Hegemonic Masculinity In The Ghost

Realm of Hegemonic Masculinity Up to the present time, masculinity emphasizes the enforcement of male dominance over the various areas of society. Sometimes, it might seem invisible to men because they are so normalized. Hegemonic masculinity highlights that being a man is connected to being competitive, tough, and in control. A man’s role in the family is to be in charge, provide for his family, and in modern society, his role is to keep order in an otherwise world of women. In western fiction, the concept of masculinity is hegemonic because the definition of masculinity is being accepted by society without questions and considered inevitable. Hegemonic masculinity could be viewed as a pyramid where only men who show attitudes considered …show more content…
To point out in the story, not only are there just male characters, but among the men, there are men who are considered real men because they are more masculine than others. Silver Pete is an exemplar of masculinity because he is identified as the model of what the dominant form of masculinity is and what everyone else should aspire to be. The other men in town see Silver Pete as ‘“the man for [them, because] he’s done work like this before. He has a straight eye, and he’s fast with his six-gun.’” This quote gives information on what it means to be a manly man, because Silver Pete has had the experience with combat, and he talks as little as possible. Strong, quiet, individualistic are traits Silver Pete demonstrates which makes him a manly man also, he shows no weaknesses. The most compelling evidence in the story was how Silver Pete was focused for “four weeks … without the vestige of a clue to reward him.” This evidence proves that the risk-taking is basic quality of hegemonic masculinity, and Silver Pete is an exemplar of this. His attitude towards reaching his goal was incomparable. On the other hand, Geraldine is viewed as a less masculine man and Silver Pete’s opposite. Geraldine is sometimes referred to as a ‘“drunken fool… [and a] girl-faced clown,’” because he is a feminine. It is important to realize that Geraldine is referred to as feminine which automatically makes him a subordination to …show more content…
For example, if boys do not meet these responsibilities they’ll be marginalized. In a word, “The Ghost,” supports the hegemonic masculinist method by focusing attention to how men are meant to behave, and essentially reinforcing the ideology that men should modify themselves to be like the ideal exemplar of hegemonic masculinity. As a result, men are like Geraldine are more oppressed because they are ridiculed all the time for not being the perfect man society wants to see. Not to mention, men like Silver Pete will always have a need to meet up with the town’s expectations of him even though he might feel emotionally restricted, and forced to be mean all the