Masculinity

According to Lt. Gamboa, half the boys are sent to the academy "so they won't be gangsters. . .and the other half, so they won't turn out to be fairies. It's their parents' fault." Gamboa's comment leads to a discussion about the difference between soldiers and cadets. Soldiers can be physically beaten until they are so civilized an Indian only appears to be Indian. Cadets, which cannot be so abused, are not quite so accomplished but they do learn one thing: being a man depends on whether a boy is s——— or he s———. In military terms, the ultimate sign of manhood is murder. However, his parents determine the degree of a boy's success either by letting him grow up—like Tico or Skinny— or telling him to become a man. Towards that end, parents send their boys to an academy where the boys must negotiate a paradox. They...