Tell Him About Brother John By Manuel Junoz

Graham Foster
Professor Kristen Hoggatt-Abader
English 101
29 September 2015

The Power of Community
Manuel Munoz discusses topics that may be considered controversial to many people, but this doesn’t stop him from creating brilliant pieces of writing.
The short story Tell Him about Brother John, is a recollection of a man coming back to the small town where he was raised from “Over There”, as the characters all call it in the story. He comes back to see his family, father and his nephews, as well as a man they call Brother John. Brother John eventually reveals that he fell in love with a man when he went to college, and a similar experience happened to the son but he does not reveal the truth to Brother John, and begins to question why his

father forced him to go talk to Brother John. Once he confronts his father about the reasoning behind going to see Brother John, his father does not respond, giving us the impression that his father had known the whole time that his son was gay, and in a sense he accepts that he is homosexual. The love of other people is the most beneficial in a person’s life, especially when they are going through a significant realization, or transition.
No matter the incident or choice, a loving family should always be accepting.

The relationship this family has is one that seems to be very close and compassionate. When the son walks in to the room he sees that, “My father is still on the telephone, but my nephew asks him anyway, “Did you tell him about Brother John?”(Munoz 2). This quote shows that, not only his father understands, but his young nephews understand as well. Although they may be too young to fully comprehend the complications that come with his sexuality, in this day and age, they are still very accepting of him. Near the end of the story, once the son begins to understand that his father may have known all along that he is gay, he asks his father, “why did you send me over to Brother John?” I keep my hands over my eyes, my other hand rubbing at my hamstring. (Munoz 9). This quote is essentially saying that the son is realizing that his father knows that he is gay, since Brother John is gay, and that seems like the only logical reason why his father would force him to go see Brother John. The father had sent him over for reasons unknown, but this says that his father knows that his son is gay, and as far as we know he is accepting of him, since he has not abandoned him or become upset with his

son.
If you are confused about something, you’re likely not the only one with that problem. There are others that you can confide in. These people are willing and wanting to help you feel accepted and safe. You may not be ready to discuss how you feel, but there are other who feel, or have felt, the same way that you do. “For all his story, Brother John got nothing; I left out my part about the Actor, about dating the Actor, then loving him, sitting at the bar and waiting for the end of his shift…”(Munoz 8). This shows us that although you may feel confused about how you feel, and whether being gay is seen as right or wrong in the eyes of society, there are other people that you can go to and talk to about these things. For example, Brother John has dealt with the same thing as the man who dated the Actor. Brother John can help him clear up some of the confusions, in this case he tries to keep his pride and deny the fact that he is anything but normal. This is just another example that there are people in your community that you can confide in, and know the problems you face.
In the case of Brother John, the community took him in and accepted him.

In Small towns people take care of each other, and for the example of Brother John he had no family and was raised by a complete stranger to him. The son thinks to himself about Brother John’s mother-like figure, “I wish I could be a little more like them or Dona Paulina, looking out for other people.” (Munoz 4). This explains to us that the people of a small town look out for each other, making sure nobody is getting into trouble or danger. Being in this sort of community can be a little overwhelming, because as you are being cared for, you don’t to let anyone down, so you try to be as good as possible. The main character could almost feel as if he is letting everyone down in this town because of his sexuality, which should not be the case since everybody looks after one

another.
In conclusion, person-to-person love is something that is necessary to having a full and healthy life. In this case, having people in support of you is important to get through his embarrassment and confusion of his sexuality. Experiences from the integration of the 21st century society onto smaller town life is a slow process, as we have seen from the way the son does not approach his father or share his story with Brother John. The perceptions of gay people “Over There”Such as, Brother John, who can relate to you on a personal level based on experience, your community that is willing to support you however you are, and a father or parental figure that can give you acceptance and guidance. Although you may not feel it, people love you and want you to succeed, in other words, people care.