Manhattan Beach Gender Roles

The strengthening of the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II was essential to the allied war effort. It required men to serve overseas and for women to help fill these voids with their services on the home front. Manhattan Beach follows Anna Kerrigan, a young women who works at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in her pursuit to become a diver and break gender stereotypes that were present at this time in history. The plot changes throughout the novel and later shows the hardships that men at sea dealt with through Eddie Kerrigan and the crew of the Elizabeth Seaman. Jennifer Egan makes the merchant marine war effort a fundamental part of the plot in Manhattan Beach to show the importance of US sea power in World War II. United States sea power was greatly strengthened from the home front and brought a sense of nationalism that’s portrayed in Manhattan Beach. Beginning in 1941, the Brooklyn Navy Yard began publishing a weekly newspaper to inspire a sense of community among its workers. The Shipworker covered the highs and lows of daily life and greatly impacted morale among those who worked at the

“Thirty-three had gone to prison last January for telling the Reich the sailing date of an American merchant ship, the SS Robin Moor” (Egan 54). The SS Robin Moor was a hog islander steamship that sailed under the American flag until being sunk by German submarine U-69. The ship was stopped in the tropical Atlantic and the crew was ordered to board her four lifeboats before being fired upon by torpedoes. This incident gave sufficient reasoning for the need to conduct searches before entering the navy yard. “The marine guards opened packages, too, untying strings and prying apart layers of paper, checking for bombs” (Egan 54). This type of security wasn’t as common as it is today, but it was necessary in order to protect United States