"No Face" by Junot Diaz

1. What is the idea of masculinity presented in the story? Does No Face, the character, fulfill that idea of masculinity? Describe what in the story would lead you to the answers you provide for this question.

2.What do you think NO FACE is running from all the time? What kind of symbolism does this hold in the story?

I think that The idea of masculinity presented in NO FACE is about men being "macho men" (cave men from my perspective). Men that have their emotional capability limited (if any). They have a big insensitivity issue and the over aggressiveness natural in men. They are underprivileged which could justify their ignorance. When our NO FACE tells himself "to be a man", he is telling himself that he has to deal with his fears, he has to be strong to defeat all his trauma. I think the circumstances around him make him different than the other males, I find him to be very sensitive for his environment, he sounds innocent to me and he is not bitter about his bad luck. The first thing I thought when I read about the priest taking him to the doctor was: where is his mom, dad, or family? When I read about his mom being affectionate to Pesao, I thought that I was happier with the story when I thought there was no mom around, but of course, in this kind of social poverty there is not much place for nurturing. I was really shocked when his mom sent him away because his father was about to come out, this part was shocking to me, I wish I could have those "parents" in front of me to give them an earful about good parenting or at least about family planning. In the end I thought that at least he had the priest to care for him, and I was really hoping for him to go to Canada but the story kind of led me to think that our superhero story won't have a happy ending.

I think that NO FACE is running all the time because he is actually running from his reality. He is not fighting evil to save the world. He is fighting evil to save his own world and himself.

This story really caught my eye, because I would have thought something like this could only exist inside of a writer's twisted head. But sadly, I know for a fact that there are situations even worse that this one in some less fortunate environments, where extreme poverty is even more profound. When I came to this country, all the advantages that I found here made me forget about my reality back then, also it made me feel that situations like this are improbable. I felt so sad when I read this story. I found myself wondering about all the cases of people living in difficult situations that would mark them for good, that probably will make their future no so bright. This made me feel positively fortunate but utterly useless.