I would like to discuss another attribute equated with boys, "showing off." It seems no matter how good or bad a boy is, he always has to show off in some way shape of form. We noted, in Ragged Dick, Dick, albeit, good natured, still felt the need to show others of his superiority. He needed to prove to others he was the alpha male. So far, in our readings, this is a continuous custome for boys. Tom Sawyer is no acception to the rule, "...then he pretended he did not know she was present, and began to "show off" in all sorts of absurd boyish ways..." (p.23).
The ironic thing about little boys showing off, is we expect it from them. Even if we have no clue of communication amoung boys/men, we still know they do this. It is their way of expression with each other, with women, with coworkers, or with any random person. When Tom meets the new kid and begins a confrontation with him, he is saying--Hey, this is my town. I'm the boss here and you're a threat to me, "If one moved, the other moved-but only sidewise, in a circle; they kept face to face and eye to eye all the time. Finally Tom said: I can lick you!" (p.7)
In fact, when boys become men, they still engage in this manner; it is sort of a special kind of masculine language. Mark Twain does this when he writes, "...namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended...." (p.19). I mean, can you get anymore egotistical then that?!...actually, some can.
Still, though some may view this trait as one of a snob, or meathead, others view it a necessary. Boys, in a societal context, need to be cunning. They need to be one step in front of their competitor. It is they way they survive. Boys, men, are expected to be able to handle themselves out in the "real world." They learn how to do this by showing off when they are young, therefore understanding what they can and cannot get away with later as adults. Girls do this too...it's called flirting!
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I must say I'm impressed Jessica.. You have found out how boys like to prove their worth- by talking about it haha. I think it's funny though that it's not just boys that show off, men our age do it, too.. But men just try to be more subtle about it by dropping hints here and there that we're awesome. It never really works but we still do it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I liked the last thing you said... I'm just going to stop letting girls get away with this thing you call flirting!
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI loved your post! I didn't really even think about the aspect of boys showing off to win approval by other boys or girls. It is definitely a right of passage and little boys don't grow out of it as they become men. Nicely done!
That's actually pretty funny. I liked the way you took a concept from the story, showing off, and brought it into our world. I think this post helps us learn not just about nineteenth century writing, but also human nature.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. Boys sure do the whole showing off and one uping each other. I especially loved it when they do it in groups and you can call them out on it! Good stuff!
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