Madsen Hardy has a doctorate in English and is a freelance writer and editor. In this essay, she discusses the idea of masculinity in relation to the imagery in Agüeros's story.

Jack Agüeros's short story "Dominoes" shows how a simple game of dominoes becomes a matter of life and death for two men in New York's Puerto Rican community. The story traces a chain reaction— a series of events, seemingly as inevitable as dominoes falling—that leads from an afternoon's pastime to murder and mutilation. For the players, success at the game of dominoes is a mark of manhood. Therefore, the game takes on an important status in the social fabric of the community. Though there is nothing inherently masculine about this table game, it represents a certain idea of manliness that is very important to the men who play. They...