I am not really sure what to think of Theodora Eliza Vacarescu’s article entitled, From Frankenstein’s Monster to Haraway’s Cyborg: Gender in Monstrosity, Cyborgosity and (Post)humanity. Vacarescu argues that all human beings are cyborgs (basically machines) and that all cyborgs are monsters, therefore all humans are monsters. To me, this is a bit over the top. I would suppose that it depends on how you define “monster.” Vacarescu argues that Western culture made Shelley’s monster monstrous simply by the way they treated it. Hence, Shelley’s monster was “made” by humans, or Western culture (3). I would have to agree with this specific point because I understand that others can be pushed over the edge and ultimately turn into monstrous beings.
Additionally, she points out the fact that since Shelley’s monster’s sex is not clearly defined, the lack of an obvious gender identity makes him a monster. Hence, she is implying that all neutered humans are essentially monsters, which is ludicrous. I suppose that humans can behave like monsters and/or cyborgs from time to time, but I cannot agree with her argument that all humans are both cyborgs and monsters.
In addition, Vacarescu argues that monstrosity does not lie outside of humanity, thus all monsters are human beings (1). I would have to disagree with this because I know that there are certain animals that can be quite monstrous when they attack their prey, or just are vicious to other living things as a means of protecting themselves. For example, piranhas bite at whatever they can get their teeth on—even human flesh, so one could reasonably argue that piranhas are monstrous. Another example of a monster could be a mountain lion because a number of them have attacked unarmed humans just for the sake of attacking them. Therefore, one could argue that animals that attack any unarmed living creature are monsters.
I really liked the way that Anne Carson wrote her novel, Autobiography of Red because I am very interested in poetry—especially the kind that forms a story. Carson uses free verse and bases her story on the Greek myth of Geryon (a.k.a. Red), but changes the ending of it a bit. Instead of having Herakles literally kill Geryon, she has Herakles kill Geryon on the inside by means of breaking his heart. It seems that the main message of this story is that you have to love yourself before anyone can love you. This is something that I have learned fairly recently, so I understand Red’s struggle to gain love from another.
At first, this particular novel was a little hard to follow with its mini poems and appendixes—mainly since it is not written in a way that I am used to reading. Nonetheless, once I got to the part that focuses on Red, it became much easier to follow. I ended up enjoying this work of art because it defies the rules of novel writing as well as poetry writing.
The main character, Red, constantly struggles with his appearance, identity and his sexuality. The fact that his skin is red and he has wings makes him appear monstrous. Once he finds his love for the art of photography during his college years, he starts to enjoy his life much more. The fact that his older brother verbally abused him and sexually molested him during his childhood is disturbing to me. I appreciated the uniqueness of the way this story was set up, but I did not really like this story as a whole because I tend to like books with happy endings. I guess I like to read books in order to escape the sadness as well as the brutality of the real world.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Response to Tinysex and Gender Trouble
Before reading chapter 8 (entitled Tinysex and Gender Trouble) in Sherry Turkle’s book Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, I did not know what a MUD was. I had not even heard of it. So, I looked it up online. Apparently a MUD stands for a Multi-User Dungeon, and “is a multi-user real-time virtual world described entirely in text. It combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, interactive fiction, and online chat. Players can read descriptions of rooms, objects, other players, non-player characters, and actions performed in the virtual world.” (Wikipedia). It is very interesting to think that people actually spend hours of their time playing other characters on programs such as this. They might even cross-dress virtually, or play the role of an “it” and find just how hard it is to not play the role of one gender or the other, and also find that it is difficult to play the other gender. Indeed, Turkle points out the fact that others automatically make expectations on people through a gender-based basis. After thinking about it a bit, it is true (whether we like to admit it or not)—we do “use gender to shape our relationships” (211).
Turkle goes on to compare MUD to Shakespeare’s play As You Like it. This play is where the famous quote; “All the world’s a stage” came from. I would really like to read it to find just how Shakespeare explores the topic of gender performance and stereotypes. This radical view really puts gender differences into perspective.
It really interested me when I read that Garrett decided to play a woman on MUD simply because he “wanted to know more about women’s experiences and not just from reading about them ... [he] wanted to see what the difference felt like” (216). Now this makes me curious about what it would be like to play a male on this software, but I do not think I would ever take the time to do such a thing because—no offense—but I do not have time to play someone else—especially when I am still busy learning things about myself and figuring out what being myself actually entails.
Reading on, I found that Garrett successfully used MUD to make himself more collaborative (like a female) and less competitive (like a male). I must say, however, that from personal experience I have found that females interacting with other females also tend to be competitive with each other—especially when they are competing for a guy’s attention. So, I must say that perhaps males and females are not that terribly different after all. This could be due to the fact that more and more teenage females and 20-somethings are beginning to become more aggressive as well as competitive. For instance, I have learned in my Psychology of Understanding the Sexes course that ever since it has become a cultural norm for women to play sports, many women have developed more masculine-like traits. Also, I learned that women behave more like men after winning a game, for example. In contrast, men are more apt to hug each other and show love than that of women (after winning a game as a team).
In addition, Case also enjoys playing female roles on MUD. Turkle points out the fact that acting as a female makes it much easier to be confrontational. In fact, Case says, “I see a strong woman as admirable. I see a strong man as a problem. Potentially a bully” (219). This is also something I had not put much thought into, but I can see that it is sad but true. Turkle goes on to say, “If you are assertive as a man, it is coded as ‘being a bastard;’” while if you behave assertively as a woman, “it is coded as ‘modern and together’” (219). Before reading this, I was under the impression that women who were pushy or assertive were seen as bitchy. Then again, I suppose it could go both ways. Indeed, Zoe admits that she feels like others see her as “bitchy” when she tries to act authoritative, unless—of course—she is playing the personae of a male (220).
Turkle goes on to compare MUD to Shakespeare’s play As You Like it. This play is where the famous quote; “All the world’s a stage” came from. I would really like to read it to find just how Shakespeare explores the topic of gender performance and stereotypes. This radical view really puts gender differences into perspective.
It really interested me when I read that Garrett decided to play a woman on MUD simply because he “wanted to know more about women’s experiences and not just from reading about them ... [he] wanted to see what the difference felt like” (216). Now this makes me curious about what it would be like to play a male on this software, but I do not think I would ever take the time to do such a thing because—no offense—but I do not have time to play someone else—especially when I am still busy learning things about myself and figuring out what being myself actually entails.
Reading on, I found that Garrett successfully used MUD to make himself more collaborative (like a female) and less competitive (like a male). I must say, however, that from personal experience I have found that females interacting with other females also tend to be competitive with each other—especially when they are competing for a guy’s attention. So, I must say that perhaps males and females are not that terribly different after all. This could be due to the fact that more and more teenage females and 20-somethings are beginning to become more aggressive as well as competitive. For instance, I have learned in my Psychology of Understanding the Sexes course that ever since it has become a cultural norm for women to play sports, many women have developed more masculine-like traits. Also, I learned that women behave more like men after winning a game, for example. In contrast, men are more apt to hug each other and show love than that of women (after winning a game as a team).
In addition, Case also enjoys playing female roles on MUD. Turkle points out the fact that acting as a female makes it much easier to be confrontational. In fact, Case says, “I see a strong woman as admirable. I see a strong man as a problem. Potentially a bully” (219). This is also something I had not put much thought into, but I can see that it is sad but true. Turkle goes on to say, “If you are assertive as a man, it is coded as ‘being a bastard;’” while if you behave assertively as a woman, “it is coded as ‘modern and together’” (219). Before reading this, I was under the impression that women who were pushy or assertive were seen as bitchy. Then again, I suppose it could go both ways. Indeed, Zoe admits that she feels like others see her as “bitchy” when she tries to act authoritative, unless—of course—she is playing the personae of a male (220).
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Response to The Book of Salt
The Book of Salt is a very interesting depiction on the life of the famous lesbian couple, Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. The main reason why this story is so interesting is because it is told through the eyes of the couple’s Vietnamese chef Binh (whom Stein calls “Thin Bin”). Truong uses stream of consciousness, which helps the reader see things and understand them the way Binh does. In fact, this story consists of two narrative threads that give the reader information on the narrator’s present life in Paris as well as his traumatic past life in Vietnam.
In the first portion of this particular novel, Binh tells the reader of his present life (at age 27), residing at rue de Fleurus with Stein and Toklas, in Paris. He also tells the reader how he got his job with the famous couple (from an ad in the newspaper). Binh makes observations of the couple as they go about their daily business, which gives the story an interesting spin, or description.
In contrast, the second portion reveals what brought Binh to Paris, France. The reader learns that he was physically as well as verbally abused by his malicious father. Binh really puts his childhood into perspective for the reader by describing various events, such as a piece of wood that was thicker than his arm being split into his skin, and a chair leg shoved into his Adam’s apple (by his father). Also, the reader learns that Binh is gay and that it was seen as a “disease” in his homeland, so he was led to no other choice other than to go some place far away, which just so happened to be France (his country’s colonizer).
Colonialism is seen throughout this story because it takes place when Vietnam was still a part of French Indochina. Binh’s older brother, Minh, assimilates to the French culture by learning the language and becoming a Sous Chef. Minh helps Binh to assimilate as well by teaching him the language as well as how to cook, and gets Binh a job. One could argue that Binh does not fully assimilate to the colonized culture because he critiques the culture that is depicted through the writer’s use of Binh’s stream of consciousness.
As Binh wanders the streets of Paris, Binh points out to the reader that his skin “marks his weakness, displays it as yellow skin.” He then says that in France he is identified by others as “an Indochinese laborer,” while in Vietnam he is identified as “just a man.” In a way I can relate to this type of identity. For instance, when I was in Europe, I was identified by others as “an American college student,” whereas in America, I am seen as “a girl (or woman) from the Midwest.”
The irony of this story is that he ends up working for a lesbian (“diseased”) couple—the exact “disease” which brought himself to exile in the French land. The fact that homosexuality was thought of as (and is still thought of as in some cultures) a “disease” angers me quite a bit. This reminds me of a theory that a strong Christian evangelical once told me- “I think that they just haven’t met the right person of the opposite sex just yet.” This caught me off guard and made me realize how many religions (if not all) tend to brain wash people into believing whatever the hell they want them to believe and that, to me, is terrifying!
In the first portion of this particular novel, Binh tells the reader of his present life (at age 27), residing at rue de Fleurus with Stein and Toklas, in Paris. He also tells the reader how he got his job with the famous couple (from an ad in the newspaper). Binh makes observations of the couple as they go about their daily business, which gives the story an interesting spin, or description.
In contrast, the second portion reveals what brought Binh to Paris, France. The reader learns that he was physically as well as verbally abused by his malicious father. Binh really puts his childhood into perspective for the reader by describing various events, such as a piece of wood that was thicker than his arm being split into his skin, and a chair leg shoved into his Adam’s apple (by his father). Also, the reader learns that Binh is gay and that it was seen as a “disease” in his homeland, so he was led to no other choice other than to go some place far away, which just so happened to be France (his country’s colonizer).
Colonialism is seen throughout this story because it takes place when Vietnam was still a part of French Indochina. Binh’s older brother, Minh, assimilates to the French culture by learning the language and becoming a Sous Chef. Minh helps Binh to assimilate as well by teaching him the language as well as how to cook, and gets Binh a job. One could argue that Binh does not fully assimilate to the colonized culture because he critiques the culture that is depicted through the writer’s use of Binh’s stream of consciousness.
As Binh wanders the streets of Paris, Binh points out to the reader that his skin “marks his weakness, displays it as yellow skin.” He then says that in France he is identified by others as “an Indochinese laborer,” while in Vietnam he is identified as “just a man.” In a way I can relate to this type of identity. For instance, when I was in Europe, I was identified by others as “an American college student,” whereas in America, I am seen as “a girl (or woman) from the Midwest.”
The irony of this story is that he ends up working for a lesbian (“diseased”) couple—the exact “disease” which brought himself to exile in the French land. The fact that homosexuality was thought of as (and is still thought of as in some cultures) a “disease” angers me quite a bit. This reminds me of a theory that a strong Christian evangelical once told me- “I think that they just haven’t met the right person of the opposite sex just yet.” This caught me off guard and made me realize how many religions (if not all) tend to brain wash people into believing whatever the hell they want them to believe and that, to me, is terrifying!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Response to The Heartsong of Charging Elk
I thought that Welch’s novel, The Heartsong of Charging Elk was rather interesting. The fact that it centers around a story of how a Native American man (Charging Elk) ends up stranded in a foreign land (Marseille) despite what the American government promises him. Before reading this novel, I had not put much thought into Buffalo Bill and his traveling Wild West Show. I did not realize that he and his showmen traveled outside of North American soil. The fact that this show did indeed tour around the world makes me wonder if this story is at least based on some bit of truth. If so, that would make this story even more intriguing, at least to me.
I liked how this story goes back and forth, describing Charging Elk’s earlier life. For instance, how he witnessed his peoples’ loss at the battle of Little Bighorn (a.k.a. the fight at Greasy Grass), which pushed him to live out in the Black Hills. This helped him to become a tougher Indian that made him attractive to Buffalo Bill and ultimately led Bill to select him to perform in his popular Wild West show.
It is very frustrating, however, when the main character gets sick with influenza, falls off his horse, breaks his ribs and is taken to the hospital in Marseille, where there is an administrative mix-up that leads his fellow showmen to leave without him, mainly since they think he is expected to pass away in the hospital. I have been to France, so I have some general idea of what it is like to be surrounded by the language and the culture. Yet, I knew quite a bit of basic française, so I cannot really understand how scary it would be to find yourself stranded in a foreign land where you know nothing of the language or the culture.
When Charging Elk wakes up, he has no idea where he is and no recollection of what had happened to him. Also, he does not know the French language, and barely speaks much English, so he is similar to an infant in a strange, new land. This makes it impossible for him to communicate even simple phrases that one might take for granted. For instance, he cannot ask the nurse for more food or drink, let alone- he cannot tell anyone in Marseille who he is, where he came from, and that he would like nothing more than to go home.
He then wonders aimlessly, trying to find his fellow showmen, but ends up in prison for being a vagrant. When he is released, he is put into the custody of a charitable family of fishmongers, who help him to learn the French language.
The fact that the American consulate does not fulfill its promise to help him return home to his native land in Dakota Territory (the Black Hills) is extremely frustrating to me and makes me feel sorry for all the horrible things that happen to him. For instance, when he awakens to find that he is being raped by a homosexual Frenchmen, he murders the man out of his own self defense and is sentenced to jail for eleven long years for killing a white man, despite the fact that this man raped Charging Elk. He is about twenty-five when he is convicted—luckily avoiding the death penalty—then he is thirty-seven when he is finally pardoned. Not much is depicted during this time in prison.
I liked how this story goes back and forth, describing Charging Elk’s earlier life. For instance, how he witnessed his peoples’ loss at the battle of Little Bighorn (a.k.a. the fight at Greasy Grass), which pushed him to live out in the Black Hills. This helped him to become a tougher Indian that made him attractive to Buffalo Bill and ultimately led Bill to select him to perform in his popular Wild West show.
It is very frustrating, however, when the main character gets sick with influenza, falls off his horse, breaks his ribs and is taken to the hospital in Marseille, where there is an administrative mix-up that leads his fellow showmen to leave without him, mainly since they think he is expected to pass away in the hospital. I have been to France, so I have some general idea of what it is like to be surrounded by the language and the culture. Yet, I knew quite a bit of basic française, so I cannot really understand how scary it would be to find yourself stranded in a foreign land where you know nothing of the language or the culture.
When Charging Elk wakes up, he has no idea where he is and no recollection of what had happened to him. Also, he does not know the French language, and barely speaks much English, so he is similar to an infant in a strange, new land. This makes it impossible for him to communicate even simple phrases that one might take for granted. For instance, he cannot ask the nurse for more food or drink, let alone- he cannot tell anyone in Marseille who he is, where he came from, and that he would like nothing more than to go home.
He then wonders aimlessly, trying to find his fellow showmen, but ends up in prison for being a vagrant. When he is released, he is put into the custody of a charitable family of fishmongers, who help him to learn the French language.
The fact that the American consulate does not fulfill its promise to help him return home to his native land in Dakota Territory (the Black Hills) is extremely frustrating to me and makes me feel sorry for all the horrible things that happen to him. For instance, when he awakens to find that he is being raped by a homosexual Frenchmen, he murders the man out of his own self defense and is sentenced to jail for eleven long years for killing a white man, despite the fact that this man raped Charging Elk. He is about twenty-five when he is convicted—luckily avoiding the death penalty—then he is thirty-seven when he is finally pardoned. Not much is depicted during this time in prison.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Poverty in Hawaii Portrayed in Blu's Hanging
I found Jamie James’ article, “This Hawaii is Not for Tourists” rather interesting since I had not considered literary works about Hawaii. From this article, I found that Mark “Twain was the first literary artist of stature to write at length about Hawaii, in a novel that was never published” (1). Before reading this work as well as Yamanaka’s novel Blu’s Hanging, I had not really thought about the slums of Hawaii. All I really thought of was the people dressed up to hula dance, while smiling prepared to say “aloha” and put a lay around each visitor’s neck . Hence, before reading these two works, I had only thought of Hawaii as a tourist paradise.
I was surprised to find out that Yamanaka’s work Blu’s Hanging was seen as racist, mainly targeting Filipinos, which is not true since there is prejudice involving all races that are intertwined throughout this specific story. Yes, Blu’s Hanging is rather disturbing and offensive and melancholy, but I would not go as far as to deny the writer an award for working as hard as she did to develop such an honest, believable literary piece that apparently portrays the Hawaiian culture quite truthfully—so truthfully indeed that it is found to offend many of its natives.
I don’t know if I would personally compare Blue’s Hanging to Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, mainly since Catcher is not nearly as traumatic or racist as Blu’s Hanging. However, I would have to agree with James that Holden’s character does compare to Ivah in that they are both young, teenagers that are confused as well as upset with the world and many of the people in it. I think that Ivah’s character is a bit more mature than Holden’s character though, mainly since she has a great deal more of responsibility than Holden because she is put in charge of her two younger siblings and has to take care of them just as their mother had done so. Also, Holden has a tendency to place his expectations of people so high that he continually sets himself up for more and more disappointment throughout the plot. In contrast, Ivah doesn’t seem to set such expectations on people, not even her Poppy, which is very frustrating to the reader. Instead, she seems to just tough it out and accept things just as they are, which, in a way, makes her a courageous, heroic character.
I was a bit taken aback by the fact that a teaching assistant “objects to having her students read Blu’s Hanging because it makes them feel bad” (4). Sure, this work is very upsetting and does tend to make the reader feel bad, but it’s worth reading because it teaches people something and reminds individuals of what many people take for granted every single day. Thus, it opens the reader’s eyes to a new perspective on the nature of humanity. Some novels really do influence the reader and I think that Blu’s Hanging falls into this category. James states that, “Such false, happy narratives may do no harm, but they can do no good” (5). This is a good point that I hadn’t really taken the time to think about in depth.
After some thought, I now realize that happy narratives like any one of Disney’s princess stories don’t really teach the reader, or in this case—the viewer—much of anything, except for to keep young and beautiful and you will get your prince charming in the end, then you will have your “happily ever after.” In contrast, novels like Blu’s Hanging teach the reader some things that are much more meaningful to life because they are portrayed in a real-world perspective in which there are no Fairy God Mothers to save you. Therefore, such stories as Blu’s Hanging make you see past that glossy princess world that is the protected reality. As a whole, Blu’s Hanging makes you realize that poverty does exists—even on a paradise island, such as Hawaii. Maybe it’s time that we stop protecting ourselves from reality and human tragedy because it opens our eyes, our minds, our hearts and helps us to become more empathetic, well-rounded citizens that will help us to recognize the evil in the world and try to do whatever we can to stop it, or at least lessen it.
I was surprised to find out that Yamanaka’s work Blu’s Hanging was seen as racist, mainly targeting Filipinos, which is not true since there is prejudice involving all races that are intertwined throughout this specific story. Yes, Blu’s Hanging is rather disturbing and offensive and melancholy, but I would not go as far as to deny the writer an award for working as hard as she did to develop such an honest, believable literary piece that apparently portrays the Hawaiian culture quite truthfully—so truthfully indeed that it is found to offend many of its natives.
I don’t know if I would personally compare Blue’s Hanging to Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, mainly since Catcher is not nearly as traumatic or racist as Blu’s Hanging. However, I would have to agree with James that Holden’s character does compare to Ivah in that they are both young, teenagers that are confused as well as upset with the world and many of the people in it. I think that Ivah’s character is a bit more mature than Holden’s character though, mainly since she has a great deal more of responsibility than Holden because she is put in charge of her two younger siblings and has to take care of them just as their mother had done so. Also, Holden has a tendency to place his expectations of people so high that he continually sets himself up for more and more disappointment throughout the plot. In contrast, Ivah doesn’t seem to set such expectations on people, not even her Poppy, which is very frustrating to the reader. Instead, she seems to just tough it out and accept things just as they are, which, in a way, makes her a courageous, heroic character.
I was a bit taken aback by the fact that a teaching assistant “objects to having her students read Blu’s Hanging because it makes them feel bad” (4). Sure, this work is very upsetting and does tend to make the reader feel bad, but it’s worth reading because it teaches people something and reminds individuals of what many people take for granted every single day. Thus, it opens the reader’s eyes to a new perspective on the nature of humanity. Some novels really do influence the reader and I think that Blu’s Hanging falls into this category. James states that, “Such false, happy narratives may do no harm, but they can do no good” (5). This is a good point that I hadn’t really taken the time to think about in depth.
After some thought, I now realize that happy narratives like any one of Disney’s princess stories don’t really teach the reader, or in this case—the viewer—much of anything, except for to keep young and beautiful and you will get your prince charming in the end, then you will have your “happily ever after.” In contrast, novels like Blu’s Hanging teach the reader some things that are much more meaningful to life because they are portrayed in a real-world perspective in which there are no Fairy God Mothers to save you. Therefore, such stories as Blu’s Hanging make you see past that glossy princess world that is the protected reality. As a whole, Blu’s Hanging makes you realize that poverty does exists—even on a paradise island, such as Hawaii. Maybe it’s time that we stop protecting ourselves from reality and human tragedy because it opens our eyes, our minds, our hearts and helps us to become more empathetic, well-rounded citizens that will help us to recognize the evil in the world and try to do whatever we can to stop it, or at least lessen it.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Response to Blu's Hanging
Blu’s Hanging by Lois-Ann Yamanaka is a very touching novel that got my adrenaline pumping and my eyes watering. After reading the first three chapters, I was very upset and offended with the descriptions of what the feline haters did with a number of cats. However, I was pleased to find that the main characters are cat as well as dog lovers. I found it interesting that the main characters believe that “black cats cure sadness” and “calico cats bring good luck” (44). As I read this novel, I realized how fortunate I am to have parents who love me, take care of me and have made sure that nothing traumatic ever happened to me during my childhood.
The whole story is essentially centered around Ivah’s attempts to replace her Mama who passed away due to taking too much sulfone to treat her leprosy. Although she was negative for leprosy, she insisted on taking the drugs, which ate up her kidneys (145). Ivah’s Poppy tells her of his childhood as well as her Mama’s childhood that was spent in prison as they were both infected with leprosy. This explained the scars on both their hands; however, I never felt much sorrow for Poppy since he is continually verbally as well as physically abusive to his three children: Ivah, Blu and Maisie. The fact that Poppy continually blames Ivah for everything negative that happens to their family is very upsetting to me. For instance, after Blu is molested by their neighbor, Uncle Paulo, Poppy blames Blu for it, but mainly blames Ivah for not preventing it from happening. I think this has much to do with the fact that Poppy buys drugs from this shady Paulo character. Thus, Poppy has less courage and endurance than his three children since he continually runs away from all of his problems by means of drugs.
I found Maisie’s character very intriguing. After her Mama passed away, she rarely speaks at all. For awhile, she only “said about five things: I scared; Sleep with me; More; There she is; and Mama.” (14). It is sad to find that she wets her bottoms everyday in school, simply because she has practically become a mute and is therefore incapable of asking to use the potty. However, after she joins Miss Ito’s special Ed class, she remarkably makes it into the first grade with a reading level above her classmates.
I think that black was symbolic in this story because a black cat as well as a black moth have mystical powers in this story. The black moth appears just as Aunty Betty demeans Eleanor’s (the kids’ mother’s) family. To the reader’s surprise, the characters believe that this moth is the spirit of the dead; therefore, they believe that it carries Eleanor’s spirit. At that moment, no one—not even Aunty Betty—says anything mean about Eleanor or her family.
I really thought it was cute and sweet when Blu bought Ivah feminine products for Christmas and her birthday and told her that he would buy them for her again if she liked. Prior to this scene, Ivah was using napkins because she was too ashamed and embarrassed to go to the store to purchase anything more substantial. Looking back, I think of the time that I used to have my mother buy my feminine products for me and now I realize how silly my embarrassment was. To think that an eight-year old boy like Blu has no problem with making such a taboo purchase is rather courageous to me.
At the end of the novel, I was happy to find that Ivah decides to go to a private school in Honolulu despite her Poppy’s discouragement. All I can say is that the three children sure are lucky to have such kind, loving and caring women in their lives: Miss Ito and their cousin Big Sis. Maybe their calico cat, Hoppy Creetat, has some mystical power that brings good luck after all? But then again, if she were so lucky, her first litter of kittens probably would not have been hanged.
The whole story is essentially centered around Ivah’s attempts to replace her Mama who passed away due to taking too much sulfone to treat her leprosy. Although she was negative for leprosy, she insisted on taking the drugs, which ate up her kidneys (145). Ivah’s Poppy tells her of his childhood as well as her Mama’s childhood that was spent in prison as they were both infected with leprosy. This explained the scars on both their hands; however, I never felt much sorrow for Poppy since he is continually verbally as well as physically abusive to his three children: Ivah, Blu and Maisie. The fact that Poppy continually blames Ivah for everything negative that happens to their family is very upsetting to me. For instance, after Blu is molested by their neighbor, Uncle Paulo, Poppy blames Blu for it, but mainly blames Ivah for not preventing it from happening. I think this has much to do with the fact that Poppy buys drugs from this shady Paulo character. Thus, Poppy has less courage and endurance than his three children since he continually runs away from all of his problems by means of drugs.
I found Maisie’s character very intriguing. After her Mama passed away, she rarely speaks at all. For awhile, she only “said about five things: I scared; Sleep with me; More; There she is; and Mama.” (14). It is sad to find that she wets her bottoms everyday in school, simply because she has practically become a mute and is therefore incapable of asking to use the potty. However, after she joins Miss Ito’s special Ed class, she remarkably makes it into the first grade with a reading level above her classmates.
I think that black was symbolic in this story because a black cat as well as a black moth have mystical powers in this story. The black moth appears just as Aunty Betty demeans Eleanor’s (the kids’ mother’s) family. To the reader’s surprise, the characters believe that this moth is the spirit of the dead; therefore, they believe that it carries Eleanor’s spirit. At that moment, no one—not even Aunty Betty—says anything mean about Eleanor or her family.
I really thought it was cute and sweet when Blu bought Ivah feminine products for Christmas and her birthday and told her that he would buy them for her again if she liked. Prior to this scene, Ivah was using napkins because she was too ashamed and embarrassed to go to the store to purchase anything more substantial. Looking back, I think of the time that I used to have my mother buy my feminine products for me and now I realize how silly my embarrassment was. To think that an eight-year old boy like Blu has no problem with making such a taboo purchase is rather courageous to me.
At the end of the novel, I was happy to find that Ivah decides to go to a private school in Honolulu despite her Poppy’s discouragement. All I can say is that the three children sure are lucky to have such kind, loving and caring women in their lives: Miss Ito and their cousin Big Sis. Maybe their calico cat, Hoppy Creetat, has some mystical power that brings good luck after all? But then again, if she were so lucky, her first litter of kittens probably would not have been hanged.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Response to Drown
After reading the first section from Junot Diaz’s novel Drown, I feel like I have more of an understanding as to how it must’ve been like to live in the slums of the Dominican Republic without a father, and also what it must’ve been like to find racism in the United States (mainly Miami and New York).
The way Diaz arranged each section in his short novel was a bit hard to follow—especially since he uses quite a bit of Spanish terms. If I were to read it again, however, I think that I would understand more of it. I liked how he told both sides of the story- Yunior’s as well as Papi’s. This gave insight into both character’s lives, which was intriguing.
Drown is without a doubt—like Another Country—for an adult, open-minded audience. The sexuality of the main character Yunior could be seen as offensive to others, mainly since he lets his friend, Beta, give him a few hand jobs, and Diaz also devotes a whole chapter about how to get with women of all ethnicities. I did not understand the whole fuss about the “government cheese” in this particular chapter. Yunior’s character tells the reader to hide this specific kind of cheese from all types of girls- brown, black, white, or halfie (143).
I was shocked to find that at age nine, Yunior did not know how to write his own name (82). Also, I found it very unexpected when his friend, Beta, touched his privates while they watched a porno in Beta’s basement.
I thought that the Ysrael section was very upsetting. I did not like how the narrator and his brother, Rafa, took advantage of this poor masked boy named Ysrael. Rafa attacks Ysrael and together, they flipped him on his back just so that they could get a look at this poor fellow’s appearance behind his mask. Ysrael’s face was eaten by a pig when he was a baby, and the two other boys knew this, but it did not stop them from attacking this poor boy. Diaz’s description of Ysrael’s face was rather graphic and disturbing to me.
In the Fiesta, 1980 section, I was upset by the way Yunior’s father treated him for throwing up in his father’s VW van. Also, I was surprised to find that his father took both Yunior and Rafa over to his Porto Rican girlfriend’s house. This was sad to me, and I sensed a lot of foreshadowing- that their father was going to leave their mother.
I haven’t heard that honey can cure sleepwalking. This was what girlfriend told Yunior after he told her that he sleepwalks. I wonder if this is true. If I had this problem, I would try it out.
It was upsetting in the No Face section when a guy asks Ysrael if he has started eating cats and his friend joins in, “He’ll be eating kids next” (155). I feel horrible for this character since it seems everyone—except for the priest—picks on him like crazy. Indeed, Ysrael’s only safety is found in the church. The fact that the boys who chased him to the church had the nerve to throw rocks at the church was shocking to me. Have they no respect for the church? Apparently they do not.
It surprised me to find that Nilda was aware of Papi’s familia in the Dominican Republic, but yet she still agreed to marry him, and they had a son and named it Ramon. Also, I thought it was very cruel of Papi to fight with his new wife Nilda because he thought she was getting obese (200). Personally, I think that Papi is a real coward in how he deals with his first family (by ignoring all of the letters at first, then sending them money as a means to make himself feel better about himself). Also, the way he sneaks his clothes out of Nilda’s house is just ridiculous. He doesn’t have the nerve to talk to her about moving out, so instead, he gradually sneaks his clothes out. Then, one morning he strokes her hair (something he never does) and she asks him if everything’s okay and he says it’s fine. Then Nilda fell back asleep only to wake up and find that her wayward husband abandoned her, just as he had abandoned his first family.
The last thing that surprised me was the fact that Yunior wanted to meet Nilda. Personally, I would think that it would be way too weird to go meet with the woman whom my father abandoned my family for.
The way Diaz arranged each section in his short novel was a bit hard to follow—especially since he uses quite a bit of Spanish terms. If I were to read it again, however, I think that I would understand more of it. I liked how he told both sides of the story- Yunior’s as well as Papi’s. This gave insight into both character’s lives, which was intriguing.
Drown is without a doubt—like Another Country—for an adult, open-minded audience. The sexuality of the main character Yunior could be seen as offensive to others, mainly since he lets his friend, Beta, give him a few hand jobs, and Diaz also devotes a whole chapter about how to get with women of all ethnicities. I did not understand the whole fuss about the “government cheese” in this particular chapter. Yunior’s character tells the reader to hide this specific kind of cheese from all types of girls- brown, black, white, or halfie (143).
I was shocked to find that at age nine, Yunior did not know how to write his own name (82). Also, I found it very unexpected when his friend, Beta, touched his privates while they watched a porno in Beta’s basement.
I thought that the Ysrael section was very upsetting. I did not like how the narrator and his brother, Rafa, took advantage of this poor masked boy named Ysrael. Rafa attacks Ysrael and together, they flipped him on his back just so that they could get a look at this poor fellow’s appearance behind his mask. Ysrael’s face was eaten by a pig when he was a baby, and the two other boys knew this, but it did not stop them from attacking this poor boy. Diaz’s description of Ysrael’s face was rather graphic and disturbing to me.
In the Fiesta, 1980 section, I was upset by the way Yunior’s father treated him for throwing up in his father’s VW van. Also, I was surprised to find that his father took both Yunior and Rafa over to his Porto Rican girlfriend’s house. This was sad to me, and I sensed a lot of foreshadowing- that their father was going to leave their mother.
I haven’t heard that honey can cure sleepwalking. This was what girlfriend told Yunior after he told her that he sleepwalks. I wonder if this is true. If I had this problem, I would try it out.
It was upsetting in the No Face section when a guy asks Ysrael if he has started eating cats and his friend joins in, “He’ll be eating kids next” (155). I feel horrible for this character since it seems everyone—except for the priest—picks on him like crazy. Indeed, Ysrael’s only safety is found in the church. The fact that the boys who chased him to the church had the nerve to throw rocks at the church was shocking to me. Have they no respect for the church? Apparently they do not.
It surprised me to find that Nilda was aware of Papi’s familia in the Dominican Republic, but yet she still agreed to marry him, and they had a son and named it Ramon. Also, I thought it was very cruel of Papi to fight with his new wife Nilda because he thought she was getting obese (200). Personally, I think that Papi is a real coward in how he deals with his first family (by ignoring all of the letters at first, then sending them money as a means to make himself feel better about himself). Also, the way he sneaks his clothes out of Nilda’s house is just ridiculous. He doesn’t have the nerve to talk to her about moving out, so instead, he gradually sneaks his clothes out. Then, one morning he strokes her hair (something he never does) and she asks him if everything’s okay and he says it’s fine. Then Nilda fell back asleep only to wake up and find that her wayward husband abandoned her, just as he had abandoned his first family.
The last thing that surprised me was the fact that Yunior wanted to meet Nilda. Personally, I would think that it would be way too weird to go meet with the woman whom my father abandoned my family for.
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