Manhood is presented in many aspects both by Ernest J Gaines in his five short stories Bloodline and in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. They show it not only in one facet but also in other looks by putting most of their protagonists in tests that urge them to response with a mental virility and with a certain degree of consciousness that some manage to overcome. Otherwise manhood is sometime presented by the authors in such a way it can be only defined as the fact of being adult male in accurate situations.
A. MANHOOD AS MATURITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Firstly, we can say that the black men who are no longer slave continue to suffer from the white men superiority, they are often put in situation in which they cannot act as man because
…show more content…
In other words, Munford figures out that it is better for him to take his responsibility by serving his sentences after making offences. Ernest J Gaines’s purpose through Munford’s decision is to restore black’s manhood by showing his awareness, his consciousness about his guiltiness which make him to act accordingly as a virile person. In addition, Gaines strengthen this idea in the same story when the protagonist Proctor gives himself away to the police after stubbing a man that he do not intend to do. Proctor persuades the white policemen that, as a black, he is conscious and virile enough to admit his offence, for example, “You protect yourself, what? T.J. said. I protect myself, sir I said”, (p123). Throughout this fact, Gaines conveys that black men can reach their manhood in this way which is to recognize their duty and right by using their virility and their consciousness. And throughout these statements, one can see the real determination and the courage of the protagonist of the short story, he shows his manhood by surrendering to the police after stubbing a guy. These direct statements without any wavering, straight to the point, constitute for Gaines a real act of manhood. This short story contains rich aspects of manhood, what is allows Gaines to expose manhood in this aspects such as the self-consciousness and
The “Rock Pile” by James Baldwin and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston are two stories that examined black male resistance to emasculation. The men in these stories lived in patriarchal societies, and they reaped the benefits of a structure that favored men. In both of these stories, the male characters are dominant figures in their households, and when they felt like their manhood was being attacked, they retaliate viciously. In “Their eyes were watching god”
In the article “ The Effects pf Paternalism Among Whites and Blacks”, by Philip D. Morgan, explains the relationship between black slaves with dominated white and plain white folk in the time before the Civil War. The passage interestingly repels my first impression of hardness and brutality about American slavery. It turns out the black in that time did had a profound influence among their surrounding, which was both physically and mentally. The bond between black and their master was much tighter by Morgan`s explanation due to the form of paternalism and patriarchalism. And, more importantly, such a form of slavery started to torn the friendship between black and normal white folk apart, by Morgan `s perspective in this passage.
Men owned men because of the color of their skin. These ex-slaves were uneducated and were scared of any change in their lives. What could be theirs today, may not be theirs tomorrow. It’s a shame that people had to live in fear of the government taking something away from them and all they did was share part of their lives to be documented and the documentation was not even accurate. “Freedom had come to a nation of four million slaves, and it changed their lives in deep and important ways.
”(Griffin 48) This quote ties into the main idea of the novel by describing how black men feel when they are discriminated against and treated unfairly. Griffin explains that they do feel hurt when they are called those terrible
Gaines acknowledges the importance of dignity when evaluating what makes one human, as well as the effect of racism on African-American’s mental health during this time period and beyond. Ernest J. Gaines, born in Oscar, LA in 1933, is an African-American author and educator. He depicted the African-American experience throughout the birth of the Civil Rights Movement and in a time where those with dark skin were treated terribly and viewed as sub-human. Most of his novels take place in rural Louisiana and he is known for his “Gripping realistic narratives,” (Barrow).
He had seen firsthand how African Americans experienced brutality growing up. He had seen this when Jess Alexander Helms a police officer brutalized a black woman, and dragged her to the jail house. He had explained it as “the way a caveman would club and drag his sexual prey”. This shows how little rights African Americans had in these days because he was unable to do anything. All of this happened while other African American individuals walked away hurriedly.
Mitchell Curtis English 9 / Period 6 Mr.Boyat 17 October 2016 Three Influential Characters in The House on Mango Street In the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the story is developed through the eyes of a young girl Esperanza. She learns about the realities of life in a house that she recently moved into. There are many characters that are written as she learns about her new neighborhood. The three most influential characters in the novel are Sally, her Mother ,and Marin.
Today’s culture sees manhood as being strong, fighting and doing dangerous things, but this is not how it is portrayed in this movie. The theme of manhood is portrayed through the transformation that takes place in the life of Josh Birdwell, the oldest child of the Birdwell family. When we first meet the Birdwells, Josh is an ordinary Indiana young adult of the time period, picking on his younger brother and
Sandra Cisneros, the author of the book The House on the Mango Street, conveys that girls or women do not have as much freedom as guys do, the girls or women are always ruled or controlled by someone mostly male, and they always have to be the one to follow the rules. As Esperanza grows up she observes many girls who are in the conditions that they are not supposed to be in. The girls have no freedom and they are always supposed to listen to the guy in the family. One observation Esperanza observes is that girls are controlled by men all the time and because of listening to men those girls are locked inside. For example as Esperanza says, “And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at” ( Cisneros # 79 ).
Societal expectations are a part of everyone’s life, male or female. From the day people are born, there are roles they are expected to assume-- wife, homemaker, father, provider, mother and many others. While these aren’t necessarily negative, the stigma of not fulfilling these roles can be unpleasant. While the roles we are supposed to choose aren’t always clearly defined, the judgement that comes from choosing to take certain actions in life, like settling down or becoming a mother is palpable. Throughout The House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s view of the world is largely shaped by the people around her, which are her neighbors, family, and friends.
Beauty is a very powerful and prominent thing. It’s what makes you get out of bed in the mornings and makes the world go round. Despite all that, there are some negatives of it as well. “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros gives a window back in time to a point where a little girl named Esperanza grows up on the streets of Chicago. Through the numerous rapes, abusive relationships, and the absence of respect for women, Cisneros portrays a theme that beauty is a double edged sword through the characters Esperanza and Sally.
In Mexican American society , women are deemed inferior to men, evident in traditional family roles, the male is the head of the family who provides for the family , while the woman stays at home to look after the children she is expected to provide for her husband . In the third vignette of ‘The House on Mango Street’ titled ‘Boys and Girls’ the reader is informed of the division between men and women when Esperanza refers to herself and her sister Nenny , and her brothers, “They’ve got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can’t be seen talking to girls”. The male dominance begins at a very young age.
Obstacles Numerous people stumble upon obstacles, but only a few can overcome them. Most obstacles are influenced by the values of the society. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger overcomes her lack of education and her different beliefs on Jewish people. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet both overcome the obstacle of not being able to be together because of the feud between their families. In “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza overcomes the obstacle of not fitting into her society because of her lack of money.
Franklin II argues that, “The major contribution made by authors writing about the male experience in America in the early 70’s was to alert us to the fact that the meaning of masculinity goes by beyond items on a checklist indicating power, privilege, and machoism” (2012, p. 4). During those periods, African American men were not able to perform certain masculine acts as it would give them the power to the black community. The harsh stereotypes in films, unfortunately, degraded the black man’s power to a lower self-esteem. Likewise, there had been many concerns and questions raised towards manhood in black masculinity ever since the freedom period. Their freedom experiences have significantly developed throughout the years, including the laws
Second-wave feminism was a social movement that began in the 1960s and continued through to the end of 1980s. As opposed to the first wave of feminism, which focused primarily on women’s suffrage, second-wave feminists brought up a wide range of issues such as women in the workplace, sexuality, reproductive rights, and place in a family. In the book House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, there is a lack of rights and respect for women. Cisneros embodied second-wave feminism by writing the book, in order to help empower women in Chicano communities.