"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri depicts natural human selfishness with "Interpreter of Maladies". In the story, Mr. Kapasi, an Indian tour guide, accompanies the Das family as they travel around India and see many beautiful sights including sacred primates and a Hindu temple. Almost immediately, Kapasi observes the poor relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Das and begins to envision himself with his eldest female passenger. Kapasi acts selfishly, thinking not of how his actions could ruin the Das family and his own, but of how personally gratifying living with the young Mrs. Das would be. His motivation for admiring Mrs. Das, her recognition of his intellectual ability and the difficulty of his career, can be seen as selfish as well. Later in the novel, Mrs. Das acts even more self-centered than Kapasi's musings paint him out to be. She recalls a dark secret, "He's [Bobby] not Raj's son", to Mr. Kapasi, a complete stranger, and thus places an incredible burden on him (Lahiri). Should he inform Mr. Das of his wife's infidelity? Should he try to help Mrs. Das divorce her husband and move on with her life? Is any interference in the situation justifiable? All of these thoughts and more must have raced through Kapasi's head, but Mrs. Das was only concerned with how Kapasi could help her fix this "eight years . . . in pain" she had gotten herself into (Lahiri). These selfish human acts, centered around depreciated love and affection, that Lahiri depicts reinforce the need for selflessness in relating to others. If one wishes to experience long-lasting positive relationships, he must overcome his selfishness and instead behave selflessly in caring for others and maintaining his affection for them.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Dee's Struggle for an Identity
"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
In "Everyday Use", Walker juxtaposes two groups of characters: the humble, caring duo of Maggie and Mama and the intellectually egotistical hipsters Dee (or Wangero) and Asalamalakim (or Hakim-a-barber). Throughout the story, Mama and Maggie care for their family, their home, and the memories made in it. Their affection is genuine and pure. Dee, however, after having left a life with Mama and Maggie for college and the outside world, values her deep African heritage over sentimentality toward her relatives. This concern for her far-reaching roots in African culture came from a social movement encouraging African Americans to embrace their true cultures to get revenge against white oppression. However, in joining this movement, Dee became even more of an arrogant hipster and lost sight of what truly matters: her family, Mama and Maggie. Accordingly, Mama and Dee come into conflict when Dee, overlooking all sentimental value these objects might hold, wants to take some things from around the house so that she can "think of something artistic to do" with them to promote her new movement and identity (Walker). Mama draws the line when Dee attempts to take two personally crafted quilts intended for Maggie simply because they are "priceless" representations of the African culture Dee is so engrossed with (Walker). Dee, or Wangero if going by her African name, has simply lost sight of what shaped her into who she is. Having refused to give the quilts to Dee, Mama embraces Maggie and watches as her other daughter departs. From this story, Walker emphasizes that to find one's true identity, he or she must not go searching for. One's identity can be found in one's childhood, family, upbringing, and sentimental memories. In her search to find herself, Dee lost sight of all of those things.
In "Everyday Use", Walker juxtaposes two groups of characters: the humble, caring duo of Maggie and Mama and the intellectually egotistical hipsters Dee (or Wangero) and Asalamalakim (or Hakim-a-barber). Throughout the story, Mama and Maggie care for their family, their home, and the memories made in it. Their affection is genuine and pure. Dee, however, after having left a life with Mama and Maggie for college and the outside world, values her deep African heritage over sentimentality toward her relatives. This concern for her far-reaching roots in African culture came from a social movement encouraging African Americans to embrace their true cultures to get revenge against white oppression. However, in joining this movement, Dee became even more of an arrogant hipster and lost sight of what truly matters: her family, Mama and Maggie. Accordingly, Mama and Dee come into conflict when Dee, overlooking all sentimental value these objects might hold, wants to take some things from around the house so that she can "think of something artistic to do" with them to promote her new movement and identity (Walker). Mama draws the line when Dee attempts to take two personally crafted quilts intended for Maggie simply because they are "priceless" representations of the African culture Dee is so engrossed with (Walker). Dee, or Wangero if going by her African name, has simply lost sight of what shaped her into who she is. Having refused to give the quilts to Dee, Mama embraces Maggie and watches as her other daughter departs. From this story, Walker emphasizes that to find one's true identity, he or she must not go searching for. One's identity can be found in one's childhood, family, upbringing, and sentimental memories. In her search to find herself, Dee lost sight of all of those things.
Don't Mess with Hazel
"Hazel Tells LaVerne" by Katharyn Howd Machan
Several key surface features of "Hazel Tells LaVerne" contribute to its relaxed, natural flow and allow one to truly listen to Hazel as she shares a story with LaVerne. First, the lack of any punctuation or capitilization immediately highlights the informal nature of the poem and sets a comfortable tone. Moreover, the intentional implementation of colloquialisms like "sohelpmegod" and misspellings like "hitsm" furter accentuate the relaxed tone and add an aspect of friendly dialogue to the poem (Machan). Also, the misspellings and informal phrases coincide with a southern American dialect, so one may assume Hazel originates from a southern State. Furthermore, the combination of Hazel's southern heritage with the fact that she works as a maid that cleans the "howard johnsons ladies room" leads to the conclusion that Hazel is black domestic helper living in the south. With that identity, Hazel manifests as a stereotypically serious, passionate, hot-headed southern black woman. Add the dialect incorporated into the poem, and one can almost imagine the comical, manerism filled conversation between Hazel and LaVerne. However, Hazel, the speaker in "Hazel Tells LaVerne", does not attempt to be funny; her comedy lies in her seriousness. For example, when the frog tells Hazel how she "can be a princess", she refuses his jest. Hazel knows she will never be a princess or anything of the sort. That hard-headed realist attitude plays into the aim of the poem: to promote realism over idealism.
Several key surface features of "Hazel Tells LaVerne" contribute to its relaxed, natural flow and allow one to truly listen to Hazel as she shares a story with LaVerne. First, the lack of any punctuation or capitilization immediately highlights the informal nature of the poem and sets a comfortable tone. Moreover, the intentional implementation of colloquialisms like "sohelpmegod" and misspellings like "hitsm" furter accentuate the relaxed tone and add an aspect of friendly dialogue to the poem (Machan). Also, the misspellings and informal phrases coincide with a southern American dialect, so one may assume Hazel originates from a southern State. Furthermore, the combination of Hazel's southern heritage with the fact that she works as a maid that cleans the "howard johnsons ladies room" leads to the conclusion that Hazel is black domestic helper living in the south. With that identity, Hazel manifests as a stereotypically serious, passionate, hot-headed southern black woman. Add the dialect incorporated into the poem, and one can almost imagine the comical, manerism filled conversation between Hazel and LaVerne. However, Hazel, the speaker in "Hazel Tells LaVerne", does not attempt to be funny; her comedy lies in her seriousness. For example, when the frog tells Hazel how she "can be a princess", she refuses his jest. Hazel knows she will never be a princess or anything of the sort. That hard-headed realist attitude plays into the aim of the poem: to promote realism over idealism.
Dreams are like.....
"Dreams Deferred" by Langston Hughes
In this poem, Hughes heavily employs similes to describe the types of dreams people may have. He also takes care to juxtapose a negative analogy with a positive one to express the duality of dreams; not all of them are pleasant. Hughes initial similes relate happy, quickly forgotten, fleeting dreams to "raisins in the sun" and bothersome dreams to "a sore" (Hughes). He goes on to compare nightmares to "rotten meat" and dreams of ecstasy to a "syrupy sweet" (Hughes). All of these similes utilize organic imagery which could emphasize the vitality and infinite possibility that dreams embody. Hughes' final simile, however, does not seem to address dreams quite so literally. To say a dream "sags like a heavy load" would be saying that it depresses a person and hinders his happiness (Hughes). As such, Hughes might be referring to dreams as ambitions that people hold onto. The heavy load would be a challenging ambition while the raisin, sore, rotten meat, and syrupy sweet would all represent passing desires, ambitions unrealized, ambitions proven impossible, and ambitions come to fruition, respectively. The ambiguity of Hughes' usage of dream and the similes he utilizes allow for his audience to interpret the poem in different ways. As such, the two techniques contribute significantly to the meaning of the work.
In this poem, Hughes heavily employs similes to describe the types of dreams people may have. He also takes care to juxtapose a negative analogy with a positive one to express the duality of dreams; not all of them are pleasant. Hughes initial similes relate happy, quickly forgotten, fleeting dreams to "raisins in the sun" and bothersome dreams to "a sore" (Hughes). He goes on to compare nightmares to "rotten meat" and dreams of ecstasy to a "syrupy sweet" (Hughes). All of these similes utilize organic imagery which could emphasize the vitality and infinite possibility that dreams embody. Hughes' final simile, however, does not seem to address dreams quite so literally. To say a dream "sags like a heavy load" would be saying that it depresses a person and hinders his happiness (Hughes). As such, Hughes might be referring to dreams as ambitions that people hold onto. The heavy load would be a challenging ambition while the raisin, sore, rotten meat, and syrupy sweet would all represent passing desires, ambitions unrealized, ambitions proven impossible, and ambitions come to fruition, respectively. The ambiguity of Hughes' usage of dream and the similes he utilizes allow for his audience to interpret the poem in different ways. As such, the two techniques contribute significantly to the meaning of the work.
Mr. Z and Irony
"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman
Throughout "Mr. Z", Holman describes a self-loathing individual that rejected his ethnicity because at an early age he learned that "his mother's skin was the sign of error," and he refused to be judged racially (Holman). As such, Mr. Z's entire life centered around disassociating himself with all things related to his race. He abandoned his people's culture, music, and food in favor of their superior "Anglo-Saxonized" counterparts (Holman). However, in doing so, Mr. Z inadvertently and quite ironically committed that crude act which he refused to fall victim to: judging someone or something based on his race or its associated race. Furthermore, Holman goes on to describe Z as being "careful whom he chose to kiss," further displaying his ironic, hypocritical tendency to judge based on race while spurning racism. The irony implemented by Holman provides a scolding tone to the poem. Through this tone, Holman calls for an end to all racial prejudices, even strange cases of prejudice against one's own race. Nevertheless, Holman's most powerful example of irony does not manifest until the final lines of the poem. Mr. Z, a man who vehemently opposed all aspects of his own ethnicity, dies after living completely immersed in what he believed to be a superior culture. To honor (or dishonor) this man, the writers of his obituary penned him the title, "One of the most distinguished members of his race," (Holman). Ironically, that which Mr. Z ran from so passionately, identification by race, was given to him post mortem. Therefore, the entire poem can be seen as decrying Z's behavior and satirizing those that behave as he does.
Throughout "Mr. Z", Holman describes a self-loathing individual that rejected his ethnicity because at an early age he learned that "his mother's skin was the sign of error," and he refused to be judged racially (Holman). As such, Mr. Z's entire life centered around disassociating himself with all things related to his race. He abandoned his people's culture, music, and food in favor of their superior "Anglo-Saxonized" counterparts (Holman). However, in doing so, Mr. Z inadvertently and quite ironically committed that crude act which he refused to fall victim to: judging someone or something based on his race or its associated race. Furthermore, Holman goes on to describe Z as being "careful whom he chose to kiss," further displaying his ironic, hypocritical tendency to judge based on race while spurning racism. The irony implemented by Holman provides a scolding tone to the poem. Through this tone, Holman calls for an end to all racial prejudices, even strange cases of prejudice against one's own race. Nevertheless, Holman's most powerful example of irony does not manifest until the final lines of the poem. Mr. Z, a man who vehemently opposed all aspects of his own ethnicity, dies after living completely immersed in what he believed to be a superior culture. To honor (or dishonor) this man, the writers of his obituary penned him the title, "One of the most distinguished members of his race," (Holman). Ironically, that which Mr. Z ran from so passionately, identification by race, was given to him post mortem. Therefore, the entire poem can be seen as decrying Z's behavior and satirizing those that behave as he does.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Logic in Poetry? Thank God for Perrine!
Reading Perrine's take on the interpretation of poetry forced me to see the study of language in a new light. I had previously questioned quite often, as Perrine mentioned in his writing, why poems couldn't take on any number of equally correct meanings. After all, language arts had always been the subject explained to me as requiring abstract thought and diverse perspectives to fully understand its many solutions. Accordingly, I, someone obsessed with logic, order, and the linear, analytical thought processes that mathematics encourage, hated language class. However, Perrine argues that to interpret any poem correctly, one must combine logic with abstract thought in order to remove all of the outlandish, "farfetched" interpretations that people produce and identify the correct one. Logic in poetry? Thank God for Perrine! Knowing that some of the ridiculous interpretations out there can be logically refuted with Perrine's strategies makes me feel exponentially better about language arts. I can rest assured knowing that the understandings English professors teach actually have some method behind them. This method, Perrine's strategy, is actually fairly simple.
The gist of Perrine's method is this: explain the details without contradicting any explanation and don't assume any outside variables. Such a simple strategy provides for an easy understanding of poetry and I love Perrine for presenting it to me. Also, when I read Perrine's statement, "A poem - in fact, any pattern of words - defines an area of meaning, no more," I felt like I had an epiphany in studying poetry (Perrine 4). As long as multiple interpretations explain a poem's details without contradiction and reliance on outside assumptions, they can both be correct if the stay within the area of meaning defined by the poem. Therefore, language becomes like math. As in mathematics, a language student follows a logical process to form a poetic interpretation. Given that the student follows that process well and remains within the area defined by the poem, his interpretation must be correct. However, another's interpretation, produced in the same way, could also hold true. The only difference between the two subjects, language and math, lies in the number of acceptable answers. Language has become logical! Next comes the apocalypse.
The gist of Perrine's method is this: explain the details without contradicting any explanation and don't assume any outside variables. Such a simple strategy provides for an easy understanding of poetry and I love Perrine for presenting it to me. Also, when I read Perrine's statement, "A poem - in fact, any pattern of words - defines an area of meaning, no more," I felt like I had an epiphany in studying poetry (Perrine 4). As long as multiple interpretations explain a poem's details without contradiction and reliance on outside assumptions, they can both be correct if the stay within the area of meaning defined by the poem. Therefore, language becomes like math. As in mathematics, a language student follows a logical process to form a poetic interpretation. Given that the student follows that process well and remains within the area defined by the poem, his interpretation must be correct. However, another's interpretation, produced in the same way, could also hold true. The only difference between the two subjects, language and math, lies in the number of acceptable answers. Language has become logical! Next comes the apocalypse.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9, Pages 171 - 180
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Throughout the novel, through Nick's thoughts, words, and actions, Fitzgerald delivered a plethora of clever maxims conveying his adroit observations of life's general truths. I shared one those aphorisms on relationships in a previous blog and even went so far as to discuss it with everyone I encountered the day I read it. Fitzgerald's final observation, however, I cannot accept. In closing his novel, he makes an overwhelmingly pessimistic, generalization about humanity that, if true, would equate to our lives being desolate, hopeless, meaningless existences because we are inevitably doomed to failure. Fitzgerald writes, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past," emphasizing the human tendency to "stretch out our arms further" in pursuit of an ideal, a goal, or a dream until "one fine morning" we find ourselves defeated (Fitzgerald 180). This accepted truth of Fitzgerald's angers me to no end! How can one live genuinely believing that despite any efforts he makes, success will forever elude him? Such a depressive resignation to failure is not human; hope for the future fuels our ambitions and desire to live. Living with the mindset embodied by Fitzgerald's closing words could not be considered living at all. Therefore, I offer a counter maxim, opposing thinking to challenge Fitzgerald's words. The secret to achieving success, experiencing happiness, and attaining goals lies in choosing to do so. Fitzgerald believes that success can only be found in the realization of all goals and dreams, an impossible feat, so success becomes unachievable. However, in choosing to live commensurate with one's ambitions and engaging in acts that will push one toward a goal, whether achieved or not, one CAN find success and happiness. I may have failed to explain myself correctly, so I offer this article Schopenhauer's Big Mistake to support my thoughts. The gist of my rambling is this: the journey toward success is success in itself.
Throughout the novel, through Nick's thoughts, words, and actions, Fitzgerald delivered a plethora of clever maxims conveying his adroit observations of life's general truths. I shared one those aphorisms on relationships in a previous blog and even went so far as to discuss it with everyone I encountered the day I read it. Fitzgerald's final observation, however, I cannot accept. In closing his novel, he makes an overwhelmingly pessimistic, generalization about humanity that, if true, would equate to our lives being desolate, hopeless, meaningless existences because we are inevitably doomed to failure. Fitzgerald writes, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past," emphasizing the human tendency to "stretch out our arms further" in pursuit of an ideal, a goal, or a dream until "one fine morning" we find ourselves defeated (Fitzgerald 180). This accepted truth of Fitzgerald's angers me to no end! How can one live genuinely believing that despite any efforts he makes, success will forever elude him? Such a depressive resignation to failure is not human; hope for the future fuels our ambitions and desire to live. Living with the mindset embodied by Fitzgerald's closing words could not be considered living at all. Therefore, I offer a counter maxim, opposing thinking to challenge Fitzgerald's words. The secret to achieving success, experiencing happiness, and attaining goals lies in choosing to do so. Fitzgerald believes that success can only be found in the realization of all goals and dreams, an impossible feat, so success becomes unachievable. However, in choosing to live commensurate with one's ambitions and engaging in acts that will push one toward a goal, whether achieved or not, one CAN find success and happiness. I may have failed to explain myself correctly, so I offer this article Schopenhauer's Big Mistake to support my thoughts. The gist of my rambling is this: the journey toward success is success in itself.
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