Welcome to Jeffrey S.'s A Raisin in the Sun extension wiki.

I will be responding to Option 1: 

If you have trouble viewing my response on the front page, then I have uploaded a copy of it in a word .doc which can be found in my "titled folder."

Here is my response:

Jeffrey S.

Period 1

Reading Extension

Ideas about Manhood

Manhood is something that every boy has to go through. It is also something that many people disagree on. Some say that a real man is someone who can support the family he is the head of. Those people say that a man should be strong and not ask for help. They say that a family should just stick to gender roles. Others say differently. They say that a real man is someone who does good deeds, acts brave in the most hopeless of situations, and uses their brain instead of their brawn; other people still say that it is a combination of the two that make someone a real man. Characteristics of manhood are displayed by Walter Younger in A Raisin in the Sun and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. Walter Younger displays some of the more traditional characteristics of man. He thinks the man should run the family and support it financially and fully The man never asks for help, should teach his son important life skills, and has the complete support of his wife. The man should bear all of the burdens fully. When he does not have complete control of the family, Walter completely shuts down. He doesn’t go to his job and he doesn’t care about his wife, he really stops care about anything. He doesn’t act normal until he is given control of the family (RitS Page 104). I believe that Walter’s ideas are flawed. A man doesn’t have to be a tough, burly father who makes all the decisions, he can be open-minded, easy-going, and have both him and his wife contribute equally to the decisions of the family. Walter does have something right about manhood though. He knows that a real man should be there to help guide his child. A good father will always be there for his child with advice or a helping hand. Such traits were exampled in Atticus Finch in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.

Atticus was a man who used his brawn before his brain. He is also brave and honorable. This is shown when he defends Tom Robinson against a racist jury in a case he knows he can’t win. I believe that is what true bravery is. Another part of being a man is how good a father he is. Even though one could say that he gives far too much freedom to Jem and Scout, he gives them great advice and guides them into a great adulthood. He is not very muscular and certainly doesn’t rule his family like a king, but Atticus Finch is what I would call a true man. With all of these ideas of manhood floating around, it is interesting what the young boys of today view as a real man.

    Many boys may get their ideas of manhood from their father. That is why a father’s job is so important. Other kids whose father is less involved with their life may get their ideas of manhood from television. On television, kids may see handsome actors and think that that is what a real man is. They will go through their life caring only about appearances and become a man like Walter Younger, someone who is obsessed with having everything be “perfect.”  It seems that the stereotypes of the 1940’s have not died. There is still the belief that a man should be strong and be able to handle anything.

  False manhood ideas in the media affect me in a similar way. It affects me every time I see a television ad about getting a personal gym and becoming “ripped.” The ad makes it seem like being “ripped” is the only way to become a real man, that your somehow less of a man if you don’t have muscles the size of watermelons. I agree with Atticus Finch. A true man is smart, calm, and brave. He doesn’t have to never ask for help, and also doesn’t need to be the head of a “perfect” family. I endeavor to be like Atticus Finch and be a true man. Manhood is something that many people strive to understand. They strive to be “the perfect man.” The only way to be “the perfect man” is to completely and totally understand manhood. This is something that no one has yet accomplished and probably never will.