Franklin and King both illustrate common "coming of age" themes in the South that are rooted in feminine and/or masculine ideals. Gender roles are enforced in many different ways across the United States and in the South particularly. The concept of the "Southern Belle" and the "redneck/hunter" type of man show how pervasive the ideas of femininity and masculinity in the South. There are many steps involved in successfully presenting these traits.
In Franklin's case, being a hunter was the epitome of him becoming a man or he would run the risk of becoming a "pussy." All around him, he had messages of how to be a man from his peers, his father, and even his little brother who seemed be better at accepting these messages. In order to fit in Franklin had to overcompensate by putting up the illusion that he really wanted to be good hunter. He rose the earliest and concentrated the hardest, but that alone didn't make him a good hunter, because his heart just wasn't into it.
King's story took the opposite approach. Her mother went against all the social pressures to be a good Southern lady. King's mother did the opposite of everything her mother suggested to her. If told to make her dates wait, she always beat them to the door or if told to delicate and gentle she would instead be harsh and brutal. King's mother went against the messages to be authentic to herself and successfully made a different life for herself. Both Franklin and King show how pervasive and controlling gender expectations can be on both women and men especially when they don't identify with the traditional aspects of them.
In Franklin's case, being a hunter was the epitome of him becoming a man or he would run the risk of becoming a "pussy." All around him, he had messages of how to be a man from his peers, his father, and even his little brother who seemed be better at accepting these messages. In order to fit in Franklin had to overcompensate by putting up the illusion that he really wanted to be good hunter. He rose the earliest and concentrated the hardest, but that alone didn't make him a good hunter, because his heart just wasn't into it.
King's story took the opposite approach. Her mother went against all the social pressures to be a good Southern lady. King's mother did the opposite of everything her mother suggested to her. If told to make her dates wait, she always beat them to the door or if told to delicate and gentle she would instead be harsh and brutal. King's mother went against the messages to be authentic to herself and successfully made a different life for herself. Both Franklin and King show how pervasive and controlling gender expectations can be on both women and men especially when they don't identify with the traditional aspects of them.
I didn't realize that King was the narrator but I love that her mother went against the grain and paved her own way in society as opposed to Franklin's experience in conformity.
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