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Men stereotypes in literature
Men stereotypes in literature
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Additionally, Diaz shows in “Fiesta 1980” the holding to some strong cultures like the male chauvinism and the correction of the children through some kind of violence mainly coming from the father figure. In the Latin and Caribbean culture, “the family tends to be patriarchal” so this is a common situation (Buffington). This leads to a belief that since the men have the power in the house, he can be authoritative and have the last decision even above his wife. In “Fiesta 1980”, Diaz represents this situation with the character “Papi”. He was the main provider to the house so he had the power to tell what to do or not. Yunior narrates how his father treats him and he says that Every time “Papi” was going to smack him, Rafa inched away (Diaz
Diaz uses the characterization of Yunior to show that he may not he's isolated himself from loyalty and having good relationships with people as well. Yunior is a character portrayed as a true dominican male because he is good with women. In chapter 6 on page 269 Yunior got lola
By examining the narrative voice as well as the cultural restraints placed on them, readers can see the sexist culture in the novel and that the novel itself does not necessarily advocate this misogyny. Yunior, a Dominican man, is the overall narrator of the novel, so readers essentially see everything through his masculine eye. When discussing a brief fling with Lola, Oscar’s sister, Yunior says, “Even those nights after I got jumped she wouldn’t let me steal on her ass for nothing. So you can sleep in my bed but you can’t sleep with me?” (Diaz 169) His question suggests that it is his right to sleep with her, and his discussion of Lola herself objectifies her by noting only her body and her refusal to use it. This objectification is clearly sexist, but it is a reflection of the narrative voice, Yunior, not of Lola. Yunior will casually refer to a woman as “a bitch” (Diaz 183), which is clearly demeaning, but it is a man’s view and does not reflect on the substance of the women. It shows readers the culture he was raised in, not an actual portrayal of the women, illustrating a misogynist society but not a misogynistic novel. In the Dominican Republic, gender-based violence is the fourth leading cause of death, hinting at the overall problems caused by the hyper-sexualized nature of the country. Sociologist Denise Paiewonsky
Throughout Díaz’s novel, males show dominance over women in the Dominican Republic. From the beginning, men in the Dominican Republic shared stories of terrible male dictators, including the Trujillo, and the abuse they placed on women. Men began to heap on women and throughout history, have continued to treat women unfairly. In response, women in the Dominican Republic are targeted by male’s dominance because the continuing of history. Lola, Isis's mother, grew up with a rough upbringing. Lola narrates her past in a way that shows how abusive and aggressive her mother Beli is because she had no father. Lola talks about a life she only wished for and explains, "I was fourteen and desperate for my own patch of the world that had nothing to do with her. I wanted the life that I used to see when I watched Big Blue Marble as a kid..." (55). Lola refers to the Big Blue Marble, a television show that contained stories about children and encouraged intercultural communication. Lola describes the barrier of living in the Dominican Republic and wanting something more. When Isis is introduced in Díaz’s novel, she enhances the moment of Lola referring to her past. This moment also enhances the plot because it is shown how Lola ends up treating her own daughter. Isis is given a life that her mother did not have as a child;
Although it is ultimately revealed that Oscar and Yunior are close with each other, Yunior’s pure embodiment of the Dominican masculine is the complete antithesis of Oscar’s character, who is the opposite of anything that could describe Yunior. One good analogy to the hyper masculine identity of Yunior is to that of the personality of Trujillo, the repressive dictator of the Dominican Republic who oversaw the Haitian parsley massacre. Trujillo had a strong lust for women and a rather apparent tendency for violence, and as some sources (i.e. Masculinity after Trujillo, by Maja Horn) argue, the modern conception of masculinity in the country came to full bloom after his rein. Interestingly this was the period of time that Beli grew up in, and a substantial part of her childhood experience was suffering at the behest of Trujillo’s suppressive regime, and consequentially this contributed to her hefty and dominant
The 1920's were a time where North America became modernized. Whether it was the music, the culture or the growth in technology, this time era is known to most people as the point where America advanced itself to become a world renowned country. An advancement that will be focused on is the Ford Model T. During this time owning a car was a symbol of wealth. Henry Ford, the creator of the Model T, made a system that revolutionized the automobile industry as we know it today. Henry Ford made it possible for people with an average income to own a motor vehicle by creating the assembly line and the theory of mass production. "The horse, which had been the chief means of land transportation for 3,500 years, had given way to the automobile, and the country's largest industry had been born." (Gordon)
In Fiesta 1980, Diaz creates a main character who narrates the issues occurring in the present. I think that Diaz tried to show Yunior’s point of view in order to illustrate his story and no other side for the reader to understand. It seemed that Yunior had enough maturity to understand family loyalty, but he was hesitant towards honesty. There were some flashbacks throughout the story which served the purpose to enlighten the readers of few incidents that have affected Yunior in past and are still very vivid to him. In my opinion, this story has too many connections to the real world. Yunior and his siblings are scared of their papi, because his papi is violent. He has harmed his kids too many times, but readers understand that Yunior loves
The physical abuse between Ana and her boyfriend, Manny, enforce the acceptance of physical violence and misogyny in the Dominican world. As an outcast to the Dominican culture, Oscar stands up for Ana which emphasizes the normalcy of abusive relationships. However, as Oscar stands up for Ana he starts to become violent, which enforces the Dominican machismo. Even though Oscar has good intentions against the violence and misogyny, he embodies his Dominican culture by acting violently, which implies the culturally embedded machismo cycle of misogyny and violence. Another violent male character is the Gangster, who by his name creates a violent opinion of him. His relationship with Beli incites his Another act of male violence is developed through the relationship between the Gangster and Beli. First off, the character is named Gangster which automatically creates a violent appeal towards him. Gangster worked for Trujillo, the Dominican dictator, and eventually caused violent harm to Beli, despite their relationship. This further develops the machismo violence in the Dominican culture. The Dominican men and the white slave owners are fulfilling their societal norms, which suggest that the view of men in these cultures are as violent, powerful
In many ways the movie was ahead of its time. The idea that wives were and should be treated as equals to their husbands was still new in the 1950’s. The change in the relationship between Ramon and Esparanza parallels the changing roles of women within marriages, in the decades since the movie was made. In the beginning Ramon is the perfect example of a 1950’s traditional husband, he wants to support his family from the outside and let Esparanza handle the kids and the home. Esparanza fulfills her duty as the traditional wife, and she works very hard. Esparanza and her husband are at odds throughout the film, over what role they each should be playing within their family and in the community. Ramon becomes a leader to the other men, he wants to fight hard for their safety in the mines, however when it comes to his wife and the other women in the community, their needs are not as important. Esparanza and the other women have plans of their own, they lobby the union to include their demands for adequate plumbing and sanitation. At first Ramon forbids her to participate in these activities, he believes her place is at home, and fears for her safety. When the strikers are told that they must stop picketing or go to jail, the women take it upon themselves to continue the strike. Ramon is still unable to let her be his equal, and fight
From the beginning of the story it’s very clear what type of man Papi is. When he arrives home, he goes to “wash off the evidence quick” (150) because he was probably with the Puerto Rican woman, Yunior speaks of. That one moment showed the adulterous side of Papi. This is a clear cut conflict. (Man vs. Man) In a sense he shows respect by going to washing himself off in the presence of family, but the manner in which he shows his respect cancels everything out. His respect is almost in vain. Papi struggles with being his poor self. He does not like the life he lives. Papi wants to be impressive to people. He went out and brought a VW van, knowing they could not afford one, “new or used” (173) All of Papi’s actions influence the other characters within the story. He had begun to bring the children around the Puerto Rican woman he was having an affair with. Eventually his cheating becomes normal and something that does not s...
Growing up poor in the Dominican Republic strongly influenced the choices Yunior makes later in his life. In “Aguantando” Yunior recalls about how poverty was a part of his life. Díaz writes, “We were poor. The only way we could have been poorer was to have lived in the campo or to have been Haitian immigrants…We didn’t eat rocks but we didn’t eat meat or beans either” (Díaz, 70). This depiction of Yunior’s early childhood sets the stage for what is to come. Yunior’s choices as an adolescent proves that he either chooses not to or cannot better his situation instead he turns to drugs and alcohol. Yunior’s decision to partake in drugs and alcohol shows that people in poverty have nothing to live for and just live for the next best thing.
Yunior struggles with his exposure to male privilege in a Dominican family, as he is very sensitive. Yunior can not fully comprehend why men took actions that women didn’t attempt to do. For example, Papi made all the decisions in the family. “She and tío Miguel got themselves an apartment in the Bronx, off Grand Concourse and everybody decided that we should have a party. Actually, my pops decided...” (306). Papi decided that a party was obligatory to be thrown for their arrival, but not as his expense or home; Tia and Tío hosted it, despite it being Papi’s decision. Male privilege is shown in the way “the women laid out the food and like always nobody but the kids thanked them. It must be some Dominican tradition or something” (312). Instead of having both men and women lay the food, it is only the women’s job. Helping with the preparations is not their responsibility, nor is showing appreciation with a genuine thank you. Junot Diaz gives a personal example on his family in his
In Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, he is telling the story of a Dominican family but mainly about the son, Oscar de Leon. The book opens with the story of Oscar as a child and him having two girlfriends at the same time. The older people in town see him as a ladies man and encourage him. The boy and the two girls all break up and his life seemed to be on a steady decline since then. He grows up to become a nerdy, fat, and awkward adolescence with few friends and even less interest from girls. This phase persists throughout his life and he never develops out of the nerdy boy he was as a child. The Dominican Republic was a hostile and poor place during the time of the novel. The dictator Trujillo controls the lives of the people in the country. This influenced the de Leon family’s present and future. Diaz develops the story by using the superstition, the cane field, and male dominance of the Dominican men
Junot Diaz displays in his short story “Fiesta” how an abusive father can cause a family
“"It was like pissing ground glass. Pablo Vicario found him hugging the tree when he came back with the knives. "He was in a cold sweat from the pain," he said to me, "and he tried to tell me to go on by myself because he was in no condition to kill anybody.”" This scene shows that the embodiment of machismo was not fully accepted by Pedro Vicario, he still had his moral values he held on to until he was convinced to kill Santiago Nasar after his mother says “Honour doesn’t wait (Garcia p.67).” This quote refers to the duty the Vicario brothers had to accomplish since they were the men of the household and were expected to follow the concepts created by the society that Vicario brothers lived in. Mr. Marquez creates a situation where the Vicario brothers are forced to kill Santiago since the fate of the family rests in their hands, which causes it to weigh on their conscious, forcing them make a decision due to the implications of the cult of machismo that they are involved with. With the death of Santiago Nasar the brothers are arrested and imprisoned, however, the reaction that the town had towards Santiago’s death was very lackluster. Which helps support the idea that the cult of machismo is agreed in upon in unison by everyone in the
The climax of the story has a few layers of drama that really bring out the problems between the characters. We see Santiago and his half brother Cheche battle about the future of the factory; this affects Santiago's relationship with his wife who doesn't know about all the debt and risks he has taken. Then there's Conchita and her husband Paloma, who are experiencing marital issues which become heightened by the seductive lector Juan Julian. Both couples have personal conflicts with one another as well as external issues that affect their lives. The play had interesting parts to it such as infidelity and abuse of sexual nature. some very sensual parts; like infidelity and sexual abuse but were carried out by the cast with immense care and genuineness. Gomez does a really good job of bringing out emotional performances from the actors. This really took me on an emotional/visual roller coaster. The characters moved from happy to angry and from night to day with great ease. Scenes were so realistic and I found myself really engrossed in the story. Gomez interpreted the script really well and I think he related to the story. The story felt natural and cohesive,like it was his