Towards manhood - analysis and guide
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The short story 'Growing Up Asian in Australia: Towards Manhood' by Benjamin Law explores themes of gender roles, family expectations, and the quest for belonging as the protagonist struggles to fit into societal masculine norms. Through humorous anecdotes and literary devices, Law highlights the acceptance he finds in his family, particularly from his mother regarding his homosexuality, as well as the contrasting expectations he faces at school. The story draws parallels to other narratives about fitting in and parental expectations, showcasing unique relationships within families in the context of the 1990s.
Towards manhood - analysis and guide
- 1. Year 11 Short Story analysis 2018 Growing up Asian in Australia: Towards Manhood Written by Benjamin Law PAGE 195
- 2. Short Story Name: Title – what would be a possible alternative title: Not being enough of a man. Summary – write 6-8 sentences that capture the most important events of the story: Benjamin tries to pretend to be a man, and learn the ways to fit in with his peers. He tries to meet up with a girl to fit in, he talks about music and ideas.
- 3. Key Themes/Ideas/Issues – think about the set list and begin to make links between the events and the themes • Gender Roles: This story has a huge comment on what a ‘real man’ should be, what he should like and how he should act. • Family and Expectations: The scene where he comes out to his family is such an amazing build up, with his use of gibberish language and clearly idiomatic expression to signal his nervousness about telling his mother. Then the final revelation of her being like, ‘yeah, I know’ was very funny and a great relief. • Love & Family: Benjamin’s mother is very accepting of his homosexuality and she shows that she is accepting of him, his brother also helps him out to fit in at school to avoid being picked on. • Alienation and Belonging: is explored through the constant expectations of the ‘school’ and ‘other boys’ to which Benjamin is trying to fit in to.
- 4. Literary devices • The class will annotate your notes in their texts. Asides: is another feature of Law’s style, in this story he indicates these through hyphens ‘-’ and by using commas and brackets, to provide additional information and off-topic asides to keep his piece interesting. Rule of threes: is used to break up the description and underline the points Law is making. Listing: One of Law’s techniques for creating humorous moments is to use listing to provide a rhythm that can then be broken by an off-colour word or something out of place. Similes: Law uses a range of similes to comment on what he feels a ‘real man’ is with colourful and swearing-heavy comments on every possible part of their body. Metaphor: is used minimally to further describe the ideal man. Juxtaposition: Laws interests and those of other ‘males’ is contrasted in humorous ways. Idiomatic expression: Law uses interesting and exaggerated ‘homosexual’ language as do his peers to lampoon the idea of homosexuality.
- 5. Symbols and Motifs • Motifs: • Music and Music choices, the difference between Nirvana (his brother Andrew’s choice), Wired World of Sports and Mariah Carey are shown to represent each of the characters in an interesting and believable way. • Sports and hobbies: Gymnastics and karate are both detailed and the discussion of how manly each of these pursuits is. • Symbols: • There are a number of symbols, related to the dirtiness of men and their various parts.
- 6. Links to Unpolished Gem Similarities – Body concerns and behaviour Benjamin struggles to fit in with masculine expectations and ideas. Alice struggles against her parental expectations of her as a young woman, who is chaste. While Law wishes his body was less feminine and more masculine, Pung compares herself to other females who are described by metonymy as, “a straight back”, and “perfect blue shoes”, which shows that she wishes she were more prim and proper. Differences – Parental expectations Pung’s parents have very high expectations placed on her academically and occupation-wise. Law has the full support of his mother atleast, and his father is disconnected from the family moreso due to his hard-working job as a chef. This is a large difference between the two authors as the support and closeness of the two families mean that each protagonist achieves different things.
- 7. Character – Relationship chart Danny (Father) Jenny (Mother) Candy: Eldest Andrew: Sporty, masculine Benjamin: Protagonist Tammy: Tomboy Micelle: Girly-girl
- 8. Setting and Context • The setting of the short story is the 90s, as noted by the musical choices. • The key elements of Context are the albums of music that are referenced.