Final Response

At the start of this semester I was curious as to how the
different novels, Nobel speeches, articles, discussions, and videos would
intertwine. I had never read any of the novels or articles before so I started
with a blank slate as far as background knowledge on these specific works of
literature is concerned. At the outset of the course I was initially intrigued by
some of the titles of the novels such as What
is the What and The Satanic Verses.
I was also somewhat nervous at the start of our course because while I am knowledgeable
about different cultures, I felt a little intimidated by terms such as canonization, post-colonialsim, and subaltern
that I had never really studied or explored before in detail. I think the
combination of readings, discussions, videos, and activities during the course
were meaningful ways to examine all angles of various issues. Evaluation of the
readings in discussion format with my classmates each week really allowed me to
take my initial opinion of a work and then question it, rethink it, and apply
knowledge from other perspectives to understand the issues we focused on.

I felt that reading the novels, nobel speeches, and articles
allowed me to view colonialism and post-colonialism through a completely new
lens. One of the most pertinent and useful articles I enjoyed reading was
Mindsets. I agree with the overall message that it is extremely important to
not only understand the customs and traditions of other cultures, but to
understand how specific cultures dictate how other people view the world. Perception
and mindsets are personal and vary differently even among people who share
common cultural or ethnic roots.

As we have read in numerous novels, although a person is
viewed as a member of a certain culture outwardly, their identity may actually lie
as members of several nations, tribes, or villages. For example, Caryl
Phillips, the author of Color Me English, was a black child growing up in
England. The construction of his own identity came from a mix of his cultural
roots beginning in St. Kitts combined with his experiences growing up as a
minority in Leeds, England. Many characters, both fictional and real, that we
have discussed this semester experienced confusion and struggles forming and
understanding their identities because of colonialism. From this course I take
away a deeper knowledge of how colonialism and post-colonial conflicts impact
not only society on a large scale, but the individual lives of each person
involved.

I think one of the most interesting discussions we had that
continued in several weeks was concerning how we can influence positive changes
on humanity without changing specific culture. The novels all centered on
conflicts of some kind that were results directly or indirectly of colonialism.
For example, it was brought up that foundations such as Valentino’s in Africa
should possibly not strive to educate women because that is not a tenant of
their original culture. Other examples were cited but this one still sticks in
my mind. I think the mission of novels such as those we have discussed this
semester are means of awareness, change, and progress. I felt that the authors
in their own ways were trying to preserve a specific culture but also change the
acts of oppression which caused the people of their homelands pain, suffering, displacement,
and even death. Whether it is through literature, activist organizations, or
even a facebook video like KONY 2012, I believe any method of making progress
for oppressed peoples is a goal we should all take part it to live in a better
world.

Entry Seven- The God of Small Things

Scrapbook Entry 7

The God of Small Things

Arundhati Roy

“Things can change in a day”

Terms and Concepts

Multicultural- The author herself is a multicultural person
having a Christian mother and a Hindu father. Her background and upbringing by
her mother played a major role in her later career choice and activism. Her mother, Mary Roy, was an activist for women’s rights in Kerala whose work
eventually secured inheritance rights for Christian women in the region.

Activism- The author, Arundati Roy, is a political activist
who has used her writing of nonfiction and fiction as one avenue to stand for
her beliefs. She is known world-wide for her political advocacy of social
justice and peaceful conflict resolution.

Kerala -The Indian State located on the Malabar Coast of South West India. It is
the setting of The God of Small Things and the homeland of the characters.
The setting of The God of Small Things in Ayemenem is also a
multicultural place where people of many religions and cultures co-exist. This
setting was chosen by Roy for the novel because she was very familiar with the
cultural paradoxes that exist there.

Caste- A complex social system with detailed rules on
exclusion, power, social class, occupation, religion, and marital statuses. The
caste system is one of the ‘big things’ in the novel which dictates how people
interact with one another, which relationships are allowed, and basically the
conditions of life on every level for each character.

The Author’s Conclusion:
Arundati Roy writes The
God of Small Things with purpose, crafting language in an evocative and
decisive manner to convey her message in this semi-autobiographical novel. Purposeful
language is not the only device that Roy uses as a literary tool. The detailed
perspective of the protagonists, Rhael and Estha serves to highlight the
importance of the “small things” that the children are so deeply affected by in
contrast to the larger issues that are generally the only focus of society. In
an allusion to international issues, Roy seeks to emphasize the people and
topics which are most often overlooked. The “big things” which Roy aims to
contradict in the novel surround facets of Indian culture such as marriage and
the caste system. In a culture where every decision and action affects the
familial structure and thus place in the hierarchy of the caste system,
emotions and true feelings are stifled. Seeing the world through the eyes of
the children Estha and Rahel show the reader the complexity of the “small
things” including deep emotions of sorrow and sin, all from an innocent
perspective. The perspectives of Estha and Rahel are in a sense, unaltered
because they are too young to understand or be concerned with the larger
issues.
The Author’s Argument:
The author of The God
of Small Things is the case of an author, whose writing is influenced by
her personal experiences, political beliefs, and her role as a political
activist. Although Roy claims this novel is not an autobiography, there are
some details which her mother claims were part of her early childhood. Various
assumptions made throughout the novel are carefully crafted to convey Roy’s
beliefs about politics, social justice, and nonviolence through relationships
among different characters and the world around them. The setting of Ayemenem
in Kerbala, India plays a large part in crafting Roy’s position. Her
familiarity with the multicultural region allows her to discuss the setting as
an integral part of the character’s identities. One underlying belief she holds
which is seen in the novel is that cultural roots play a part in the
development of one’s identity. Almost all characters in the novel make a
homecoming journey. Ayemenem is not so much a physical home as it is a refuge
of familiarity and cultural origin.
The importance of the “small things” runs throughout the
novel. Roy’s knowledge of the effect of the dark side of societies is conveyed
by the grotesque and sinful actions which take place in the novel. The detailed
discussion of tragic events that occur to the characters, such as the molestation
of Estha, are metaphors for how events like this are often deemed “small” and
swept under the rug while they are actually life-altering and need to be
brought to light. Scandal runs throughout the novel in the lives of various
characters, the affair between Ammu and Velutha, Sophie Mol’s death, and the
eventual sexual act between Rahel and Estha. By discussing dark events and the
emotions caused by them in the novel, Roy is really conveying her opinion that
too many harmful actions are committed in society that no one gives justice to.
The quote at the beginning of the book “Things can change in
a day,” is the essence of the notion that life in constantly in transition; a
major belief of Arundati Roy. The transitions and changes that occur are not always
positive experiences, but exemplify the ideal that the unexpected, difficult,
and “small” events are also part of life that must be acknowledged.
Place in Course content:
The God of Small
Things finds a place in a course that relates to giving a voice to the
people and issues which may be suppressed or overlooked by the majority of
society. Arundati Roy uses political activism through writing to bring to light
not just one specific issue that has been stifled, but a set of ideals that are
deemed less important in the global society. Although this novel was written in
1997, I agree with her message that the global society today is concentrated on
many of the wrong issues.

The native land of the characters, Ayemenem, places
importance on the concept of identity in relation to one’s true roots and
history. We have been examining the confusion of identity created by
colonialism throughout the course. How is identity created? Where is identity
created? How does cultural identity play a part in one’s personal identity?
These are all questions that are addressed in some fashion by Roy. In The God
of Small Things, the continuity of Ayemenem serves as each character’s safe
haven and supports the notion that identity is rooted in cultural origin.
Although the characters leave and live the majority of their lives in other
locations, their return signifies the emotional connection to the history and
roots of their original homeland. Many
authors we have read this semester also bring up these questions of the role
our place of origin plays in developing our sense of identity. For
post-colonial societies this is an ongoing struggle to discover true identity
mixed with different cultural roots and in many cases, the immigrant
experience. Literature is once again a place to speak the voice of the
multicultural subaltern in order to bring to light issues that larger society
is not concerned with.

The official website of Arundhati Roy- http://www.weroy.org/arundhati.shtml

A speech give by Roy about the US War on Terror, globalization, nationalism, and the growing disparity between the rich and poor- http://www.youtube.com/watchv=ET7I9jvP4Ic&feature=related

Entry Six- What is the What

Scrapbook
Entry 4
Natalie
Powers
Book
Title- What Is the What
Author-
Dave Eggers

Terms and Concepts:

The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation-The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation is a nonprofit organization working to increase access
to education in post-conflict South Sudan by building schools, libraries,
teacher-training institutes, and community centers.
Lost Boys of Sudan- This is the name of the groups of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced and orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War from 1983-2005. The name "Lost Boys of Sudan" was used by aid workers in the refugee
camps where the boys lived in Africa.
Dinka- An ethnic group inhabiting the Bahr el Ghazal region
of the Nile basin, Jonglei and parts of southern Kordufan and Upper Nile
regions. This is the ethnicity of the main character and co-author, Valentino
Achak Deng. As the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan, there were about 4.5
million Dinka there in 2008.
Marial Bai- The village in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, South
Sudan where Valentino is from.

Second Sudanese Civil War- The conflict lasting from 1983 to 2005 between the
central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The
Sudan People’s Liberation Army was fighting for independence of the southern
Sudanese provinces. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955
to 1972.
Displacement- Roughly two million people have died as a
result of war, famine and disease caused by the South Sudanese civil war
conflicts. Four million people in southern Sudan have been displaced at least once as a result of the war. The war officially
ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January 2005. The
protagonist, Valentino Deng, experienced displacement throughout the early years
of his life as he fled to various refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.
The Author’s Conclusion:
While the author of What is the What is
Dave Eggers, the story is told from the perspective of Valentino Achak Deng.
The novel was written as a collaborative effort of Eggers and Deng having
conversations, interviews, and research. Dave Eggers serves as the crafter of
words who fused the stories together of Valentino’s experiences which are the
foundations for fictional and non-fictional elements of the novel. I thought it
was very noble and brave of Valentino to not only feel the necessity to tell
the story of his existence, but to also contact an author for collaboration on
this project. I felt that Valentino was trying to raise awareness of the harsh
conditions during his life in Africa so the world would know the realities of
Sudanese refugees. While some conversations and smaller details were
fictionalized, the major events in What
is the What can be compared to the lives of thousands of refugees in the
same situation as Valentino. By sharing his experiences in the novel, Valentino
is aiming to tell the world about the severity of harm caused by the Sudanese
government and civil war. His story of survival despite the horrific conditions
he experienced from his displacement in Africa is a message of hope, faith, and
advocacy for continuous progress of humanity.
The Author’s Argument:
This novel is unique in our course because unlike the other novels we have read thus
far, it is an autobiography of Valentino Achek Deng written by Dave Eggers. It
is a collaboration of Deng retelling his stories and experiences and Eggers
transforming them into the novel What is
the What. Although this is considered an autobiography, elements of the
novel combine fictional and non-fictional aspects to culminate in a special
type of memoir. I think this style of writing has its’ benefits and negatives.
I found myself questioning to what extent elements of the story were fictionalized,
and which elements were in fact true events that Valentino experienced. I
completely understand the author’s purpose in recreating certain events because
as Deng explains, exact conversations from 17 years in the past cannot be
recalled to detail. I do think Eggers achieved his goal of writing in
Valentino’s voice despite the difficult challenge of retelling the biography of
another person in an autobiographical way.

Place in Course content:
What is the What is a novel that connects to the themes
of our course through discussion of the effects of displacement. The clash of
cultures during the ongoing 22 year civil war caused famine, death, and the
displacement of thousands of people in South Sudan. The hardships Deng and the
other ‘lost boys’ encountered on their trek to Ethiopia and Kenya is shared
among refugees in many situations of displacement throughout history and around
the world. Whether it is in South Sudan or Palestine, refugees similar to Deng
share a yearning to search for any options of a better life when they are
forcibly removed from their homes. Although not every refugee experiences the
same types of adversities, the suffering, pain, and even death caused by forced
removal from one’s homeland is shared despite cultural differences. For
example, the characters of Men In the Sun
are refugees fleeing Palestine in search of jobs in Kuwait. They are so desperate
to reach Kuwait that they travel by way of smuggling in extreme heat in a water
tank. The three men’s fate of dying
inside the water tank is tragic and ironic, but the desperation caused by their
situation as refugees can be compared to that of Deng and the ‘lost boys’ in What is the What. Although their particular journey is different, Valentino and many other Dinka tribe members
travel to multiple refugee camps in search of better conditions, encountering terrible
hardships of harsh climate, all on the quest for survival.
Valentino can be compared to other writers we have read in this course because he uses
literature as a method of speaking the stories of his suppressed people. While
he is just one of thousands of people harmed by the South Sudanese Civil War,
Deng uses the novel What is the What to raise awareness of the harsh situations in his homeland. He had told the story of his difficult life as a refugee in Africa, but used literature to tell
his story to the entire world. By re-telling his personal experience during the
civil war crisis in Sudan, Valentino was aiming to raise awareness of Sudan’s
place in the global community. Another goal of the novel was to raise funds and
promote programs for the improvement of conditions in Valentino’s homeland. An
author who can compare in similar literary mission to Valentino is Ghassan
Kanafani. Among other methods, Kanafani used his novel Men In the Sun to speak
out against government organizations which were causing the displacement of
Palestinian people. Valentino also used literature to raise awareness of the
atrocities caused by several government regimes of Sudan.
I thought our discussion this week was interesting because of the different views
people hold about cultural boundaries. I was surprised to hear some of my
fellow classmates stating that, for example, it is ok to not bring education to
women in certain African tribes where that is not traditionally accepted by
their culture because that would be “altering” their culture. It is true that
the definitions of what is right and what is wrong are completely different
around the world. However, I don’t think the avocation of education for any
ethnicity, race, gender, or class is ever a bad thing. Foundations like The
Valentino Achak Deng Foundation are beacons of progress and hope in a land
where destruction and conflict have ruled for far too long.
Interesting info

The offical website of the Valentino foundation- http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/

Dave Eggers What is the What lecture- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgbfBQc_ExM

Entry Five- The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Scrapbook Entry 5
Natalie Powers
Book Title- The Satanic Verses
Author- Salman Rushdie
Terms and Concepts:
The Satanic Verses is written by the controversial writer,
Salman Rushdie. I did not have much background knowledge of Muslim culture or religion, aside from mainstream media portrayals, before reading the Satanic
Verses. Many of the Hindi words used I did not know the meaning of. There are too many of these words used to define individually, but I understand that the author was trying to intertwine cultures this way. Unfamiliarity with the
Muslim religion caused some confusion when reading this book. For example, I
don’t know the story of Muhammad, who the prophets are, or the 5 pillars of
Islam. Researching these topics gave me a greater understanding of the novel.
Qur’an- When I first saw this word I didn’t know how to
pronounce it in Arabic so I didn’t make the connection that this word in
English is commonly seen as the Koran. I know the Koran is the sacred text of
the Muslim religion and would be the Muslim equivalent of the Bible. It was
helpful to do some general research about Muslim religion and Islamic culture
because I was fairly unfamiliar with many terms before reading The Satanic
Verses. It would be nearly impossible to define them all, but it is important
to know that there were many words in Arabic used throughout the text.
Multicultural- While the theme of the novel surrounds
Islamic culture, allusions to other cultures and religions are made.
International- While this is not the novel that originally
made Salman Rushdie famous, it certainly did grab international attention.
Critics and supporters from around the globe gave their opinions about the
novel. In the extreme cases, some nations and cultures supported political
actions against Rushdie that still continue on today including the fatwa from
Khomeini and recent travel restrictions in India. The range of international
impact The Satanic Verses has had reaches all the way to our university when
Salman Rushdie visited ECU last semester.
Magical Realism- This is the writing style which blends elements of fantasy
and reality to convey themes through symbolism. Rushdie uses magical realism in
The Satanic Verses when he
Islam- The religion which strongly opposes idolatry, polytheism, associating
anything or anyone with God. This monotheistic religion is dictated by the Qur’an,
with 5 specific pillars of Islam stating detailed ideals of Islam. Islam
believes that Muhammad is the last prophet of God, Allah.


The Author’s Conclusion:
The Satanic Verses
is a novel that is complex, allegorical, and widely praised and criticized. As
proven by the world-wide media, interpretation of the novel can be taken in a
variety of ways. When reading or interpreting the novel, it is hard not to
think of the controversy it has caused internationally. The extreme nature of
the fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini placed on Rushdie in 1989 is one major
instance among many that are still occurring today. Knowledge of the
controversies this novel has caused led me to read it with a critical eye,
looking out for themes or sections that would be the cause of this controversy.
Salman Rushdie is not trying to necessarily convince the
reader to subscribe to a certain belief, or to side with a particular argument.
The Satanic Verses does make references to religion through magical realism,
but in an effort to make the reader question different values associated with
religion and society.
The Author’s Argument:
The complexity of The Satanic Verses is conveyed through the
many themes of death and re-birth, transformation, good vs. evil, validity of
religion, and identity just to name a few. While each is developed concurrently
throughout the novel, I would agree with a statement made during our class
discussion that through the many symbolisms and themes, Rushdie’s main goal was
to make the reader question everything in life.
The reader should not only question what is right and wrong, good and
evil but rather what does “right” even mean? What does “evil” really mean? Where do we get these traditional definitions
we have always known and how do we know they are true? Rushdie uses religious
sub-contexts because religion removes the aspect of questioning what is good
and what is evil from devout followers. Blind faith traps individuals into
thought patterns that don’t allow for deviation or inclusion of any people who
have different beliefs.
There is irony of specific character traits and behaviors
being associated with titles that do not align. For example, angelic qualities
that are typically associated with being pure, holy, righteous, and inherently
good do not define the behaviors or qualities of Gibreel who is said to have
become “angelic” after the plane crash. Instead of being righteous, Gibreel,
whose name relates to the archangel Gabriel in Christianity, throws someone off
a roof! In contrast, after the plane crash Saladin transforms into and evil
goat like creature but behaves nicely and makes an effort to fit into English
culture.
Magical realism plays a
large part in developing the characters throughout the novel. A series of
dreams weave together several plots within the minds of Gibreel and Saladin.
Rushdie uses events from real life, such as the crash of flight AI-420 or the
attempted walk on water to Kerbala in Iraq of 38 fanatical Shi’ites in 1983, to
further emphasize the blend of reality and fantasy. The stories of Mahound, Mirza
Saeed Akhtar, Ayesha, and Baal are all intertwined with the ongoing
transformations of Gibreel and Saladin. Rushdie crafts the novel in this way in
order to make allusions and connotations to larger political, social, and
religious issues through fictitious stories.
Place in Course content:
Throughout our course we have been discussing the role of
post-colonial writers and what their purposes are in writing certain novels.
This refers to not only the themes and message the writer is trying to convey,
but the larger view he or she holds about what the writer’s purpose is in
relation to society as a whole. Salman Rushdie exerts his power as a
post-colonialist writer in a way which identifies with the mission of many
other literary-greats who also write novels that make society question the
current status quo of multicultural relations. Rushdie held the belief that
Islam had been taken over by a powerful clan of clerics and wrote “The Satanic
Verses” as way of responding.
Salman Rushie was not writing to get famous, and he did not
intend to write this novel in a controversial manner so that the book itself
would gain fame. His role as the writer was to make people question the meaning
of traditional values, in a non-traditional method. The writing style which
Salman Rushdie uses in this novel, magical realism, is similar to that
innovated by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I
thought that the use of magical realism and symbolism to tell allegorical
stories makes the reader question these values on a subconscious level. This all goes back to the chapters from
Mindsets we read towards the beginning of the semester. A person’s world-view
is the lens through which they view all other people, thoughts, and ideas.
Conflict is reduced and can even be eliminated when a person is able to
understand their own worldview, yet still accept that other people possess
their own mindsets that may be different, but no less in value.
During our discussion of The Satanic Verses the issue of
controversy came up several times. The notion that controversy spreads messages
quickly is definitely one that is demonstrated in this novel. During this
discussion I thought it was interesting that someone brought up the KONY 2012
viral facebook video. While my classmates brought up the point that it is “sad”
that many people only know about issues like this through a social media sight,
I stand by my belief that any way of spreading knowledge to bring about
positive change for humanity is a good one. Sometimes educating the world about
an issue or suppressed group of people is done by raising awareness. This
awareness can be done in many cases how we have been studying this semester
post-colonial literature. Although the stories are different and the goals of
the writers aren’t all the same, the common thread is to give light to that
which has been hidden in the darkness and a voice to those that have been
silenced for far too long. We in this class, at this university are lucky to
have the opportunity to discuss such issues. I think this opportunity of
knowledge acquisition also presents us with a responsibility to spread
awareness and education to those not presented with the same opportunities. By
all means, if facebook and twitter can get the word out about international
issue to reach billions of people in one day, then it is a useful tool and
shouldn’t be discounted because it is social media. Literature has been a vehicle for awareness
and change, and I think now as technology evolves it is sharing the stage with
the world wide web.

Additional Interesting Information
I think it is important to learn about the books and the
authors through other articles or videos about them because it gives us a new
perspective on the work and author. The overall goal of many of these novels is
to give a new perspective to one that has been formerly unheard. Therefore, I
think it does justice to the writers and their novels to learn about them from
a variety of sources.
Guardian article- http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/11/salman-rushdie-satanic-verses
This article, “How one book ignited a culture war,” provides
an interesting take on how the Satanic Verses shaped the geopolitical and
literary world in the past 20 years. It raises the point that threats like the
fatwa from Khomeini are a type of censorship by fear.
But The Satanic Verses remains a book about the struggles of
migration and the frictions of cultural exchange. It pokes fun at all manner of
targets, not least America and Britain. Above all, perhaps, it dramatises the
conviction that there is nothing more sacred than the freedom to question what
is sacred. Twenty years on, it's a principle that urgently needs to be
remembered.

Entry Four- Kite Runner

Kite Runner
Natalie Powers
Terms and Concepts
Kabul- The capital and largest city in Afganistan. It is also the capital of Kabul Province, in the
eastern section of Afganistan.

Wazir Akbar Khān- The wealthiest neighborhood in
northern Kabul, Afganistan. Many embassies are located
here, including the U.S.
and Canadian. This is where the protagonist, Amir, is from.
Hazara – An ethnic minority of Persian speaking people who mainly live in central Afganistan and Pakistan. The majority are Shia Muslims. This is the ethnicity of Hassan
and Ali.
Pashtuns - Eastern Iranian ethnic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. An ethnic majority in Afghanistan, Pashtuns speak
Pashto language and practice Pashtunwali, which is a traditional set of ethics guiding
individual and communal conduct. This is the ethnicity of
Amir and his father, Baba.
The Taliban- An Islamist militant and political group that ruled large parts of Afghanistan and its capital, Kabul, as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 until October 2001. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all recognize The Taliban.

I relate the overall purpose and message of this novel to that of The
Satanic Verses and The God of Small Things. This fictional work does justice to
the reality of actual historical events that occurred, and difficult relationships
that could be feasibly real. The author, Khaled
Hosseini, makes the reader question the ‘big things,’ the ‘small things,’
relationships, love, and identity by creating a fictional work with very
realistic events. Hosseini makes the statement that nothing in life is easy and
solutions to complex problems are not always easily found. The end result of the characters not ever
reaching complete understanding or satisfaction with their lives stresses how
the author was seeking to provide a realistic portrayal of life’s challenges. Although
the complexities and challenges of life are the main influencing factors, the
novels ending is hopeful. Hosseini stated that he was prompted to write this novel after seeing a CNN report that the Taliban had banned kite flying. The ending of Amir running the kite for Sohrab shows
how Hosseini was imparting the message that while life is full of difficult and
painful times, hope is what must remain in order to make progress both
personally and for society.
The relationships and
emotions of characters in Kite Runner parallel to the complexity of
relationships in The God of Small Things. Maintenance of outward appearance is the
most important thing for Amir who is constantly trying to gain the approval of
his father. The fact that Amir does not intervene during the rape of his
closest friend, or ever tell of the incident afterword shows how “small things”
are concealed to preserve a certain image to larger society. For example, class
differences and conflicts between the Hazara and the Pasthuns can be comparable
to the caste system in India which we have learned while reading the God of
Small Things. Ali, and his “son,” Hassan, are the ethnic minority, Hazara and must
live their lives accordingly. Ali is Baba’s servant and later in the novel
Hassan will not stay in Amir’s old room because he doesn’t want to dishonor
him. Assef’s abuse of Hassan begins with criticism and threats to Amir, a
Pasthun, because he is hanging out with Hassan, a Hazara. While the ‘big things’
such as the caste system, religion, and politics are highly visible in society,
the ‘small things’ like inner-caste sexual relations or rape that aren’t
noticed have deep ramifications and meaning to those involved. The revelations
throughout the novel of Hassan’s true father and Amir’s relation to his
childhood friend also demonstrate how the more personal aspects of someone’s life
are hidden so as not to tarnish a person or family’s reputation.
The darker, and
by most standards highly inappropriate experiences are comparable to the
molestation of Estha in The God of Small Things. The pedophiliac actions of Assef,
Sohrab’s attempted suicide, and the rape of Hassan serve to demonstrate the
severity of traumatic events that shape the character’s identity and
relationships with others. The fall of innocence is a theme present in Kite
Runner, The God of Small Things, and The Satanic Verses. While Amir and Estha’s
fall from innocence is the result of inappropriate sexual acts, Gibreel and
Saladin also experience a change in worldview after the plane crash. The
characters in all three novels
Loyalty, pride,
and the ongoing quest to eliminate guilt are important themes which solidify,
and also break, the relationships among different characters throughout the
novel. For example, Rahim Khan’s loyalty to Baba plays a major role in giving Amir
the opportunity to alleviate his childhood guilt by connecting him to Hassan’s
son, Sohrab. Displacement also plays an important role in the novel. Baba and
Amir are forced to leave their home in Kabul for Pakistan and eventually
America because of the Soviet invasion.
It was
interesting to read this novel because it is set a country which had such a
huge impact on the United States in the past 10 years. Before reading I knew
the novel was set in Afghanistan so my immediate thoughts surrounded the September
11 terrorist attacks, the Taliban, and the subsequent wars in the Middle East
that have resulted. Like many of the novels we have read in this course, Kite Runner also has been criticized certain
portrayals of controversial issues. The novel has been criticized for its ‘westernized’
portrayal of the Taliban as ‘evil’ due to the nature of Assef’s pedophilia and inappropriate
sexual actions towards several characters. As seen in this criticism, mindsets
can certainly play a role in how we view other cultures. As an American, the
only news I’ve ever seen about the Taliban is negative. It would be incredibly
difficult to look at the Taliban and who they are from a different perspective
because of 9/11. I enjoyed reading this novel because I had limited knowledge
of Afghanistan outside of mainstream media. Although the story is fictitious,
the setting and characters provided me with a new cultural perspective of a region in the Middle East that I was unfamiliar with.

Other useful information:

Article from TIME magazine about the author- http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1622583,00.html

Link to the webpage of the movie adaptation of Kite Runner- http://www.kiterunnermovie.com/, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419887/

Khaled Hosseini's webiste- http://www.khaledhosseini.com/hosseini-books-kiterunner.html

Entry Three- Color Me English by Caryl Phillips

Book Title- Color Me English

Author- Caryl Phillips

Terms and Concepts:
When reading any text personal information about the author
can aid in understanding his/her point of view based upon their past
experiences. In Color Me English a major directing factor in Mr. Phillips’ life
is the fact he immigrated with his parents from St. Kitts to Leeds, England
when he was 4 years old. I knew St. Kitts was an island but didn’t know any
information about its’ culture or history.
I thought it was important to learn a little about St. Kitts and Leeds
in order to understand the book better because the author tells many
autobiographical stories referencing both of these locations. For example the
author discusses the transformation of the dreary city of Leeds from his
childhood perspective to then the updated multicultural city he views in
adulthood.
“There is a directness about storytelling, involving as it
does human beings as the central players, which means that we often look first
to our writers for news of who and what we are. Words cohering into language
form the bedrock of our identity, and explain our human condition”- Caryl
Phillips
“Europe needs writers
to explicate this transition, for literature is plurality in action; it
embraces and celebrates a place of no truths, it relishes ambiguity and it
deeply respects the place where everybody has the right to be understood.”
I thought these quotes were great summaries of how Phillips
views the role of the writer. Throughout the book he is trying to show through
examples that the writer plays a key role in the global society by creating
identity, working towards racial equality, and educating all members of society
on the perspective of the ‘others.’

The Author’s Conclusion:
The author, Caryl Phillips uses a variety of themes
connected by telling both biographical and autobiographical stories to convey
his perspective on the issues.
Fighting, Running, and Reading- From a mostly
autobiographical viewpoint, Phillips describes his childhood experiences in
school to show how he relied on reading to protect himself from the exclusion
he felt as an immigrant child in an all white school.
Growing Apart from Family- Phillips discusses the
differences between immigrant parents and their children in several different
stories. He emphasizes the divide created between immigrant parent and child
due in part because of the greater cultural adaptation of the child and
cultural misunderstanding of the parent. Immigrant children are more easily
able to integrate into the host society because they are exposed to various
cultural situations at an early age opposed to the parent who emigrates with a
more established set of values from their home country. Phillips stated in an
interview, “To the first generation migrant, there’s still a tentative
anxiety-fueled exchange that they have with society, that, you know, their
children, often, just don’t have that.”
Immigration in the U.S. as compared to Europe-
Phillips argues that immigration to the United States is an
easier process of assimilation for the migrant because American culture is more
accepting of immigrants than a country like Britain. Although I can agree with
Phillips that America is accepting of immigrants compared with many other
countries, the majority of people I know are anti-immigration, in large part
from lack of education on the topic. I would say the majority of Americans who
reject immigrants possess the one track mindset that immigrants are job
stealers who are using up our resources for free when in fact many migrants are
helping many local economies survive.
In Color Me English, Caryl Phillips uses a unique
storytelling style of writing in order to convince the reader of several key
points by describing to them how he has experienced and observed certain
realities about racism and cultural ‘othering’ around the world and especially in
Europe and America. Although Phillips is advocating for racial equality, he is
mainly calling upon writers to be the agent of change in creating a truly
accepting multicultural world. He describes how writers not only create
identity, but also educate society about people and cultures they are
unfamiliar with. Literature, in Phillips’ opinion, is an educational tool
which, if crafted properly, will ultimately lead to greater understanding among
different races, religions, and perspectives.
The Author’s Argument:
What assumptions underlie the author’s point of view?
1. Immigrants struggle in new cultures because they are viewed and
treated as “outsiders”

2. The role of a post-colonial writer is a leader. Their role is
diminished by the “culture of celebrity.” Going or moving abroad gives
perspective on homeland (pg 131) Writers can help create and solidify identity.

3. Literature can be used to explain immigration, migrants, and
cultural diversity.

4. The reality of racial conflicts and disparities in America are not
accurately portrayed to the rest of the world.

What evidence does she/he give?
1.1-“Successful integration does mean that immigrants adapt
to the new country, but it also means that the new country adapts to them.” (pg
15)

2.1-“There is a directness about storytelling, involving as it does
human beings as the central players, which means that we often look first to
our writers for news of who and what we are. Words cohering into language form
the bedrock of our identity, and explain our human condition.”
2.2-“In this brave new world, the writer’s voice is no more important
than that of a model or an actor.”

3.1-“…literature is plurality in action…it implores us to
act with a compassion born of familiarity towards our fellow human beings, be
they Christian, Jew, Muslim, black, brown, or white. This is truly my hope for
Europe, and I know that the writer has a crucial part to play in this.”- Caryl
Phillips
4.1- “One of the greatest
tenets of United States lore is the irrespective of race, religion, or
ethnicity, everybody has equality of opportunity.”
4.2- “Like all immigrants we arrive and metaphorically kiss
the ground, and then we stand up and look around and slowly we realize and this
process often takes many years, that the place we thought we were travelling to
is, in fact, imaginary. In 1990 I had arrived in an imaginary United States of
America.”
What is the logic of the presentation?
The author uses a unique writing style which is literary, cultural, and
autobiographical. Color Me English is a compilation of experiences and stories
from the past 20 years in Phillips’ life. The autobiographical stories are not
in chronological order and are mixed among other stories to create parallels in
the themes. The book is divided into different sections with sub chapters in
each. The main chapters are Homeland Security, American dispatches, Growing
Pains, Overtures, Outside In, and Distant Shores.

Place in Course content:
Color Me English shares common themes with other novels,
lectures, and discussions we have had in class including displacement,
othering, immigration, exclusion, connectedness, identity
The author’s argument in this book is very relevant on a
global scale today. The struggles Phillips personally experiences as an
immigrant as well as the larger social issues he addresses are at the forefront
of geopolitical society worldwide. Community adaptation to immigrants has been
an issue for centuries and continues to create conflicts today. Take, for
example, the recent dramatic rise of Latino immigrant population in the U.S.
South. The increasing presence of Latino
communities in North Carolina alone is changing the economy, culture, politics,
and job market whether native North Carolinians accept it or not. Part of the
cultural conflicts between Americans and immigrants is
The changing notions of culture we are experiencing are also
major themes of Phillips’ that is present in our everyday lives. Cultures around
the world are mixing and being redefined at a faster rate than ever before.
Just as this course is providing us with a multitude of
different perspectives to understand different cultures, Caryl Phillips also
argues that literature is a major vehicle to be used for integrating migrants
into new cultures and for natives to understand the migrant perspective. His
belief that storytelling is a method for cultural education is the exact goal
of this course; to provide insight and exposure to a certain point of view via
literary work. Several times throughout the book Phillips references how he
identifies with other writers of the same discourse and goals including Chinua
Achebe, James Baldwin, and Ha Jin.
Phillips speaks directly about America in several chapters
of Color Me English. He questions the United States from an immigrants
perspective of a false ‘American Dream,’ as well as criticizing American
citizens for being “indifferent to any narrative, and interested only in
pursuing their own non-scripted roles as studio guests in the reality show
called The United States of America.” As an American, I feel the questions
Phillips raises about the lack of empathy for immigrants in the U.S. are valid,
mainly due to a lack of education. I also agree with Phillips’ point that
writers possess the power to improve multicultural understanding by raising
awareness of the post-colonial perspective.
“There is white America, black America, brown America, and
yellow America, and they are all to some degree separate and undeniably
unequal. This is not the face of the United States that is exported to the
rest of the world.”
Racial injustice is also discussed in several chapters of
Color Me English which made me think of the nobel speech by Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. When reading I found parallels between Caryl Phillips and Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. based on the way they discuss their hope and desire for racial
equality. They both advocate for the U.S. being a country that truly embraces
“dignity, equality, jobs, and citizenship” for all. (MLK, nobel speech) While both men are hopeful that racial
injustice will be eliminated, Caryl Phillips describes the current global
situation from a jaded point of view, especially in regards to the United
States. Phillips desires the changes MLK
spoke about during the civil rights movements of the 60’s, but knows in reality
today different races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic classes do not have equal
opportunities in the U.S. and in many places around the world. The idea that fighting
for racial equality is an ongoing struggle is one that appears not only in Dr.
King’s nobel speech, but in many of the other texts from class including
“Colonization and Canonization.”
Interesting
Additional Information
BBC Interview- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-noEjVuXeMk
In this youtube video Caryl Phillips is being interview by
the BBC on Color Me English and his perspective on racism and writers. Since a major theme of the book is that
writers serve as educators against racism, I thought of the various videos
online, this one gave a succinct summary of Phillips’ point of
Caryl Phillips’ website- http://www.carylphillips.com/
NPR Interview- http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-09-21/caryl-phillips-color-me-english
This interview NPR is somewhat lengthy, but gives great
insight into Phillips’ motivation to write Color Me English and the messages
and actions he hopes the book will achieve.
Guardian Article- http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/17/caryl-phillips-edinburgh-once-upon-a-life

Entry Two- Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani

Book Title- Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories

Author- Ghassan Kanafani

Terms and Concepts:

Political Activism- The author, Ghassan Kanafani, is a
Palestinian writer and political activist. His experiences as a Palestinian refugee prompted him to write this collection of short stories as a means to discuss the struggles of the Palestinian people. Kanafani was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Arab-Israeli War- When learning about the author, I
discovered he was exiled due to conflicts during the Arab-Israeli War. I was unaware of virtually any information about this war, but I felt it was important to research it so I could better understand the perspective of the
author. This conflict was between the Israelis and Palestinians, and caused the
Palestinian exodus of 1948. This mass displacement of Palestinian people was a
major part of Kanafani’s life and reason for creating literature which exposed
the plight of his people.

Multicultural- The clash of fundamental beliefs between the
Israelis and Palestinians in the 1948 war displayed how the existence of
different cultures in the same region can cause conflict. The Palestinian
region is historically multicultural in that Arabs and Israelis have been
living in physically neighboring regions while both possessing fundamentally
different religious views.

International- While each of the 7 stories in Men in the Sun deals with Palestine, the
larger themes Kanafani addresses are international issues. As his wife said
about him, “He always stressed that the Palestine problem could not be solved
in isolation from the Arab world’s social and political situation.”-Anni
Kanafani

The Author’s Conclusion:
The themes and messages of the stories throughout Men in the Sun are written with the
plight of the Palestinian people at the core, without specifically referencing
this problem or the events which caused it. As a writer and a political
activist, Kanafani wants the reader to be aware of the suppression of his
people and their rights. However, instead of writing an autobiographical
account of his refuge, Kanafani crafted his stories carefully to convey the
same troubles he and his fellow Palestinians experienced in a fictitious way.
The style of Kanafani’s writing in this collection of stories serves to
universalize the shared experiences such as displacement, hopelessness, and the
effects of war. In this sense Kanafani is trying to convince the reader not
simply that the Palestinian’s plight was wrong, but that these experiences are
universal in nature and the solutions can be found in a social-political revolution.
Kanafani is credited as an author who modernized the
influence of Arab literature. Although his stories in Men in the Sun were
fictitious, many of the tales could be applied to the lives of displaced
Palestinians, or really any group of people that have been forced out of their
homeland. For example, in Men in the Sun, each of the 4 men is journeying to Kuwait
by different motivations but for the same search of better opportunities for
themselves and their families. This search for a better life, despite the risks
of the journey, is something humans of many different cultures can understand
and relate to.

Each story in the collection seeks to address some aspect of
the Palestinian struggle and universalize it for greater understanding. The
individual characters, such as Umm Saad, are representations of different
people and aspects of Palestinian struggle in a holistic view. Umm Saad and her
story represent the women and working class who remain steadfast in standing up
for what they believe in while The Land of Sad Oranges displays the deep
connection of a Palestinian man to his land. From the perspective of someone
who was previously very unfamiliar with Arab culture or history, I think
Kanafani achieves this goal.

The Author’s Argument:
The author’s experiences living during the Arab-Israeli
conflicts and subsequent expulsion of his family from their homeland were a
major part in dictating the purpose of his life and writing. Kanafani was a
member of various political groups during his life including the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine as well as the Arab Nationalist Movement. His
hope was for social revolution to change the plight of the Palestinian people.
Kanafani discusses the tragic hardships the Palestinians
experienced as a result of their displacement from their native homelands. For
example, the story Men in the Sun tells of 3 men traveling through the dessert
in extreme heat and danger in search of job opportunities. The fact that they
are basically willing to risk their lives on this quest shows the severity of
their condition. The irony of the 3 men’s deaths in the water-tank serves to reiterate the tragedy caused by the expulsion of the Palestinians. Kanafani’s experience and knowledge of similar displacements of his people is the underlying current in telling a story that exemplifies the
ongoing struggles and grief associated with Palestinian plight.

Place in Course content:
This collection of short stories was difficult for me to
dissect and understand partly because my lack of previous knowledge of Arab
culture, as well as the style of writing/references Kanafani uses. I had a
grasp of Men in the Sun, The Land of Sad Oranges, A Hand in the Grave, and Umm
Saad while I was confused by “If You Were a Horse…,” The Falcon, and the Letter
from Gaza. Only after additional research and our class discussion did I have a
better understanding of Kanafani’s purpose of writing and the individual
stories. This reading in particular showed me how important it is to understand
who the writer is and how their life experiences have shaped their literature. The
political situations surrounding Palestine and Kanafani’s background played a
major role in the symbolisms and themes of the stories. For example, from The
Land of Sad Oranges, “And all the orange trees that your father had abandoned
to the Jews shone in his eyes, all the well-tended orange trees that he had
bought one by one were printed on his face and reflected in the tears that he
could not control in front of the officer at the police post.” The loss of land
caused by displacement in Palestine was not simply a physical loss, but a loss
of livelihood, family, history, and future all at the same time.

Men in the Sun takes its place in our course as a novel
meant to bring about awareness and change of a particular issue indirectly.
Kanafani wasn’t directly writing this book in order to change the course of the
Palestinians, but to tell the stories of his people by representing the
universality of their plight. Kanafani’s goal of giving a voice to those who
cannot speak to the larger international society is shared among many
postcolonial writers. Similarly to other authors, Kanafani played a major role
in changing the structure of literature in his culture. As a political activist for the PFLP and
editor for several political newspapers, he spoke and acted upon his beliefs
throughout his lifetime. Kanafani’s eventual death in a car bombing is just one
testament to how he voiced his political beliefs despite the dangers associated
with activism in the region.

This is a link to Kanafani's website- http://www.ghassankanafani.com/indexen.html

This is one of the sites I used to learn more about the author- http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Acre/Story168.html

I was intrigued to learn that there is a Cultural Foundation in Kanafani's honor. This foundation was founded in 1974 for the purpose of providing educational opportunities to refugee children ages 3-18 in deprived areas of Lebanon. This is a link to the site- http://www.kanafani.dk/gkk_main_eng.htm

I also thought it was interesting that Kanafani was a painter. Below is an example of one of his works.