An Oppressive Bully In 'Nemecia'

Sigmund Freud said, “A woman should soften but not weaken a man.” This quote exemplifies the character Casilda from Isabel Allende’s short story “The Judge’s Wife”. Although not seen by all as a main character, Casilda is the strongest and most evolutionary character of the short story. “The Judge’s Wife” is an exceptional tale that follows the progression of characters as they fight against their predetermined destinies and how they are viewed in others’ eyes. Casilda is a catalyst for the evolution of almost every character in the story. Not only does her character grow in “The Judge’s Wife”, but she is also a medium for the growth of the two other main characters in the story, Judge

In Junot Diaz’s short story “Wildwood,” many may argue that Lola’s mother Belicia deserved admiration for her subconscious overprotection and love for Lola that she portrays in an uncaring, despicable manner and especially because of her strong, independent fight against breast cancer. However, I think that Lola’s mother was unadmirable due to her lack of support, her weak role as a mother, and primarily because of her constant verbal and physical abuse that she bestowed upon her children.

The autobiography When I was Puerto Rican, written by Esmeralda Santiago, tells a story of a poor girl trying to succeed. The settings in this novel have an important influence on Esmeralda. They influence her behavior and change her ideals as an adult. Negi goes through many changes based on the challenges she faces by moving to new locations where society is different. All of these changes allow her to become a stronger person. When she lives in El Mangle, Negi has to face extreme prejudice against her upbringing as a jibara. When she leaves Puerto Rico to move to Brooklyn, she is forced to face an entirely different society. All of these events that took place in Esmeralda’s childhood had a significant impact in shaping her into an adult.

The author agrees with the idea of women as victims through the characterisation of women in the short story. The women are portrayed as helpless to the torment inflicted upon them by the boy in the story. This positions readers to feel sympathy for the women but also think of the world outside the text in which women are also seen as inferior to men. “Each season provided him new ways of frightening the little girls who sat in front of him or behind him”. This statement shows that the boy’s primary target were the girls who sat next to him. This supports the tradition idea of women as the victims and compels readers to see that the women in the text are treated more or less the same as the women in the outside world. Characterisation has been used by the author to reinforce the traditional idea of women as the helpless victims.

This source gives a brief description of the final scene with the character; Gabriel talking to Saint Peter and telling him to open the gates for his brother Troy. It also gives a brief description of the significance of this scene and the characters in a Christian view. It also tells about how blues music influenced August’s work and how he portrayed the African American people during this time.

Narrative conventions have been used to position the reader to respond sympathetic and have the view on how identity also power are important for one’s self. The issues presented in Victim are shown

Yunior’s attitude regarding women and relationships is an inadvertent consequence of observing his own father’s degradation of their family unit. The little interaction between Yunior and his father seldomly, if ever, give the impression of a loving and nurturing father figure. Yunior himself even goes so far as to mention: “he said little to us that wasn't disciplinary” (Diaz 129). As a result, Yunior’s developing sense of kinship or lack thereof is directly affected by the actions of his father,

At the start of “La Llorona Loca: The Other Side,” Palacios describes growing up when her mother would tell her scary stories about Llorona Loca. In the first paragraph we see a common theme or image found in the Latinx cannon: the image of motherhood and tradition. Palacios mother’s retelling follows the traditional narrative of La Llorona Loca retelling in which a woman, traditionally a mother, drowns her children and then feels remorse. Although many authors would choose to further develop on this image, Palacios through her reflection on her up brining demonstrates opposing views to the dominant ideology, in the way in which she critiques these societal expectations of women. As the story continues, Palacios articulates a critique of gender roles and expectations demonstrated through the following lines of her mothers La Llorona retelling:

The narrator is totally crushed by the gender discrimination. She longed to be seen by her mother and her grandma. The narrator is heartbroken that her mother loved her brother more than her and failed to notice her. “When she went into Nonso’s room to say good night, she always came out laughing that laugh. Most times, you pressed your palms to your ears to keep the sound out, and kept your palms pressed to your ears, even when she came into your room to say Good night, darling, sleep well. She never left your room with that laugh” (190). Her agony can be easily seen by the way of her narrating. She does not get the affection that she deserves. She really needs the affection from her own mother, but she is not getting it. She compares the love which her mother shows to his brother and herself. This is gender discrimination can be seen with her grandmother too. She hated her grandma as she would always support her brother and find fault with her. Even though what the brother did, no matter what crime. Her mother and grandmother always supported her brother and never supported or showed interest towards

Maria is a religious mother of six who throughout the book she is very close minded and unwilling to change her plans or way of life no matter the influence. Maria is a member of the Luna, a family of religious farmers and as such she wants Antonio to become the next educated priest to guide the Luna in the future. She finds comfort in the steady life of farming and finds her husband 's ideals to be idiotic and unrealistic. When arguing about their land, Gabriel sees it as a symbol of freedom but Maria says in retort “It is worthless! Look

The relationship between Mariam and Laila grows overtime into an unbreakable love. Mariam is a vulnerable character that experienced hardships and negativity throughout her life. Her reliance on faith and religion gave her hope. Laila however, has had a positive upbringing from modern parents. Her education is what made her a strong and intelligent girl. Their personalities contrast to bring the best out of each other. However at first, in fear of being overshadowed by Laila, Mariam says “If [Laila] thinks [she] can use [her] looks to get rid of me, [she is] wrong. [Mariam] was here first. [She] won't be thrown out” (225). As Mariam has never been a priority to anyone in her life she was very defensive over her role in the house. As jealousy embarked upon Mariam,

Collectively, these literary images go to describe a young ethnic man, probably of Latin descent, who lives with his mother in a poverty stricken area. The careful recitation of instruction given to the younger man seems to demonstrate an intricate knowledge the narrators has accrued from both predecessors and experience. Singularly, this part of the story is very powerful in that it shows a young man having to hide who he is and where he comes from in an effort to seem appealing to women, and speaks volumes about the deception that both genders go through all in name of the chase.

To practice machismo, also known as masculinity in a Dominican culture, males have to hide their flaws and act a certain way. If men express their un-masculine nature, they will be seen as expressing their weakness. In Drown written by Junot Díaz, contains many stories about Dominican Republic male struggles as an immigrant in America. One of the struggles Díaz expresses in his text is appearing masculine in society’s eyes. From the story “Drown”, the unnamed narrator expresses what it means to be masculine. “Boyfriend” is a story about another unnamed narrator observing his neighbor’s relationship, and comparing it to his own past. Yunior, the narrator of the story “Negocios”, explains the history of his father Papi, also known as Ramón. Society creates many definitions for what it means to be masculine, leading the narrator from “Drown”, the narrator from “Boyfriend”, and Ramón struggling to choose between doing what they want for themselves, or do what society wants to see.

Indeed, a woman should soften but not weaken a man. This supposition exemplifies the character Casilda from “The Judge’s Wife” short story by Isabel Allende. Although not seen by all as the main character, Casilda is the strongest and most evolutionary personality of the short story. “The Judge’s Wife” is an exceptional tale that follows the progression of characters as they fight against their predetermined destinies and how they are viewed in others’ eyes. Casilda is a catalyst for the evolution of almost every character in the story. Not only does her character grow in “The Judge’s Wife,” but she is also a medium for the growth of the two other main characters in the story. Casilda molds the personality of a majority of the characters in the story, distinctly Judge Hidalgo and Nicolas Vida.

First, a significant event takes place in Naomi’s life in which she portrays silence. At the simple age of 4 years old, Naomi is repeatedly raped by Old Man Gower. The next door neighbor, Old Man Gower, “begins to undress me. I do not resist.” As an innocent child, Naomi keeps silent about these events because she wants to protect her relationship with her mother; furthermore, Naomi states, “If I tell my mother about Mr. Gower, the alarm will send a tremor through our bodies and I will be torn from her.” In an attempt to keep the love and shelter her relationship, Naomi remains quiet about these horrid incidents. At the young age of 4, Naomi learns to believe that silence will guarantee no problems.