The Shawl

In The Shawl Ozick devotes only a small portion of her novel to telling the story of Rosa while she was enduring the horrors of the Holocaust in Poland, or as what Rosa and Stella refer to as the during period. Now there are several reasons Ozick has chosen to tell her story in this way and it is important to remember that this story is not actually about the Holocaust itself but rather the story of Rosa.

                The first chapter is only there to introduce the cast of characters and to showcase the chain of events that will lead to Rosa’s current situation in Miami during the next chapter. While the second chapter goes into great and vivid detail of her life since Magda was killed.

                Another reason the second chapter is so much larger than the first is that according to Rosa her current situation is worse than when she was going through the Holocaust. This may be due to the fact that while in her mind Magda is very much alive, she can have no physical interaction with her outside of the shawl. It could also be that this time has been so rough for her because in Miami for a large chunk of time she does not have access to the shawl and thus her last physical connection to Magda.

                Stella’s way of dividing up their lives between the before, during, and after does not gain traction with Rosa and because of this difference the second chapter is much longer. Stella is content with moving on from the events of the past and is working towards her after. Rosa views this differently in that she does not believe in the after. Saying, “After, after that’s all Stella cares. For me there’s one time only; there’s no after.”  Rosa cannot get past the events of the first chapter  and still lives in a world in which Magda is very much alive, to move on would be to admit that Magda is dead but this is something that Rosa is not willing to do she is still in those moments in which she thrust the shawl into her mouth following the time when Magda was killed.

When the Emperor was Divine

I think the author seeks to break the silence surrounding the internment of Japanese citizens during the Second World War because the act of ignoring our history and this shameful decision by the United States government is in some ways worse than the actual internment of those Japanese citizens. To ignore an injustice is a slap in the face to the people against whom it was perpetrated against. It conveys the feeling that what was done to them did not matter. Well, the author here is writing to show us that the forceful internment of the Japanese does matter and that we must confront our past in order to move forward.

                If our country continues to be willingly ignorant of this great injustice then we have forsaken all of our principles upon which we stand for. How can we have an ounce of credibility when confronting our enemies for injustices committed against element of their society which they view negatively when we do the same thing. It is hypocrisy at a national level and it cannot be allowed to continue.

                As far as this novel relating to the events of September 11^th, I think the similarities between these two events are few. Really the only one I can see is that we were attacked by a foreign entity and many people died and even then Pearl Harbor was an act of war by a sovereign nation while the world trade center attacks were an act of terrorism by a group, which while harbored by some nations did not actually have control of a nation. To go even further I think the United States has actually learned a bit from their actions towards the Japanese. After the attacks of 9/11 all of the countries Muslims were not rounded up and thrown into camps, sure some had their civil liberties violated via phone taps by a scared government and had to endure prejudice perpetrated against it by an equally scared citizenry but this does not even come close to what the Japanese had to endure.

When the Emperor was Divine

                In the story “When the Emperor was Divine” Otsuka decides against giving the main characters of the book names. I think by doing this she intends to convey a parallel between her story and the way in which history has viewed the internment of Japanese citizens during World War Two.

                Even in my own educational experience the internment of the Japanese was something that was casually glanced over when we were studying World War Two. Looking back this was probably a clever attempt by whomever it is that creates the curriculum to cast this countries sad mistreatment of its own citizens during the war aside in the hopes that no one would remember that it ever happened. Ironically this is what the Nazis were doing towards the end of the war when their defeat was imminent. They desperately tried to cover up all evidence of the Holocaust because they knew deep down that they had committed an awful act and they did not want to be held responsible.

                Likewise, the United States does not want people to be bringing up similarities between their treatment of the Japanese and the Nazi treatment of the Jews. Unfortunately, much like the Nazis found out the United States will not be able to outrun its past no matter how hard it tries in the history books to pretend that it was a minor event or that it never happened at all.

                 Otsuka does not name her characters because they were ignored by the rest of society. It is why in the very beginning of the story she gives the name of the presumably white American hardware man and not the Japanese woman who comes in to make a purchase. Society at that time would not ignore the mass internment of people who were deemed to matter like the hardware man like they did the internment of the Japanese.

When the Emperor was Divine question 1

I do believe that Otsuka’s employs a minimalist approach in “When the Emperor was Divine”. However, I also believe that she does this on purpose in order to accomplish something concerning Japanese culture rather than for the sake of producing a minimalist novel.

                As stated in the question Otsuka’s style does lend a sort of muted tone to the story. Repressed emotional interaction coupled with the muted or monotone tone of the novel lead the reader into uncomfortable territory, as is intended for the reader is exploring a world in which they experience a foreign culture of which they most likely have had few run ins with.

                While the family in this novel is American it is also important to consider that the American culture is not the primary one for this family especially the mother for whom America is not the homeland. Otsuka purposefully employs this method to reflect Japanese culture which tends to be more reserved emotionally and less opinionated than our American culture.

                By using a minimalist or monotone approach Otsuka is able to better contrast the differences between these two cultures and the clash of both has an effect on the children. For example, the young boy who packs his baseball glove, reads comic books, and has cowboy and Indian curtains also has a statue of Buddha and longs for the times when his father would pluck caterpillars off plants with chopsticks. In many ways this young boy signifies the tug and pull of both cultures as he struggles to identify completely with either.

                While this novel may seem minimalist or monotone it is because that is the way it has to be. Without these characteristics the reader would not be able to fully see and experience Japanese culture. Most readers, unless they happen to be Japanese, would better identify with a more lively and emotional bunch of characters however; they would not be reading a novel about Japanese culture. It should feel like something different when reading this book because in all likelihood you have never seen the world through the lens of Japanese culture.

When the Emperor was Divine

“It said DO NOT DISTURB. The woman did not open the door.”

In “When the Emperor was Diving” by Julie Otsuka there is one character which stands out from the rest in my opinion. The mother, who is raising her kids without a father after his arrest, is preparing for their move to a Japanese internment camp.  However, early on in the story a particular aspect of this woman’s personality stands out above the rest.

                She follows orders almost as if there were a microchip imbedded in her brain compelling her to obey, of course this is not normal behavior for most people who tend to be more independent. She is machinelike from the very beginning when she reads the poster proclaiming their impending relocation her response to which was to simply write down the orders and carry on.

                Another instance in which this woman’s steadfast obedience rears its head is when she is packing up the families possessions. When she comes to her daughter’s room there is a DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging on the door. Rather than casually dismiss this youthful attempt at independence she obeys the sign and carries on.  In what other family is it typical for a mother to obey written orders from their children?

                In addition to simply obeying all orders without much resistance, if any, is the extent to which she carries them out. The government would not allow those being relocated to bring their pets along with them. So she proceeds to free the bird and give away their cat, all perfectly normal so far. However, she then proceeds to execute their pet dog in a manner that can only be described as grisly. She claims she was granting the dog mercy, since when does mercy involve being bludgeoned to death with a shovel?

                The woman exhibits obedience that is both extraordinary and troubling. It really makes you wonder what could have instilled in her such a trait. It is just not normal for someone of any culture to take being shipped off to a internment camp and being stripped of most of your property with such casualty.

Push - American Dream or Despair?

                Is the story of Precious in the novel Push by Sapphire an example of the American Dream or is it on of utter and complete despair? While I find myself wanting to say that there is hope for Precious and that perhaps her story does in fact body that dream I just cannot bring myself to overlook the undue hardship Precious had to overcome.  

                The dictionary describes the American Dream as “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.”

It would be silly to claim that Precious ever achieved this and indeed twisted to think that her story could be an interpretation of the American Dream of which all aspire to. Growing up in a violent home, being raped by your parents, being ignored and cast aside by the majority of societal institutions, giving birth to not one but two children of incest, and to top it all off you find out you have HIV after all that. That is not what I would call a happy ending.

                While it is possible to make that argument that her overcoming of illiteracy in spite of all these things is quite inspiring and while they may enable her son to have shot at achieving the American Dream for himself. It is important to remember that this is no sure thing especially when you consider that if he were to placed into the custody of Precious’ mother or grandmother thereby becoming stuck in the same vicious cycle Precious was subject to. However, this does not make her the embodiment of the American Dream. While part of the dream is to overcome personal strife there is also a financial element of which she has never achieved. To give an example, Carnegie who came to this country a pauper with only the shirt on his back and through hard work, perhaps a fair amount of luck as well, was able to become a billionaire and an icon of his day. Precious and Carnegie both overcame their personal troubles to varying degrees however although no fault of Precious’, she will never achieve her potential. During this time in the AIDs epidemic patients were not living long like they do today, she will most likely struggle to keep herself and her son afloat before she will succumb to her disease and leaving her son to either foster care or thrusting back into the viscous cycle of abuse perpetrated by her family.

Push - Does the way Precious speaks affect the way we see her?

                “My name Precious Jones. I was born in Harlem. My baby gonna be borned in Harlem. I like what color – yellow, thas fresh. ‘N I had a problem at my ol’ school so I come here.”

The voice of Precious does change the way we see her and the way others in the community see her. As soon as precious opens her mouth most people write their own biography of whom Precious must be, often employing stereotypes and failing to take into consideration the various factors that are affecting Precious such as her upbringing.

                Part of the reason that girls like Precious slip through the cracks of the system so often is because of these mental assumptions we make of people, in this case based upon speech. Because Precious spoke so improperly many wrote her off as a lost cause that was neither worth the time nor the effort of school faculty. This is where the school and the community let Precious down. They never stop and think about why Precious does not speak properly and considering the fact, in the case of the school, that they possess her file which details the causation of her lack of an education due to abuse at home this can only be a case of gross ignorance or apathy by the school towards Precious. What is worse is that the school continued to pass the buck by allowing her to move on all the way to the ninth grade without being able to read, write, or properly interact in a social setting.

                As to how the reader will inevitably see Precious, it becomes apparent rather swiftly that she is lacking a proper education. Additionally, she often is seen using a violent tone which is often associated with a string of profanity. This gives us the impression that Precious lashes out at those who would ideally support her and furthers her isolation from them leading to her continuing to slip through the crack of the system.

Fun Home

                I would like to discuss here the purpose and rationale behind Alison Bechdel’s decision to illustrate her novel rather than simply leave the job of creating an image to the reader. There are a number of reasons for this interesting choice and I believe each furthers the main purpose which is telling the story of her father and herself over the years from childhood up and to her father’s death.

                In most stories, at least it has been my experience, the author’s attempt to paint an image by using descriptive language and carving out a basic idea for a setting along with all the other intricacies of the tale and it is up to the reader to bring the story to life within them using their own experiences. This tactic enables each reader to have a potentially different experience from another when reading a story. However, in Bechdel’s case, by illustrating the story herself she takes away this task, or as I consider it an element of the story that makes the story, from the reader and institutes her own depictions of events.

                As to why Bechdel would do such a thing, In my opinion it is because she does not want the reader to get the wrong impression of the way things were and fall into the illusions that her father created. She wanted to force the reader into viewing her father from her perspective in order to get a sense of who he really was. In this light, Bechdel’s decision to illustrate her story rather than simply write it makes more sense and is understandable however, with this method comes a degree of bias that will be hard to be able to look past. I wish that Bechdel would have made it easier for her readers to reach their own conclusions about her father rather than through her inevitable bias undoubtedly brought about due to her feelings of her father as distant during her childhood and even sometimes uncaring.