Sylene Linde

October 1, 2009

Multicultural Midterm

            When looking at postcolonial and colonial texts I want to look at Lucy and Robinson Crusoe through the use of intertextuality and intertextual objectives.  Literature can be encompassed through dialogue, and how the works transcend from colonialism to post colonialism and how they function cohesively through an intertextual dialogue.  Through the object of intertextuality, my goal is to relate the works to a concept that I am interested in studying further and seeing how it relates to multicultural literature.  My background is in gender studies, so I want to relate the concept of hegemonic masculinity to our class objectives and see how it functions in both novels.

            I have learned about the term historicism and further about intertextuality.  I enjoy having a list of objectives and being able to write about the objectives and seeing the function within the novel.  One of the goals as an English major is to be able to see the meanings between texts, which is defined as intertextuality.  The goal is to be able to relate texts, time periods, and even contrasts such as from colonialism to post colonialism.  Literary texts should be viewed as demographic products and agents that provoke responses or dialogues from other texts, voices, and traditions (definitions of intertextuality). 

            To examine the novel as the defining genre and to account for Americans’ difficulty with colonial and postcolonial discourse and Americans’ do not know much about our class subject.  I want to know what it is that I have learned about colonial and postcolonial literature, and why Americans’ have difficulty with colonial and postcolonial discourse.  My literary background and ambitions are in gender and how this course looks at gender in colonial and postcolonial literature.  Hegemonic masculinity is what I am interested exploring in the texts, and to explain the foundations of the theories and ideas of gender in the works. 

            Hegemonic masculinity is the standard against which all other forms of masculinity and femininity are measured.  Hegemonic masculinity is a gender practice which embodies the legitimacy of patriarchy, and guarantees that men remain dominant and women remain subordinate.  Hegemony refers to the dynamic by which a group claims and sustains the leading position in life and social structures.  Hegemonic masculinity shifts with changes in the social product and does not remain stable and static.  Hegemonic masculinity is dynamic, and not normal, but it is normative.  Hegemonic masculinity is also similar to patriarchy because people do not see or think of the system.  Hegemonic masculinity includes external hegemony (men’s domination over women) and internal hegemony (men’s domination over men).   Hegemonic masculinity is also a definition of men who hold power.  The hegemonic definition of manhood is a man in power, who is with power, and also of power.   I want to see the function of hegemony in multicultural literature and how it relates to our class objectives. 

            One of my other purposes is to find a way to make my research interests connect to the objectives and the work that we have read, and extend a further discussion of finding a way to make the interests connect.  Robinson Crusoe seems to embody hegemonic masculinity.  He is self reliant, adventuresome, and is able to master tasks.  He is resourceful and always seemingly perseverant in his journey.  Robinson Crusoe takes Friday as his slave, which shows his dominance over others.  Men are independent, and Crusoe does everything himself, and is self reliant with being able to even make his own fortune.  Robinson Crusoe seems incapable of emotion with any serious depth, and seems to almost not really feel.  Robinson considers himself king of the island, and is interested in things that give men dominance.  As a colonizer, he enjoys the privilege of power and owning things.  He enjoys controlling things, which is an important part of the defining features of hegemonic masculinity. 

            In Lucy, Lewis is the reason that the relationship between Mariah and Lucy exists and is so complex.  Lewis is hegemonic because he has an affair, and that goes along with popular definitions of masculinity.  Lewis is similar to Robinson Crusoe because he is wealthy, and is of the class that can afford to hire help.  Lewis is friendly, but also skilled in manipulation and is able to get what he wants with little effort.  With the exception of Lewis, the masculinity that is presented in the postcolonial novel is different because Lucy is not able to feel an emotional attachment to any of those that she has a sexual encounter with, making Lewis the only character that strongly exhibits hegemonic masculinity.

            What is the relationship of gender to our primary objectives?  My desire is to relate hegemonic masculinity to colonial and postcolonial texts and how the term hegemonic masculinity relates to both of the multicultural works and our class objectives.  Lucy forms a dialogue with Robinson Crusoe, and an intertextual dialogue of what a patriarchal model means.  Our objectives are to bring works into dialogue, view the novel as the defining genre of modernity, and attempt comprehension of why Americans’ have difficulties with colonial and postcolonial works, which I attempted to show references to masculinity as a dialogue between the works which viewing both of the works as genres of modernity.

            My background in gender studies teaches me to focus on terms such as “hegemonic masculinity” and how those would function in the novel.  In gender studies, we tend to learn that most men are hegemonic, and then I see that in literature and refer back to essays that I have written on types of hegemony and the functions of hegemonic masculinity.  In addition to looking at the work from the perspective of gender, I have learned the historicism of colonialism and postcolonial novels and how they work in dialogue with each other.  I wonder about Americans’ difficulty with certain genres of literature, and am learning more about this perspective and how I can learn from it. 

            My research interests will also be incorporated into my research plan.  I am interested in colonialism and post colonialism in Africa, because in college I have done little research on Africa.  I would like to look at the function of gender terms, such as hegemonic masculinity in African works.  I haven’t learned as much about colonialism or post colonialism in Africa, and am interested in learning more.  I would be interested in writing research posts, and another research interest that I have is intentional communities and cooperative living (co-ops).  There is one called Auroville in India that is very well known, and I am interested in how that functions in postcolonial times and how it relates to the multicultural perspective.