The Jumping Tree
Title "Outside my door, I could hear him pacing. "Apa, the man, was there pacing back and forth like a lion might do to keep his cub safe from all danger. I so wanted to be like him." (pg. 181) Rey is the main character as well as the narrator of The Jumping Tree by analyzing Rey we become aware that he is desperately seeking to define a manhood style that can make him feel emotionally strong, intelligent, noble, but yet stand up for what he believes. In this motif analysis we can clearly describe how the three following motifs affect the dramatic experiences of our main character Rey and how the emotional atmosphere (tone) in the story is also affected. In chapter two we notice how Rey observes the food table, how it has been divided into two sections. On one side of the table there are the soft drinks and food, while on the other side there are alcoholic beverages and that's where the men of the family are standing and drinking. "Rey, come and sit over here with the men."(14) The reader can sense that Tio Santos manhood has to deal with drinking liquor that is strong and only a strong man is capable of handling. Tio Santos also starts to question Apa's manhood since Apa refused to take a drink of Vodka. The emotional atmosphere in this chapter starts to build up when Tio Santos insults Apa and Apa just shakes his head and does not respond. Rey stares at his father and for a second a sense of confusion flashes through the readers mind as to why isn't his father responding, Rey knows that his father is man enough to stand up to his brother and we can clearly sense it when Rey refers to Tio Santos taking a step to far and if he was questioning Apa's manhood there would be trouble. Rey remembers of the many times Apa has talked about standing up, defending yourself. This is how the motif starts to develop and Rey becomes aware of the different manhood styles and starts to wonder what a real man should be. "Let's just do this, Rey," Lety said. "I