Explore the place of gender in the two books noted above.

In a well-organized essay of 4-6 pages, respond to the statement listed below. Be sure to provide references and examples from both texts. As such you are responsible for the entirety of Distance Between Us (By Reyna Grande) and Farewell to Manzanar (By Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston). Since this is a take-home assignment, grammar, spelling, and the like will carry more weight in the computation of the final grade than is the case for an exam.
Explore the place of gender in the two books noted above. In other words, does it matter that the two authors are female when it comes to explaining their experiences? Your argument should have a clear and decisive point that has the support of textual evidence from both books. It is not enough to say being a woman plays a part in both texts or something similar. Rather, you need to propose your own idea(s) about how and why their sex matters, if at all, and what the significance of this reality is as it relates to each text.
In making your arguments, you must provide examples from the texts for support. Rather than using formal footnotes/endnotes, follow these instructions. At the end of a citation–either a complete quotation or a paraphrase (putting the authors ideas into your own words)–place the authors name and the page numbers in parentheses. For example, a quotation: I really like to teach history. (Smith, 21); a paraphrase: Some people like to teach history. (Smith, 21) These methods are used to teach you about the issue of plagiarism, and to show you that historians always try to attribute properly their sources. This is the idea: You cannot claim anothers ideas as your own. In addition, avoid quoting from the Introductions of the three works. The information contained in them is provided as background material only. Make your arguments from the texts themselves–there is more than enough information present for you to make realistic conclusions about the works.
Your essay should use a standard format: 12 font, double spaced, one inch margin. Be sure to proofread your paper carefully; spelling, grammar, and other issues related to proper presentation and usage are a significant part of this assignment.

Last Completed Projects