Breaking Silence.

Perfect Peace by Daniel Black is more than a novel, but it is also a place for silence voices to speak. Too many times have people faces countless injustices, which we can so perfectly see in Black’s novel through all the characters. This one of the major reasons why I love this book, that not one character faces troubles and prejudice solo, that it affects the entire community. Social injustices are present this novel through gender, class, race, sex, and gender identity.

There is one passage that I want to focus on because I believe it gives voice to those who have been maimed, silenced, and treated unjustly based on a part of their identity. Before Sol goes off to college he gives Paul the best advice he can give him as a brother. He says on page 218, “Just remember to be yourself. That’s all you have to do, just be yo’self. Some folks like you and some won’t, but it doesn’t matter. Not really. You’re the only one you have to live with. Folks ‘round here done talked about you real bad, little brother, and I’m afraid it’s not over yet. But I wouldn’t trade you for the world. Or change you. You’re the sweetest person I know, so stay that way, okay?”

The honesty that Sol gives to Paul is just plain amazing and beautiful. What better advice to give someone than to be yourself, really. Yet, the characters know as much as most readers that staying true to an identity can be close to impossible. It is evident throughout the story that Paul cannot be his true self because his environment does not allow him, and he doesn’t know who he really is. Few characters truly understand the injustices that Paul personally faces emotionally, sexually, physically, and psychologically because many fit perfectly into their expected gender roles. Obviously, there are more injustices in the book than gender, but Paul’s experience is more than difficult to ignore. I think that Paul’s character gives light to those in our world who don’t fit into the gender binary. It’s interesting to read this novel, which takes place in the 1940s onward, and comparing it to the 2010 experiences of those who have been silenced. Social injustices are more addressed in our time and I believe that we have progressed socially towards acceptance, but there are certainly still places that are unprogressive.

I like that Sol says, “not really” because there are times where other’s perceptions of us matter, or we make them matter. Black’s novel provides a number of characters that struggle with different parts of their identities, and it’s crucial to wrap our mind around the intersections. He also creates a story for the reader that is empathetic and sympathetic towards those who have been maimed for simply being who they are. Moreover, I think this novel is trying to give people that people are just people, and for some, living up to their true selves is a matter of life or death. It's truly unfortunate that some face violence, assault, and even death because someone has been made to believe that they are impure, or a disgrace to humanity in some way.

Community is crucial to surviving a traumatic and challenging life like Paul’s, especially when it relates to injustices. From my activism work and my understanding of people’s experiences from all backgrounds, I have learned that a community can move mountains. It takes more than the word community; it takes people that are committed to social change and social movements. I feel that in 2010 we are more able to find people who we can work with and promote social change. I believe that by sharing the voices of the disenfranchised we can expand and create acceptance in communities we never thought possible.We all have to use our voices and our words, like Black does, to show that maiming a person based on their sexuality, gender identity, race, class, age, and more is intolerable.

Revised Proposal and Annotated Bib!

Well, after narrowing down the topic I want to focus on and looking at the definition of “setting,” here goes nothing! This is still in the works and I need to read more about this but I would love ideas and suggestions if anyone has any, please!

Setting in The Postcard Killers plays a major role with setting and understanding character’s roles. The beginning of the Postcard Killer’s murders began in the United States and the move onward to all regions of Europe. Within this paper, I would also like to compare the cultural boundaries and walls between Jacob and the Swedish police because of their different exposures to the United States and Europe. Throughout the book it is evident that Jacob has a concrete opinion of how the European police work versus how he works back in the United States. Jacob is often labeled as “the American” and the European characters have a similar title related to their background. Jacob’s anger obviously surrounds his daughter’s vicious murder, but it is also directed at the law and agents he is working with across the ocean. The setting seems to displace Jacob and make him an outsider, especially with language because he cannot understand Swedish. Nationality is something people hold onto to stand their ground and the characters in the book, except Dessie, cannot stray from it because nationality is learned. It is based around setting in the way that the European characters have specific nationalities and Jacob has his own American nationality, thus differences and boundaries are created. There are no moments when the European and American characters don’t act their nationality. In this paper I will research how setting highlights the traditional associates with Europe and the United States and how the characters use their nationalities to define themselves.

Bhabha, Homi K. Nation and Narration. London: Routledge, 1990. Print.

Bhabha gives an analysis of cultural differences and how international perspectives are created. Interestingly, she incorporates Benedict Anderson and how he views modern nationalism as taking up space in novels. I like this book becayse Bhabha connects literature and narratives, like heroic narratives, to the development of real-life nationalism and the process of an one’s identity on a national level. I want to use this source to compare earlier literature to more modern literature and the effects they have on an individuals understanding of nationality and their surroundings.

Lee, Yueh-Ting, Clark R. McCauley, and Juris G. Draguns. Personality and Person Perception Across Cultures. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1999. Print.

This book will help me understand the differences between human biological characteristics (personality), which is at a more individual level, versus the study of culture, which focuses on characteristics within a group. Luckily, there are chapters that apply characteristics cross-culturally so this will be helpful. In many ways, this book is written for someone who would be studying or working in a different culture and it wants to prep the reader about why cultures are nationality diverse. This piece of work will help me understand why particular characteristics of a culture remain consistent overtime and as to how they are created and associated with the region.

Miller, David. On Nationality. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995. Print.

This book really breaks down nationality as a concept and it deconstructs the sub-categories of the topic. This will help my paper as a while because it will give me a solid foundation of how nationality shapes a society and the people. For example, some national identities create a hierarchy of power within that given region, which are then applied to other countries, like a cross-comparison as to who is more worthy and powerful. I can connect this to the relationship between American and Europe overtime. Miller also talks about government security, loyalties, and allegiances, which obviously shape the people inhabiting this particular location. This book will further help me understand nationality behind politics, leaders, and tensions between bodies of land.

Özkırımlı, Umut. Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. Print.

What I find interesting about this book is that the introduction states that nationalism is a passing phase in the modern centuries. Yet, The Postcard Killers show the tensions between people of different nations. Nationalism is talked about through various ideas, which include: war, ethnic conflicts, and crises. If I decide to gather real historical events then they will pair up well with the groundwork of nationality from this source. The author includes a modernist perspective from modernist scholars about the theories of nationalism, such as Benedict Anderson.

Ruland, Richard. American in Modern European Literature: From Image to Metaphor.

New York: New York UP, 1976. Print.

This source talks about the invention of American by the Europeans, historically and within literature. It shows what American has symbolized over periods of time, including speculation on the twentieth century. From a European literature perspective, America’s image fluctuates as an image of power, freedom, and more. Like the others, this book incorporates works of literature and historical events that show the change of America through history, social aspects, and within literature. I would like to somehow connect this to The Postcard Killers when Jacob goes back to the United States and how this setting differs from his European one.

If anyone needs good sites to go to for online articles or information then check out Wordcat!

http://www.worldcat.org/

Hands and Work

I really love this picture!

The poem I will be focusing on by Kelly Tsai is entitled “Lili’s Hands.” While there are many literary elements one could use to analyze this poem, I could not veer away from imagery. Though we never know as readers who this hard working woman is, we are able to see the endless tasks she manages, and can even speculate on her background. Tsai helps the reader understand who Lili is and her experience as a worker through the images she provides.

The images of the food allow the reader to taste Lili’s experience through their senses. Tsai paints scenes where Lili works with a variety of foods that include: “ fish, rice noodles, garlic, bittermelon, buns, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, tofu, and chicken feet.” It was impossible for me not to image these delicious foods and cooking ingredients, especially when they are attached to verbs. Just reading these multiple types of food dill my imagination with scents and feelings that Lili is exposed to. It is the food that gives the reader a further look into who this mysterious woman is. Lili uses a “wok” to put most of the ingredients in, specifically the oils and sauces. The wok is usually associated with Asian cultures, among others, so the reader can only assume that Lili is from an Asian background. Of course, this is all speculation but knowing more of Lili’s identity deepens our understanding of her roles. Where is she from? Why is she working for these people? Was she forced to work here and take on this “maid-like” position? Many questions arose for me after taking note of all the ingredients to her meals, and though they never are fully answered, it is possible to know Lili’s importance to the household. I loved the stanza that says that Lili’s hands “soak the bittermelon/ and suck it of/ its dry newspaper taste” because I thought it showed how kind-hearted Lili is. Perhaps she must soak the melon to rid its awful taste in order to please the people she is serving, or she could be doing it out of consideration and care. If so, it shows how committed she is to her job, that in putting in hard effort she might make more money or her stay in the house is prolonged. The images of the food help the reader visualize what Lili sees daily, but also who she is in a bigger picture, not just of a server in a household.

The movements of Lili’s hands convey the hard work she exerts in a daily basis. Tsai uses multiple verbs to show Lili’s job: slice, dump, smash, spin, soak, wipe, pile, dash, cube, cure, wipe, massage, curves, rub, ball, and pulls. These specific words convey the labor Lili has on her hands and on her role as a woman and a worker in a household. The reader has no knowledge of who she is because she does not get a voice in this poem. The imagery does not even give Lili a voice of her own and merely show some of the chores she must do daily. These tasks are not easy though and range from cooking and piling buns to taking care of the people she is living with. Tsai writes that Lili’s hands “massage my uncle’s feet/ bloated from a lifetime/ of a soldier’s walk” and that they “cube tofu/cure chicken feet/wipe the shit stains/from my aunt’s toilet.” It is evident that the labor Lili has to endure is not just cooking large meals for the family, but she also has to take care of their personal cares that involved feet and feces. I imagine that Lili has a great tolerance for cleaning up after people and having to touch their grimy body parts or excretions. I gained more respect for all her hard work after I read that being a chef is not where it all ends. I also got the feeling that Lili may not be appreciated in the household she labors in, that she is ignored or seen as a mindless maid.

Imagery helps the reader see the conditions Lili must live in and how she feels about it. We understand how Lili feels about her job as a whole when she her hands “ball into tiny fists/as she pulls her/ blanket over her head/ on the cot/ in the back room/ next to the laundry machine.” I imagined Lili curling into a ball in her cot as the laundry machine blasts in her ears. I also saw this house as having thin walls and Lili being able to hear every movement and voice. Yet, no one hears her, not even the reader; we see her. Being in a room that is located in the back of the house, next to the laundry room, is a crappy place to sleep! This image could be a metaphor for Lili’s class standing and social value as a human. The reader gains perspective on how Lili feels about her staying in this house by the way she moves her hands. They “ball into tiny fists” and “pull her blanket over her head” and show the reader how strong and resilient she is. Her hands are more than tools of creation, but they are also doors into Lili’s soul.

Blog Holiday!

Hey all,

I need a blog holiday this week. Have a great weekend!

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