Individual Oral Planning Sheet

Developing a plan for an individual oral:

Global Issue: Gender Roles

Work Chosen: 1)“The only thing that interested his mother about the bishop’s arrival, on the
other hand, was for her son not to get soaked in the rain, since she’d heard him sneeze while
he was sleeping. She advised him to take along an umbrella, but he waved good-bye and left
the room. It was the last time she saw him. Victoria Guzman, the cook, was sure that it hadn’t
rained that day, or during 5)the whole month of February. “On the contrary,” she told me when I
came to see her, a short time before her death, “The sun warms things up earlier than in
August.” She had been quartering three rabbits for lunch, surrounded by panting dogs, when
Santiago Nasar entered the kitchen. “He always got up with the face of a bad night,” Victoria
Guzman recalled without affection. Divina Flor, her daughter, who was just coming into bloom,
served Santiago Nasar a 10)mug of mountain coffee with a shot of cane liquor, as on every
Monday, to help him bear the burden of the night before. The enormous kitchen, with the
whispers from the fire and hens sleeping on their perches, was breathing stealthily. Santiago
Nasar swallowed another aspirin and sat down to drink the mug of coffee in slow sips, thinking
just as slowly, without taking his eyes off the two women who were disemboweling the rabbits
on the stove. In spite of her age, 15)Victoria Guzman was still in good shape. The girl, as yet a
bit untamed, seemed overwhelmed by the drive of her glands. Santiago Nasar grabbed her by
the wrist when she came to take the empty mug from him” (8-9) Chapter 1

Notes for the Oral. (Maximum of FIVE bullet points.) Key strategies used in the passage to
develop the author’s point about the global issue:

● The passage utilizes symbolism in order to introduce the teachings of ‘machismo’ culture
within their community.
● Within the story, the author describes the case of Santiago Nasar as he was predicted to be
murdered. This character, before his death, was portrayed in a way which had depicted him as
a wealthy and confident man, referencing that those in his community “had an irresistible
fascination for him” (8). Nasar was shown to be a direct reflection of machismo, which allowed
him to embody the idea of a strong and masculine man, as well as one that attracted women.
This ability of Nasar to acquire this attention allowed for a sense of pride to build within
himself as well as in other men in his community, ultimately resulting in the widespread
mistreatment of women due to it being a common practice. The normalization of inequality is
presented within the passage when Nasar’s mother stressed the importance of bringing an
umbrella for her son to avoid illness (8).
● This expectation of women to care for men highlights the importance of gender roles and their
impact on the work of women, and is symbolic of the way men are able to take women for
granted. Although being his mother, she is shown to be obligated to maintain this care of Nasar.
The author showed Nasar to reject his mother’s advice in order to demonstrate the extent to
which the character embodied machismo ideals, and adds the concept of greed within Nasar.
An aspect of resentment towards the character is demonstrated by his maid, Victoria Guzman,
as she contrasts with Nasar’s mother by describing the weather to have been sunny (8).