The various ways in which manhood appear and emerge within cultures has an extensive examination and definition of the meaning of a man and how a man needs to be. The notion of manhood and masculinity is shown in the main characters of the works of J. M. Coetzee and Toni Morrison. Boyhood: Scenes from a Provincial Life by J. M. Coetzee and Home by Toni Morrison are both set in different places with different cultures which result in different meanings of what a man is. Coetzee’s autobiographical fiction novel, Boyhood, takes place in South Africa during the time of the conflicts of cultural identity and race. Boyhood tells the story of the main character John, a young boy who is smart, intellectual and sensitive. John always feels unique and different, he always thinks about himself and about his uniqueness. His uniqueness and alienation from his environment cuts him off as a child and affects his growing conditions and manhood. On the other hand, Morrison’s, Home, tells the story of the aftermath of the main character, Frank Money’s, life. Money, 24 year-old, participated in the Korean War and then got discharged from the Army. During the war Money, killed many lives, including the soul of a young Korean girl that he never forgets; Money’s two best friends were both killed during the period of the war. These events left Money with a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which affected his sanity and manhood. While the literature shows how culture, race, people and events, can affect manhood this paper will study and explore the theme of manhood differently between the main characters Coetzee and Money.
Although both novels show the conceptions of manhood differently, the style of narration play an important role in constructing...
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...he used to odium his father was that his father knew how Coetzee used to protect his manhood and he exposed “the armor” in which Coetzee protected himself from the world with.
The events and surroundings that took place during Coetzee’s youth is what shaped his manhood and what made him to what he is today, a well-known and conversant author. Detachment from family and friends, post-war era, and landscapes of South Africa played an important role in the life of Coetzee in Boyhood. Because Coetzee didn’t have either religion or race common with his friends this always acted as a barrier and highly affected his childhood because it was difficult for him to bond or socialize with any of this schoolmates. Although Coetzee had a happy childhood conventionally, the tragedies and obstacles that he faced in his growth didn’t stop him from developing and progressing.
In Ernest Hemingway's short stories "Indian Camp" and "Soldier's Home," young women are treated as objects whose purpose is either reproduction or pleasure. They do not and cannot participate to a significant degree in the masculine sphere of experience, and when they have served their purpose, they are set aside. They do not have a voice in the narrative, and they represent complications in life that must be overcome in one way or another. While this portrayal of young women is hardly unique to Hemingway, the author uses it as a device to probe the male psyche more deeply.
...escribe protagonists who, in order to reassess their own lives, redefine themselves through various ways. Two of the most obvious ways are rebellion against perceived negativity and attraction to men of control and power aid in this process. In both stories, the men to whom the protagonists were attracted to were commanding figures, confident in their power and place in society. The girls seemed to draw upon this power and use it for themselves, in their quest for definition. Aside from fundamental differences in structure, i. e. of a novella and short story, both works dealt with the compelling subject of "awakening sexuality" in a very illuminating way.
Through the actions of the male hegemony and the mother figure, both plays show the different perspectives both sexes have towards homosexuality. The patriarchal figures, show an intolerant and abusive perspective whereas the mother figures show a more understanding way of coping with the identities of their sons. By seeing the reactions of both males and females, it is to say that the maternal figures of the play show a more comprehensive attitude towards the struggles that the male protagonist undergo. Both plays are related to today´s society, because there are still families in which homosexuality is not accepted. People are still
The rugged frontiersman, the wealthy self-made entrepreneur, the stoic lone wolf; these are classic archetypes, embodiments of an enduring mythos-- American Masculinity. The doctrine of ideal manliness and its many incarnations have occupied a central place in American literature since colonial times. These representations that still exists in countless cultural iterations. The literary periods studied in this course were witness to writers that continually constructed and deconstructed the myths of paternal heroism and ideal masculinity. From Romanticism to Modernism authors, like James’s Fennimore Cooper, and F. Scott Fitzgerald helped to create the lore of American Manhood by investigating cultural notions gender and self that were emblematic of their time.
Wright, Richard. "The Man Who Was Almost a Man." Literature and the Writing Process. Ed.
...hetypes of these primary characters, both of these novels make a parallel statement on feminism. The expectations of both themselves and society greatly determine the way that these women function in their families and in other relationships. Looking at the time periods in which these novels were written and take place, it is clear that these gender roles greatly influence whether a female character displays independence or dependence. From a contemporary viewpoint, readers can see how these women either fit or push the boundaries of these expected gender roles.
The setting of both stories reinforces the notion of women's dependence on men. The late 1800's were a turbulent time for women's roles. The turn of the century brought about revolution, fueled by the energy and freedom of a new horizon…but it was still just around the bend. In this era, during which both short stories were published, members of the weaker sex were blatantly disregarded as individuals, who had minds that could think, and reason, and form valid opinions.
In the beginning of both of the pieces of literature, the main character(s) have not had the experience that will shape their values yet. Rather, as time moves forward in the stories, the
This essay has compared the differences between the societies in these two novels. There is one great similarity however that both make me thankful for having been born into a freethinking society where a person can be truly free. Our present society may not be truly perfect, but as these two novels show, it could be worse.
Masculinity in "Men Should Weep" by Ena Lamont Stewart and "Perfect Days" by Liz Lochead
From the beginning of the human race the gender roles of man and woman appeared to be straightforward. Women, being able to procreate, were sought to as nurturers, while men were to protect and provide for their family. Throughout all cultures, practices and beliefs of individuals toward masculinity significantly vary. Masculinity or manliness associates with characteristics such as strength, bravery, handsomeness, and physique in a male. With the ongoing changes in human history, the term masculinity has greatly evolved. Our western views’ paint a clear image of how children should be raised according to their gender role, which leads to more and more of them falling victim to the stigma of societal pressures and stereotypes. For example,
Although both authors claim their stories are true, and thereby that their characters are realistic, there seems to be a gap between the authors' claims and the "reality" of the characterization. This question is closely connected to the fact that both novels belong to the earliest English novels. There was no fixed tradition that the authors worked in; instead the novel was in the process of being established. The question arises whether the two works lack a certain roundness in their narrators.
Abrams, MH, et al. Eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.
The Bildungsroman genre entails a character’s formative years and his or her development from childhood. The characters from this type of novel recall, in detail, past relationships and experiences that impacted the characters growth, maturity, and exemplar for their relationships with other characters. An important component to Bildungsroman novels is the concentration on the characters childhood (Gottfried & Miles, 122). In Jane Eyre and David Copperfield, both characters childhoods were despondent. Both characters experience the loss of a parent: Jane is a literal orphan; David’s loss is metaphorical, then literal. When Jane Eyre begins, Jane has already lost both parents and is under the guardianship of her aunt, Sarah Reed. Reed and her children, Jane’s cousins, are abusive to Jane and never accept Jane as family. Jane has lost both parents and with the death of her uncle, Sarah’s husband and an advocate for Jane, Jane is without any caring relationship. In addition to being without affection, Jane must endure torment. It is this lack of adoration that leads Jane to seek acceptance throughout her life, while attempting t...
The two novels prove the claim of the research, which is working on the female characters; and that is why these novels are chosen and made a comparison between them. Both of the writers make their protagonists the victims and from another side send to them the one who will help them to overcome their ordeal. Finally, their life has completely changed and reached what they want.