BLOG 3: Esch loves her brothers and her brothers’ friends, yet she often feels alone as the only girl. How does gender work in Bois Sauvage? How are expectations different for male and female characters?
Due to the situation that Esch is in, she doesn't fit with the stereotypical teen girl in the south. The expectations between her and the guys in her family do not seem as different as most families. She is being forced to grow up fast in part because of her pregnancy. Esch does not have time to have a proper coming of age because of it. She also comes from a poor family in a rural town where she has to be tough to survive. The labor and chores she does is different from that of her brothers though. It was part of Esch's job to clean jars while her brothers had to remove wood from the roof and tear down a shed on a tractor. While removing the wood, her dad forced Skeetah to stand on her in order to get it. Esch later says that about her dad that "sometimes I think he forgets that I am a girl (Ward 102)?" The main reason Esch has become 'one of the guys' is because of the lack of women in her family. She has lost her mother and grandmother. They both could have guided Esch in the right direction but their passing has created a void in her life. However she doesn't have this and as a result, she is trying to fill that void elsewhere through Manny.
Esch seems to be as tough as her brothers. She can almost keep up while running with them. Randall and his friends are also often accompanied by Esch. She even goes swimming while naked with him and his friends in order to clean off. While discussing strong females in "Salvage the Bones", China should also be mentioned. She endured great pain while in labor and still reluctantly cares for her puppies. Since the women in her family are gone, Esch seem to be learning from China for guidance. When talking about the pregnancy test she stole, she says "maybe its China who made me get it (Ward 30)." Esch admits it was the combination of sickness and vomiting that made her take the test.
The situation Esch is in after her mother’s death most definitely impacted the way that she currently living. Of course, as she is living in a entirely male enviorement, she inherits the traits of those that are around her such as her family and their male friends. With the loss of her mother and grandmother, the transition from her as a female to a male is seen from her quote as becoming a male in her father’s eyes. Yet now as she had to find a way to satisfies her female needs, the pregnancy she endures now will transition her again to becoming a female and having to face the affects of motherhood such as China.
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