Superman Symbol Analysis

Little Dog mentions Superman, the popular comic hero who saves the world wearing a cape, several times in On Earth we’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Superman is symbolic of society’s narrow view of masculinity in Ocean Vuong’s novel. When Little Dog’s mother, Rose, takes him to Six Flags, a Midwestern amusement park, they ride the Superman rollercoaster, and Rose throws up in a garbage can as soon as the ride is over. The Superman rollercoaster is simply too big and too frightening for Rose, a middle-aged woman, to take. After Little Dog is beat up by some bullies at school, Rose says Little Dog must get bigger and stronger, and then she encourages him the next morning by calling him “Superman.” Superman is the epitome of strength and manhood, and Little Dog is taught from an early age that to be a real man is to be Superman.

When Little Dog is just six years old, his mother locks him in the basement after he wets the bed, which, presumably, he does a lot. Little Dog begs her not to do it, but Rose closes and locks the door, leaving Little Dog alone and naked, save for a pair of Superman underwear stained with his urine. The implication here is that to be a real boy, and one day a man, Little Dog can’t wet the bed and cry like a baby. Rather, he must be strong and macho if he is to embody traditional notions of manhood and masculinity. Little Dog’s stained Superman underwear is a powerful image—he will never live up to this narrow and unobtainable image of manhood and masculinity, and he is reminded of this at every turn.