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Sample Final Exam submissions 2015 (2015 final exam assignment) Essay 2 Sample |
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Assignment: Referring to Objectives 1 & 2, compose a dialogue between at least four texts (at least 3 since midterm) on a topic, theme, issue, or objective of your choice (Objectives in addition to 1 & 2 may be included.)
Heather Minette Schutmaat
Essay
2: The Theme of Tradition and Modernity in Colonial and Postcolonial Literature
Throughout the course, the theme of tradition and modernity as opposing forces
has persisted in every colonial and postcolonial novel that we have read. As Dr.
White taught us, modernity or “the modern era” should be thought of “not as a
single period but more a way of life”—one that involves “constant change or loss
of continuity from one generation to the next.” Tradition on the other hand aims
to sustain the practices, customs, beliefs, and an overall way of living that
previous generations have maintained. Or, in short, “traditional cultures work
to continue doing what their parents and grandparents did.” In my reading
experiences throughout the semester, I found that the representation of
tradition and modernity stood out most powerfully in the
The Adventure of Robinson Crusoe
(1719) by Daniel Defoe,
Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid (1990),
Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee (1989),
and Things Fall Apart by Chinua
Achebe (1958), especially when read in dialogue, and with the help of student
model assignments.
At
the very start of the semester, we immediately encountered the theme of
tradition and modernity as conflicting ideals in
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
Crusoe’s father represents tradition, as he encourages Crusoe to pursue a career
in law and to accept “the middle station in life.” Contrastingly, Crusoe
represents modernity, as he strays from the traditional way of life that his
parents aim to sustain, and ultimately decides to go to sea. In my midterm, I
reviewed the essay “The Dialogue Between Colonial and Postcolonial Texts” by
Camille Buxton, which provides an examination of how the act of transmigration
affects both Crusoe and the protagonist Lucy in Kincaid’s novel. As I
highlighted in my midterm, Buxton explains
that in Robinson Crusoe and
Lucy, “acts of transnational migration are similar as both protagonists
leave their homelands where opportunities for economic advancement are few, and
immigrate to new countries that offer more prospects.” I found Buxton’s essay
really insightful because in my initial readings of Crusoe and Lucy,
my connection between the texts was based primarily on my understanding of
Crusoe and Mariah both displaying colonial-like attitudes. However, upon further
reflection, not only do I see how the texts engage in a dialogue on
transmigration, but also on the subject of tradition and modernity.
Just as Crusoe’s father aims to sustain the traditions of previous generations
and objects to Crusoe’s desire to break from tradition and explore the world,
Lucy’s mother also advocates tradition, but Lucy ultimately rejects the future
her mother had imagined for her. For example, Lucy says, “among the last things
my mother had said to me, just before I left, was ‘Oh, I can just see you in
your nurse’s uniform. I shall be very proud of you’” (Kincaid 93). However, Lucy
decides to stop attending school and studying to be a nurse. She says, “Whatever
my future held, nursing would not be a part of it…A nurse, as far as I could
see, was a badly paid person, a person who was forced to be in aware of someone
above her (a doctor)…” (Kincaid 92). Therefore, although Defoe’s novel and
Kincaid’s novel are profoundly different, being that Defoe’s protagonist is a
colonizer and Kincaid’s is a formerly colonized person, they still engage in
dialogue on the subjects of transmigration and tradition and modernity, as both
protagonists reject the traditional futures their parents imagined for them, and
there is consequently a “loss of continuity from one generation to the next.”
As I mentioned in my first essay, when reading Jasmine, I found myself
almost instinctively comparing and contrasting Jasmine’s experiences with
Lucy’s, and putting the two novels into dialogue. Reading Jasmine in
dialogue with Lucy made for a really interesting experience because I
discovered that although the narratives are very similar, as they each involve a
female protagonist leaving behind the old world to start over in the new world,
and are works of postcolonial literature that give voice to formerly colonized
people, they also differ greatly. I found that in contrast to Lucy who has a
more difficult time assimilating to the American culture and often asks “how
does one get to be that way”, Jasmine more readily adapts—to such an extent that
she adopts a new name for herself in each different phase of her life.
In other words, although the narratives of Jasmine and Lucy are similar because
they both break from tradition, Lucy is frequently disappointed in many aspects
of modernity, while Jasmine enthusiastically embraces modernity. It’s important
to note too, that although Jasmine seems to adapt to her environment more
quickly and readily than Lucy, this doesn’t suggest that for Jasmine it is an
easier process. For example, Jasmine states, “There
are no harmless, compassionate ways to remake oneself. We murder who we are so
we can rebirth ourselves in the images of dreams” (Mukherjee 29). However,
Jasmine seems to accept this process and our ever-changing world as a fact of
life: “Once we start letting go—just let one thing, like not wearing our normal
clothes, or a turban or not wearing a tika on the forehead—the rest goes on its
own down a sinkhole” (Mukherjee 29).
Like Lucy and Jasmine, Things Fall Apart is an important
postcolonial novel that gives voice to formerly colonized people. However,
Things Fall Apart is very different from Lucy and Jasmine, as
well as Adventures of Crusoe, because it is not a transmigrational
narrative, and is instead set in the pre-colonial Ibo villages of Africa, but
certainly represents the theme of tradition of modernity. The novel’s
protagonist Okonkwo is the most powerful representation of tradition I’ve
encountered throughout the course. As Marichia Wyatt states, “Okonkwo embodies
the traditional culture of his tribe; he is hard working, a celebrated warriors,
he has many children, is a part of the tribal council, participates as one of
the egwuwu (spirits of their ancestors),” and is overall deeply rooted in
tradition. At the end of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo fights for the
traditions of his culture, urges his tribesman to fight modernity (the
missionaries) with him, mourns for his clan and his traditions as everything
falls apart, and ultimately commits suicide.
Although I could easily put Things Fall Apart into dialogue with Heart
of Darkness, as Achebe’s novel reads a response to Conrad’s novel, I
initially had a difficult time putting Things Fall Apart into dialogue
with other postcolonial novels because of Achebe’s pre-colonial setting and
because his novel differs to greatly from a transmigrational narrative. However,
Marichia Wyatt provides a very enlightening perspective in her essay
“Adapatation: The Art of Survival,” that helped to see the relationship between
Things Fall Apart and Jasmine. Wyatt shows how Achebe’s novel,
when read in dialogue with Jasmine, can be interpreted as a warning
statement against resisting change in an ever-changing world. By outlining the
theme of change and adaption and examining how Jasmine and Okonkwo deal with
change, Wyatt maintains that “Jasmine was able to reinvent herself over and
over; she was able to embrace change, and because of this she is able to find
happiness. Okonkwo is not able to accept change; in resisting change, he meets
his end. Okonkwo cannot live in the new world; Jasmine is able to thrive in.”
By tracing tradition and modernity and other reoccurring themes in colonial and
postcolonial literature and essentially making the texts talk to each other, we
are able to generate new and extended meanings, to bridge the space between
colonial and postcolonial worlds and mediate their opposing narratives.
Additionally, we can also ultimately
arrive at the understanding that although the narratives of colonial and
postcolonial worlds conflict, and protagonists such as Crusoe and Lucy are
profoundly different, they can also share similar human experiences, especially
in terms of transmigration, tradition and modernity, and responding to change in
an ever-changing world. Furthermore, by tracing themes and putting texts with
similar narratives into dialogue, we can also observe how although the
protagonists’ experiences may seem alike on the surface, as we label them
transmigrational narratives, they can also differ greatly, like the stories of
Lucy and Jasmine, and we are reminded that each writer has a unique voice in the
dialogue.
