Gender & Expectations

Many people may not be aware of it, or may be oblivious to it, but either way it can be shown that gender affects anyone’s life style whether it be for the good or the bad. In Salvage the Bones, Esch states that she is feeling “alone as the only girl” and this is due to her role and expectations of gender in society. Although Esch is not truly the only girl in Salvage the Bones, she does feel heart ache over the fact that she has self-esteem issues not only physically but as well as how she handles herself. Esch believes that in order to gain affections from Manny or possibly any man that she must be willing to give everything to them even if it may be detrimental to herself. Esch does not realize that this is not the only way, but because Esch lost the most influential person to her, her mother, she does not know any better. Esch still remembers and thinks about all the lessons learned from her mother, however her role with the family I feel has left her muted or feeling almost like an outcast. She is not truly involved with her brothers and friends because she is almost always the only girl. Although she is loved by her siblings such as the concern Skeetah has as he is suspecting her pregnancy or the amount of care shown by Randall in treating her cut hand. There is clearly a divided line in how gender is portrayed in this novel. I believe that expectations for male and female characters are different in the sense that male characters are loving jerks. The undertone in the language as well as the actions that the male characters use while conversing with Esch only prove more so.