Children of Heroes by Lyonel Trouillot

In today’s society, one’s gender is not necessarily a depiction of one’s sex, therefore performing one’s desired gender is highly pivotal. The idea of “performing” is very compelling since one has to routinely execute a series of acts designated to define a woman or a man. Interestingly and clearly enough, the “acts” attributed to identify a woman and her womanhood varies from those acts that identify a man and his manhood. Presently, men are always expected to perform and confirm their masculinity. Men seeking to prove themselves are sometimes forced to act on the expense of others and their feelings. Other men find the need to simply control others to again, demonstrate to society their manhood. In a novel titled Children of Heroes by Lyonel Trouillot, violent behaviors are significantly present, forcing some characters to be submissive and repressed all while the aggressor acts on emphasizing his position in the dominant gender group. Trouillot tells the story of a Haitian family and their troubles with the head of the household named Corazón. Due to his own exposure to abuse and demasculination, Corazón, by nature, desperately felt that as man he had to somehow reestablish his own masculinity by exerting violence against his wife and children. Corazón’s relationship with his boss and with his mother Mam Yvonne, plus his lack of achieving his dreams, became the roots of Corazón’s desperation. His wife Joséphine and his son Colin are characters Corazón uses to be able to perform, enhance and redeem his masculinity.

As a young boy Corazón had big dreams of becoming a boxer, fighting opponents and reaching fame. However, “his father who had preferred to die as not to help him live his dream,” (Trouillot 144) and ...

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...ough his personal shame. Corazón did not display feelings or pity towards Joséphine or Colin simply because they were “weak” in his perspective, making them the perfect victims. These victims elevated Corazón’s self-esteem, reinforced his control and power, and finally made him feel manly all over again.

Works Cited

Trouillot, Lyonel, and Linda Coverdale. Children of Heroes. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2008. Print.

Schrock, Douglas, and Michael Schwalbe. "Men, Masculinity, and Manhood Acts." Annual Review of Sociology (2009): 284. Academic Search Complete. Web. 08 Dec. 2010. .