"It was a wife's worst nightmare. After nine years of marriage, Laxmi told Miranda, her cousin's husband had fallen in love with another woman" (Sexy). And this is someone's worst nightmare when they are in a relationship. I like this text because I think it explores an area that is familiar for many, but uncomfortable to talk about. Obviously, we all know that cheating is wrong and immoral, but that belief is based on the idea that everyone and everything is perfect and flawless. This is just not accurate and can be seen in our everyday lives. Of course nobody sets out to hurt another person, especially someone they love and care for; well, that is mostly true. Unfortunately, there are the occasional jerks that know what they are doing is harmful and intentional, but even those cases may be due to their own personal crisis within themselves. But when two mature people have a healthy relationship based on trust and love, perfection cannot be expected. We are human, we make mistakes, we do not have control over our feelings for others, only what we do with those feelings.
As I said in class, I have a friend who has been denied sexual relations with her boyfriend of thirteen years; this has been going on for the past two years. She loves him, so leaving just is not an option for her. So what is a person to do? Intimacy is a necessary and healthy part of a loving relationship, and it is not natural and can be emotionally damaging to be denied that from your partner. It can lead to depression, which can lead to physical health problems, so in a round about way, having sex is vital to your health! Okay, so maybe that's stretching it a bit and in light of a deep issue. But realistically, cheating is just not as cut and dry as we all want it to be. It is a decision, yes, but sometimes those decisions are not made in the best state of mind and circumstances. And sometimes they are incredibly hard and heartbreaking to make.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Race and the American Novel: Synthesis
I have learned a great deal during this course; reading UTC and Beloved especially had a profound impact. But even little things, like the reviews of the books we read left me thinking and exploring the issue of racism. I think what really impacted me the most was the chapter Raynaud devoted to Morrison's book, when she explained the unexplainable. She described many of the metaphors used in Beloved. The character, Beloved, was a representation of the memory of slavery itself.
I agree, and believe, that the nation is trying to suppress the reality of our true history. What I did not realize was this was also occurring in the slave narratives themselves. How could that be possible? It seems unreal to me that even when slaves wrote about their own experiences, they left out the horrifying details. But then, I guess I can understand why. Who would want to relive and remember such atrocious trauma? Even I have things that have happened to me that I do not want to remember. Of course, neither do the white people, want to remember what they did and became; they became exactly what they set out to destroy, what they thought was beneath them.
The slave owners treated men, women and children as objects and animals and, thus, became animals themselves. The barbaric enslavement and torturing, the raping and killing, that is what was animalistic. It is no wonder people refuse to remember such a disgusting time in history, but that is not the answer. It is important that we learn from this, to teach our children the accurate history, so that it may not ever be repeated. Just like the teacher Dan wrote about in his blog; we need more teachers like him. But look what happened when he stood up for what was right, when he did what he was hired to do-he was ostracized and fired! How does that make sense at all? Parents were outraged; if parents are outraged when their children are taught the truth we, as a nation, have a big problem with denial. It just goes to show that we still have a racial divide, as Bannon protested. But hopefully, as he also stated, this will slowly make its way out as the older, racist generation kicks the bucket.
Ultimately, I am left feeling that there is not one person or one type of person able to give a complete an accurate description of what happened during the time of slavery. Stowe was white, yes, so was half the nation. It is important to get accounts of what happened from white people, just as much as black people. As Baldwin put it ". . . the oppressed and the oppressor are bound together within the same society; they accept the same criteria; they share the same beliefs. . . " Both races lived among each other, they needed each other in order for this to have taken place, they are both equally a part of it, even if one was more evil than the other. Saying that only former slaves or black people should be telling stories is ignorant; even former slave narratives left out important information. It takes all angles, all accounts, everyone involved to create the whole picture of what went on. Every time we read a story, poem, narrative, bibliography, we get another piece of the puzzle.
I agree, and believe, that the nation is trying to suppress the reality of our true history. What I did not realize was this was also occurring in the slave narratives themselves. How could that be possible? It seems unreal to me that even when slaves wrote about their own experiences, they left out the horrifying details. But then, I guess I can understand why. Who would want to relive and remember such atrocious trauma? Even I have things that have happened to me that I do not want to remember. Of course, neither do the white people, want to remember what they did and became; they became exactly what they set out to destroy, what they thought was beneath them.
The slave owners treated men, women and children as objects and animals and, thus, became animals themselves. The barbaric enslavement and torturing, the raping and killing, that is what was animalistic. It is no wonder people refuse to remember such a disgusting time in history, but that is not the answer. It is important that we learn from this, to teach our children the accurate history, so that it may not ever be repeated. Just like the teacher Dan wrote about in his blog; we need more teachers like him. But look what happened when he stood up for what was right, when he did what he was hired to do-he was ostracized and fired! How does that make sense at all? Parents were outraged; if parents are outraged when their children are taught the truth we, as a nation, have a big problem with denial. It just goes to show that we still have a racial divide, as Bannon protested. But hopefully, as he also stated, this will slowly make its way out as the older, racist generation kicks the bucket.
Ultimately, I am left feeling that there is not one person or one type of person able to give a complete an accurate description of what happened during the time of slavery. Stowe was white, yes, so was half the nation. It is important to get accounts of what happened from white people, just as much as black people. As Baldwin put it ". . . the oppressed and the oppressor are bound together within the same society; they accept the same criteria; they share the same beliefs. . . " Both races lived among each other, they needed each other in order for this to have taken place, they are both equally a part of it, even if one was more evil than the other. Saying that only former slaves or black people should be telling stories is ignorant; even former slave narratives left out important information. It takes all angles, all accounts, everyone involved to create the whole picture of what went on. Every time we read a story, poem, narrative, bibliography, we get another piece of the puzzle.
Race and the American Novel: Reader Response
I found most of the reviews to be very positive. It seems that Beloved touches many people on a personal level. Many of the responses were saying similar things, talking about how this novel is part of the American experience. One woman wrote: "That feels like a strange and dorky thing for me to say, but it's how I felt. Slavery is such an essential part of all our heritage that reading this treatment of it felt very personal, like listening to secrets about your grandparents" (Goodreads). Another review said, "It's 6 o'clock in the morning and I have finished with one of the best books I have ever read in the course of my short life" (Goodreads).
However, not all responses were positive. One reader had this to say about the novel: "I found Beloved incomprehensible to the point of absurdity. It's one thing to have a book that is full of magic and poetry or to have a character's passion overwhelm their ability to describe the world from time to time, but I also need to know what is going on. For the story to grab me, I need to know what the story is" (Barnes & Noble).
I find this kind of review insulting and interesting at the same time. At first I was upset by his response, but then I realized this is precisely the issue Morrison forces her readers to face in this novel. He continued on saying how much he hated the book because he could not understand what it was trying to convey. I think if he had a better understanding of history and took a deeper look into the underlying meaning of the story, he would have a different opinion. People judge and dislike what they cannot understand.
However, not all responses were positive. One reader had this to say about the novel: "I found Beloved incomprehensible to the point of absurdity. It's one thing to have a book that is full of magic and poetry or to have a character's passion overwhelm their ability to describe the world from time to time, but I also need to know what is going on. For the story to grab me, I need to know what the story is" (Barnes & Noble).
I find this kind of review insulting and interesting at the same time. At first I was upset by his response, but then I realized this is precisely the issue Morrison forces her readers to face in this novel. He continued on saying how much he hated the book because he could not understand what it was trying to convey. I think if he had a better understanding of history and took a deeper look into the underlying meaning of the story, he would have a different opinion. People judge and dislike what they cannot understand.
Race and the American Novel: Contemporary Connections
Brad Bannon reports, in U.S. News and World Report, that a racial divide is still here. ". . . demography is destiny. The fabric of American society is changing and some people are fighting a doomed rearguard action to stop the inevitable" (Bannon). According to polls, the nation is split when it comes to the question of equality: Do black people get treated the same as white people by police officers? Half of the nation believes the answer is yes and the other half says no. But the racial divide, in reference to the exact same question, is far more dramatic: 63% of whites believe they are treated equally, but only 21% of blacks feel the same. This kind of split is bound to lead to conflict, that which has already been occurring.
Bannon states, "Sadly, everything old is new again in race relations in America." I could not agree more. Everything I have been seeing and hearing on the news, lately, has been related to race in one way or another. The most prevalent is all of the shootings and fatalities of minorities by white officers, which has led to a war on law enforcement, split by a racial divide. But far more than that, as Bannon reveal, is taking place; apparently the Colorado Springs headquarters of the NAACP has been bombed, the mayor of New York City is under pressure after warning his mixed race son of the violence upon minorities by white officers, and so on. What I find interesting is the new movie "Selma" that has just come out is a dramatization of the 1960's civil rights movement-irony? I think not.
This ties into the book, Beloved, more than I initially realized-this war, the war between two races, is not over. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, so many years and generations later, this divide is still weighing down on the nation. And I think a big part of that problem is what Morrison portrayed in her book: nobody wants to remember the truth and teach this history in light of it. As long as we continue to ignore what happened and try to repress what is real, we will continue to face the same issue, time and time again. I have hope though, as Bannon thinks that most of the backwards, racist ideology is stemming from the older generation. Therefore, as this younger generation steps forward in the spotlight, we should, hopefully, see progress.
Bannon states, "Sadly, everything old is new again in race relations in America." I could not agree more. Everything I have been seeing and hearing on the news, lately, has been related to race in one way or another. The most prevalent is all of the shootings and fatalities of minorities by white officers, which has led to a war on law enforcement, split by a racial divide. But far more than that, as Bannon reveal, is taking place; apparently the Colorado Springs headquarters of the NAACP has been bombed, the mayor of New York City is under pressure after warning his mixed race son of the violence upon minorities by white officers, and so on. What I find interesting is the new movie "Selma" that has just come out is a dramatization of the 1960's civil rights movement-irony? I think not.
This ties into the book, Beloved, more than I initially realized-this war, the war between two races, is not over. Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, so many years and generations later, this divide is still weighing down on the nation. And I think a big part of that problem is what Morrison portrayed in her book: nobody wants to remember the truth and teach this history in light of it. As long as we continue to ignore what happened and try to repress what is real, we will continue to face the same issue, time and time again. I have hope though, as Bannon thinks that most of the backwards, racist ideology is stemming from the older generation. Therefore, as this younger generation steps forward in the spotlight, we should, hopefully, see progress.
Race and the American Novel Project: Critical Commentary
In The Cambridge Companion to Toni Morrison, Claudine Raynaud devotes a fifteen page chapter to the novel Beloved. She claims it is "one of the most important American novels of the post-war era" (Raynaud, 43). The point Raynaud makes in this chapter is that Beloved captures the true history of the African American slave life; she explains that this is purposely left out of slave narratives. Morrison "rips the veil" that these narrators were forced to draw over the stories and reconstructs and recovers the memories that both black and white people try to repress. Raynaud states:
"The porosity of the characters' consciousness['s], made possible by subtle transitions from one [focalization] to another, the leveling out of different time frames enable the novel to mimic and reflect the process of memory: the actual act of remembering as well as the incorporation of told memories into the oral tradition." (Raynaud)
I think Raynaud does a great job describing this in her text as she explains the metaphor of the antelope portraying the slaves. When Sethe tells Denver about her birth and the kicking she was doing she said, "When she stopped the little antelope rammed her with horns" (Raynaud, 44). Sethe talks again about slaves who "danced the antelope" in another part of the story as well. Raynaud insists that since Sethe has never seen an antelope, she cannot possibly know the secret meaning of the word. The dancing she refers to means to be transported to Africa free and unchained.
This chapter really helps understand what Morrison is trying to convey in her novel. It forces both white and black people to confront the past, the true past, that is being buried and disfigured throughout history books and narratives. The graphic scenes descripted, rape, torture, all make it impossible for the reader to distance themselves from the true nature of what went on during this time in history. Raynaud also believes that the character Beloved is to represent the memory of slavery, hence, the reason for her name being repeated, and even spelled out, so many times. This is also why it is so hard to pin down what she is, a ghost, an actual living person, etc. "Identities overlap because of the similarity and the persistence of traumas uttered in a common language" (Raynaud, 46). Beloved represents three atrocious events, rape on the slave ship, during slavery and even after the Emancipation Proclamation; this is representative of the so-called progress being made against racism.
I agree with Raynaud and her interpretations; I do believe slave narratives were repressive and both black and white people are uncomfortable dealing with the realities of history. This is made clear in the lack of true events in the teaching of history, both in the classroom and outside it. Morrison forces society to confront, to remember and to pass those true memories on so that they will not be forgotten, the way Beloved was.
Raynaud, Claudine. "The Cambridge Companion to Toni Morrison." (n.d.): 43-58.
"The porosity of the characters' consciousness['s], made possible by subtle transitions from one [focalization] to another, the leveling out of different time frames enable the novel to mimic and reflect the process of memory: the actual act of remembering as well as the incorporation of told memories into the oral tradition." (Raynaud)
I think Raynaud does a great job describing this in her text as she explains the metaphor of the antelope portraying the slaves. When Sethe tells Denver about her birth and the kicking she was doing she said, "When she stopped the little antelope rammed her with horns" (Raynaud, 44). Sethe talks again about slaves who "danced the antelope" in another part of the story as well. Raynaud insists that since Sethe has never seen an antelope, she cannot possibly know the secret meaning of the word. The dancing she refers to means to be transported to Africa free and unchained.
This chapter really helps understand what Morrison is trying to convey in her novel. It forces both white and black people to confront the past, the true past, that is being buried and disfigured throughout history books and narratives. The graphic scenes descripted, rape, torture, all make it impossible for the reader to distance themselves from the true nature of what went on during this time in history. Raynaud also believes that the character Beloved is to represent the memory of slavery, hence, the reason for her name being repeated, and even spelled out, so many times. This is also why it is so hard to pin down what she is, a ghost, an actual living person, etc. "Identities overlap because of the similarity and the persistence of traumas uttered in a common language" (Raynaud, 46). Beloved represents three atrocious events, rape on the slave ship, during slavery and even after the Emancipation Proclamation; this is representative of the so-called progress being made against racism.
I agree with Raynaud and her interpretations; I do believe slave narratives were repressive and both black and white people are uncomfortable dealing with the realities of history. This is made clear in the lack of true events in the teaching of history, both in the classroom and outside it. Morrison forces society to confront, to remember and to pass those true memories on so that they will not be forgotten, the way Beloved was.
Raynaud, Claudine. "The Cambridge Companion to Toni Morrison." (n.d.): 43-58.
Monday, May 11, 2015
The Woman Warrior
Maxine Kingston reveals her struggle with being a first generation, multi-cultural, immigrant in "The Woman Warrior". She uses the story her mother told her, of her aunt who committed suicide, to work through and tell her own journey of self-identification. As the daughter of immigrants, it was difficult to decipher which part of her was Chinese and which part was American. I am sure there are many of immigrants that endured this type of dilemma, but for Kingston it was compounded by the secrecy within the Chinese heritage of her family. "You must not tell anyone what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born. That is an incredibly distressing thing for a child to hear, even from your own mother.
However, living in America gave Kingston a different vantage point; she experienced a far more relaxed, open and liberal type of childhood than she would have in China. And I imagine this was really perplexing for her. How do you comprehend the traditions and rituals of another culture, even if you are a descendent of such, when you are being raised in a completely alternative one? This is evident in the following quote:
However, living in America gave Kingston a different vantage point; she experienced a far more relaxed, open and liberal type of childhood than she would have in China. And I imagine this was really perplexing for her. How do you comprehend the traditions and rituals of another culture, even if you are a descendent of such, when you are being raised in a completely alternative one? This is evident in the following quote:
"Chinese-Americans, when you try to understand what things in you are Chinese, how do you separate what is peculiar to childhood, to poverty, insanities, one family, your mother who marked your growing with stories, from what is Chinese? What is Chinese tradition and what is the movies?" (Kingston)
Kingston realized that she could at least try to break away from the disturbing and dysfunctional influence of her parents, and she did this by telling her aunt's story. I think she understood the level of dysfunction and negativity that plagued her family's heritage and made a decision to embrace it, expose it and rise above it. This gave her power, the power to find herself, separate from her family history, but belonging to it at the very same time.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Blog #5: Lady Lazarus
I love the poem "Lady Lazarus" that was written by Sylvia Plath. I cannot begin to describe how I can relate to her and what she is feeling during this time in her life, when she wrote this. There is so much pain in her writing, especially this poem; it is clear that she suffered from depression. She mentions her yearning for death multiples times throughout the poem, as she tells of her attempts at suicide:
"I have done it again, One year in every ten I manage it . . . This is Number Three . . . The first time it happened I was ten, It was an accident. The second time I meant To last it out and not come back at all . . . Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well." (p1418-19)
It is clear as day, to me, that Sylvia is talking about her many attempts at suicide, although, I could be wrong. However, we do know that she died as a result of committing suicide and also suffered from mental illness-which included, at least, depression-that resulted in mental hospitalization more than once. There is a particular part in this poem that speaks to me in a language others might not recognize, and so I wonder if my hypothesis is correct. In this next passage, as Plath portrays her second attempt, she reveals an experience not known to many:
"The second time I meant To last it out and not come back at all. I rocked shut As a seashell. They had to call and call And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls." (p1419)
In my opinion, I believe what Plath is expressing is her experience with electroshock therapy. Only individuals who have experienced such medical treatment would think of that when she speaks of "sticky pearls". If you have ever had electroshock therapy, you would know there are round, sticky, white things they put on you to deliver the shocks-this would greatly explain this part of the poem. There is, however, another alternative interpretation to this stanza. With the multiple attempts to kill herself, it would not be surprising if Sylvia was brought back to life with the help of a defibrillator, that uses white patches similar to what is used in electroshock therapy. Either way, we know she has undergone treatment and resuscitation, therefore, both are likely, but, in the end, does it really matter which one she meant? To me, it does not.
Being brought back to life is definitely something Plath portrays in this work of hers-you cannot miss it with her mention of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus, and rising "Out of the ash . . . with my red hair. . ." I feel she wants her readers to know that she will find her place somewhere, just not here on earth. She could not live like other normal people, but she did not want to either. Every time "they" brought her back, she was stronger, more knowledgeable, but still the same woman they sought to save.
"I have done it again, One year in every ten I manage it . . . This is Number Three . . . The first time it happened I was ten, It was an accident. The second time I meant To last it out and not come back at all . . . Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well." (p1418-19)
It is clear as day, to me, that Sylvia is talking about her many attempts at suicide, although, I could be wrong. However, we do know that she died as a result of committing suicide and also suffered from mental illness-which included, at least, depression-that resulted in mental hospitalization more than once. There is a particular part in this poem that speaks to me in a language others might not recognize, and so I wonder if my hypothesis is correct. In this next passage, as Plath portrays her second attempt, she reveals an experience not known to many:
"The second time I meant To last it out and not come back at all. I rocked shut As a seashell. They had to call and call And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls." (p1419)
In my opinion, I believe what Plath is expressing is her experience with electroshock therapy. Only individuals who have experienced such medical treatment would think of that when she speaks of "sticky pearls". If you have ever had electroshock therapy, you would know there are round, sticky, white things they put on you to deliver the shocks-this would greatly explain this part of the poem. There is, however, another alternative interpretation to this stanza. With the multiple attempts to kill herself, it would not be surprising if Sylvia was brought back to life with the help of a defibrillator, that uses white patches similar to what is used in electroshock therapy. Either way, we know she has undergone treatment and resuscitation, therefore, both are likely, but, in the end, does it really matter which one she meant? To me, it does not.
Being brought back to life is definitely something Plath portrays in this work of hers-you cannot miss it with her mention of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus, and rising "Out of the ash . . . with my red hair. . ." I feel she wants her readers to know that she will find her place somewhere, just not here on earth. She could not live like other normal people, but she did not want to either. Every time "they" brought her back, she was stronger, more knowledgeable, but still the same woman they sought to save.
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