The Big Clash

Cal by Bernard MacLaverty was a wonderful novel full of political crisis and citizen alienation taking place in a small country with big conflict. MacLaverty offered up a deep plot that kept me on the edge of my seat, with danger lurking around every corner, literally. I thoroughly enjoyed this very straightforward portrayal of this young man just trying to live life in the midst of civil dispute on a grand scale. We definitely see the trouble colonialism causes in this very culturally rich country divided by two religions and the usurped control of a foreign government.
It was tragic to see the state of life for the Irish Catholics in Ulster. I was sympathetic for Cal and his father and the struggle they faced. I do not understand why their pride was more important to them than their quality of life. They stay living in a town they are constantly persecuted in even though they have no ties there but each other. Only the father has a job, but they refuse to relocate for a life that could be significantly happier and safer to say the least. Pride seems to drive all the trouble the characters face throughout the novel. Both sides are prejudice and murderous over the difference of religion. A fact we see across time and across nations.
All in all, amazing novel, eye opening and sobering to see through the eyes of a young man caught between his conscience and the loyalty to his nation.

A Little Bazaar

First I will start off with what I disliked about the Dubliners by James Joyce. Bypassing the actual short stories, I want to get right into the critical essay by Heyward Ehrlich, “Araby” in Context…. Though this essay got off to a good start, providing helpful and informative facts to clarify some rather sketchy topics in Dubliners, it moved onto a monotonous barrage of WAY to much information about the history of bazaars in Europe. Not only was it more than what was needed to give some insight, it was beyond repetitive. I came across three instances where he goes into detail on the number of people in attendance (Joyce 267, 272, 273). One great piece of information I took away from this essay was the history on Irish Orientalism. I am happy to see this term come up in our reading since we haven’t had much of it yet. It was very intriguing to learn how much of Irish culture was taken from the Orient (Joyce 262).
On a lighter note, the two stories Araby, Eveline seemed much like Lahiri’s writing in the sense that it was very true to reality. There was not a lot of fluff which kept the stories easy to navigate, but both ended so abruptly I was left wondering what the point of the story had been. There would definitely be two short stories I wouldn’t mind having a little more background on to gain a broader understanding of Joyce’s purpose for the tales.

Happy Endings

The point that stood out to me the most from all the blogs I read was what Stevie (http://stevie-z.blogspot.com/ ) had to say about all of Lahiri’s stories having a happy ending. When reading the stories, I did not come to that conclusion myself. However, after reading Stevie’s blog I realized they really did have a happy ending. Even though each story contained plenty of struggle and difficulty for its characters, Lahiri leaves us with an ending that is open enough to imagine that there could be a better future than what they have experienced. It is true with A Temporary Matter, because the couple could have gone on to repair their marriage after all the truth came out, in The Treatment of Bibi Haldar because now that she has a child and a business her life can flourish even without her family and or the possibility of a husband, in Interpreter of Maladies because Mr. Kapasi didn’t get caught up in a most likely fruitless relationship with the American woman, and in The Third and Final Continent because Lahiri shows us that the narrators life goes on to be happy and full of success. So with each story, we walk through the initial harsh experience that the main characters face, but they always come out clearly on the other side.

A New Audience

The short stories written by Ha Jin contain messages and details of Chinese life that would be illegal to read in his homeland. For instance in Saboteur, he depicts a man basically framed by the police of the city he is in. This story which clearly shows the controlling and manipulative behavior of Chinese officials would be criminal if distributed to the masses in China. This kind of conflict would further deter writers from creating literature that reflects the reality of the situation they live in. It will continue to be tailored to the needs of the communist party leaders as we see in Jin’s story A Tiger-Fighter is Hard to Find. Here the producers of a short film create a scene that satisfies the propaganda the party wants the citizens of China to believe, no matter how unrealistic they are.
If Conrad had written Heart of Darkness in his native language, I think it would have affected the impact his story had on the world and postcolonial literature. By writing in English, he opened the doors to the people that would be able to read and understand the issues faced in Africa. Had he written in his native language I believe he would have been seen in a different light, taking the role of an outsider to western society trying to portray an injustice without having the foothold to do so. Having tailored it to an English audience, he proved a connection with Western society and thus bought himself more respect.
For Jin to write his stories in English, having been a migrant to the US, changed his perspective on writing. He was no longer just a Chinese native writing about conflict he perceived within the limits of his immediate world, but instead his perspective was cultured and he was able to gain wider view of his homeland, by being outside of it. In this way his experience with Western culture made it possible for him to so accurately portray the affects the American restaurant “Cowboy Chicken” would have on a society that operates very differently than it is used to.

Mirrors Mirrors

Honestly, none of the points Spivak made stood out to me, which is why it has taken me till Sunday night to respond. She didn’t seem to have any strong points, only things we have heard before. I also must agree that her language was very difficult. Her essay made for a difficult read, but I did make out a vague generalization of points, again, which made it difficult to respond. I will say I did like how she pointed out the “images of mirroring,” (WSS 242). I was glad to see that the things that seemed connected to me, where also seen a connection for someone else.
The fact that Tia is a mirror image of Antoinette is one point of mirroring Spivak points to, and it is interesting to me that Tia is also the rejection of Antoinette in her own world. We see this many times; while they play by the water, Tia steals her clothes (WSS 14), Tia throwing a rock at her, as part of a riotous local group (WSS 27). Even though Tia is her friend and the reflection of her as a native, she portrays the force of rejection and disintegration that Antoinette clearly faces. It is funny to me that Rhys builds this character of companionship for Antoinette in Tia, then shows us how even in her friendships, there is no loyalty. This in itself mirrors all of the relationships Antoinette has throughout her life. We see this in her mother who abandons her, her real father who left her, her stepfather and stepbrother who sold her, her husband who buys her and gives up on her, keeping her in bondage, and her closest friend Christophine who for all we know has kept her drugged her whole life to keep her under her control as well.
In the bigger picture, this story novella could be a story of a young woman growing up in a world of abandonment and rejection, and Spivak supports that point by showing us the ideas mirrored throughout.

The Crazies

I have to start of stating how much I enjoyed reading Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It was full of imagery, culture, superstition, and structure. There were a few things that stood out to me as particularly interesting, you know, those things you underline for no real purpose other than to come back to later and ponder, or just because they are amusing. However, I must say that I read the first 20 pages before I remembered I was reading a novella for class and needed to pay attention to the details, it was just that easy to get wrapped up in! The first of these things that caught my interest was the way Christophine was referred to as “a Martinique obeah woman,” (WSS 17). I had never heard this reference before, so luckily there was a footnote describing it. Obeah being a woman who basically practices her “magic” to bring wealth and good fortune to her clients, it is clear why she is assigned this role. It adds to the perspective that the natives commonly engage in the practice of such superstitious activities. The second thing that really stood out to me as peculiar was something Antoinette portrays during her stay at the convent. Up to this point we have a pretty clear perspective of her characters thoughts and feelings towards her life and surroundings, then in one scene she shows something very opposite, “and my mother, whom I must forget and pray for as though she were dead, though she is living, liked to dress in white,” (WSS 33). As she is giving us a description of something completely unrelated, she throws in this line about her mother and her need to consider her mother as dead, when she knows she is still alive came off in a very different tone than the rest of her thoughts. I wonder if this new perspective was influenced by her new lifestyle and teaching there at the convent. This seems to be a point where her character goes though a big change.
Those are some of the interesting things I came across in the first half of this novella. I can’t wait to finish it!

Picture Perfect

I am thoroughly happy to have completed this story and now be able to view it in its entirety. I have to say, this last portion was by far my favorite. It really brought together everything we have been studying and talking about in class in regards to colonization and its effects on the cultures that are imposed with an outsiders view and lifestyle. While reading this novella leading up to this section, I kept wondering when we were ever going to encounter the white man’s aggressions towards this tribe. As unfortunate as the events that occur were to the people of the Umuofia, it was a fantastic portrayal of the destructive effect that may take place when one culture imposes its lifestyle and beliefs on a people group of a different culture. And this is what I believe led Okonkwo to take his life, is the path to complete destruction of the traditions of their culture. He clearly found his identity in maintaining and fulfilling these traditions, so as he watched them slip away from the society of his homeland, he in turn saw and felt the imminent demise of himself. He no longer fit into the new society that was being built up around him in his own home. I have to say, I loved the last paragraph where the District Commissioner portrays the ignorance of the white man in what he has done through the process of colonization. As he reduces Okonkwo’s long and tumultuous life to a paragraph in a book, we are shown a clear picture of the differences of the “other”. That D.C. would never understand the passion of Okonkwo’s life because he is so far removed from his society, and that ignorance, though completely natural, keeps their worlds from ever finding true understanding. Most people hated what that last line did to the big picture, but I saw it as the perfect way to end what was blatantly a book about the irreconcilable differences of two cultures, especially when one culture is there to conquer the other.

Why not know more…

Heart of Darkness has clearly been a highly controversial piece, however, as an accurate portrayal of a part of history that has been suppressed and glossed over, by European society, and the “other”, I think it is a highly educational novella for anyone to read. Clearly, we must take with a sense of objectivity the harsh and violent language Joseph Conrad uses, especially where it is aimed at the African natives. But this harsh language alone is no reason to avoid a book such as this. When reading literature from a different time, there always must be openness to the fact that the cultural norm the author is coming from is not always going to fit into the comfortable bubble we currently live in. This is part of what makes up studying history, and perspectives of those that came before us.
I fully agree with Miller when he explains how we should read Heart of Darkness, “as a powerful exemplary revelation of the ideology of capitalist imperialism, including its racism and sexism,” (HoD 474). It should be clear that we communicate internationally on a basis of sharing one culture with another, we will never be the same culture and we will all never fully acclimate to the perspectives of foreign societies. Therefore, we have literature and communication one person to another to imply these cultural differences. It is not for the reason of colonizing one another, but to objectively but openly view another society through the eyes of a stranger. Meanwhile always attempting to view the world through the eyes of the author, this is essentially why literature such as Heart of Darkness is created. To give eyes into the world that some will never gain on their own.

Some still compare

Francis Galton wrote "The Comparative Worth of Different Races", in which he tries to convince us that we cannot compare one race to another. He argues that since we come from different social constructs and different cultures, the difference of our classes are not directly comparable, "the ability of class A of one race be equal to the ability of class C in another," (HoD 225). Galton therefore determines that we must still compare each race to one another, even if the system of comparison is not perfect. He regards that this breakdown of one race to another, is reason enough to raise the standard of expectation amongst these races to become equal with the highest race. "It seems to me more essential to the well-being of future generations, that the average standard of ability of the present time should be raised," (HoD 228). Given his perspective on each race maintaining an unequal level of existence, he informs us that the process of colonization proves to either destroy or reform a race and their culture. The affects of such an endeavor are seen in the Heart of Darkness in the way that Kurtz dominates the African jungle with his heavy handed control on every aspect of the natives’ lives and even existence. The natives are beaten and chained and forced into manual labor to the point of physical exhaustion and even death. This abuse, coming from a man of higher class according to Galton, is exploited in order to find his riches and therein gain even more control. Galton seems to believe that this sort of colonization can raise the level of a races social worth to a higher standard. However, Kurtz only brings destruction and demoralization to the African natives. This is hardly a productive effort of social transformation.

New School

Hello everyone,
This is my first sememster at WSU. I am looking forward to getting back to school work again, this was a long summer and all these books should do the trick. However, I am not a blogger and this is my first one, so it will definately be interesting. I am suprised at the high level of internet use required by most of my classes, which is forcing me to purchase a new laptop, guess what I'll spend my Sunday doing =) Anyway, I'm excited to get the hang of all this. Good luck!