The Dark Side of Masculinity Many argue that in modern society, women are expected to fill narrow and unreasonable roles in society. However, in Paul Theroux's "Being a Man", Theroux writes about the rigid expectations placed on men by society to conform to a narrow and inflexible definition of "manhood" that stifles men's true selves and instead forces them to be limited by the definition of company of company. masculinity that forces them to downplay their intelligence or exaggerate their perceived masculinity through physical outbursts for fear of appearing too weak or “soft.” Theroux argues that even in the post-feminism period in which he writes his essay, men, particularly younger boys and adolescents, are forced into this rigid and narrow definition of what a man should be. Theroux notes that the feminist movement essentially allowed him to write this piece, as feminism allowed women to fight for equality and highlight all of society's failures in defining what it means to be female, Theroux was now able to take a similar view. stand up and write about all of society's restrictive definitions of masculinity, which he accomplishes in his essay through the use of asyndetones, diction, and anaphora. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Theroux writes that the average “manly” attitude toward high school sports expressed by most boys is a recipe for “creating bad marriages, degenerate morals, sadists, latent rapists, and plain old louts” (177). L Theroux's use of asyndeton through the omission of the use of "and" among these examples of undesirable personality traits allows the reader to understand that all of these characteristics are connected and are all instilled in boys collectively as they mature into men like effect of the "virile attitude" that they are forced to adopt at an early age and subsequently integrate into themselves as part of who they are. This example shows that by forcing men and boys to strive for certain goals, such as aspiring to reach peak physical fitness or becoming top athletes, society forces them to inadvertently become some of the worst examples of what men can be, instead of being Well. - well-rounded individuals and gentlemen, as a result of the extreme emphasis on physical performance placed on them. Theroux further emphasizes his point that society's definition of "manliness" is contrary to what it means to be a good person in the modern world when he states that the "quest for manhood" is "essentially right-wing, puritanical, cowardly, neurotic and fueled largely by fear of women” (177). Theroux's use of diction here is helpful in understanding how harmful the traditional definition of masculinity is to men. “Puritanic” often refers to being very rigid in one's moral or religious beliefs, while “neurotic” usually refers to mental instability. By using these specific words, Theroux shows that society's definition of "manliness" is extremely narrow and outdated in its "puritanical" beliefs, as well as being "neurotic" in its unrealistic expectations of the roles men should play within society. society.Theroux continues to argue that being "manly" is a scary, narrow, and outdated idea that forces men to fall short of their full potential as human beings when he says "It's the sinister stupidity of men's fashion and a clubby attitude.