. You cannot use the same reading for multiple assignments.
PROMPT
A quick search using the term “ideal mother” produces hundreds of articles listing the qualities of a good mother from a variety of perspectives (though most include the similar descriptions). Ruhle and Weiss explore the realities of being a mother outside of these lists.
Read Ruhle’s essay and choose 3 of the above readings from the textbook (multiple poems/readings by one author are considered 1 choice), and analyze how motherhood is portrayed. How do these readings engage the complexities of motherhood? Be sure to connect your chosen textbook readings to Ruhle’s essay.
REQUIREMENTS
Your response should include at least 2 quotes from Ruhle’s essay and 3 quotes from each assigned reading (total of 8).
Include in-text citations for each quotation in MLA style.
Your submission should be in formal essay format: Introduction, body, conclusion. For information on essay format and organizing your ideas, visit:
Basic Essay and Paragraph Format
Essay Structure
Basic Essay Structure
All reading responses should be 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages.
You will be graded on critical thinking, support, clarity/organization, language and MLA style (see Reading Response rubric for details).
MLA Style: ALL assignments must be submitted in proper MLA form, including in-text citations and a Works Cited page. For help with MLA style guidelines, visit the Purdue OWL website and search for MLA: Purdue Online Writing Center (OWL). There are also resources posted at the “Start Here” link as well.
Formal Language and Tone: Your paper must be written in 3rd person, present tense, formal tone. Do not use first person (we, us, our) or second person (you, your, you’re), or “one” (one = you; who/what is “one”?). Unless a professor specifies otherwise, college-level papers should always be written in 3rd person, present tense, formal tone. For help with this, visit:
Formal Academic Writing
Avoiding Second Person

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