4 page essay onDagoberto Gilb’s “Shout”

Last Name:    2
Title: The Effects of Traditional Gender Roles in DagobertoGilb’s ‘Shout’
Contents
Introduction    3
Thesis Draft    3
The Question of Ideal Gender Roles    3
Conclusion    6
Works Cited    7
Introduction
    Dagoberto Gilb’s short story ‘Shout’ was originally published in the author’s collection Woodcuts of Women. Gilb’s works explore in great details the trials and tribunals of common human beings- love and lust, identity and confusion, weakness and death, the positive or negative impact of gender roles and various other themes. In ‘Shout’ Dagoberto Gilb explores the thoughts and emotions of his protagonist, who is a manual laborer returning home after a tiresome day at work. His professional workload compels him to expect and desperately seek a certain level of comfort and relief from his home environment. However, his family, comprising of his wife, three young boys and a baby, fails to provide him with a stress-free atmosphere. The protagonist’s home burdens him with even more responsibilities, that two of the role of a provider and the pressures of family life. Unable to balance his stressful life, he becomes volatile and aggressive towards his family turning the atmosphere instable. Gilb explores the effects of traditional gender roles through his protagonist and exposes the issues of masculine insecurity imposed by a patriarchal society.
Thesis Draft
    In Dagoberto Gilb’s short story, ‘Shout’ the expectations raised by the traditional gender roles of a patriarchal society has a negative impact on the relationship between the protagonist, who is a manual laborer with his wife and children. An atmosphere of tension begins to develop from the very beginning of the story, as the protagonist returns home from a hard day’s work. Gilb’s ‘Shout’ heavily comments on the negativities imposed by patriarchy and patriarchal societies on individuals of different sexes. The text blatantly exposes the negative impact of traditional gender roles through the characters and their actions.
The Question of Ideal Gender Roles
    Gilb’s short story ‘Shout’ explicitly
ings forth the issue of masculine insecurity by exploring the emotions and headspace of the protagonist. At the very outset of the text, Gilb’s protagonist is depicted as an aggressive male figure as he beats on the screen door and complains, “Will somebody open this!” (Gilb 433). As a representative of masculinity, the protagonist demands more care and attention from his wife as he retorts, “Didn’t hear me? How couldn’t you hear me?” (Gilb 433). It has been observed through the text that the protagonist is unable to separate his frustration regarding his profession...