Larry Stanley

Is Everybody Happy?

I’ve been going over my notes from class, and it seems I’ve learned quite a bit from Dr. White and the extended discussions we’ve had. I don’t think I’ll ever have the knowledge a lot of the others have about the subject of colonial and postcolonial literature, but I can at least fool my wife at times. I’ve noticed not much emphasis was put on the happiness of people put in the positions they were placed after being taken over by another country or by going to another country to better their lives. Though colonization can be good to an extent, can it bring happiness and security? Why was Lucy, who, on her own accord, came to the U.S. seeking a better living, and getting it by way of the family she lived with (conditions much more favorable than where she originally came from), so sad and hateful of what she saw here? Why not leave? It has to be the conditions that bring such a change in their lifestyle and leave them homesick. Was Robinson Crusoe happy in his predicament? Was Tarzan of the apes content being with a bunch of gorillas in the middle of Africa? Jamaica seemed happier than Lucy, though they came from the same place. Did her identities help her through the hard times?

Happiness, I believe, comes from the ability to accept the position or place you’re in. Though other factors make conditions hard to live with, as in Lucy’s case, her condition was highly improved over the life she led before coming to America. Homesickness can have a devastating effect on some people. I recall with horror my days in the Navy. But if one can get used to the friends and view the whole situation as just another section of their life, I believe you can’t go wrong in welcoming the adventure that awaits you. Okonkwo was another person who felt like the world owed him something, but refused to take advantage of it. When the missionaries came to his village, he figured their way of living was about to change, so he fought back, not realizing he couldn’t change the modernity taking over his world. Modernism helps in many ways. If Robinson Crusoe hadn’t had the gun and ammo he saved from the ship, his life would have probably ended a month or two after he landed on the island. But was he happy? I believe he was more content than happy. With no one to talk with except a parrot (who like children can ask the same question over and over), Crusoe had to feel some sorrow being alone. But he managed to stick with it for twenty years. Another book I read for Dr. McNamara’s, Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red, dealt with modernism and the Turkish people’s reluctance to accept a new way of painting. Through murder, it showed what could happen when different values mix. But with a little understanding, the problem would probably never occurred. It’s the ability of not accepting, but understanding another’s culture and beliefs.

Tarzan had a much happier life than some of the other people we’ve read about. Being born among the apes and raised as one, he was able to talk with and associate much like a baby would with its parents. It was the only world he knew, and only until Jane came along, could it have been any more enjoyable. The only time he got homesick was when he was away from his tribe of anthropoids, that is until Jane came along! Kurtz seemed content with his lifestyle in Heart of Darkness. Fortunately finding himself among a peaceful (don’t ask Marlowe) tribe, he was able to show the people modern techniques that made their lives easier. This in turn made Kurtz happy where he was, doing his job making life better for the natives, his friends.

Jamaica seemed to enjoy her stay in the U.S. Obviously the changes in names helped her cope with the changes she encountered while living here. The ability to make friends helped her set her mind straight, accepting this new lifestyle. Clara, the Jamaican girl in “White Teeth,” was another who took to the third wave, according to the film, with little or no problem blending in among the new culture. Always smiling and having fun, she also accepted this change of environment and thoroughly enjoyed being in England. On the other hand, there was Samad, who is continually tormented by the changes he sees in the lifestyle of other cultures.

As I’ve learned this semester, communication is the chief answer to getting to know different cultures and their traditions. Talking to people opens up a whole new realm of understanding that furthers our knowledge of why and how this world works and what it holds for everyone living here. Like I said, happiness is being able to accept other peoples’ standards. It’s the ability to live under these standards if exposed to them, to make the best from the worst. I think by learning the ways of other cultures, everyone can be happy.

Work Cited

Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes. Grosset & Dunlap, Pub. New York. 1914.

Pamuk, Orhan. My Name is Red. Vintage International, New York. 2001.

Wikipedia. White Teeth. Wikimedia Foundation. 22 April 2008.