Gender Roles in Bois Savage: Will Blount

In the book, Ward writes about gender in an interesting way.  Bois Savage appears to be a place dominated by men and male roles.  For example, Ward writes, "We all share clothes, so its mostly men's T-shirts for me, loose jeans and cotton shorts." Esch even thinks her daddy sometimes forgets she's a girl.  Men have expectations to be strong and to work hard, while women are left to take care of young children and have a seemingly less "important" role.  Esch is left  alone in the family with only China as a maternal figure after her mother died.  She does not understand her role completely and is scared of the pregnancy because she does not know who to talk to.  The absence of the mother is clearly taking a toll. She feels alone in her stress of having a child because Manny, the father, appears unstressed and will not even look at her.  She loves him, yet despises his actions and the position she is in.  She is also worried that Manny thinks of her as weak because she is a female.  These pressures make it a rough time for Esch in the book.