Don Quixote De La Mancha

During this time men and women’s rank was based on their income or who they knew. There was an expectation in the 150’s: “...Brother’s were brought up to be men. The girls had been reared to get married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone lace wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcements” (Marquez 31). The machismo culture of ‘men should be men’ portrays women as subordinate. It presents that to be valued you must fit the stereotype. Marquez conveys two different types of women the perfect innocent wife and the woman who works at the ‘whore house’. The extreme contrast of the two types of women allows the reader to understand how each is type valued. After it is revealed that Angela Vicario is not a virgin she no longer fits the culture and is no longer treated respectfully. This illustrates the brutality of the culture to meet the expectations. The brother’s were brought up to men and that was the expectation, nothing more, nothing less. Marquez’s shows characterization to illustrate the different types of men and women by using

Another important issue that Cisneros addresses is gender roles in the Latino community. In Mexico, being born a male is of higher prestige and value than being born female (Pigeon, J). Therefore, women are raised to become wives a role in which she must obey her husband, since he is the head of the family. Cisneros demonstrates this assumption throughout the story by showing the way Cleofilas

Based on Cisneros’ works of literature, gender roles in a Hispanic culture revolves around patriarchal rule. The repercussions of a patriarchal rule includes the limitations of female liberation and development. Cleofilas’ abusive situation exemplifies the limitations of her independence and development as she can not make her own decisions and has to solely depend on her husband. This situation is illustrated when Cleofilas explains that the towns are “built so that you have to depend on husbands... You can drive only if you’re rich enough to own and drive an own car. There is no place to go” (Cisneros 628). Cleofilas reveals that men are the dominant gender and have more authority, and that women are compelled to depend on them in her society. It is an exceptionally rare case that a woman can afford her own car, for the men usually control the finances in a household. Additionally, Cleofilas has nowhere to seek refuge from her husband. Although she yearns to return to her father’s home, she decides not to due to the social standards imposed on her. In her society, the act of returning home after marriage is socially unacceptable. She understands that her family will be viewed in a negative light if she were to return home, as seen when Cleofilas refers to her town as a “town of gossips” (627). Similar to other men in the society, Juan Pedro’s authority is shown through his abuse. Cleofilas recalls, “He slapped her once, and then again, and again; until the lip split and bled an orchid of blood” (626).

“Beautiful and Cruel” marks the beginning of Esperanza’s “own quiet war” against machismo (Hispanic culture powered by men). She refuses to neither tame herself nor wait for a husband, and this rebellion is reflected in her leaving the “table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate (Cisneros 89).” Cisneros gives Esperanza a self-empowered voice and a desire for personal possessions, thing that she can call her own: Esperanza’s “power is her own (Cisneros 89).” Cisneros discusses two important themes: maintaining one’s own power and challenging the cultural and social expectations one is supposed to fulfill. Esperanza’s mission to create her own identity is manifest by her decision to not “lay (her) neck on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain (Cisneros 88).” Cisneros’ rough language and violent images of self-bondage reveal the contempt with which Esperanza views many of her peers whose only goal is to become a wife. To learn how to guard her power

Esperanza, the main character is a good example of gender roles over the course of the book. “She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse-which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because,the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don’t like their women strong.” (Cisneros 10) This is an example from the text showing how women are viewed by men in Mexican culture, they don’t like their women strong. Furthermore proving how women are viewd differently than men. Women are supposed to be the smaller, more fragile sex, compared to men who should be big, macho, and masculine. Another example from the text is “..and then as if he ust heard the news himself, crumples like a coat and cries, my brave Papa cries. I have never seen my Papa cry and don’t know what to do...I hold my Papa in my arms.” (Cisneros 56-57) This shows gender roles because Esperanza has never seen her father cry, showing that men in Mexican culture are supposed to be strong, and emointionless, unlike their female counterparts who are seen as weaker and more emotional.

Machismo, or male chauvinism, is a concept that characterizes many Latin American male behaviors, most importantly those associated with masculinity and pride. This concept, most likely introduced to New Spain by Spanish conquistadors who embodied these traits, was then adopted and integrated as a part of Mexican culture going forward. Because of male masculinity prevailing over feminine traits during the 17th century, misogyny and the oppression of women became a norm in Mexican culture. Struggling to be valued in Mexico, women turned to literature and art to voice their opinions and expose the machismo in Mexican culture. Through literature and art, is where feminism in Mexico arose and is continually strengthen in. This paper will discuss the ways in which Mexican feminist literature and art over time have exposed and challenged machismo, misogyny, and the Mexican patriarchy since the Spanish Conquest.

A deeper examination of Cisneros’ famous short story, “Woman Hollering Creek” will highlight the liberation of those barriers. In this particular short story Cisneros speaks about the main character, Cleofilas, and her struggle with her abusive husband, Juan Pedro. Cleofilas had to live in a society where the women were simply there to assist their husbands, and God forbid she second guessed him. Living and struggling with the everyday battle of stereotypes, she decided to leave her husband at the end of this short story. This all developed the strong independent female role Cleofilas took on by the end of the story. The main character was forced to believe by her family and her husband that she wasn’t worth anything without a man; this made her doubtful of her abilities and her human capital. In the interview by Martha Satz, Cisneros says, “I think many of my stories come from dealing with straddling two cultures, and certainly it's something I'm going to deal with in future stories” (Cisneros 30). Here, Cisneros agrees that her stories have to do with the endless topic about coming from two cultures and the stereotypes it brings along. From firsthand accounts the Mexican American culture is embraced by “machismo”, or that male superiority. “Woman Hollering Creek”

“Women's history led to the historical study of gender. Gender includes the behavior, manners, morals, speech, and emotions expected of men and women because of their sex. Historians of gender have analyzed many characteristics of "masculine" and "feminine" behavior in relation to social stereotypes and economic power. The historians' studies have provided a means to understand a wide range of social behavior—from attitudes about sex to economic inequality—in terms of social conventions of gender” (Partner 1). This is a common factor in the novel “The Brief Life of Oscar Wao” by Diaz, he shows how the Dominican culture views their women and how they aren't always respected.

Many gender roles and themes are observed, throughout the course of this story, in particular, the single mother role. Women are also contrasted with the men as their lives are constrained inside of the home while the men are permitted to enjoy life outside. Divisions in gender are revealed from the very beginning of the book. For example, in “Boys & Girls,” Esperanza communicates the contrast between herself and her brothers, Kiki and Carlos as she states, “The boys and the girls live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours. My brothers for example. They’ve got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can’t be seen talking to girls” (Cisneros 8). Esperanza can only interact with her sister, Nenny, but Nenny is "too young to be [her] friend" (Cisneros 8). Esperanza is lonely and dreams of a true friend. She feels that she is like "a red balloon, a balloon that is tied to an anchor" (Cisneros 9). Esperanza is apprehensive that she will be trapped on Mango Street, like all the other women. This particular situation demonstrates the first indication of gender issues in her community.

Don Quixote is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It follows the adventures 

of Alonso Quixano, a retired elderly man who develops a fascination with chivalrous novels 

eventually become delusional, believing everything written to be true and currently going on in 

the Spanish country side where he lives (La Mancha). The novel itself contains a narration of 

Quixote’s adventures. These adventures are broken up into “Sally’s”. The first Sally feature 

Quixote’s first “quests”. After setting out early in the morning Quixote eventually wanders his 

way to an inn that he believes to be a castle, he asks the innkeeper who he believe to be a lord to 

dub him a knight. Have very little money Quixote’s spend the night in the stable with his horse, 

where he starts a fight with muleteers who are attempting to water their mules. Quixote’s take 

attempts to remove his gear from the trough as a threat and attacks the men. As a result the 

innkeeper tell Quixote’s to leave.


 Quixote’s next quest is that of “frees” a boy who is tied to a tree and being beaten by his 

master. After freeing the boy Quixote’s makes the master promise on a chivalric code to treat the 

boy fairly, upon leaving the beaten continues worse then it had previously been. His final quest is 

to defend the honor of his imagined lover, from traders he met on the road. After picking a fight 

with the traders Quixote’s is left badly wounded on the side of the road. He is found and

Manhood is sometime characterized in The House on Mango Street and Bloodline Sandra Cisneros literally. In this book the author conveys that manhood is nothing but adult age, it is something we reach somehow by the time and Sandra Cisneros manages to show it by the notion of "hips” that constitutes for Esperanza, Nenny, Rachel and Lucy something that symbolize manhood. They all try to give the utility of hips that they see from the adult female and according to Rachel hips is for propping babies that is a role of a woman. Furthermore for Sandra Cisneros, this notion of hips enables her to show one of the sign of virility which is something for adults. The author of The house on Mango Street, without any complexity, she analyzes literally manhood

In Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, Cisneros’ captures “the image of the Chicana who needs to create her own path, not only within her culture and society, but also in Chicano fiction” (Martinez 1). This book is not like an ordinary novel, as it is “a loose-knit series of lyrical reflections, her (Esperanza’s) struggle with self identity and the search for self-respect amidst an alienating and often hostile world” (De Valdes). The men and women in Esperanza’s life play drastically different roles from each other, which tells the reader about Esperanza’s Mexican culture. Additionally, by the way women are depicted in The House on Mango Street, the reader can see that there are a great amount of expectations for Mexican women.

During the IO my understanding of male role in Colombian society was deepened. We discussed what the expectations were for men in education and family and how they felt about these roles. We discussed how this affected the characters and the decisions they made. Before discussing their culture I thought that the behavior of the male characters were very inappropriate like Santiago’s relationship with Maria Cervantes and Divina Flor. I also thought that the murder of Santiago for the sake of honor was completely unjustified. After discussing, I learned that men were expected to protect and pursue women as to give proof that they were masculine. Men were known at the time as having a large sexual appetite, but men needed to prove this because

The exemplary novels are timeless not only for the stories they tell, but also for the vivid ways in which they depict society at the time when these stories were written. Through the analysis of Cervantes’s Jealous Extremaduran and Deceitful Marriage, one is able to see and dissect the many jobs and roles played by people in society during the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain.

Society can lift one up, or it can reject a person like someone rejects a dirty penny on the ground. Although Don Quixote claims to follow the knight’s code, oftentimes he absentmindedly fails to do the right thing in a situation. When he finds a farmer beating his farmhand, he asks questions, gets an answer and leaves without really doing anything.