"Black Box" by Jennifer Egan

Project by Abby Colvin and Yesha Thakkar

Thesis

Jennifer Egan comments on the idea of heroism generally being associated with men in her short story “Black Box.” The story follows a “beauty” on a mission. Egan writes about weaponizing femininity and using beauty as a disguise to change the long-held bias that the hero is typically a male.

(Orf)
Egan has the Beauty weaponize her femininity here. The Beauty is escaping and must play the part of an innocent female to get away successfully. Her beauty helps her portray innocence. This develops Egan’s idea that women have an advantage over men because their appearance can aid them in spy missions (Egan et al.).

(Orf)
Again, the Beauty is using her appearance as a strength. In this case, her appearance is a double-edged sword. It serves as a disguise to others, but also can be a way for the Beauty to protect herself from the stressful situations she must be in. That strength is an excellent quality to be exhibited by a hero (Egan et al.).

(Orf)
This sentence speaks to the capability of the Beauty. Heroes in the past have typically been males, and even when there were female heroes, they were not main characters. Egan’s Beauty can do many things, including drive a boat, while not at fully functioning capacity. This furthers the idea that women are just as capable of espionage, which is more commonly associated with men (Egan et al.).

(Orf)
One of the hardships that comes with being a Beauty is the difficult tasks that must be done in the service of her country. Egan shares that the Beauties have a way to deal with the stressors by using the “Dissociation Technique.” This strength displayed by the Beauties makes them the ideal hero, furthering Egan’s theme (Egan et al.).

(Orf)
Here, Egan directly relates the Beauties to heroes. This develops the theme because past agents who have given their lives to their job are revered as heroes for their service to their country (Egan et al.).

(Orf)
This shows that the Beauty was successful in her mission, proving that she is capable. The happiness exhibited by her rescuers develops the idea that women are just as competent as men when it comes to being a hero (Egan et al.).

Citations