PROMPT # 1: In Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul, there are themes throughout interconnected stories that correlate with interconnected masculinity. These stories revolve around the themes of Bogart, Hat, and Bigfoot. These are shown through the character’s relationships with their community, how they are perceived, and through their behavior. While masculinity isn’t toxic, positive examples are shown in the different chapters.
In the first chapter, called “Bogart”, we learn about this character who constantly tries to define himself, which is notable through his consistent disappearance and how he changes after each. His friends defined him as mysterious and very stoic; he has had a rollercoaster of occupations and situations he’s been in by working on a ship, running a brothel, being in jail for bigamy, etc. He disappears for months at a time, one of the last few times coming back with an American accent. It seems as though every time he returned, he tried to search for his own sense of purpose and belonging. Every return comes with a new and hard demeanor after starting off as quiet. This all goes to show that Bogart had ambitions and tried to leave and come back as a different person. We see glimpses of positive masculinity as he opens up to his friends on the streets and the difficulties of his journey as a whole. While there isn’t any deep toxic masculinity, it’s safe to say that his toughness and strength of building a life for himself and being respected by others fall within the lines of masculinity.
In chapter 7, “The Coward,” we are introduced to a man named Bigfoot. Everyone is afraid of him as he looks “dangerous.” He went to jail a few times and was a comedian. The color of his skin and how muscular and big he was were why people feared him.His reputation made him the terror of Miguel Street. We learn a little bit about his past as well. He was the best runner and was bullied as a child. He also has a history of his father beating him. This pushes him into proving his strength into dominance. His aggression and reputation are also due to societal expectations and intolerance to being vulnerable. There was a part where Bigfoot injures his foot and happens to let his guard down while playing with a puppy. His image seems to tear down a little bit when he gets involved in a boxing match and loses, further deciding to leave town. He was in uncontrollable tears, and everyone saw him cry. Ultimately, this pressure of being this man of the streets to assert his dominance and strength to then be seen as a “coward” is an example of how societal expectations make men wrestle between their public persona and internal insecurities. His loss, in the eyes of the community, is shameful and isolates Bigfoot, just like Bogart, into a place where they hide their emotions and internal struggles and weaknesses.
In the final chapter, “How I Left Miguel Street”, the narrator becomes involved in a world of drugs and starts drinking a lot, further blaming it on Trinidadian culture and tradition. He has plans to study engineering and medicine. These dreams show how the narrator has healthy and positive motivation to do better with his life. The rejection of masculine ideals and the want to escape the toxic societal expectations of the life a man should live. His community seems proud but acknowledges that this means that he’s leaving the world he’s so used to. He’s breaking free from these constraints into a life of self-growth. He has bittersweet nostalgia and shows us readers that real masculinity and transformation stem from escaping from limiting expectations rooted in one’s environment.
The importance of sharing and analyzing these types of relationships in literature is the ability to showcase the dynamics of constricting social expectations within the environment and also within cultures. Each of these characters shows different forms of masculinity that all decide to escape, demonstrating the impact on their perspectives and self-acceptance. Discussing these topics through literature creates a space for topics like these to be discussed and to raise awareness for common things that occur in modern-day society. With examples from this story, readers analyze and interpret these relationships to their understanding and think about how they can be relevant in the social and cultural contexts they may live in.
WORKS CITED
Naipaul, V. S. “1. Bogart.” Miguel Street, Heinemann, 1980, pp. 1-7.
Naipaul, V. S. “7. The Coward.” Miguel Street, Heinemann, 1980, pp. 47-56.
Naipaul, V. S. “17. How I Left Miguel Street.” Miguel Street, Heinemann, 1980, pp. 166-172.