When a country is in wartime, gender roles are directly affected. Gender roles are defined as “A set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex”. In history it is easy to see the larger changes to gender roles that occur during wartime. The Women’s Rights Movement would pick up the most speed during times of war. Women could get jobs and do something with themselves besides raise children and look pretty. It was thanks mostly to World War I that women pushed for the 19th amendment and got the right to vote. Because of all this, it is easy to overlook the outcomes that the war had on gender roles for men. During wartime,
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The book really begins with Nick as a young boy going into an Indian camp with his father to help deliver a baby. Nick’s father goes into the situation of delivering a baby and changes it to be a male dominated environment. In this short story, the male doctor, Nick’s father, decided to operate on a women in labor without any really useful medical tools (even though he totally could have gotten some). The doctor really doesn’t ask for consent for the caesarian section but instead just cuts the women open. He sees this as a personal gain instead of the fact that the main focus should be the women in having a baby. The doctor is even quoted saying, “That’s one for the medical journal, George…Doing a caesarian with a jack knife and sewing it with nine foot tapered gut leaders.” (18) It is easy to see the theme of masculinity well because this male doctor decided to operate although he was not prepared at all with anything, not even an anesthetic to ease the pain of the women. The doctor is teaching is son Nick very subtlety to appreciate the masculine life over the femininity of giving …show more content…
Particularity in the short story “The End of Something” it is clear that Nick is still holding on to his masculinity. His girlfriend Marjorie is ready to move their relationship into the next level but Nick is hesitant because of his male friend Bill’s opinion and his un-readiness for change and commitment. Nick’s parents are his only role model for what family life and marriage will look like. This is not a well-developed or healthy idea of marriage at all and so Nick cannot commit or communicate with Marjorie.
Also, Bill, it seems, had made attempts to convince Nick that Marjorie was not right for him. Bill wanted nick to remain a free man with their love for games and throw out any emotions or feelings he could have held for her. In the Story “The Three Day Blow” Nick and Bill try and hold onto being this man’s man and living a masculine life. Nick however does struggle with this. He is wondering if his decision of breaking up with Marjorie was correct. The influence of masculinity has Nick in its grips and so for a while longer, Nick escapes a life of love, marriage, and
The book really begins with Nick as a young boy going into an Indian camp with his father to help deliver a baby. Nick’s father goes into the situation of delivering a baby and changes it to be a male dominated environment. In this short story, the male doctor, Nick’s father, decided to operate on a women in labor without any really useful medical tools (even though he totally could have gotten some). The doctor really doesn’t ask for consent for the caesarian section but instead just cuts the women open. He sees this as a personal gain instead of the fact that the main focus should be the women in having a baby. The doctor is even quoted saying, “That’s one for the medical journal, George…Doing a caesarian with a jack knife and sewing it with nine foot tapered gut leaders.” (18) It is easy to see the theme of masculinity well because this male doctor decided to operate although he was not prepared at all with anything, not even an anesthetic to ease the pain of the women. The doctor is teaching is son Nick very subtlety to appreciate the masculine life over the femininity of giving …show more content…
Particularity in the short story “The End of Something” it is clear that Nick is still holding on to his masculinity. His girlfriend Marjorie is ready to move their relationship into the next level but Nick is hesitant because of his male friend Bill’s opinion and his un-readiness for change and commitment. Nick’s parents are his only role model for what family life and marriage will look like. This is not a well-developed or healthy idea of marriage at all and so Nick cannot commit or communicate with Marjorie.
Also, Bill, it seems, had made attempts to convince Nick that Marjorie was not right for him. Bill wanted nick to remain a free man with their love for games and throw out any emotions or feelings he could have held for her. In the Story “The Three Day Blow” Nick and Bill try and hold onto being this man’s man and living a masculine life. Nick however does struggle with this. He is wondering if his decision of breaking up with Marjorie was correct. The influence of masculinity has Nick in its grips and so for a while longer, Nick escapes a life of love, marriage, and