English 101

Mandy Chen
4/10/2014
Almost a decade ago, I started looking for a job opportunity. It was a challenging time for me,
but my parents told me "No hurry! Look for a job thats suitable to you". After a while, I found a job in a
restaurant working as a waitress. Even though it was a very demanding job requiring long hours of work,
the work conditions were great. It was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, because I worked
inside. Also, I had a satisfactory income -- enough to cover my monthly expenses. However, my situation
was much better than the protagonists in the story "Shout". The protagonist had to worry about his
unstable job while his whole family was waiting for him to put food on the table. In addition, the
protagonist had to work in miserable conditions, which are described in the story as outside in the hot
weather. We know that working in such weather can be very miserable and unbearable. By reading the
short story Shout" written by Dagoberto Gilb, it makes me believe that the protagonist is a hardworking,
stressed, and loving man. We hardly imagine what we would do when we encounter the stress of an
unstable job, and having to worry about ways to feed the family while also living in a difficult
environment in which they were forced to settle. What should we do in a situation like this? We should
try to do the best we can to support our family. However, this is only possible or much easier if all the
family members work together as a team and they communicate and solve all the problems in a calm
way.
Most of the people involved in physical labor on a daily basis, like the protagonist, return home
from work very tired. All they want is to sit down and relax their muscles and avoid any type of conflict.
The protagonist came home from a long day at work thinking that he would relax inside," even though
the house is hotter than outside, and his wife is mad." as illustrated by the way she hesitated to open
the door right way. At this point I noticed that the husband came home with a negative attitude. It
seemed to me that he would start a fight with his wife or anyone who would get in his way of his
comfort. However, the situation suddenly changed. After relieving from drinking many beers, and
shouting, he became calmer and loving. This is one of the unexpected elements about the protagonist
which I noticed in the story.
Furthermore, as a housewife, staying home to take care of children is not easy. For example, the
protagonist's wife in the story Shout" had to take care of three young children every day in a small
apartment while pregnant. In addition, the situation becomes even harder and more frustrating when
the husband comes home from work with a negative attitude. During the heated argument between the
husband and wife, I expected the wife would be slam out of the door and leave. However, she chose to
stay" You go! You get out! We're gonna stay!" The other of the unexpected element is that she kept her
calm, and instead of leaving, she was very brave, committed, and forgiving.
In conclusion, the story took an interesting and unexpected turn towards the end. The entire
argument turned into calm and lovely evening with both the protagonist and his wife expressing their
intimate feelings. Therefore, throughout the story Shout" by Dagoberto Gilb illustrates successfully the
lives of a struggling family living in unbearably close and sweltering place. It also reveals their ambivalent
relation on space and location. The story also illustrated the co-dependent relationship of a man and his
wife as they do what is necessary to keep their family together despite the difficult barricades they have
to face.