Essay Questions

What physical action becomes a metaphor for acting like a normal boy?

Generally speaking, metaphors are one of the easier literary devices to recognize. True, a simile is usually easier to spot than a straight-up metaphor, but even the fluidity of the straight-up metaphor is easy to spot in most cases. And then there are those metaphors that enter the discourse through conversation. Sometimes, these do not even appear to be figurative language at all. Occasionally, however, a writer gives a character something to say that is, strictly speaking, just a literal statement of fact, but features a subtext that conveys a wealth of figurative meaning that is partly notable for what remains unspoken: ‘The kid can’t even throw a ball for Christ’s sake.”

Amanda confesses to possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of the greatest Star Trek of them all, Deep Space Nine. Why might she be drawn to this particular incarnation?

Just before this confession, Amanda says notes that she had long been drawn to the science fiction and fantasy genres because of its broader theme of acceptance of differences and push for social justice, but also because the characters don’t look like the people around her who have made life miserable. Over the course of the last half of the run of Deep Space Nine, a single narrative arc dominated the majority of the episodes. This arc revolved around a species known variously as shapeshifters or Changelings or Founders who headed an enemy state collectively known as the Dominion that possessed the ability to take on the form and appearance of any other species or even objects.

In fact, throughout much of the first half of the series’ run, a major character named Odo possessed this ability to a lesser degree--his transformations were often not completely convincing--because he did know of his own origin or even the existence of his species. Since Deep Space Nine was the only Star Trek series that made the Dominion War the centerpiece of its narrative, it makes perfect sense that someone born a biological male who desperately desires to take on the form and appearance of a female would be strongly drawn to it.

What’s the deal with the name that Andrew chooses as her female identity?

The name by which a male-to-female transgender individual chooses to be identified by is a very big deal even if the thought process may not seem like many wheels were turning. For instance, there is a huge difference between Alexander becoming Alexandria and, say, Douglas becoming Aphrodite. Andrew could have chosen the smooth path of simply transitioning into a Drew or making the soundalike switch from Andy to Angie. While the leap from Andrew to Amanda is closer to the middle of that spectrum, the backstory only partially fills in the gap: Amanda was the name of her character when playing a Final Fantasy video game. There is a far bigger question looming, however, than the simple question of the name’s origin story. Something is going on there, maybe irony or maybe a sly joke or perhaps something more complex, but when one begins to think about it a little more deeply, of all the names that Andrew could have chosen, Amanda seems pretty weird: it does, after all, start with the phrase “a man.”