Why is it that interviewers at the "Red Bull" jobs treated men and women differently, and what was the significance of it?
It is because the interviews are assessing you for what you are, and not who you are. Even when Diane at Borg thought she treated the sexes equal, she didn't noted Vincent. Vincent shows examples of how you can tell by their mannerisms and that they would try to be a friend of buddy of a person with the same sex and flirt with a person of the opposite sex. The significance of this is that it tells you what you are and how you are to behave, which puts you into a gender role no matter what. Vincent called it "gender-coded" behavior.
Why was everything at "Red Bull" exaggerated; what was the purpose of it?
It is all a psychological game to keep these people going out there day to day in the hot sun and working long hours for nothing. They exaggerate the hope of a promotion and tell everyone that you need to bust your butt to get to the top when a lot of there expectations are not even realistic to meet. A lot of the guys who did get ahead or appeared to have gotten so were buying there own products or working for a ridiculous number of hours. The purpose was to play into the hype of males expectations, at least at the male dominated office. The males were just playing into the gender role of being manly men.
What was the point of the men's therapy group?
It is part of the men's movement. It is supposed to be a place where women aren't allowed and where men can face their problems, talk about them openly, and examine their masculinity- the way they and the culture defined it. Men always have the image of not being emotional and holding everything together, but this is a place where they could drop the act and talk about what they are really going through. This is where Norah decides to end her journey as Ned.
When Vincent quotes that the men were going to this group to examine "their masculinity, both as they and the culture defined it," what is she cuing to us?
I think Vincent is trying to lead us to the discussion she has later in the chapter where the way men define their masculinity and the way the culture defines it are two different things. The culture makes men seem as though they have to play a certain role of being strong, protective, never breaking down, yet being sensitive to a woman's needs and such. Men claim that this is to much for them, they feel as though someone is always examining their manhood, and that is why they would attend those meetings so that they could talk about who they really are and what they really feel like.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Graphic Organizer #7: Luke
After working at the Red Bull Jobs for a short time Norah realizes, while being interviewed and on the job, that people base how they treat you off of your gender, even if they are not aware of it. When interviewing as a man she notices how her female interviewers treat he different than if she were a woman. They smile at her more and flirt to establish their power over the man that they are interviewing.Monday, November 30, 2009
Journal #3
One neat thing in Chapter 5 was when Norah did a Catholic confession in the monastery. She is not catholic but she confessed to the sins she was committing in the monastery. Our group has three Catholic’s so we have all done a confession before. It was interesting to relate this part of the book to our own lives.
We feel that this section is probably one of the most controversial of the whole book because she is going into a place that ordinary people are not allowed; it is a monastery that is supposed to be full of priests and brothers and such. The monastery is especially not a place for women. We can assume that many religious people would take offense to this section as it is a great sin to lie and deceive. Furthermore, she went into this monastery and barely touched on the religious aspects of the place. Instead, Vincent focused on the males interactions, their feelings, and there relationships; which is understandable being the focus of her book. Overall, it was an interesting section, but we feel she should have maybe touched on the religion aspects of it to respect the Catholic community.
We were shocked to find that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in a monastery. We assumed before reading this section that there was not a lot going on in there in terms of relationships when really there was a lot for Vincent to explore. So maybe it was worth it for her to infiltrate this monastery. She found out what men are like out of the elements of a sports bar or bowling alley and see what they are like without the presence of women. It was surprising that she concluded that the monks were just normal American man. She said the men were “suffering together in silence under a hurt they could barely acknowledge, let alone address.”
Before reading this chapter we had assumed men could be more emotional inside the monastery than they could in the real world. But by reading, we discovered as Vincent put it that the monastery was “a very hard place to be an emotional man, and in that sense it was not so unlike the outside world after all.” There was still judgment and protocol in the abbey, even though one would think that would be abolished in such a holy place.
When Ned enters the work force at the Red Bull companies he goes through many surprising and valuable experiences. After we came to this chapter on work we all assumed that it would be more of an office setting or something along those line, but not door-to-door sales man. In the end though, it did make sense for the author to choose this in order to maintain her disguise.
The very beginning of the chapter is her interview stage during which she learns what a suit can do to a person. It was surprising to see how much of a change she went through mentally after just changing her clothes. Besides putting on a suit and acting differently this section conveys a message to its readers. When attending an interview be sure to act confidently but not necessarily arrogant. Showing that you have confidence in yourself is a good way to let your interviewer know that you believe in your abilities and that they should too.
Before Norah even calls for an interview she has her own assumptions about what to expect in this type of job. She expects to get a job in sales that will be fast paced, and testosterone-saturated where her co-workers would emasculate each other by saying how much better their stuff is than theirs. After reading the section it is apparent that her assumptions are exactly right. The majority of the other sales reps are male and all former jocks who are in constant competition with each other to get the best sales.
We feel that this section is probably one of the most controversial of the whole book because she is going into a place that ordinary people are not allowed; it is a monastery that is supposed to be full of priests and brothers and such. The monastery is especially not a place for women. We can assume that many religious people would take offense to this section as it is a great sin to lie and deceive. Furthermore, she went into this monastery and barely touched on the religious aspects of the place. Instead, Vincent focused on the males interactions, their feelings, and there relationships; which is understandable being the focus of her book. Overall, it was an interesting section, but we feel she should have maybe touched on the religion aspects of it to respect the Catholic community.
We were shocked to find that there is a lot going on behind the scenes in a monastery. We assumed before reading this section that there was not a lot going on in there in terms of relationships when really there was a lot for Vincent to explore. So maybe it was worth it for her to infiltrate this monastery. She found out what men are like out of the elements of a sports bar or bowling alley and see what they are like without the presence of women. It was surprising that she concluded that the monks were just normal American man. She said the men were “suffering together in silence under a hurt they could barely acknowledge, let alone address.”
Before reading this chapter we had assumed men could be more emotional inside the monastery than they could in the real world. But by reading, we discovered as Vincent put it that the monastery was “a very hard place to be an emotional man, and in that sense it was not so unlike the outside world after all.” There was still judgment and protocol in the abbey, even though one would think that would be abolished in such a holy place.
When Ned enters the work force at the Red Bull companies he goes through many surprising and valuable experiences. After we came to this chapter on work we all assumed that it would be more of an office setting or something along those line, but not door-to-door sales man. In the end though, it did make sense for the author to choose this in order to maintain her disguise.
The very beginning of the chapter is her interview stage during which she learns what a suit can do to a person. It was surprising to see how much of a change she went through mentally after just changing her clothes. Besides putting on a suit and acting differently this section conveys a message to its readers. When attending an interview be sure to act confidently but not necessarily arrogant. Showing that you have confidence in yourself is a good way to let your interviewer know that you believe in your abilities and that they should too.
Before Norah even calls for an interview she has her own assumptions about what to expect in this type of job. She expects to get a job in sales that will be fast paced, and testosterone-saturated where her co-workers would emasculate each other by saying how much better their stuff is than theirs. After reading the section it is apparent that her assumptions are exactly right. The majority of the other sales reps are male and all former jocks who are in constant competition with each other to get the best sales.
Vocabulary Builder #6: Luke
Ameliorations, pg. 190- an improvement
Coquettishly, pg. 191- a woman who flirts lightheartedly with men to win their admiration and affection
Ostensibly, pr. 194- outwardly appearing as such
Unctuos, pg. 194- characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic fervor
Purported, pg. 197- reputed or claimed
Tendium, pg. 197- the quality or state of being wearisome
Onomatopoeic, pg. 197- the formation of a word
Vitriol, pg. 199- something highly caustic or severe in effect
Execrably, pg. 202- utterly detestable
Demagogic, pg. 205- obscure or distort with emotionalism, prejudice, etc.
Coquettishly, pg. 191- a woman who flirts lightheartedly with men to win their admiration and affection
Ostensibly, pr. 194- outwardly appearing as such
Unctuos, pg. 194- characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic fervor
Purported, pg. 197- reputed or claimed
Tendium, pg. 197- the quality or state of being wearisome
Onomatopoeic, pg. 197- the formation of a word
Vitriol, pg. 199- something highly caustic or severe in effect
Execrably, pg. 202- utterly detestable
Demagogic, pg. 205- obscure or distort with emotionalism, prejudice, etc.
Summarizer #6: Jenny
Ned worked with a pregnant young lady around the age of 18 and was very surprised at the way she put herself out there by displaying her body in order to sell products. The image of this teenager was stuck in the back of my mind. They described how she pushed up her boobs while opening up her shirt, and also wore a short skirt. They went into a workshop full of men thinking this would get them to buy the product. It made Ned feel degraded that our sex would go so far to be successful. At the same time, she talks about how she would, without thinking about it, flirt with her boss because it was what women were supposed to do. The young lady shows how desperate some women are and how far they would go for their success. She also elaborated on her discovery that work is seen in a sexual manner for some men and that they use their macho-ness and strength in words to work the people into buying their product.
Discussion Leader #6: Meghan
1. Why did Vergil cut off almost all contact with Ned?
Ned seemed to ignore all male boundaries, saying innappropriate things, or doing innappropriate things, especially in the eyes of a monk. In a place where emotional display and physical contact are almost forbidden, Ned was looked at as a threat to these common practices. Ned was even labeled as gay by some of the monks, and so Virgil thought it would be in Ned's best interest to cut off all contact with him.
2. What did Ned realize about Father Claude that saddened her?
Ned told Father Claude one day that he really liked Father because he gave him hope. Father Claude then looked sad, saying that he wished his brothers felt the same way. He then revealed that he doesnt think the rest of the convent likes him. The fact that Father Claude was without fellowship after his entire adult life was spent in the convent really saddened Ned.
3.How did Ned talk differently then Norah when it came to work?
Ned stopped obsessively saying sorry, please, and thank you in resteraunts, gas stations, and shops the way Norah had. Instead, Ned just asked for what he wanted, right out, no apology, no squirm.
4. What was Ivan's relationship to Ned?
On Neds second interview with a new job he was sent out to work for the day with Ivan. Ivan was a balls-to-the-wall salesmen and Ned respected that. Also, Ivan made Ned laugh; they had a pretty good friendly relationship.
Ned seemed to ignore all male boundaries, saying innappropriate things, or doing innappropriate things, especially in the eyes of a monk. In a place where emotional display and physical contact are almost forbidden, Ned was looked at as a threat to these common practices. Ned was even labeled as gay by some of the monks, and so Virgil thought it would be in Ned's best interest to cut off all contact with him.
2. What did Ned realize about Father Claude that saddened her?
Ned told Father Claude one day that he really liked Father because he gave him hope. Father Claude then looked sad, saying that he wished his brothers felt the same way. He then revealed that he doesnt think the rest of the convent likes him. The fact that Father Claude was without fellowship after his entire adult life was spent in the convent really saddened Ned.
3.How did Ned talk differently then Norah when it came to work?
Ned stopped obsessively saying sorry, please, and thank you in resteraunts, gas stations, and shops the way Norah had. Instead, Ned just asked for what he wanted, right out, no apology, no squirm.
4. What was Ivan's relationship to Ned?
On Neds second interview with a new job he was sent out to work for the day with Ivan. Ivan was a balls-to-the-wall salesmen and Ned respected that. Also, Ivan made Ned laugh; they had a pretty good friendly relationship.
Graphic Organizer #6: Malory
This graphic organizer explains the characteristics of the "Red Bull" job that Norah took on as Ned. She experienced all of these hardships in three steps, 1. the Interview, 2. being the Trainee, and 3. becoming the Professional where she even got the ring the bell in the boardroom at the end of the day. She experienced many things while going through these 3 stages of a red bull job and probably the one with the most hardships was in the trainee section where she couldn't figure out how to sell a single set of books, and it wasn't until she realized that she has to act differently and be manipulative to sell books that she became the professional.Here is a link that gives tips on how to sell door to door, I thought it was an interesting relation to what Norah had to go through by self discovering these things:
Davidson, Carl. “Selling More Door to Door – Tips for Success.” Sales and Management Solutions. n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2009.
http://www.salesandmanagementsolutions.com/door.pdf
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