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Sample Final Exam submissions 2015 (2015 final exam assignment) Essay 1 Sample |
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Assignment: Describe and evaluate your learning experience, referring to texts, seminar, objectives, research, and midterm. (may incorporate or overlap with midterm essay[s])
Janice Smith
5
December 2016
Still on Pilgrimage
Before entering this course, most of the historical texts I’d read were
limited to European Colonialism, early British Literature and American Poetry.
Just recently I became aware of Post-Colonial studies, a genre dedicated to
understanding the how and why of imperialist rule. In part the genre presents
different methods of scholarly discourse used to analyze the dynamics of power
and production between the colonizer and the colonized. In addition to
discourse, it works to generate a contemporary history that can be used in
dialogue with colonial novels as a way of reinventing cultural perceptions.
To date I have engaged various novels
written from different viewpoints and the reading was not only enjoyable but
also enlightening. My only regret is not having time to read more novels and
analyze the discourse. During the semester, I began to realize a connection with
the modern women portrayed in the novels
Jasmine and Lucy. The strong
spirits of these women and their drive to become something other than what the
society prescribed for them struck a chord with me. What impressed me the most
was the way they resisted definition. The novels unsettled me and I liked that.
That’s when I discovered that some, if not all, of the literature in this course
used the resistance theme for character development because struggles within
historical perceptions is part and parcel to colonial and post-colonial
discourse. That in turn led me to understand that being uncomfortable in this
course was normal, a sure sign of modernity. Perhaps
that is what really helped me to grow.
But I
tread lightly in saying such a thing so as not to lead you into thinking that
the novels were simply interpreted from the victim and oppressor perspectives.
It is easy to fall prey to such a “clean and precise” interpretation. At
the beginning of the semester, I felt preoccupied by this and struggled to break
free from just classifying the characters as either “them” or “us”. So my
struggles with the struggling helped me to see the genre as a means of
understanding the human condition from different cultural perspectives in
relationship to historical context. Being able to interpret the historical
situations from the character’s vantage point, walking a mile in their shoes so
to speak, helped me learn that as an American my views on world politics and
imperialism are limited at best. As a teacher, I engage students from any number
of cultural backgrounds. This course impressed upon me how simply acknowledging
that a student is different is not enough. As an educator, I must keep in mind
that each student brings with them a cultural perspective, a “traveling
narrative” if you will, waiting to be unpacked. I must resist simply
understanding them from my perspective and seek to involve their background as a
way forming a better rounding educational experience for all learners.
My learning experience in the course was influenced by several things,
but the most influential aspects were the texts. To me
Train to Pakistan, Lucy, and
Jasmine had the biggest impact on my understanding of Post-Colonial
discourse. Train to Pakistan was the
pivotal novel. While reading this novel it came to my attention that the power
trope, which I discussed in my midterm, didn’t focus on European Colonization,
but rather the effects colonization had after several years of occupation. The
partitioning of India and the civil war between the Muslims and the Sikhs was
something I had no knowledge of. Therefore I found the historical novel both
informative and emotional.
As an
American, wars in the Far East are a distant concept; they occur, but my
knowledge of them is limited. Becoming cognizant of displaced refugees and the
violence associated with migration was both horrific and awakening.
Before I discuss the negative aspects of
the novel, I just wanted to comment on the way in which Khushwant Singh created
Mano Majra, with different ethnic groups able to maintain peace through a system
of defined cultural standards and mutual respect. It was interesting, almost
utopian. Constructing a town where
religious groups existed in tandem gave the opening chapter a peaceful feel. The
groups work together and observe daily practices with such ease. One instance of
this is how the Sikhs use the call of the Mullah as a type of alarm clock for
such practices as waking and preparing dinner. And they do so without regret or
resentment. By reading his use of “space and the place” in such a way, I was
able to compare life in the village of Mano Majra to
living in small town American There were several similarities such as
communal worship, hospitality, and town hall meetings. These associations
brought familiarity to the novel which I found comforting. My identification
with the village also made me pity the villagers as the violence in the novel
progressed. (Obj. 6)
Sadly, the utopia was short-lived due to the encroaching war. Singh’s use of
train imagery was epic. It became one of my favorite images this semester
because it served as a “warning bell’ for the unfolding corruption that was
taking place. (See John Donne’s poem below) The interplay of the characters,
especially Juggat and Iqbal were also another of my special interests.
Iqbal
is a well–educated foreigner with a political mind whereas Juggat is a fearless
villager with strength and a bad reputation. The juxtaposition of the characters
was nice because it provided two perspectives on the culture.
Not only that, their reactionary responses to the plot to destroy the
train taking Muslims away to Pakistan, made me question the motivation behind
sacrifice. What stopped Iqbal, a man with means, from taking actions to stop the
plot? Why does Juggat, ignorant and poor, instinctively react to save the train?
I know it is to save his beloved, Nooran and the unborn son. Is Iqbal incapable
of being brave too? Singh gives both
characters the ability to act against the destruction, but in the end, it is
Juggat that takes action on the behalf of the greater good. In this situation
Juggat has more to lose that Iqbal so his conscious warrants action. Iqbal
consciously ponders the outcome but isn’t willing to move beyond his reasoning
abilities to make a differences.
Iqbal’s lack of moral action and Juggat’s moral reaction can be compared to the
last moments between Robinson Crusoe and Friday in
Robinson Crusoe. The hunting party is
attacked by wolves, and Friday tries to fend them off. In choosing to do this,
he sacrifices himself for the sake of his beloved master. These actions are
similar to Juggat’s behavior in Train to
Pakistan. The loyalty of these characters has a sacrificial nature about it,
almost Christ-like. Yet it occurred to me that the martyred aren’t Christian at
all. They are a Sikh and a savage. By
making the comparison this way I was using an American Christian perspective to
understand altruistic behavior, rather than make the book fit my
interpretations, as was my struggle in the midterm, I see these instances of
loyalty as a way of understanding what is ethically relevant to individuals of
other cultures in times of crisis. Interpretation along these lines leads me to
think that Singh, and Defoe to some extent, are pointing out a cross-cultural
set of values that aren’t culturally specific. In other words, war and
destruction can happen to all and the value of human life is critical regardless
of your religious or cultural affiliation. “The bullet is neutral. It hits the
good and the bad, the important and the insignificant, without distinction. If
there were people to see the act of self-immolation…the sacrifice might be
worthwhile: a moral lesson might be conveyed…the point of sacrifice…is the
purpose. For the purpose, it is not enough that a thing is intrinsically good:
it must be known to be good. It is not enough to know within one’s self that one
is in the right” (Singh 170). Both of these characters take the colonized notion
of the lesser and prove to me that just because you don’t come from a Christian
society doesn’t mean you lack a propensity for loyalty and sacrifice.
No
man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each
is a piece of the continent,
A
part of the main.
If a
clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As
well as if a promontory were.
As
well as if a manor of thine own
Or of
thine friend's were.
Each
man's death diminishes me,
For I
am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For
whom the bell tolls,
It
tolls for thee
John Donne
The reading of Lucy and
Jasmine offered me an opportunity to
take a different journey. Both are contemporary transmigration novels that
explore the life of women that displace their traditional upbringing for a
modern life in America.
In my midterm, I discussed how Lucy was
much like Crusoe in that they both adjust to a new life in new surroundings that
are at times hostile and unfriendly. This can be said for Jasmine as well. Yet
the essence of Jasmine and Lucy is different than Crusoe because both women come
to America from a colonized society. They represent a contemporary third-wave of
immigrants, and Crusoe’s character, wealthy, English conqueror, remains a symbol
of the first wave of colonizer. (1b) Regardless of the classification, both Lucy
and Jasmine share the same resolve for survival as their male counterpart,
Crusoe, when it comes to adaptation.
Critical observation of the early lives of the main characters presents an
interesting insight into their motivation to change. Both women are subjected to
cultural compartmentalization, a set of expectations that relates back to the
Colonial way of life. (Obj. 4) They struggle to find ways to liberate
themselves. This liberation comes as a rebirth for both women. Neither Jasmine
nor Lucy let the history that surrounds them determine their outcomes. Both
women break free. For Jasmine the turning point comes during the rape scene when
her thoughts are turned from her own death to the death of the man who raped
her. “I extend my tongue, and sliced it. Hot blood dripped immediately in the
sink” (118). Kristine Vermillion
argues in her 2013 submission that “this action links her with the goddess Kali
who also has a slashed tongue. Depictions of this Hindu Divinity have her
standing on a prostrate male figure, the demon Raktajava, which symbolizes her
triumph over his evil and represents her own empowerment. Within the context of
Jasmine’s story this deity provides her with the empowerment to cast off
societal expectations and move into a new life.”
For
Lucy the turning point comes when her mother reveals her namesake from
Paradise Lost. In this naming
ceremony, Lucy embraces the idea of being named for the rebellious angel. She
says how she “went from feeling burdened and old and tired to feeling light, new
and clean. I was transformed from failure into triumph” (152). Within the
context of Lucy’s story it is the evil deity that helps liberate her from the
societal norms of colonialism and spurs her onto plan a new way of life in
America. This anti-Christian dynamic puts a religious spin on the idea of Lucy’s
resistance to power. I faced the same sort of problem with
Lucy that I faced with
Train to Pakistan, trying to
interpret a Post-Colonial narrative through a Christian perspective. But in this
novel, Kincaid wants to bring the colonialist interpretation into dialogue with
Lucy. She actually uses the allusion
to Lucifer as a ruse. In my research paper,
Lucy and Lucifer: Jamaica Kincaid’s Use
of Milton’s Paradise Lost, I discussed the association. By claiming Lucy as
Lucifer, Kincaid is making an ally of the devil, and in doing this she is
claiming all aspects of the rebellious angel for the character. This association
gives Kincaid’s claim on the language. In
Paradise Lost, Milton constructs the languages as a way of winning the
reader over to God’s ways. By claiming the language of Lucifer you also claim
the language of the deity that created him. Kincaid
is then able to use the language of the creator or the colonizer as her own to
create her novel. By embracing it and owning it, and accepting that it belongs
to her, the language has no power over her or over Lucy. She absorbs the power
of the language. Thus the colonized is free to create herself in the manner she
sees fit. In this case Lucy is like Jasmine because they both use the power of
deity to empower themselves. This empowerment also shows their adaptability to
modern culture.
Overall the learning experience for this class was optimal. Rather than seeing
the characters as simply victims and villains, I learned to focus on the
resistance within the novel and the outcomes for the characters as reflexive of
the Colonial and Post-Colonial experience. Thus far in my graduate journey, I
have come to understand that regardless of the label, these novels enlighten and
expand my cultural understanding of multi-generations of people with respect to
their significant historical and cultural context.
