Powerful. Courageous. Adventurous. Which gender does these characteristics more likely to fit in, male or female? I would think that most people would respond as "male". Masculinity is a term which defines men and describes men's characteristics. Although it might not be agreeable to some people, the standardized thought is that the qualities of men include the following characteristics: strong, brave, tough, tall, etc. However, masculinity not only illustrates physical qualities of male, but it is described from various aspects such as atmosphere.
George Orwell's renowned novel, 1984, portrays masculinity through Big Brother, the powerful government. The government has total power over the nations so that the citizens are fear of acting against it. Even if Big Brother exploits people only for the government's benefit, people cannot defend themselves. With “thought police”, it controls people’s mind; if people commit thought crime or show any sign of it, they will be punished. Big Brother observes every move of individuals, creating fear amongst people. Thus, the charismatic authority gets rigid power over the citizens with its unbreakable supremacy. Like this, the government’s severe control demonstrates masculinity as it symbolizes authoritative leader.
However, on the other hand, Winston, the protagonist, isn't portrayed as a bold character. Rather, he displays opposite of masculinity (it doesn’t automatically mean femininity, though): fearful, weak and worried. He is definitely against the government, yet he is not willing to stand up for it. Therefore, he timidly does things that are unfavorable for the government, for instance, writing diary, committing thoughtcrime, having a relationship with a woman named Julia. It seems like he does a lot of things that are against Big Brothers but he does it secretly rather openly. If he were to be brave enough, he would risk himself protesting, not hiding. By comparing Big Brother and Winston, masculinity can be clearly understood.
In closer respect to the literature, male values are often similarly described as the traits of heroes. For instance, in the "Epic of Gilgamesh," features of heroes, which define masculinity, are vividly described through Gilgamesh and Enkidu. They are physically illustrated as heroes that are "tall and strong, with muscles like rock."(P85) Both of them are willing to fight without any fright (Well, Enkidu once denied to fight, yet he overcame his fear.), and have victory at the end. There is no one who can compete against them; they are admired by people as they possess perfect masculinity.
Kelly, this is very strong discussion of the gender issue in Orwell's novel. I am impressed - and you even manage to relate this to other texts we have studied this semester. Where this post could improve, however, is in your engagement with the cultural sources of our 'definitions' of masculinity. Where do we get our ideas about gender roles? Can you think of some concrete examples?
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