The Caribbean Culture

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Recommended: Portrayal of women in literature

The Caribbean culture has a special showcase when it comes to expressing the masculine and feminine aspect of its living society. This paper will be able to introduce the argument of dealing with males and females in a masculine and feminine environment surrounded by the Caribbean culture and lifestyle. The first notion will speak about the author, Julia Alvarez, in turn how she is able to express the feminine aspect of four girls focused on her novel, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. The second notion will be showcasing the author, Junot Díaz, and his compilations of stories in the work of a novel called Drown to prove that even in the Caribbean culture, it is a hard task to prove to a male that he is masculine to his society. The last notion will introduce a comparative aspect of both males and females, in turn of which is harder to live by in the Caribbean culture, as well as provide some similarities that both genders face. Therefore, this paper will provide evidence based thoroughly on what it is like to experience sexuality through the eyes of a masculine man and a feminine woman, specifically foundered in the Caribbean culture.

Julia Alvarez is able to establish a feminine aspect of the Caribbean culture and lifestyles focused on four girls in her book, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. The main plot revolves around the four García girls – Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofía – and how they have grown and come to terms on how to behave in the Caribbean. “For the García girls, the process is even more complicated because they are girls, and growing up is more difficult for girls… in a patriarchal society” (Barak, 160). In the Dominican Republic – or the Caribbean in general – girls have less of an opinion whe...

... middle of paper ...

...ciently able to base its argument and prove its thesis on the differences and similarities that males and females have in the Caribbean culture, and express thoughts on what it is like to live in the Caribbean culture in a masculine form or a feminine form.

Word Count: 1938
WORKS CITED

Alvarez, Julia. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. New York: Algonquin Paperbacks, 1991. Print.
Barak, Julie. ‘Turning and Turning in the Widening Gyre’: A Second Coming into Language in Julia Alvarez’s “How the García Girls Lost Their Accent” MELUS, Vol. 23, 1998. Print.
Diaz, Junot. Drown. New York: Penguin Group, Inc., 1996. Print.
Lewis. Unsettling Masculinity in the Caribbean: Facing a Future Without Guarantees. Florida: The University of Florida Press, 2003. Print.
Kempadoo, Kamala. Sexing the Caribbean: Gender, Race, and Sexual Labor. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print.

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