Miguel Street Manly Quotes

What makes a man? In V.S. Naipaul’s, Miguel Street, a fundamental question that is present throughout the book is, what makes a man? As he writes about the fortunes, misfortunes, and stories of all the people on Miguel Street, V.S. Naipaul continually raises the question of what is a man and how does he act. While most males succeed at being “manly” on Miguel Street, they all fail at doing the one thing that defines a man. While in contemporary society it is flipped.

The men of Miguel Street act manly. They smoke, they drink, they beat women, and they talk about sports, all things considered to be “manly” on Miguel Street. “Women and them like a good dose of blows, you know” (111). This quote is Nathaniel, a new man on the street, talking about beating his wife. Although it is later discovered that his wife beats him, he says this so the other men will think he’s manly. Another example of manliness is drinking. A man tells the narrator, “You must get over this. Drink it like medicine. Hold your nose and close your eyes” (215). He is referring

to the burning of the throat the narrator gets when he drinks, but he tells him to get over, because drinking is manly. The men do all these things to be manly, but the author provides us with only one definition of what a man really is, and they all fail at it.
Hat, another man on Miguel Street, says that his mom once told him, “If a man want something, and he want it really bad, he does get it” (91).

This is the one thing that all men alike are supposed to have, and that is determination. However, all the men fail to keep theirs. Popo, a carpenter on the street, spent months trying to build the thing without a name, but he too fails. “ ‘Mr. Popo when you going to start making the thing without a anme again?’ he growled at me. ‘You too troublesome,’ he said. ‘Go away quick, before I lay my hand on you’ ” (25). This quote illustrates Popo’s loss of determination for building the thing without a name. There are many examples. B. Wordsworth fails to complete his poem, Elias fails to become a doctor, Man-Man lost the election and couldn’t carry out his crucifixion, and Big Foot failed at boxing. Miguel Street males act manly, but when it comes down to it, most of them aren’t real

men.
Contemporary society is quite different. It isn’t manly to beat a woman, it is a crime, and it isn’t manly smoke and swear. However, in today’s society a defining trait of men seems to be determination and a go getting attitude, one of which many of the men on Miguel Street lacked. The same thing that is considered manly on Miguel Street is considered a problem in contemporary society. It seems today, most men succeed where Miguel Street failed.
It can be argued that most of the men on Miguel Street failed at being a man. They lost their determination and their kindness and compassion went with it. Even though determination is a good thing, it needs to be taken in moderation, just like everything else. Too much determination can lead to bad choices and actions, but not enough can make one end up like the men of Miguel Street.