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.
Romantic Author James’s Fennimore Cooper created characters in the tradition of independence and self-control. Apart of his “Leather Stockings” series, “The Last of The Mohicans,” uses the American frontier an aesthetic articulation of male Identity. (“Masculine Heroes” American Passages Voices and Visions) In an excerpt from Cooper’s classic, “From Volume I Chapter III”, (Cooper. 485-491) the reader is introduced to the recurring character Natty Bumppo – referred to as Hawkeye-- and his friend Chingachgook. Both men can be seen as representations of the American Frontier, Heroes that embody the mythic elements in Cooper’s setting. They are rugged frontiersmen that thrive self-sufficiently, in a world of harsh realities.
Hawkeye is a man living on the border between wilderness and civilization, between Native American and European culture (“Masculine Heroes” American Passages Voices and Visions) Hawkeye is a man living on the border between wilderness and civilization, ...
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... own relationships, and depicted his own seemingly conflicted attitude toward the overweening masculinity of his time. In "Winter Dreams,", Dexter Greene attempts to exhibit the quality his generation associated with manhood will-power, self-sufficiency, and affluence, buts fall short, because he does not display a dominate roll in his relationship with Judy. He allows his willpower and judgment to be obscured but emotional desire. Thus, Dexter represents Fitzgerald’s reconceptualization of male identity, an identity made more emotionally realistic by balancing what were historically considered feminine traits with conventional male attributes. Showing the ways in which these exceptions are illusions. (“Modernist Portraits” American Passages Voices and Visions.)
The Time spanning the Romanic and Modernist eras was witness to the evolving mythos of American manhood.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
Within the genre of the frontier novel, great consideration is given to early American ideals of masculinity. According to Aiping Zhang, in his article "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans," James Fenimore Cooper was exceedingly interested in developing a new American definition of the ideal man. Zhang writes that "masculinity was always one of the primary issues in [Cooper's] life and his writings as well . . . the selection . . . of (the) male figures in The Last of the Mohicans must have a lot to do with his personal search for the ideal image of American man'' (2). With the realization that his writings could promote a new definition of the ideal American man, Cooper presented the male characters in The Last of the Mohicans as either well-suited or ill-fitted for frontier life, which Cooper metaphorically substitutes for early America.
The enduring cultural expressions of the frontier were adapted into unique narrative traditions known as the “Western”. The Western genre portrays a story of conquest, competing visions of the land, and the quintessential American frontier hero who is usually a gunfighter or a cowboy. These Western archetypes can be observed in, The Outlaw Josey Wales, a film that employs revenge motifs that lead into and extended chase across the West and touches on the social and cultural issues of the American frontier.
While America was just in its infancy during the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century, expanding and competing for its own national identity, there were ideals of manhood competing for dominance amidst the chaos. A couple of notions of masculinity were brought to the New World straight from Europe; the idea that men were to work hard for success and value family, while others maintained wealth and landownership as the characteristics of a man. However, the eminence of industrialization soon made these notions obsolete. Without these longstanding notions, American men were left in a crisis without an identity. It is within this framework that specific paintings serve as material expressions and vehicles for gendering beliefs and constructs.
In Gail Bederman’s Manliness and Civilization, she aims to describe the concepts of manliness and masculinity at the turn of the century. Bederman explains that the concept of what it means to be a man is ever changing as a result of the ideology of the time as well as the material actions of the men. During the Progressive Era, many forces were at work that put pressure on the supremacy of white, middle class men. Some of these forces included the growing move toward empowered women, the unionization of the working class, and the move from self-employment to big, corporate business. She delves into the way that both racism and sexism were used to build up the concept of masculinity and the turn of the century discourse on civilization.
The first half of the 19th century of the United States of America had a characteristic of masculinity described above.
In her essay “Effective Men” and early Voluntary Associations in Philadelphia, 1725-175, Jessica Chopin Roney of Temple University, finds that, “productivity and property were essential both to masculine republican virtue and to patriarchy.” These societal principles placed restrictions on manly behavior, and failing to meet these requirements could lead to men being removed from the patriarchal order. Roney continues by explaining that, “being a good provider was an essential part of being a patriarch. A man who could not furnish his family with the necessities of life could not in turn command respect and obedience from them.” By extension those men who did not, by choice or circumstance, have a family or means, would often find themselves ostracized and removed from the established patriarchal power structure. While it is true that these individuals retained certain advantages due to their gender, they had an inability to fully access what has traditionally been seen as the male dominated power structure. Roney’s work is only one example. The evolution of masculinity and the changes to patriarchal structures, in the multi-ethnic community of early America are being looked at by a growing multitude of
In ‘Winter Dreams’, the ending is unexpected. Throughout the story, we are under the impression that this is the story of Dexter Green's love for Judy Jones. But at the end of the story, once Dexter finds out that Judy has lost her charms and settled into a bad marriage, we begin to wonder if this story is about something else entirely. Dexter does not weep for Judy. He weeps for himself, for the young man he once was and for the illusions he once held.
Throughout history, men and women experienced life changing situations that impacted their lives in many different ways. The roles of both genders in society show the narrow thread of their gender specific roles and social standards, ultimately crafting a realm in which one gender is seen as superior over the other. The customs of masculinity and femininity in the eastern part of the U.S, contributed tremendously to the roles played by men and women on the Overland Trail. However, the development of the west showed the orthodox practices of American culture and the customs in which many Americans identified themselves. The novel by Kenneth Holmes called “The covered wagon”, illustrates the lives of the women who traveled the west in covered
Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” The American Family in Social Historical Perspective. Ed. Michael Gordon. New York: St. Martin’s P, 1978. 373-392.
O’Conner, Flannery. “Good Country People.” Literature An Introduction To Fiction, Poetry, And Drama. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia 3rd ed. New York Longman, 2003. 247-261
John, the protagonist's husband, is a round character in Gilman's story who represents the prototype of manhood in the Victorian era. In a review of Michael Kimmel's book, "Manhood in America: A Cultural History," the author explores Kimmel's social and historical analysis of masculinity in the nineteenth century (Furumota). He identifies what Kimmel calls the Self-Made Man: a masculine ideal who originated out of a capitalist economic system and became the dominant ideal in that period. His identity derives, among other factors, from accumulated wealth and status, which defines the Self-Made Man as the personification of economic autonomy. According to Kimmel, his "success had to be earned and manhood had to be proved without end" (qtd. in Furumota). As a consequence, men competed among themselves in a society considered a white man's world. The Self-Made Man would do anything to protect his supremacy and to proof his manhood to other...
Over time, the image of men has changed. This is due mostly to the relaxation of rigid stereotypical roles of the two genders. In different pieces of literature, however, men have been presented as the traditional dominate figure, the provider and rule maker or non-traditional figure that is almost useless and unimportant unless needed for sexual intercourse. This dramatic difference can either perpetuate the already existing stereotype or challenge it. Regardless of the differences, both seem to put men into a negative connotation.
Manhood had not always existed; it was created through culture. Depending on the era, masculinity claimed a different meaning. But in all of its wandering definitions, it consistently contains opposition to a set of “others,” meaning racial and sexual minorities. (pp.45) One of the first definitions was the Marketplace Man, where capitalism revolved around his success in power, wealth, and status. A man devoted himself to his work and family came second. Although this is one of the first standing definitions, it still finds its spot in today’s definition, where masculinity consists of having a high paying job, an attractive young wife, and
This term that everyone seems to can’t live life without defining it yet can’t seem to grasp its definition has been driving many scholars mad. Masculinity has driven them so mad, that hey have given up on defining it singularly, and instead resolved to reproduce different versions of it, that for their culture and society. We see this in the Byronic hero and we see this is in the adaptive masculinity. Both Jane and Helen were not ready to conform, and despite their Byronic efforts to conform them, they proceed to conform their male counterparts to fit to their needs. This powerful definitions of masculinity not only frees it of it’s rigidness and mayhap strict foundations, it also always many authors to build the fire the Bronte sisters started years ago. In adapting the elusive the Bronte sisters have become the lead runners in the everlasting race for the definition of