The Intruder By Andre Dubus - 965 Words

Argument: Dubus includes references to Kenneth having an inner conflict between being the man of the house, or letting his transgender feelings show. Imagine, you go to work in your dress shoes, black suit, buzz-cut hair, red power tie, and nobody pays you a second look. But, the second you get home, you kick off your shoes, and don high-heels, the suit is replaced with a dress, your short wig is taken off, and you let your long curls fall, and your tie is in the closet, with a necklace in its place. Such hiding of true feelings is not an unheard concept in the transgender world. Millions of transgender people will never express their true feelings in their lifetime. This is similar to The Intruder by Andre Dubus, Kenneth Girard a†¦show more content†¦The stereotypical man does not qualm at the thought of killing, nor does he hesitate when pulling the trigger. Neither does Kenneth when he imagines the tin can being a Nazi Soldier, he immediately fires his gun to kill the soldier, with typical masculine callousness. This leads into the last of Dubus’s allusions in this small section, is his soldiers calling him capt ain. This again stems to Kenneth’s urge to be the man or leader of the house, and he is right now the leader of his team; they are his soldiers, his men, he is their captain. However, while outside the house Kenneth is manly and strong, inside he displays more feminist traits, â€Å"Connie kissed them, then he did. His mother and father looked happy and he felt good about that†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Hold down the fort, Son† his father said. â€Å"I will†.Then they were gone, the screen door slamming behind them, and Connie left the sunporch, but he stood at the door, listening to the car starting and watching its headlights as it...drove away. Still, he did not move†(Dubus, 271) Contrasting with earlier, Dubus now attempts to portray Kenneth with feminine traits such as empathy, affection, and tenderness, additionally he tries to imply that these are Kenneth’s true feelings. The primary example of this is the short converse between Kenneth and his father. When his father tells Kenneth, to â€Å"hold down the fort† or exactly what Kenneth has been imagining outside the house. But, when offered this dream opportunity for him, heShow MoreRelatedThe Intruder AnalysisEssay1617 Words   |  7 PagesIn Andre Dubuss short story The Intruder, Dubus tells a story of a young boy losing his innocence to protect his sisters, while struggling to find his place between boyhood and manhood. The young boy, who is named Kenneth, can be associated with many biblical allusions concerning the scenarios he is put in. In The Intruder, Kenneths relationship with Connie is being intruded on and he must protect it with his gun, the only symbol of manliness and power he has. In some ways, Kenneth can beRead MoreAndre Dubus And The Fat Girl1785 Words   |  8 PagesAndre Dubus was a very creative writer. His parents, Andre Dubus and Katherine Dubus, took a very big role in his life. They took care of him and helped him get through college, and college is where his writing career had begun. He had two sisters growing up as well that supported him. He had a lot of great works in his life, and â€Å"The Fat Girl† was one of his m ost famous works he had ever written. He had a lot of awards throughout his writing career and had many influences on a lot of differentRead MoreAndre Dubus Argument969 Words   |  4 PagesArgument: Dubus includes multiple conflicting examples of Kenneth’s personality, which hints towards an inner conflict inside Kenneth; let his transgender feelings show, or become the â€Å"man† of the house. Imagine, you go to work in your dress shoes, black suit, buzz-cut hair, red power tie, and nobody pays you a second look. But, the second you get home, you kick off your shoes, and don high-heels, the suit is replaced with a dress, your short wig is taken off, and you let your long curls fall, and