What is "masculinity"? What are "masculinities"? What defines these concepts? Use examples from Orwell's 1984 as well as those drawn from popular culture, literature, advertising, and so forth to furnish your response.
Masculinity to me is anything related to being a man. Men are seen to represent power and authority. In the western world today, men are only "seen" as this. Our power and authority have weakened significantly since the dawn of the industrial revolution and the following feminist movements . Men were seen as the sole breadwinners, they protected and cared for the family. Now that females have a much greater role to play in the family dynamic as well as the social framework of our civilization, men try much harder to hold on to their masculinity through outward shows of power and authority.
Masculinity is most prevalent through items and actions. Off the top of my head, two very masculine things are firearms and wolves. They are both very different, but lets look at the similarities. Both can end a persons life; both are something feared in society; both either have or give the ability of enhanced power and authority. This suggests that one of the key points of masculinity is the ability to do harm to another. What is power without the ability to back it up with force?
Taking George Orwell's 1984 into consideration, men are the only people of real significance in the book. Although there are some unflattering moments towards femininity, this novel has the least out of any other of Orwell's novels (Eckstein 51). Almost all of Winston's acquaintances and coworkers are male with the exception of Julia. Even Julia inst that well developed of a character in the story, she used more as a pawn for making a point across than a central character. The most important of all people in the book, Big Brother, happens to be a male as well. He also has the greatest amount of power and influence. His party backs him up with the power to harm, either mentally or physically, anybody who dare disobey him. In essence, he is the ultimate masculine figure.
Works Cited
Eckstein, Aurthur. "Orwell, Masculinity and Feminist Criticism." Thesis. University of Massachusetts, 1984.
Intercollegiate Review (1984): 47-54. Print.
Orwell, George, 1984 .Toronto: Penguin Books, 1954.
