An enraged, oncoming freight train roars down the tracks around a slight bend towards a helpless and vulnerable damsel in distress who is tied to the tracks with only seconds to spare. She has only one hope: Superman. Faced with this almost impossible situation, what does Superman do? Naturally, he jumps head-on in front of the locomotive, putting his life in danger, and stops the train with a screech a few centimeters from the young lady, of course. What could be more heroic or courageous than succeeding in a dangerous situation? Nothing. As Superman demonstrated, these situations provide the opportunity to display traits of masculinity. Granted, not every situation possesses the severity or extremeness of the situation that Superman handled, but in all somewhat perilous situations, masculinity is often associated with the attributes brave, daring, muscular, virile, and energetic, as well as 'to many more. Masculinity requires facing challenges head-on and overcoming dangers; no doubt, no hesitation. Do the work. In various short stories in the book Refresh Refresh by Benjamin Percy, the male protagonist always faces dangerous situations to display his masculinity through his courageous actions. This is performed in several different situations, but is often the result of saving a female character. The male protagonist rises to the occasion when an opportunity presents itself, but he is often responsible for creating dangerous situations. These stories seem to confirm the point of view of Germaine Greer who expresses in her work Masculinity that “masculinity requires the creation of dangerous situations, real or symbolic”. (898) In Refresh Refresh, Benjamin Percy uses ...... middle of paper ......g in this dangerous situation. Again, this often results in the male being responsible, with few exceptions, for bringing complexity and unpredictability to the character. If there was any doubt that the actions of the male protagonists to overcome danger were not enough, the element of a male figure protecting or saving a female character was careful to declare the character's masculinity. Regularly, the presence of dangerous situations is directly responsible for the degree of masculinity of a character. Works Cited Greer, Germaine. "Masculinity." A World of Ideas: Essential Reading for Academic Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 8th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 889-902. Print.Percy, Benjamin. “The Oregon Caves,” “Meltdown,” “When the Bear Came.” Refresh, refresh. Saint Paul, MN: Graywolf, 2007. 21-41, 101-132, 225-49. Print.