Student Midterm submissions 2015 (2015 midterm assignment)

LITR 5831 World Literature Colonial-Postcolonial Model Assignments

Christina Holmes

WEB HIGHLIGHTS

Peer review is vital in the learning process. Our classmates come from all walks of life  with varying experiences, enabling them to see different facets of the same topic.

They, our peers, serve as resources; either offering perspectives outside of our own or in alignment with our own. In the web highlights of Jessica Peterson, Christina Crawford and Cristen Lauck  I found varying perspectives yet through those perspectives I also found similarities. 

Jessica Peterson’s essay, We All Belong; Inclusion in Multicultural Literature Course, focuses on the importance of multicultural literature in the classroom. Peterson makes a paramount statement, “As the cultural landscape continues to grow and expand into an even broader 'melting pot' of cultural traditions, languages and religious beliefs, it is important to realize the importance of multicultural literature in the classroom to foster acceptance and embrace diversity of students from all different backgrounds and walks of life”. Her statement screams necessity and further substantiates why it is vital to have literature that covers all cultures as all have contributed  and continue to shape the societies we live in. Jessica indicates that multicultural literature fosters acceptance and embraces diversity, and I completely concur. When classroom curriculum is skewed to favor one culture as imperialistically  superior over other cultures it creates dissension amongst cultures, harbors judgement between the differences of those cultures  and builds barriers that  make it difficult in shifting ones mental paradigm about the specific culture.

This was conveyed in the selection Who Cares About Colonization? by Cristen Lauck.  Cristen admits that she was less than concerned with colonized people and she credits her perspective  to  her lack of cultural awareness throughout her life. In her essay she conveys, “I have no idea what my cultural heritage is because I’m an American mutt”. Although a bit harsh on herself, her lack of knowledge in regards to her  own culture has left her insensitive to the cultural experiences of others and judgmental of her own, hence equating herself to a mutt. Here lies the intertextuality between  Peterson’s essay and Lauck’s.  Lauck’s personal perspective on those colonized solidifies her lack of knowledge about various cultures. She indicates it wasn’t until she took the course that she was formally introduced to colonial  and post colonial literature. Her  lack of awareness regarding the genre correlates to her lack of sensitivity for others cultural experiences. She confirms, “Someone else who has a cultural heritage to associate with will no doubt have more attachment and understanding of the genre” and she is right! Her personal perspective is a prime example  of the necessity that Peterson stands for  in her essay, “the importance of multicultural literature in the classroom to  foster acceptance and embrace diversity”. Had Cristen been exposed earlier on or known more about her own heritage she would a better understanding of others' cultural experiences, enabling her to display more tolerance, and sensitivity . When  we can correlate another’s experience to that of our own, it creates similarities, breaks down stereotypes, offers empathy and enables us to be  compassionate towards others. When knowledge is lacking it creates isolation and separateness as Cristen’s essay details,  she felt disassociated from those who have been colonized due to having no understanding  of her own culture or exposure to others' cultural experiences.

The perspective of isolation and separateness, carries over into the essay by Christina Crawford, The Caribbean Castaway: A Comparative Study. What I find most intriguing about her essay is her correlation between Crusoe and Lucy. Although Lucy is not a “literal castaway” she and Crusoe share, “a very strong sense of isolation and separateness”, as each runs away from their homeland and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Crusoe coming from a ‘well-off’ family  has always enjoyed the comforts of life and has not been exposed to any adversity, he has no knowledge or exposure to the cultures  outside of his own.  Lucy having lived her life at home  with her parents, in a small knit community, ‘sheltered,’ has no exposure to any other culture outside of her own. Their lack of knowledge about the opposite culture, their desire to leave home on a quest for change, the rebelliousness against the commands of their parents and the determination to make it regardless, are the ties that bind these characters at the hip. The irony is the same adversity that makes them different is the same similarity that correlates them.

What  I found most supportive  in these three essays was, first, the importance of personal perspective in the learning dynamic as it fosters a deeper understanding on the topic and allows  me the opportunity to broaden my point of view by connecting with the readings on a personal level  which enables me to empathize  with the culture. Secondly, each of these essays support the necessity for multicultural literature to become a daily part of the educational process, not only at higher level learning,  most importantly it is necessary at lower level learning as it serves to “foster acceptance and embrace” diversity amongst cultures. Last, but not least, is it substantiates that fact that all cultures play a vital role is the course of life. Each experience can serve as a tool in shifting personal perspectives and creating a paradigm that is all-inclusive.

ESSAY

CRUSOE and LUCY:  An INTERTEXTUALLY INTERTWINED Comparative

Intertextuality, per course definition is a “ continuing conversation or dialogue between texts and readers” that enables the reader to see the similarities between two different selections within the scope of the same or similar  genres. As it pertains to our curricula of colonial and postcolonial literature, intertextuality ran rampant between  Daniel Defoe’s, Crusoe and  Jamaica Kincaid’s, Lucy.  I found both novels extremely intriguing and often times crossing over each other with similar story lines.  I would classify both  characters as castaways  theorized through  each side of the colonial period; Crusoe representing colonial and Lucy representing post-colonial. Although told from two completely different perspectives the  underlying plot joins them at the hip. Their story is about two courageous individuals who grow up ‘sheltered’ from the world, seeing it only through the eyes of their parents. In their defiant teens they decide that the demands and commands of their parents are too much and they want different for themselves. Each sets out on a quest to prove their parents wrong and in the process life occurs. They experience moments of newness, culture shock, and  personal awareness as they both navigate through there trenches of the life they will create. 

Crusoe, born into a prominent family is afforded the luxuries of life and has the opportunity to create a life of wanton pleasure, yet wants nothing to do with his father's plans for him or his father’s business. The story eludes, that as the youngest child   his father who  is,  who Crusoe describes  as, “very ancient”  took little time preparing him with a trade and  as a result Crusoe is restless. With nothing to occupy his time, he seeks to explore other ventures outside of his father’s expectation, as he confirms, “I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands of my father” {1.3}. Crusoe’s statement, “the commands of my father” indicate he wants to be free of his father's demands, thus at the age of nineteen Crusoe defies his father's wishes and sets off to his adventures on the sea.

 Throughout his voyages, Crusoe encounters a variety of  new cultures  outside his English background; Moors to Caribs.  In one if his excursions with Xury, Crusoe’s  servant boy, Crusoe sees the natives on the shoreline. I in his observance he describes them as, “quite black and naked” {3.2},  his selection of words about the natives indicates it is something new to him and  as they are unlike  the fair skin of himself and those of his homeland.  In an effort to communicate  their need for nourishment Crusoe is forced to use signs,  “…but talked with them  by signs as well as I could; and particularly made signs for something to eat.” {3.2}   Here we see the language barrier that exists between  the cultures. Other cultural differences Crusoe experienced  was the type of food the natives bestowed on them  as he indicated it was something they did not recognize, “…brought with them two pieces of dried fish and corn such as is the produce of their country but we neither knew what one or the other was” {3.2}.  

This culture difference is also seen in Lucy’s new surroundings:

Lucy, a young girl of nineteen born in the West Indies is the daughter of a cleaning lady and a father whose womanizing ways have placed both her and her mother in harm's way. She has  limited opportunity in her homeland and has experienced  the effects of post-colonialism. Lucy is overshadowed by her brothers, and the relationship between her mother and her  is strained. She finds her mother controlling,  and somewhat untouchable as is conveyed with the statement, “When I was at an age where I would still touch my mother with ease, I use to like to sit in her lap and caress a large scar  she had on the right side of her face, at the place where her temple and hairline met” {54}. In an attempt to create a different experience for herself Lucy looks for opportunity in North America accepting a job as an Au-Pair for an American family.

Thrown into a culture she knows nothing  about,  Lucy is surrounded by people she looks nothing like. As she describes  her employers, “The husband and wife looked a like and their four children looked just like them…their six yellow-haired heads of various sizes …”{12}. Lucy’s surroundings  go from a West Indian  environment where physical features resemble her own and where ways of life are conducted differently. She finds herself in a culture where everyone is blond with blue eyes and where  misery is felt  “because the weather changed its mind” {20}. In her new surroundings she experiences food unlike that of her homeland and describes it  as , “eating food just taken from a refrigerator” {4}, This  too was  a new concept for Lucy  because in her house back home they “did not have a refrigerator in it” {4}. Lucy begins to see the differences of t her culture and that of her employers.  

The relationships that develop between Lucy and her employer, Mariah and Crusoe and his man servants  Xury and Friday,  glorify the colonial  perspective of master and slave, placing Mariah and Crusoe in the role of master over their subjects. Lucy, West Indian (if in America would most like be classified African American given her pigmentation)  is hired as Mariah’s Au-Pair to care for her children.  Mariah does not work outside of the home and her time is spent at leisure with various non-profits much like the lady’s of the antebellum. Although Lucy is paid for her services she is still subject to Mariah’s wishes and their for her purpose as she realizes her role reflecting upon her living quarters, “I was only an unhappy young woman living in  a maid's room and I was not even  maid. I was the young girl who watches the children…”{7}  Lucy’s  story supports the perspective of Post Colonialism as we the roles are different yet the same; where the colored are no longer subject to the masters’ rule yet the role structure stays the same with  Lucy in the role of servant/slave. Lucy may be in the servant's role as it appears; however, the difference is that she is afforded a salary to be in that role. This does not carry over with Crusoe and his relationship with his servants.

Crusoe does  not to pay his servants Xury and Friday  a monetary stipend,  however they are indebted to him and share a loyalty for Crusoe appealing to him as  savior, Xury looking out for Crusoe’s best interest  counsels him upon  approaching the natives, “No go, no go” {3.2} Xury’s behavior is indicative of a slave / master relationship in his efforts to keep Crusoe from harm. The  only difference between Mariah and  Crusoe is, Crusoe is  at liberty to sell his servants as  he did with Xury, “He offered me also sixty pieces of eight more for my boy Xury, which I was loath to take not that I was unwilling to let the captain have him  but I very loath to sell the boy's liberty who had assisted me in procuring my own. However, when I let him know my reason he wound it to be just and offered me  this medium, that he would give the boy an obligation to set him free in ten years, if he turned Christian upon this and Xury saying he was willing to go with him I let the captain have him” {3.12}.  Crusoe lets go of any attachment he had for Xury and sells him as property which is a true representation of the colonial perspective of master and slave placing  Crusoe in the masters role with sovereign rule over the life’s of  Xury and Friday. 

Both  Defoe’s and Kincaid’s story can be classified  as transnational migration as the primary characters, two  young adolescents, castaway in an attempt to  defy the constraints of their  parents; both in search of their hearts' true destiny.  Lucy running from the shadows of her mother,  her only objective in life was, “to put as much distance between myself and he events mentioned in her letter as I could manage”{31} for fear that her life may end in the same manner as her mother's, a widow and destitute. Crusoe, also trying to distance himself from his controlling father, indicating that if he went into the practice of law he would, “I should certainly  run away from my master”{1.9}. We are also presented with the intertexuallity as the stories cross story lines with their experiences of culture shock as they navigate their new paths in life. And most relevant is the colonial and post colonial perspectives  of master to slave as employer to employee presented in the relationships between Lucy and  Mariah  and Crusoe and his man servant, Xury and Friday.

I found the readings purposeful beyond the scope of colonial and post colonialism genre, as both plots entail a coming age story similar to a bildungsroman. I  most definitely could see the texts could being used at the high school level to discuss matters of life.  Both foster the  understanding  that life is about a variety of experiences, some supportive, as with Lucy’s move to North America providing her with more opportunity than  on her homeland, exposure to other cultures which provides  her with a different perspective on life, availing her to more knowledge so she can make wise decisions in life. Crusoe’s choice,  may not have been as supportive to his well being; however  his adventures bought about  the same experiences as Lucy, he experienced  growth and  through that growth  he was able see the reasoning of his father adamancy in not wanting him to detour the course set before him. They are kindred hearts, Crusoe and Lucy and her statement regarding the French painter  binds them, “…but immediately I identified with the yearnings of  this man; I understood finding the place you are born in an unbearable prison and wanting something completely different from what you are familiar with, knowing it represents a haven” {95}.  

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

I was reading over many of the previous selections trying to get an idea of what direction I wanted to go in. I became overwhelmed with all the various projects.  With  all  sorts of ideas running through my head, I had to stop and think, I asked my self, “Within the course readings which story intrigues me?”  Well, that didn’t help because the entire curriculum intrigues me. That is part of the reason I took the course. I find the selections different,  always offering more depth and variety, a newness so to say. Perhaps that is because somewhere within text of these stories I find myself relating to the characters, understanding their dilemmas as my own. My favorite, thus far is  Jamaica Kincaid.  This is my first read on Kincaid and I was hooked. I found her story touching on so many things I too had experienced. Coming from a diverse cultural background I was taken from my mother of Spanish decent and moved across the United States to live with my African American/German fathers mother in Mississippi. Talk about a culture shock, I could totally relate. 

With that being said, I will conduct my research on Kincaid’s novels; 2 research post detailing how modern critiques  view her writing  in comparison to  past critiques  who have  often been negative and   2 research posts on which novels can be considered cross-genre. My primary objective is to see if critiques' mindsets  have changed over the  years in regards to the  changes between  colonial and post colonial reconstruction.  Kincaid’s writings have been  harshly judged as being representations of anger. My thought process is the critiques were based more  on the attitudes people had regarding writers who were  of color especially those of different demographic cultures rather than the content of her novel. I  want to know if critiques have changed their perspective on her writings as changes have occurred for colonized people  or  are their opinions still the same?

WORKS CITED