Throughout this semester’s class, I have read many books, all written by female authors. I did not know what to expect coming into this women’s literature class but I was ultimately pleasantly surprised. Each woman had her own story to tell and every experience was different and unique. But regardless of whether the stories told were similar, many shared themes and all of them held an interpretation of life.
I had never read many books or pieces of work that were written by women before taking this women’s literature class. It was not for any reason in particular that I have not read women’s works but now that I have read a full semester’s worth of material I definitely feel that there is a difference in women’s writing. They told stories of themselves and of other women, mainly of people who have gone through times of hardship. Examples of this would be The Shawl, where Ozick writes about how Rosa lost the one thing she loved, during the Holocaust. Ozick then goes further to show how the Holocaust affected her for the remaining years of Rosa’s life. Similarly we read When The Emperor Was Divine, which was about a Japanese family who were sent to an internment camp during World War II. These were two similar stories yet they both showed different aspects of history and of the lives that women live. The authors of these two novels are not characters in these books. They are historical fiction, in which the events were true but the characters were created for the story. The stories were real enough to pull me in while reading and real enough to feel sympathy towards the characters.
Then we had read other books by female authors such as Fun Home, which was different from the other books that were read. Fun Home was a graphic novel about a girl and her father. Most of the stories that involved a girl had problems and the story was based around the relationship with the mother but Fun Home showed the reader how important the daughter-father relationship was. This is why this book is important to keep, even if it is hard to read. All the other books entailed daughter-mother or woman-to-woman relationships but this book gave light to the father-daughter side of the story.
Throughout all the books, I saw a few themes that popped up in most the books and the most important them that I took from this class’s material was hope. I am not a woman, which makes this class maybe a little more difficult for me to comprehend but not impossible. As I read book after book, hope continued to surface in the pages trying to guide the characters through the dark. In When The Emperor Was Divine, the mother and her children are thrown from the perfect lives in rural America and forced to live in an internment camp for the duration of World War II without their father. This family needed hope; without it I don’t know if they would have survived. Not that they would have been killed but that their will to live could have been stripped. This nearly happened to the mother. The father on the other hand came back a completely different person because they had been capable of stripping him of his hope. I find this most notable in his final chapter of the book.
Hope pops up again in Push, Precious is lost in terrible cycle created by her mother and grandmother and without hope, I do not believe that she would have been able to overcome her hardships. She did not do it alone; she was helped by her teachers at school who showed serious interest and fortitude in aiding young Precious before she is living a life she regrets. The children in her class show her that she is not alone in her situation and that she can improve herself. Hope is a driving force that gave back a life, which had been taken from her by her parents, in which she can strive to be whatever she chooses.
This course has helped me, as a man, to better understand women. I think the book that aided me the most was The Vagina Monologues. It was tailored to women of all ages and its humorous kick gave me the ability to really enjoy the book. I can admit that women definitely have a lot more happening at a young age compared to boys, and I believe that I now have a firm grasp on that. But I am sure that will change once again once I start my own family. But this book has helped me to understand that every woman sees herself differently and that their self identity is very important and shapes their person.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
new life
The book, Two or Three Things I Know For Sure, by Dorothy Allison is somewhat unusual compared to other autobiographical books I have read. The use of pictures in combination with her own words significantly aids the reader in understanding her past and what she went through.
There is a passage on page 32 that is written with help from a picture on the following page and I find it very important in understanding Dorothy’s family. The passage is the following; “My family has a history of death and murder, grief and denial, rage and ugliness-the women in my family most of all. The women in my family were measured, manlike, sexless, bearers of babies, burdens, and contempt.” This passage, I find, describes the expected life of Dorothy and the women in her family. It is said to read and this emotion is pushed even further after seeing the picture of Ruth and her friend. They look depressed, exhausted, rugged and worn and most of all, hopeless. It reminds me of a picture I once saw of a few men from the Great Depression. But this passage is what has become of the women in her family and the beauty of this autobiography is that she does not follow in these footsteps, which have already been laid out for her by the people currently walking. Dorothy writes her own life and then lays out the life of her family, not only in writing but also in film. This is what makes me curious, I don’t exactly understand the reason for putting her family out there in the open. Was she trying to punish them for what she went through? Maybe, she is trying to show how not everyone lives the same life? I will never know for sure but I am fairly certain that she has moved on from the memories that haunted her, not that she has forgiven everyone, but that her life was good enough to write about.
There is a passage on page 32 that is written with help from a picture on the following page and I find it very important in understanding Dorothy’s family. The passage is the following; “My family has a history of death and murder, grief and denial, rage and ugliness-the women in my family most of all. The women in my family were measured, manlike, sexless, bearers of babies, burdens, and contempt.” This passage, I find, describes the expected life of Dorothy and the women in her family. It is said to read and this emotion is pushed even further after seeing the picture of Ruth and her friend. They look depressed, exhausted, rugged and worn and most of all, hopeless. It reminds me of a picture I once saw of a few men from the Great Depression. But this passage is what has become of the women in her family and the beauty of this autobiography is that she does not follow in these footsteps, which have already been laid out for her by the people currently walking. Dorothy writes her own life and then lays out the life of her family, not only in writing but also in film. This is what makes me curious, I don’t exactly understand the reason for putting her family out there in the open. Was she trying to punish them for what she went through? Maybe, she is trying to show how not everyone lives the same life? I will never know for sure but I am fairly certain that she has moved on from the memories that haunted her, not that she has forgiven everyone, but that her life was good enough to write about.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Oppression
Ozick’s story about Rosa can be seen as either a story or triumph, or a story of oppression, but I think that it is obvious that this is a story that is weighted on the side of oppression.
Rosa’s entire life is based around the theme of oppression considering she was a victim and survivor of the Holocaust and has transformed her current life into a relived nightmare.
I can most definitely say that her early years of life were under oppression because she was stripped of her family in more ways than one. She was taken from her family n Warsaw and put on a train, which led her to an unknown destination. From there she was put in a death march that led then to the camp, which was described in The Shawl. After being forced to live like a caged animal by inhumane men, they murder the one last thing she had to call her own, Magda. This event seems to be the beginning of the end for Rosa.
She moves to New York and seems to be dealing with dealing with the Holocaust. She has opened an antique store and seems to be doing well for herself, for antiques do not come cheap. But due to the insensitivity of her customers, they throw her into a tornado of destruction and she smashes her entire store so that no one can have the antiques that she sold.
From here, she shelters herself and nearly becomes a recluse and lives a very dirty life in cheap motel that is paid for by Stella. This new life in Miami is representative of her experience in the concentration camp all those years ago. She hardly eats, leaves her room and is living in filth. It is Rosa oppressing herself rather than someone else oppressing her but nonetheless, Rosa is still living under oppression. And it will only be Rosa who can bring herself above the oppression she is living under.
Rosa’s entire life is based around the theme of oppression considering she was a victim and survivor of the Holocaust and has transformed her current life into a relived nightmare.
I can most definitely say that her early years of life were under oppression because she was stripped of her family in more ways than one. She was taken from her family n Warsaw and put on a train, which led her to an unknown destination. From there she was put in a death march that led then to the camp, which was described in The Shawl. After being forced to live like a caged animal by inhumane men, they murder the one last thing she had to call her own, Magda. This event seems to be the beginning of the end for Rosa.
She moves to New York and seems to be dealing with dealing with the Holocaust. She has opened an antique store and seems to be doing well for herself, for antiques do not come cheap. But due to the insensitivity of her customers, they throw her into a tornado of destruction and she smashes her entire store so that no one can have the antiques that she sold.
From here, she shelters herself and nearly becomes a recluse and lives a very dirty life in cheap motel that is paid for by Stella. This new life in Miami is representative of her experience in the concentration camp all those years ago. She hardly eats, leaves her room and is living in filth. It is Rosa oppressing herself rather than someone else oppressing her but nonetheless, Rosa is still living under oppression. And it will only be Rosa who can bring herself above the oppression she is living under.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Why Go Back
Its Friday morning, somehow I had forgotten to write my blog entry for last night, so I am hoping you would accept this one even though it is 8 hours late.
I am going to write this blog entry on Rosa and the delusional world that she has forced herself back into. When you read this novella, you quickly learn about the tragedy in her experience during the Holocaust, which then leads into a short story of her life after the Holocaust. Once she gets settled into New York City, she appears to have her life back under control; she owns a antique store and is living a very comfortable life. But out of nowhere, old resentments and feelings of hate are brought up by the customers that drift into her store, leading her to possibly the most rash decision of destroying everything in the store with a hammer. If she wanted out of this sort of business she could have sold the store and made even more money. I understand that she feels everything in that store has its own sense of history and culture, which is not seen by these young folk that come in looking to buy old stuff but this is the impact of time. Time doesn’t stop for anyone and through that certain things get lost. In this case, the next generation has furthered itself from events such as the Holocaust leaving nothing but Rosa to dwell wither own memories.
The destruction she causes in her store spirals into a whirlwind of disaster for this poor, aging woman who is then caught up in the evils of her own dreaded memories. Through these awful memories she continuously sinks lower and lower, taking herself from her life of luxury to a life that very much so represents her past during the Holocaust. Perhaps she couldn’t help it being so used to those conditions for so many years during World War II but it is depressing to read how she threw away a life that appeared so good for memories of her past that cannot change the present she is living in.
Living in conditions that echo the Holocaust will not bring back your dead daughter whom you write to as if she were a professor at Columbia. The worst has already happened Rosa. It appeared as if you did move on and created a life that was much better than the one you had in Europe, but for reasons we can only guess at, you would rather sulk and become a delusional old woman than live a more luxurious life and try to repress the memories of a terrible time.
I am going to write this blog entry on Rosa and the delusional world that she has forced herself back into. When you read this novella, you quickly learn about the tragedy in her experience during the Holocaust, which then leads into a short story of her life after the Holocaust. Once she gets settled into New York City, she appears to have her life back under control; she owns a antique store and is living a very comfortable life. But out of nowhere, old resentments and feelings of hate are brought up by the customers that drift into her store, leading her to possibly the most rash decision of destroying everything in the store with a hammer. If she wanted out of this sort of business she could have sold the store and made even more money. I understand that she feels everything in that store has its own sense of history and culture, which is not seen by these young folk that come in looking to buy old stuff but this is the impact of time. Time doesn’t stop for anyone and through that certain things get lost. In this case, the next generation has furthered itself from events such as the Holocaust leaving nothing but Rosa to dwell wither own memories.
The destruction she causes in her store spirals into a whirlwind of disaster for this poor, aging woman who is then caught up in the evils of her own dreaded memories. Through these awful memories she continuously sinks lower and lower, taking herself from her life of luxury to a life that very much so represents her past during the Holocaust. Perhaps she couldn’t help it being so used to those conditions for so many years during World War II but it is depressing to read how she threw away a life that appeared so good for memories of her past that cannot change the present she is living in.
Living in conditions that echo the Holocaust will not bring back your dead daughter whom you write to as if she were a professor at Columbia. The worst has already happened Rosa. It appeared as if you did move on and created a life that was much better than the one you had in Europe, but for reasons we can only guess at, you would rather sulk and become a delusional old woman than live a more luxurious life and try to repress the memories of a terrible time.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Can Death Help?
The first piece to Cynthia Ozick’s novella was quite interesting. I was very surprised at how quick she was to describe Magda’s short life, which ultimately leads to an early death. It makes me wonder what the author was trying to convey in this quick chapter.
Also, I find it interesting that there is so much left out of the experience within the concentration camp considering it was without a doubt the most life altering experience for the characters. I am also curious to the fact that Magda never cried or mumbled a word once they were imprisoned in the camp until the moment she was stripped of her shawl. What was it about that shawl that miraculously gave that baby the power to keep silent for so long?
Magda’s death also made me wonder whether it was beneficial for the mother and daughter to be rid of this child that caused them both so much stress and pain. Stella almost seemed content after ripping the shawl away from Magda and falling asleep under it for that brief moment, as if it were a quick escape from their life of imprisonment. What if Rose’s loss of her child now freed her of having to constantly worrying of the inevitable death of her daughter, the needed starving of herself just to sustain the little life left in her daughter, and the constant thought of how her baby girl was growing up in one of the darkest times in human history. It might seem sick and depressing but perhaps losing this child gave Rose and Stella the opportunity to survive the camp.
Also, I find it interesting that there is so much left out of the experience within the concentration camp considering it was without a doubt the most life altering experience for the characters. I am also curious to the fact that Magda never cried or mumbled a word once they were imprisoned in the camp until the moment she was stripped of her shawl. What was it about that shawl that miraculously gave that baby the power to keep silent for so long?
Magda’s death also made me wonder whether it was beneficial for the mother and daughter to be rid of this child that caused them both so much stress and pain. Stella almost seemed content after ripping the shawl away from Magda and falling asleep under it for that brief moment, as if it were a quick escape from their life of imprisonment. What if Rose’s loss of her child now freed her of having to constantly worrying of the inevitable death of her daughter, the needed starving of herself just to sustain the little life left in her daughter, and the constant thought of how her baby girl was growing up in one of the darkest times in human history. It might seem sick and depressing but perhaps losing this child gave Rose and Stella the opportunity to survive the camp.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Papa-san
I think I want to write about the father in this week’s blog entry. The father was never a character in the book that got face time or had a chapter that described himself before he was detained for being an enemy of the state, and I feel that this is very important seeing that the only time we hear the father’s voice is in the very last chapter of his confession.
His entire family describes him, but most of the memories that we get to live through come from the boy and the girl. You have their memories of laughter, stories, the description of his smiling face and the love he has for his family, yet we still don’t have a first hand analysis. But even without this, there are still plenty of details to work with especially with the way that the author writes.
The overall view of the father is very positive and throughout the entirety of the book I feel that the father was most definitely the one who went through the most change, both physically and emotionally. It was ironic that the mother was worried about the father not being able to recognize her when he comes back since he was the one who was unrecognized by his family. He had lost his teeth, hair, and his fun loving spirit and limped with the support of a cane. Through the authors words one could think he went to hell and back, which he surely did while being detained. The father’s change put a damper on the ending of the book, especially since we did not get to know his personality through a chapter of his own but it was needed because each day his family continuously anticipated his return. War is known to change a man.
His entire family describes him, but most of the memories that we get to live through come from the boy and the girl. You have their memories of laughter, stories, the description of his smiling face and the love he has for his family, yet we still don’t have a first hand analysis. But even without this, there are still plenty of details to work with especially with the way that the author writes.
The overall view of the father is very positive and throughout the entirety of the book I feel that the father was most definitely the one who went through the most change, both physically and emotionally. It was ironic that the mother was worried about the father not being able to recognize her when he comes back since he was the one who was unrecognized by his family. He had lost his teeth, hair, and his fun loving spirit and limped with the support of a cane. Through the authors words one could think he went to hell and back, which he surely did while being detained. The father’s change put a damper on the ending of the book, especially since we did not get to know his personality through a chapter of his own but it was needed because each day his family continuously anticipated his return. War is known to change a man.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
LIARS
Lying is a large theme throughout the book and plays an important role for all the characters regardless of their race or creed. Right from the start, there is noticeable lying and seems as if the majority of the lying is used as protection, whether it is to protect the liar or whether it is to protect the ones being lied to.
At this time in history, you have all these Japanese families being sent of to internment camps and this displacement is being watched, from the outside, by the non-Asian community. A perfect example of a regular white man who you can suppose is powerless to the government, but still shows no sign of eagerness to help is Joe Lundy. This man has been working in his hardware store for what seems like his entire life post high school and one could infer that he gets the same customers over and over. So assuming that he has seen this woman come into his store before and that they are casual acquaintances one would think that maybe he or other members of the community would strike against the displacement of people who they know are true Americans. But we see in this book that no one has that sort of courage; Joe just tries to take this blame off his shoulders by offering to pay when she gets back, and who actually knows when this will be, and secondly with a few pieces of candy. I’m sure that this will make everything just fine for this family who is being forced to pick up and move to desert internment camp for Japanese-Americans. This sort of lie fits in with the type of people who are trying to protect themselves because they can’t deal with the shame.
The second type of liar in this book is the one who lies to protect another, in this case usually a family member or friend. The mother is forced to kill White Dog so it is not suffering alone when the family has to leave their home, but does not tell the boy that she has actually buried his dog in the back yard. She is just trying to protect her son from everything bad that is coming in the near future, she knows that there is going to be a point where he will have to face the truth but until that time comes she has the power to sugarcoat his life. These are just two examples of the types of lies found in this book, and since it is such a prevalent theme, I am sure that more will arise before the story’s end.
At this time in history, you have all these Japanese families being sent of to internment camps and this displacement is being watched, from the outside, by the non-Asian community. A perfect example of a regular white man who you can suppose is powerless to the government, but still shows no sign of eagerness to help is Joe Lundy. This man has been working in his hardware store for what seems like his entire life post high school and one could infer that he gets the same customers over and over. So assuming that he has seen this woman come into his store before and that they are casual acquaintances one would think that maybe he or other members of the community would strike against the displacement of people who they know are true Americans. But we see in this book that no one has that sort of courage; Joe just tries to take this blame off his shoulders by offering to pay when she gets back, and who actually knows when this will be, and secondly with a few pieces of candy. I’m sure that this will make everything just fine for this family who is being forced to pick up and move to desert internment camp for Japanese-Americans. This sort of lie fits in with the type of people who are trying to protect themselves because they can’t deal with the shame.
The second type of liar in this book is the one who lies to protect another, in this case usually a family member or friend. The mother is forced to kill White Dog so it is not suffering alone when the family has to leave their home, but does not tell the boy that she has actually buried his dog in the back yard. She is just trying to protect her son from everything bad that is coming in the near future, she knows that there is going to be a point where he will have to face the truth but until that time comes she has the power to sugarcoat his life. These are just two examples of the types of lies found in this book, and since it is such a prevalent theme, I am sure that more will arise before the story’s end.
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