The effects and meaning of power disparities between males and females appearing in literature have been a popular topic in literary criticism. While a universal way of reading texts with a genre approach is yet to be defined. Kimmel, Hearn, and Connell (2005) argued that all literary texts involving characters show some degree of authorial support for masculinity or femininity. This essay adopts the definitions of masculinity and fragmented masculinity proposed by Gardiner (2005), Hofestede (1998) and Whitehead (2002); and argues that Drown written by Junot Diaz portrays the idea of ​​fragmented masculinity. This article first defines fragmented masculinity. Then, the meaning of the protagonists' absent father figures; and the protagonists' objection to female behavior will be presented as reflected in Ysrael, Aguantando, No Face and Edison, New Jersey. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The concept of fragmented masculinity was first coined by Whitehead which refers to a male's misinterpretations and failure to achieve the integrity of masculinity (Whitehead, 2002). Masculinity in the literary context refers to the description and application of narrow male roles and identities in the text (Gardiner, 2005; Hofestede, 1998). Includes emphasis on the possession of qualities or characteristics considered typical or appropriate for a man. According to Gardiner (2005), it is a social construction but not an innate one. Different men must construct their masculinity throughout their lives based on their cultures and the perceptions of others to form part of their identity. This implies that the concept of masculinity may vary from one place to another. When males fail to discover or construct commonly accepted masculinity, it will lead to the fragmentation of masculinity. They fail to recognize and fully understand the identities and roles of being a man. In many situations, they will show strong dependence on father figures, strong objection to any feminist ideas, and abnormal violent actions to show their masculinity in an abnormal way. But these are only fragments instead of a true male whole that only serves as a kind of psychological compensation (Reeser, 2010). The representation of fragmented masculinity in the text can be discussed from two aspects. First, the characters in Drown rely heavily on their father figures to learn about masculinity. In Ysrael tells the tragic story of the narrator, later revealed as Yunior; and his older brother, Rafa. Both father and mother were absent in the story which led to Yunior and Rafa being left behind. Without proper guidance from their parents, the two boys mistreated Ysrael, whose face was mangled by a pig when he was an infant. He has been wearing a mask for some time and to find out what's behind it, Rafa intends to take it off. At the time when Yunior remains unknown to Rafa's plan, there is a conversation with Ysrael in a kite field. “We couldn't find him, Rafa said. How stupid are you? Where did you get it? I asked. New York, he said. From my father. No shit! Our father is there too! I shouted" The subtitled conversation reveals that the survival of the entire family can depend heavily on fathers. According to Gardiner (2005), males will take a role model as a basis as they build masculinity; and the presence of the father figure is an important element for a complete construction, but in the subtitled scenario, their father's abandonment caused the absence of father figures in their lives which led toa fragmented masculinity. This is represented by their cruelty towards Ysrael in a later scene. In a subsequent story, Aguantando, we can discover that the protagonist also has negative opinions towards his father. “When Abuelo was around (and awake) he talked to me about the good old days, when a man could still make a living from his finca, when the United States wasn't something people planned for” “was the soldier in the photo. It was a cloud of cigar smoke, traces of which could still be found on the uniforms he left behind." In such a limited closet, when the father cannot be a role model in their minds, the main power and strength move their masculinity becomes a responsibility of their peers, and to satisfy their desire to be men, they can only rely on a collective vision of masculinity since, unfortunately, in many cases, it becomes a sort of hyper-masculinity (Marsiglio & Pleck, 2005). Hyper-masculinity is a key consequence of the absence of the father figure as they can only be extremely cruel and selfish to maintain their social status and masculinity among their peers. This happens throughout the novel: in Ysrael, males bully Yarael; in Aguantando, they show a huge desire for female protagonists. “I'm going to go crazy: chinga all my girls and then chinga everyone else's” Lack of masculinity ultimately leads to overwhelming masculinity. They have no way but to excessively exercise masculinity on others who are weaker than them, on girls considered fragile in order to maintain a sort of psychological compensation (Newkirk, 2002). This is a way to demonstrate your existence in the world. On the other hand, it also demonstrates their prolonged oppression on society through their expressions of patriarchal privilege that they have been deprived of. Riofrio (2003) has argued this as a way in which Diaz allows us to “consider Rafa as a substitute for the process of hegemonization of masculinity,” even if it ultimately fails and a misunderstood and fragmented masculinity remains. strong reluctance of the protagonists towards femininity. In the novel, empathy, as a feminine act, is described as dangerous and problematic. In Edison, New Jersey, the narrator makes a conscious decision not to empathize with his partner Wayne's desire to commit adultery: “I really want to pile her up, he tells me. Maybe on one of the Madisons. Damn, I say, cutting my gaze towards him. Don't you have a wife or something? He goes silent. I'd still like to pile it up, he says defensively. And what will he do? Why does he have to do something? Twice this year Wayne cheated on his wife and I heard it all, before and after. Wayne can be a moody guy and this is one of those nights; he bends over the driver's seat and swerves into traffic, riding other people's bumpers like I told him not to. I don't need a confrontation or a four-hour silent treatment, so I try to forget that I think his wife is a good person and ask him if Charlene has given him any signals. Slow down the truck. Signs not to be believed, he says." The narrator initially shows his empathy towards Wayne's wife. However, as the story progresses, empathy brings negative consequences. Ultimately, the narrator sacrifices Wayne's wife for a quiet work day, making her a victim of this rejection of empathy. Women's victimization is closely linked to their association as empathetic and feminine beings may perhaps diminish the narrator's existing masculinity that he has lacked (Martin & Finn, 2010). Their daily struggles to avoid any possible feminine nature in their life can also be seenas a significant part of creating one's masculinity, so they tend not to be emphatic. From another perspective, masculinity is indeed fragile in their minds. In a scene from another No Face story, when Ysrael is being bullied by her peers, she says, “We'll make you a girl,” says the fat one, and can feel the words echoing through the flesh of the fat guy's body. He wants to breathe but his lungs are as tight as his pockets. Have you ever been a girl before? I bet not. It's not very funny. The assault on Israel is made even more terrifying by the threat of rape. The action of rape here suggests an implicit meaning that boys who threaten Israel can be equally raped, suggesting their hidden weaknesses (Jayasena, 2007). A similar scenario in the opening story Ysrael shows a similar sign of the protagonists' reluctance to empathize. “Where did you get it? I asked, Nueva York, he said. From my father. No shit! Our father is there too! I shouted, I looked at Rafa who, for a moment, frowned. Anyway, why the hell are you wearing that mask? Rafa asked, I'm sick, Ysrael said. It must be hot. Not for me. Don't you take it off? Until I get better, I will have an operation soon. You better be careful, Rafa said. Those doctors will kill you faster than the Guard…” This conversation reveals Yunior’s initial understanding of empathy and his desire to be empathetic. Yunior shows his empathy through his thoughtful words such as "It must be warm" and "Won't you take it off?". His empathy reaches its peak when he leaves his brother's side to join Ysreal who preceded them. “Are you still in wrestling? I asked. He turned to me and something crinkled under his mask. How did you know? I heard, I said... The mask moved, I realized he was smiling and then my brother twisted his arm and smashed the bottle on his head. It exploded, the thick bottom spun away like a crazy monocle and I said. Holy shit... Roll him onto his back, my brother said and we did, pushing like crazy, Rafa took off his mask and threw the mask in the grass. His left ear was a lump and you could see the thick veined plate of his tongue through a hole in his cheek,,,, The damage looked old but I still jumped back and said. Please Rafa, let's go! Rafa crouched down and, using only two fingers, turned Ysrael's head from side to side. But just at this moment, Rafa breaks his continued silence by crashing the bottle onto the unsuspecting Ysrael. Arguably the most powerful part of the novel (Riofrio, 2003), this scene implies a tragic fact that Ysrael is unable to maintain her empathy in her community, but being a cruel man to maintain her masculinity also does so with her social status. However, they can never achieve masculine wholeness as they never have a full understanding of the concept of masculinity, what remains is a fragmented masculinity full of misinterpretations and misunderstandings. In the subtitle analysis, it is argued that Drown by Junot Diaz portrays the idea of ​​fragmented masculinity. . The two arguments mentioned above have well supported the thesis. Indeed, the notion of gender is common in the writings of Junot Diaz (Jarrett & Delgadillo, 2010). Reading his text can follow the approach suggested in this essay, which will be able to give us a better understanding of his writing and himself. References Please note: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Gardiner, J. K. (2005). Men, masculinity and feminist theory in Michael SK, Jeff H. and Connell, RW (eds.), Handbook of..