Expository Essay #1

Annie Oakley
Brittany Lynn

 Annie Oakley was always different.  She was never interested in her sister's
ragdolls.  Instead she took interest in so called " man things".   She was so interested that
she shot a rifle at the young age of eight!  This shot was heard by women around the

        world.   Today this shot is still ringing.
 Annie Oakley let hard times build her character, instead of curling in a ball and
crying like young girls are expected to do.  When Annie was a young girl her father died,
and her family was forced to move to a rented farm.  They were still tight on money, so at
the age of ten Annie was sent to the county poor farm.  She was eventually taken from the
Infirmary.  However, she did not live a better life.  Annie was made a slave by the local
farmer who took her in.  She would rise at four o'clock to do a huge list of chores.  The
farmer and his wife also gave her welts and had once even thrown her barefoot in the
snow!  Annie did not let her childhood get in her way.  Instead, she used it to make herself
        a legend.
 Annie Oakley was an excellent sharpshooter, who did not have to be masculine to
succeed.  She was a conservative girl who was very prim and proper.  She did not brag
boldly like other show girls.  Annie Oakley was different.  She was only five feet tall and
weighed only 110 pounds!  On top of this, she dressed very innocent in a linsey dress and
knickerbockers.  She was a big hit to fans of sharpshooting shows.  Her innocent look,
pleasant wide smile and the way she curtsied in the footlights were all part of her appeal.
 Annie Oakley proved she could compete right along with men.  Her first match
was when she was twenty.  It appeared an easy one to Frank Butler (her future husband),
but she proved him wrong.  Even though she appeared small and delicate she could shoot
just as well as Butler.  In the end she defeated him by killing 23 birds verses his 21.  It was
her first big match and his first defeat.  Soon after,  Annie joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West
Show.  This show would transform Annie from a little Ohio girl to one of the most famous
western characters of all time.  She would continue the show until 1902.  After Annie's retirement she did not stop transforming the lives of women.
 Annie Oakley has forever changed the lives of women.  Her courage to stand up
against men will never be forgotten.  She has proved that you can be feminine and
courageous at the same time.  She has also showed that women can be just as strong as
men.  These heroics have given women the power they need to succeed in a man
            dominated world.


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