Title: writer’s choice you can read it online THE BOOK IS http://www.isbnlib.com/preview/0674018257/One-of-Us-Conjoined-Twins-and-the-Future-of-Normal The lens essay uses one text to shed light on another in order to show readers something they would

Title: writer’s choice

 you can read it online THE BOOK IS  http://www.isbnlib.com/preview/0674018257/One-of-Us-Conjoined-Twins-and-the-Future-of-Normal   The lens essay uses one text to shed light on another in order to show readers something they would

Jane Doe

 ENG 102

 Mr. Lane

 14 February 2011

Conjoined Twins’ Quest for Economic

and Emotional Independence

From 1840 to 1940, the culture of freak shows was introduced to the United Sates, when opportunists brought conjoined twins from different parts of the world to put on display. According to Robert Bogdan, a well known Professor of Cultural Foundations of Education and Sociology at Syracuse University, a freak show is defined as, “ the formally organized exhibition of people with alleged physical, mental, or behavioral differences at circuses, fairs, carnivals, and other amusement venues…in the United States” (23). During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Americans flocked to freak shows, which were accepted in American society and grew to be popular and profitable. People who were seen as different in the society were dehumanized as members of the community. They often suffered demeaning introductions, such as, “step right up…see the most astonishing aggression of human marvels and monstrosities gathered together in one edifice” (Bogdan, 23). Bodgan relates that these people were not regarded as people, but rather, as freaks of nature. Comment by IT Services: Good quote integration, but no comma needed here—test yourself by trying to write the sentence as if there were no quotes—if a comma is not needed there, it wouldn’t be needed here either.

Although they were financially successful, conjoined twins displayed in freak shows throughout the United States often struggled to gain their independence. Bogdan’s article, The
Social Construction of Freaks, and Allice Dreger’s book, One of Us, describe the attempts of conjoined twins to establish their own identities. These authors not only try to define the conjoined twins as the victims of freak shows, but also to reveal the twins’ attempts to normalize within their cultures. Bogdan extends Dreger’s analysis and perceptions that although the unusual bodies of conjoined twins were exploited by freak show managers, the twins eventually gained economic and emotional independence. Comment by IT Services: Just quotes and not italics for the Bogdan article—articles inside anthologies, like the words from inside a book, just take quotes. Only titles on the outside spines of books—One of Us, Tyranny of the Normal, Freakery—get italics. Comment by IT Services: Terrific thesis—I can see just how you’re using the Bogdan as a lens for the Dreger.

Bogdan agrees with Dreger’s emphasis on the restricted freedom of the twins and discusses in great length how the conjoined twins’ disabilities were exploited. First, Bogdan analyzes how the conjoined twins’ status in society was eroded when managers introduced them as products of strange societies: “The person in the exhibit came from a mysterious part of the world – darkest Africa, the wilds of Borneo, a Turkish harem, an ancient Aztec kingdom” (28). The conjoined twins were looked upon as inferior to other members of Western society marketed as products of societies that were regarded as uncivilized. In One of Us, Alice Dreger vividly describes the lack of freedom that conjoined twins, Daisy and Violet experienced, “They worked on the entertainment circuit from an early age, without much control over their lives or the money they earned” (48). Dreger describes how the twins’ bodies were used for the profit of the managers rather than for the well-being of the twins. Bogdan takes Dreger’s analysis further when she suggests that the show owners not only took advantage of the twins’ bodies but also of their emotional vulnerability. By fabricating absurd identities for the twins, Bogdan emphasizes that society limited the twins’ emotional perception of themselves. Comment by IT Services: You don’t want to set Daisy and Violet off with commas here because Dreger presents several cases of twins, and so it would be essential information for us to know which pair of twins this references. Comment by IT Services: As I reader, I first thought you might need to show how this is so by providing a quote and offering PIE structure for it. Then I read on, and realized you did that in the next paragraph. What you might want to do then, to keep the reader from getting hung up here, is move this sentence and have it start the next paragraph.

Bogdan also agrees with Dreger’s conception that these people were perceived as freaks because they were different: “People with physical and mental anomalies came under the control…and many were secluded from the public” (Bogdan, 34). The twins’ bodies, however, existed in society to be exploited. Moreover, Bogdan enhances Dreger’s concept of the exploitation of twins by suggesting that conjoined twins’ were seen as a threat to American society. Bogdan explains, “People with physical and mental differences became dangerous because they were alleged to have inferior genes that, if not controlled would weaken the breeding stock” (34). Bodgan’s emphasis on society’s limitations on the twins’, however, seems to disagree with Dreger’s analysis that the twins’ identities were limited by their own perceptions, rather than by those of society.

The two authors also discuss the attempts of freaks to normalize in terms of what society considered common behavior at that time. Early on, the freak show manager, took many of the “freaks,” the conjoined twins, out to play. Dreger relates that the children walked, played, attended school, swam, bicycled, drew, learned, and had dreams for the future like other normal children in their society. She writes, “So far as I can ascertain, they do what most people do” (49). Dreger adds that the twins tried to act normal, even when others stared at them. “As one might expect, occasionally someone stares or exclaims astonishment at the sight of them, but they take this in stride” (37). As all children, they tried to fit in. Bogdan further notes that, “…they found acceptance and more freedom [from the show managers] than either custodial institutions or the mainstream might provide” (35). Bogdan extends Dreger’s analysis of the twins’ living environment by suggesting that the twins were actually better cared for in the freak shows than they would have been in the general public. Comment by IT Services: These sentences at the end of your body paragraphs make it really obvious that you’re not just comparing and contrasting the sources, but using the Bogdan as a lens for the Dreger. Great work!

In addition, Dreger writes about the economic freedom of the conjoined twins, Violet and Daisy, “In 1932, after successfully suing their managers, they were finally awarded independence and one hundred dollars in damages.” (48). Despite the exploitation of the twins’ by their managers, the conjoined twins finally won their financial independence. Bogdan indicates that conjoined twins’ strived to be economically independent and were often successful.

Bogdan’s article The Social
Construction of Freaks and Dreger’s book One of Us not only discuss the bodies of the conjoined twins but also their quest for economic and emotional independence. During this time, people with unusual anatomies were exploited financially and suffered emotionally throughout their lives. Both Bogdan and Dreger reveal the exploitation of the conjoined twins and point out their desire for normalization within their societies. Like Bogdan, Dreger focuses on the deprivation of freedom of the twins and describes how the conjoined twins’ handicap was capitalized on by opportunists. Bogdan highlights society’s restrictions on the conjoined twins whereas Dreger focuses on how the twins own perceptions of themselves limit their identities. Bogdan is helpful in magnifying Dreger’s analysis by describing that despite the freak show manager’s exploitation, the twins’ eventually gained their economic and emotional independence and secured their own identities. Comment by IT Services: “The Social Construction of Freaks” Comment by IT Services: Excellent job using Bogdan as a lens to analyze Dreger. Lots of great ideas, and it was really clear you weren’t just comparing and contrasting sources throughout. One place to organize the transition between ideas a bit better, and some minor grammar items to work on—italics vs quotes for titles, use of commas when integrating quotes.

Works cited

Bogdan, Robert.”The Social Construction of Freaks.” Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of The Extraordinary Body . Ed. Rosemarie Garland Thomson. NY: NY UP, 1996.  23-37. Print

Dreger, Alice Domurat. One of Us: Conjoined Twins and the Future of Normal. London: Harvard UP, 2004.  Print.