“What I’ve Learned from Men” Response Questions

1. What is the tone (see definition below) of the opening paragraph? What does the tone of this

paragraph suggest we can expect in the rest of the essay?

I feel like the tone of the opening paragraph is a little bit bitter but at the same time I feel like she is also talking in a jokingly manner. I really did not know what to expect for the rest of the essay. I guess I maybe thought it was going to be how women are so mistreated and misinterpreted.

2. Ehrenreich contrasts “being tough” and “being ladylike.” What are the attitudes and behaviors

that she associates with these opposing ways of being?

Some things she states are that the essence of lady likeness is a persistent servility masked as "niceness." For example, we

(women) tend to assume that it is our responsibility to keep everything "nice" even when the person

we are with is rude and then she goes on and talks about how men are basically the opposite.

3. According to Ehrenreich, why are women reluctant to exert power?

According to Ehrenreich women are reluctant to exert power because the are looked at as "selfish"; she also does the traditional lady's

work of trying to make everyone else feel better ("She's not really sp smart, after all, just lucky").

4. Why do you think Ehrenreich shares the story of her encounter with the “prestigious

professor” in paragraph 3?

I think she shares that story to point out a lot of men are just pigs and use there power to get what they want or at least think they can.

5. Why does she “rerun” the scene with the professor to conclude her essay?

She does this to tell us what she actually should have done when this whole situation happened.