Boys

Ramond Mcmonigal
English 101
Taneum
9/25/2014

The “ Higher Power”

In today's society men are looked at as, " the higher power " or, as " more powerful " . Naturally Boys feel the need to assert their power to others at an early age. Rick Moody's short story "Boys", shows us the relationships between brother and sister and then between the boys and their father. Boys in early ages can be very ruthless and reckless. In Rick Moody's "Boys", the power of masculinity takes over the boys lives and through tragedy the boys are able to come together and let down their guard. In the early stages of the boys lives they feel the need to show off their masculinity and they do this by tormenting their little sister. In Rick Moody's "Boys", it states, "not long after which boys gig a hole in the back yard and bury their younger sister's dolls two feet down, so that she will never find these dolls and these dolls will rot in hell" (Moody 196). The Boys relate their sisters dolls to femininity and they feel the need to show off their power by destroying them. Without realizing that they're hurting their sister they do it anyways because they felt the need to show off their masculinity. This shows how at a young age boys can be so reckless toward a family member and not care about how they feel and how they are affecting their lives. Young kids in today's society are very destructive and do not care about other peoples feelings. Later down the road in life boys come to see all the bad they've done and are full of regret. There is even a piece in the story where the boys go as far as making their sister eat a poisonou mixture. In “Boys” it says, "attempting to persuade their sister that she should eat the mixture" (Moody 196). This shows that the boys were ruthless enough to have their sister eat something that could possibly kill her. Boys may be reckless at a young age but when tragedy strikes that's when all the regret comes to haunt them. At a young age boys can be very destructive without thinking of what can happen, but once something traumatic happens they come to realize the bad things they have done in the past. When the sister is diagnosed with cancer the boys start to go a bit crazy and lose themselves. The boys do not know how to deal with the tragedy and are full of guilt and regret. "Boys enter the house worried; they argue. The boys are ugly they are failures, they will never be loved, they enter house"(Moody 197). This goes to show how the boys are a mess and that they are starting to not like themselves. In Moody's story it also says, " Boys enter the house, having attempted to locate the spot in their yard where the dolls were buried eight or nine years prior, without success; they go to their sisters room, sit by her bed" (Moody 197-198). At this point the boys realize the bad they have done and are trying to be good brothers and make up for what they have done and attend to their sister who is diagnosed with cancer. This is when the boys are confused about life and do not know what to think of their lives. Their fathers death is what really brings he boys together and turns them into men. The fathers death in this piece is really what brings the boys closer to maturity and reaching their man hood. At this point the boys are teenagers and are finally figuring out who they are and how to handle themselves. The passing of their father is what brings the boys back together and how they are able to connect with each other. “Boys enter the house carrying their father, slumped. Happens so fast. Boys rush into the house leading EMT's to the couch in the living room where the body lies, boys enter house, boys enter house, boys enter house” (Moody 199). This part of the story is when the boys father is finally dying and the boys have to come together in the dismissal of their father. After this tragedy the boys now realize that they are the men in the family and they are pressured into maturity. “Boys no longer boys, exit” (Moody 199). This is a very big part of the piece because this is where the boys are finally men. After all the tragic time the boys are finally able to exit as men and not just boys. They have finally reached maturity. Interactions between siblings show us how tragedy between families bring people closer to maturity. Rick Moody's “Boys”, relates to our generations youth and how many young men reach maturity through rough times and tragedy. In order for the boys to reach maturity they had to go through rough times in their lives and that is what ultimately what brought them closer together and how they became men. Similar to today's generation boys at a young age are very reckless and crazy. It is very typical for boys to go through this and in their lives and it is how they deal with tragedy that molds them into the men of the future.

Moody, Rick. Boys. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.