Student Question
What insult is the younger character in "Boy" by Bret Anthony Johnston instructed to avoid?
Quick answer:
In "Boy," by Bret Anthony Johnston, the insult used against the titular boy is "coward." This contrasts with Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl," in which the insult is "slut." The contrast in insults shows the priorites and expectations of boys versus girls as they are growing up in a patriarchal culture.
Bret Anthony Johnston's "Boy" is a short piece of fiction modeled on Jamaica Kincaid's earlier piece "Girl." In the original text, Kincaid creates a narrative voice (probably that of an older female, possibly the girl's mother) that attempts to instruct a girl, probably a girl on the verge of becoming a young woman, on how to behave. The short story is assembled in one block of text that relies on a relatively simple syntax and word choice. The narrator also repeats key ideas and words throughout the piece.
Kincaid's narrator emphasizes household chores and other domestic duties, informing the girl on how to do laundry, clean, and cook. She also makes sure to warn the girl against certain behaviors that may result in her becoming a "slut." The narrator hopes to warn the girl against losing her good reputation, so she can eventually marry a man and perform...
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all of these domestic duties for him as a reputable and respectable wife. The narrator's repeated concern about the girl becoming a "slut" suggests that the worst thing that can happen to a young woman is to lose her virginal reputation.
Johnston wrote "Boy" as a direct response to Kincaid, and his work is written and structured in the same way as "Girl." The narrator of "Boy" warns the titular character against becoming a "coward," though, not a "slut." The insult "slut" is reserved for women who have pre- or extra-marital sex, for women who have had more than one partner. On the other hand, the boy is instructed on how to "have a woman on the side," so clearly, infidelity and promiscuity are not off limits for men. The boy is instructed firstly on how to fight other men, and then he is told how to do various tasks related to a home and a car, typical masculine chores like changing a tire or hammering a nail. The idea that the boy could become a "coward," though, is the repeated insult, the most unacceptable offense. He is called out for crying and is told that he is "not a girl." The worst possible thing for a boy is to lose his reputation as a man, someone who is strong, brave, and violent.
In highlighting these societal expectations of girls and boys, Kincaid and Johnston both seem to critique the ways in which gendered stereotypes get repeated so that young women and men are indoctrinated to fit themselves into the traditional molds rather than live beyond them.
What insult is used in "Boy" for the younger character?
Bret Anthony Johnson’s “Boy” is a response to Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” and was published in The American Scholar in 2010. The piece, a poem, story, or dramatic monologue, repeatedly warns the boy that if he does not follow all the advice he is given, he will be called a coward. The word is first used when the speaker tells the boy to “make eye contact like a man and not the coward you’re so bent on becoming.” This is clearly an atavistic warning about maintaining status. Lowering one’s eyes is a sign of inferiority and submission to a senior member of the tribe. A strong man is one who can make eye contact.
The next exhortation is of a similar kind. The boy can avoid the accusation of cowardice by serving his country in the armed forces, whether he believes in doing so or not. Finally, the most extreme instruction describes how to crack the bridge of another man’s nose with your head before he knows what is happening. Such a sudden attack might well be regarded by many as cowardly, particularly when unprovoked.
However, the speaker is principally concerned with avoiding the outside accusation of cowardice, rather than actual bravery. This is why his advice is framed in such negative terms. He does not advise the boy to be courageous and stand up for his beliefs, but merely to avoid looking cowardly.