5/11 SHORT FICTION genre blog post
                                                  "Sexy" By: Jhumpa Lahiri

     
       The theme I saw in "Sexy" was the theme of Partition. Partition is the characters are divided against others, and are divided within themselves. "He had brought the magazine specially to her apartment, for she did not own an atlas, or any other books with maps in them" (Lahiri 1651). "She didn't tell Laxmi about Dev.She didn't tell anyone. Part of her wanted to tell Laxmi, if only because Laxmi was Indian too"(Lahiri 1654). The theme of keeping secrets is also strongly seen in this short fiction. These quotes grabbed my attention that fit the theme of separation from others, and separation of the world itself. Normally, people have maps in there homes, or an atlas. But Miranda didn't, she seemed to be on different world from everyone else. And her keeping secrets from Laxmi is dividing herself from Laxmi. Not being honest with Laxmi or Dev's wife is dividing them all together.

       This theme is seen in many other readings we have read throughout the class. It is seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin, as the slaves are divided against the slave owners and the rest of the world that is free and doesn't have to deal with slavery. Eliza is divided against her owner, when they try to sell her son Harry, which then made her run away for the sake of staying with her son. So, she felt divided within herself if she would have lost her son. In Beloved, Baby Suggs was divided against her mother Sethe who killed her own daughter. Sethe was also divided within herself, when her two sons left her. The yellow wall paper, the wife was divided against the outside world because her husband kept her in the house. Me personally when something happens in my family that isn't the best, it really divides me against them and divides them against me until something brings us back together. This theme of Partition can be seen in many readings and other issues all over.

        The quotes I used above "He had brought the magazine specially to her apartment, for she did not own an atlas, or any other books with maps in them" (Lahiri 1651). The author is suggesting that Miranda has little to no connection with other places. But once she met this man Dev, he brought the knowledge of maps and other countries to her which then made her more interested. She is divided from the outside world by not having the maps in her home. The characterization and the way Miranda was represented by the narrator seemed to be partitioning. She didn't care about her having the affair with Dev. She was fluttered with the love she had for Dev, and was disconnected from the rest of the world, and disconnected from her family and friends, and the fact that Dev had a wife of his own. The imagery used makes me picture her, clueless when he realizes that she has no maps in her apartment. I picture Miranda as a young woman that is stuck in her own world and goes day by day talking to herself and doesn't get out much. Then she meets Dev, and her world changes, and she divides herself from what her life was like, and brings him into her life and her world seems to be more about the love she has for Dev. Dev, seems to be divided against others, and doesn't realize the hurt he can be putting on people. His trust and love for his wife is divided as he has the affair with Miranda.

        I enjoyed reading this short fiction piece. It was kind of odd at first and then eventually got more interesting towards the end. I got many themes from reading this, like body image with Miranda and the lingerie trying to make Dev want her more, but he was divided by the true love connection and only wanted Miranda for the sexual aspect. But the theme of Partition stood out to me, these characters all seem to have some sort of division between other characters or just the world itself. I wonder if Miranda had more knowledge with maps, and actually had maps and could figure out where Dev was from that this story would be much different. If Dev would have stuck around and "used" Miranda. Or if her knowledge and having more smarts would have changed his mind. And Miranda who is neither Indian, nor Indian-American is not immune to the divide of cultures. Which then, she feels guilty about her love connection with Dev, but the desire for him continues. Lahiri makes her characters, and each person, their own continent.

Literary Analysis

Dehumanization is seen in both Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Beloved by Toni Morrison. My theme of Dehumanization is very significant in both novels. In Uncle Tom's Cabin the dehumanization is more towards the slaves and how they were treated by there slave owners. How poorly and unfair there lives were going through the slave trades, living with slave owners, and being separated from family. In Beloved, the theme of Dehumanization is seen more through what Sethe had gone through in her life. There were many instances where a slave was demoralized, degraded or abused throughout Beloved and in Uncle Tom's Cabin as well.From how she was treated by Paul D, the death of baby Suggs. Paul D and Sethe experienced the worst  part of slavery then the rest of the characters. When they were under the roof of Mr.Garner, they were treated like human beings. But when Mr.Garner had died, everything changed. The whole part with the rooster. That the "rooster is better and stronger then him, and he has been degraded so low that he considers the rooster to be a king"(86). Paul D then thinks he is weak, that the animals is better and stronger then he is. Paul D says "Mister was allowed to be and stay what he was, but i wasn't allowed to be or stay what I was"(86). Meaning Paul D lost his true abilities that define him as human. Which is dehumanizing to him, because everyone should be able to be and stay what they want and have the abilities that make him human. Sethe taking the life of Baby Suggs is dehumanizing to Baby Suggs. All her chances of life were ripped away from her because of Sethe's choices. Baby Suggs is similar to Uncle Tom, they both had their chance at life taken away from them. They still try to help everyone as much as possible even if they aren't happy. They stick around and never give up, unlike some of the characters in both Novels. Beloved has a lot of power. Power over everyone, and power to the past like the slave owners in Uncle Tom's Cabin. They had power over the slaves and Beloved pretty much had power over anyone she crossed paths with.  Paul D says " I couldn't... I had a bit in my mouth"(69). An example of how Paul D was dehumanized and physically abused. This took place when Sethe tried confronting Paul D about the rape that happened, but because he had the bit in his mouth it prevented him from speaking and couldn't communicate which is physically dehumanizing to him and making him feel like an object. He can't be free from the bit, he can't communicate with Sethe, he is more or less trapped and is stuck like property.
  In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Eliza was told her son harry was going to be sold and separated from her to new slave owners. They had no choice, but had to do whatever there current slave owner said. In fear, Eliza fled to save her child Harry from being sold. The slaves tried to beg for food, but there was a "law that forbid anyone for giving slaves food". Tom was tossed around and put into jail while they traveled places so he wouldn't try and run away. How dehumanizing these slaves were treated  was seen in both novels. I was surprised to see the dehumanization theme in Beloved, but it is definitely there.

Contemporary Connections

                                                    Given The Evidence
This short article from a newspaper/ magazine discussed the Dehumanization in immigrants in 2016. "Mixed children were at risk for detention or deportation"(1) depending on their race and the race of their parents. This is strong dehumanization on their race and is similar in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Beloved. Similar to Uncle Tom's Cabin because Harry was told he was going to be sold from his mother Eliza to a new slave owner. His mother had no say, and he had no say as well. Just like the mixed children in the article. There was no slave trading in Beloved, but if their was that would be similar to these cases. And just the overall idea that these mixed, and slaves were looked at differently by whites and other races during these times. "Dehumanization of Mexican immigrants and Muslims during the 2016 presidential primary, asking participants to point out where they belong on the 'Evolution of Man' diagram"(1). This seems down grading to the Mexican and Muslim races. This Evolution of Man diagram is making them feel like they belong at the bottom and different then everyone else in the world. Just like in Uncle Tom's Cabin and Beloved. The people were treated differently and put at the bottom. The women in Beloved would be more towards the bottom of this diagram, where say Paul D would be more towards the top of the diagram, as he would have more knowledge and working skills then the women. "Trump supports were far more likely to put Mexicans and Muslim's as being less human than average Americans"(1). And "Latinos and Muslim's residents said they feel dehumanized by their fellow Americans"(1). Which the people in Uncle Tom's Cabin felt dehumanized by their slave owners and how they were treated. The people in Beloved also had some dehumanization especially how some of the characters were treated by Paul D. The way baby Suggs acted towards them. And the way the community thought of the family and the way they lived. Reading these novels does inform how we think about issues in 2017. These issues of Dehumanization are still going on everywhere today. Which this example of the dehumanizing of immigrants and how Trump decides things connects back to our readings. It may not be as bad as it was back in Uncle Tom's time, but it is still going on today.


                                           Indiana Law Review
The short article I read involving dehumanization on a child. This ten year old Abdul was trying to be a normal boy but that was not the case. "Abdul has been working for three years, working six days a week for up to fourteen hours per day, but has never earned wages for his work, instead, occasionally receives scraps of food to eat"(1). Just like in Uncle Tom's Cabin, the slaves would be made to work for long periods of time and not get paid. Abdul is lucky he got food sometimes for the work he did. Abdul would get "Locked in a small room at night, and is not permitted to leave the work premises"(1). Just like the slaves in the books, they would most likely be living at the place they work at, and wouldn't be allowed to leave unless instructed too. "He fears trying to leave as his friends witnessed guards cut open the feet of workers who have attempted to escape"(1). This type of situation would be seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin if slaves would try to escape. The characters in Beloved also feared leaving home and being alone and away from their family to fend for themselves. "Abdul bears machete scars on his legs, but his emotional scare go much deeper"(1). As in Beloved. Sethe had scars on her back that looked like cherry trees. Sethe's death of baby Suggs left emotional scars on her and the family. Slaves in Uncle Tom's Cabin were whipped and treated poorly that left the visible scars, but they had the emotional scars that go deeper too from all the things they have been through and being away from there families. "To protect basic human rights has proved difficult"(4). This is seen in both Beloved and Uncle Tom's Cabin, there basic human rights as humans were proved difficult because they were not given basic human rights making it dehumanizing. The readings of these novels inform how we think about the issues in 2017, like the other article I read proves dehumanization still goes on today, this proves as well as dehumanization is still going on. No matter peoples ages, jobs, race etc.




Sources:

Wookster. "The U.S. Constitution and Money." Scribd. Scribd, 1 Mar. 2017. Web. 04 May 2017. <https://www.scribd.com/document/61570612/The-U-S-Constitution-and-Money>. <a href="https://ezproxy.uwc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s5805083&db=a9h&AN=122563594&site=ehost-live&scope=site">WHAT SHOULD A SHOWING OF INTENT OR PURPOSE REQUIRE IN A CASE OF CORPORATE ACCESSORY LIABILITY FOR CHILD SLAVERY UNDER THE ALIEN TORT STATUTE?</a>

Association, American Humanist. "Direct Evidence." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, 1 Mar. 2017. Web. 04 May 2017. <http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/direct+evidence>.

<a href="https://ezproxy.uwc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s5805083&db=a9h&AN=121362217&site=ehost-live&scope=site">GIVEN the EVIDENCE.</a>

                                                       Reader Response

Goodreads: The overall rating to Beloved on Goodreads was a 3.76, and had more good reviews then bad ones. Most of the good reviews said it was a great book to read, "Beloved was a great American horror novel. I got chills, physical chills-over and over while reading this book. It has the scary element to it" (Jessica 1). People that rated this book recommended it to anyone with 'human' emotions, if you have broken hearts that are in search of mending, and it make's a good mother's day gift. The few that gave it a bad review said they hated the book, they thought the characters like Beloved were annoying and confusing. People started to read half way through the book, and then stop reading and give up because they didn't like it to continue.

Barnes and Noble: The overall rating to Beloved on Barnes and Noble was a 4, a better rating then Goodreads. Again, had more good reviews then bad ones. Reviewers on Barnes and Noble said "It was like nothing I've ever read before"(Anonymous 1). I also seen another person talk about the idea of Toni Morrison's haunting novel, like on Goodreads someone thought it was a great American horror novel. Beloved was an amazing book and a must read. Some readers said they went into the book with a bad attitude and got half way through the book with a totally different mind and really got into it and loved the rest of the book. Another said it was the "most moving,soulful story of the slavery experience I have ever read"(Anonymous 1). There were also a few bad reviewers but only like two or three. They said they had a "hard time with the book, it was confusing and annoying, and you had to reread some parts and try to absorb what they were saying to better understand" (Karatepen 1). Which was also similar to Goodreads in the bad reviews on Beloved.

Amazon: The overall rating to Beloved on Amazon was a 3.9. About the same as Barnes and Noble. Amazon had more good reviews then bad ones. The good reviewers said Beloved it truly a great book, a must read, and hard to put it down. "The story is not one of suffering, but one of persevering through the insufferable" (Bennet 1). A few others said Beloved was a beautiful poetic Novel. Shows great emotions in the characters and such real feelings. Also connected to what people said in Goodreads and Barnes and Noble that idea of a classic, haunting story about slavery. The only bad reviews I saw said it was sometimes hard to read and understand and could be a complex novel at times. Which I also saw in the Goodreads and Barnes and Noble.

Positive reviews: I totally agree with the good reviewers comments. Beloved is a great book and a great read. It does show true feelings through the characters and has that haunting story because of the death of Baby Suggs and her haunting the past traumas.
Negative reviews: I also agree with some of the negative reviewers comments. Beloved at first when I started to read it was kind of boring, and I didn't know what to expect from the beginning. At parts of the book it was confusing and difficult to pick out where the characters were, or what they were talking about. But I tried to read the book out loud to better hear and get more of a feeling what was going on. But I disagree with the reviewers that said it was an awful book, and that no one should bother to pick it up and read it. The characters were not annoying at all, I think all the characters have there own special place in the book that is unique and fits them right. Everyone has there own opinions, but I think the people that started reading the Novel Beloved that quit in the middle and gave up, should go back and finish the book because it gets better after the beginning.


Sources:
Bennet, James S. "Beloved." Amazon. N.p., 8 June 2004. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. <https://www.amazon.com/Beloved-Toni-Morrison/dp/1400033411/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492221938&sr=8-1&keywords=beloved>.

Jessica. "Beloved." Goodreads. N.p., 26 Jan. 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6149.Beloved?from_search=true>.

Karatapen, and Anonymous. "Beloved." Barnes & Noble. N.p., 8 June 2004. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beloved-toni-morrison/1001875673?ean=9781400033416>.

                                               Critical Commentary
Article: Approaching the Thing of Slavery: A Lacanian Analysis of Toni Morrison's Beloved.
                                             By:Sheldon George

The main point of this article is based on the characters past experiences of suffering.The life of Sethe and what she had gone through in her past, and the ghost that still haunts her. When Sethe talks about "Sweet Home as a place from her past that is "still there," not just in her "memory," but "out there outside [her] head". Speaking of her traumatic enslavement at Sweet Home, Sethe asserts, "even though it's  over—and done for—it's going to always be there waiting," because "that place is real"(George 1). That is an example of how Sethe's memories from her past seem to be gone to her, but in reality will never leave her, "that things just stay (George 1). Which is also the case for other characters and what they went through. Baby Suggs was killed by her own mother, she will obviously have that trauma the rest of her life that she wants gone from her mind but will always be there with her. Paul D and what he went through in Sweet Home, finding about what Sethe had done. There is a lot of traumas that these characters went through which is what this article is greatly expressing. The writer Sheldon George also talks about the idea of repetition in Beloved. The "repetition plays in the lives of both it's African American characters and many of the members of it's contemporary African American Audience" (George 1). The repetition of the novel's African American characters and what identity they have. The characters used in Beloved like Sethe, have some real life character that they are based off of. Sheldon George also states that "Beloved, intended to the reader to feel and experience " what was happening (7). Reading this article helped me better understand the idea of the "ghost". How baby suggs is haunting Sethe's past and that a lot of the African American Slaves have also experienced haunting's in there lives because of the trauma they all went through dealing with slavery. This interpretation helped me better understand why Sethe acts the way she does. Why Denver thinks her mother is crazy, and why Baby Suggs is haunting her family member's and where she grew up at 124. I agree with the Author's interpretation. From all our in class discussions, I feel what he had to say was very accurate. The haunting's Sethe dealt with, the idea about trauma and racial identity's is seen throughout the whole book. Reading the book, we do get that "feel and experience" what is happening in the scenes.


Source:
George, Sheldon. "Approaching the Thing of Slavery: A Lacanian Analysis of Toni Morrison's Beloved." MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO Host). N.p., 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uwc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=758824ad-3511-4376-bd54-0c8e85356909%40sessionmgr101&vid=8&hid=102>.

Race and the American Novel: Beloved

                                    Beloved By:Toni Morrison
      My theme related to the literary depiction of racial issues that I want to explore is,
      Dehumanization: to treat someone as though he or she is not a human being. 

                                     Thursday March 23rd Genre Blog:
                                         Lady Lazarus By Sylvia Plath

                     Lady Lazarus throughout shows the theme of Suffering.

In Lady Lazarus, the person in the poem has a lot of emotional connection with the author Sylvia Plath. The way she expresses the poem and the word choice she uses forms an idea that she is very unhappy and is suffering.
                  I have done it again.
                 One year in every ten
                  I manage it-
                  (Plath 1418)

                  Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
                  The first time it happened I was ten.
                  It was an accident.
                  (Plath 1419)

                  For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
                  For the hearing of my heart-
                  It really goes.
                  (Plath 1420)

These quotes grab my attention and shows that the "Lady Lazarus" that she is describing is not happy and suffering in many ways.

In class we discussed the idea of what Lady Lazarus means. That it is a strong religious symbol, dealing with "Jesus restoring him to life four days after his death" and "to a cat with nine lives" (Plath 1419) . Christ and "the most irresistible enemy of humanity-death" which we see a lot of in this poem.
                                         
We had a classmate present the Literary Context presentation on Confessional Poetry which we learned a lot about the author Sylvia Plath and her rough past. Her father's death at the young age of eight years old. Had a big impact on Plath. Then soon after, while she was in college she attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills. Later on then she got married and had a child, but soon found out her husband was cheating on her and the marriage broke apart. She then, had the responsibility to take care of her children alone, and with little money. She then did not have much time to write her poems and stories but try to squeeze them into her schedule raising her children. Killing herself with cooking gas at the age of  30, what a sad life she had to suffer dealing with. Things never seemed to get better with her. Which gave the poems more emotion and a powerful control about death in her works. Like we see here in Lady Lazarus. The theme of Suffering connects to The Yellow Wallpaper as well, and one of the character is suffering from depression. She is trapped in her house, with a husband that doesn't seem to care much about her instead he cares more about being above her. Both connect to having poor husbands that treated the woman poorly, and they suffered because of it.

Other quotes that show suffering in the poem
              Dying
              Is an art, like everything else.
              I do it exceptionally well.
              (Plath 1419)

             I do it so it feels like hell.
             I do it so it feels real.
             I guess you could say I've a call.
             (Plath 1419)

When I read these quotes, I feel like she is depressed and crying out for help. She wants people to know what she is going through, and what she has gone through her whole life. Her pain and her suffering. The way she writes her lines in her poems are very short, and simple. There is also some repetition in the way she starts some of her lines. Which I think it gives more feeling, and makes us readers connect more to her to feel what she was really going through. The word choice was descriptive like "Ash, ash you poke and stir.Flesh,bone, there is nothing there" (Plath 1420). It gives you a detailed picture of the place of life she was in. The author Sylvia Plath wants to mock her own experience in this poem. We see that the author connects parts of the poem with the Holocaust.
                A sort of walking miracle, my skin
                Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
                My right foot
                (Plath 1418)

               A paperweight,
               My face a featureless, fine
               Jew linen.
               (Plath 1418)
I get the idea that she makes the unknown person in the poem into a Jew, in a concentration camp. That her life was horrible, just like the Jews life was like in the concentration camp. The horrors of the concentration camp are like the horrors she had in her life.  That she was burned by her father's death, and burned by her husband cheating on her. Then she was left to survive on her own with little money in the cold winter time. She suffered like the Jew's suffered in the concentration camp. Which is why I think she connects to those ideas. I feel bad for the way her life was lived. I am curious if any of her other poems suggest the idea that she was suffering for many years of her life. Maybe it was better that she could go to another place where she was much more happy where she isn't suffering anymore? I wonder how her children dealt with the things there mother dealt with and her death. Lady Lazarus was a great poem to read, but a rather odd and interesting poem to read.


http://www.sylviaplath.de/ for information about Sylvia Plath.