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Masculinity in Deliverance by James Dickey
The novel Deliverance by James Dickey portrays the essence of middle-aged men experiencing the mid-life crisis through which they must prove to themselves and more importantly every one else that they still possess the strength, bravery, intelligence, and charm believed to be society's ideal of "masculinity." Dickey's four main characters undertake a risky adventure to satisfy their egotistical complexes and prove to the world that they are still the strong young men their wives married. Each character represents a different stereotype of the middle-aged man, and therefore experiences a different type of psychological and physical journey than their peers.
The character Drew Ballinger in Deliverance is a sales supervisor at a soft-drink company who is very devoted to his son and his job. Drew is the character who represents the middle-aged man's desire for talent and attention. Drew plays the guitar and his music is his true companion. Without having any talent, as he would be the
first to tell you, Drew played mighty well, through sheer devotion.(Dickey, 11)
For Drew the highlight of this trip is his duo with Lonnie, an uneducated banjo player. Drew obviously finds this the most exhilarating part of the adventure in that he is the center of attention and is playing very well with a talented young man.
I had never heard him play so well, and I really
began to listen deeply, moved as an unmusical
person is moved when he sees that the music is
meant….I could not see Drew's face, but the back
of his neck was sheer joy…I was glad for Drew's sake
that we had come. Jus...
... middle of paper ...
...ecame
a possession to me, a personal, private possession, as
nothing else in my life ever had. Now it ran nowhere but in
my head, but there it ran as though immortally. I could feel it
- I can feel it - on different places on my body. It pleases me in
some curious way that the river does not exist, and that I have it.
In me it still is, and will be until I die, green, rocky, deep, fast, slow
and beautiful beyond reality…The river underlies…everything that I
do. It is always finding a way to serve me…(Dickey, 275-6)
Thus, Ed is the protagonist and hero of Deliverance.
It is through this perilous voyage that Drew, Bobby, Lewis, and Ed undertake, that they prove their "masculinity," or lack there of, to themselves and to the society in which they live.
Works Cited
Dickey, James Deliverance. 1970. New York: Dell Publishing, 1994.
In The Other Wes Moore, male figures, specifically male role models, play an important part both Wes Moores’ lives and and are eventually what make or break their futures.
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... E Glenn, and Nancy B Sherrod. The psychology of men and masculinity:Research status and future directions. New York: John Wiley and sons, 2001.
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not physical. It is a union of souls and hearts and minds, not something you