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Manhood In The House On Mango Street

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Manhood is presented in many aspects both by Ernest J Gaines in his five short stories Bloodline and in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. They show it not only in one facet but also in other looks by putting most of their protagonists in tests that urge them to response with a mental virility and with a certain degree of consciousness that some manage to overcome. Otherwise manhood is sometime presented by the authors in such a way it can be only defined as the fact of being adult male in accurate situations.
A. MANHOOD AS MATURITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Firstly, we can say that the black men who are no longer slave continue to suffer from the white men superiority, they are often put in situation in which they cannot act as man because …show more content…

In other words, Munford figures out that it is better for him to take his responsibility by serving his sentences after making offences. Ernest J Gaines’s purpose through Munford’s decision is to restore black’s manhood by showing his awareness, his consciousness about his guiltiness which make him to act accordingly as a virile person. In addition, Gaines strengthen this idea in the same story when the protagonist Proctor gives himself away to the police after stubbing a man that he do not intend to do. Proctor persuades the white policemen that, as a black, he is conscious and virile enough to admit his offence, for example, “You protect yourself, what? T.J. said. I protect myself, sir I said”, (p123). Throughout this fact, Gaines conveys that black men can reach their manhood in this way which is to recognize their duty and right by using their virility and their consciousness. And throughout these statements, one can see the real determination and the courage of the protagonist of the short story, he shows his manhood by surrendering to the police after stubbing a guy. These direct statements without any wavering, straight to the point, constitute for Gaines a real act of manhood. This short story contains rich aspects of manhood, what is allows Gaines to expose manhood in this aspects such as the self-consciousness and

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