Masculine Insecurity in Dagoberto Gilb's "Shout" Anonymous College

In “Shout,” Dagoberto Gilb focuses his story on the emotions and headspace of his protagonist, a manual laborer returning home from a hard day's work. While he looks to escape the toil of his labor, this laborer realizes that his home life does not provide the relief he desperately seeks. At home, the protagonist faces a new set of burdens—the complications of family life and the pressure of his role as provider. Consequently, the author infuses a sense of volatility and instability in the story’s atmosphere, a mood that is ultimately symptomatic of the protagonist’s inability to separate the stresses of hard labor from his home life. By including these elements, Gilb exposes the larger issue of masculine insecurity, as the protagonist cannot reconcile the hyper-masculine nature of his work with his shortcomings in his home life.

“Shout” opens in an abrupt and contentious manner. Gilb writes, “He beat on the screen door. ‘Will somebody open this?!’” (Gilb 433). This aggressive image and the character’s demanding nature serve as our first introduction to the protagonist and the situation he inhabits. Gilb continues on, writing, “unlike most men, he didn’t leave his hard hat in his truck, he took it inside his home” (Gilb 433)....