The Glass Bottle Trick: male stereotypes

Although in this class there is a lage focus on women and culture, I was suprised when I saw how the male, Samuel, was portrayed in the story. Stereotypically, women are the ones that are uneasy with their appearances. In this case, Samuel appears to be the person that stuggles the most with his identity. Samuel tells hsi wife Beatrice, "Yo don't have to draw attention to my color. I'm not a handsome man, and I know it. Black and ugly as my mother made me" (269). Then there is Beatrice the female that can find beauty in skin color, she thinks to herself, "She remembered him joking that no woman should have to give birth to his ugly black babies, but she would show him how beautiful their children would be, little brown bodies new as the earth after the rain. She would show him how to love himself in them" (267). This passage is interesting not only because it shows Samuel's insecurities (a female stereotype), but also that Beatrice is the one that feels she has to show Samuel to love himself. Again, stereotypically, women are the ones that have to be told that they have to learn to love themselves. Beatrice is portrayed as the confident character while Samuel's character is more feminine and and he is a much less confident individual which leads to very strange behaviors reavealed at the end of the story.

The Bottle Trick: Gender Expectations

   Beatrice falls into the norms of being a wife.  Once she marries her grades in college decline.  Her mother reinforces these norms by supporting her loss of interest in school because she has a man in her life.  Then she becomes pregnant.  Without consulting her husband she assumes that Samuel will be pleased with their child, "a baby would complete their family.  Samuel would be pleased, wouldn't he?" (267).  Her thoughts lead her to trouble however.  Samuel does not want to bring a baby of his color into the world.  As Beatrice learns, Samuel takes drastic steps to prevent a child of his to be born.

Dessa Rose: Females

Althouh the book heavily focuses on race, there are also issues on gender. The gender talked about in this novel does not discriminate based on race. Towards the end of the book, both Dessa and her Mistress start to realize they both have in common with each other because of their sex. There was the scene where the two women shared a room at Oscar's home while traveling. While there, Oscar tries to force himself upon the Mistress, showing Odessa that white women are subject to the same mistreat from men as she is and the rest of the female slaves (Williams).
I was glad to see that the novel touched on this issue on top of the obvious race issues that arose as well. It is true that through history women as a whole have been supressed due to the "power" of men. In this way both of the characters in the novel had something that they both could relate to without even realizing it. This could be saide even today. Now that slavery has been abolished, African American women and women of all other ethnicities in the United States, can say that they all have struggled for equal rights with men. Although this struggle was easier for white women, it was a struggle regardless, and a part of history that any woman can appreciate.

Dessa Rose: Gender

It had not occured to me until reading this novel about the realities of gender and slavery. I was aware from history classes and such that there were a lot of instances of sexual crimes against women slaves. I did not realize that similar incidents were also true for the males. I had not realized that it was not totally uncommon for women slave owners, or wifes of slave owners, to have sexual encounters with thier male slaves as the white males did with the women slaves. This also makes me wonder about other typed of sexual crimes that may have been commited on plantations.
Today it is not uncommon to hear of sexual crimes that are not commited by someone of the oppostie gender of the victim. Now a lot of crimes are carried out by people of the same gender as the victims. Dessa's encounter with the very cruel wife of her owner, further makes me question the roles of white women during this time in history. I wish that the book touched on this subject more than it did. Althoug, it did do a great job of bringing this mistreatment to my attention that I had not previously heard of.

Dessa Rose: Racial Interactions

   The content of the literature in the class has been narrowly focused on issues within races and the oppression they face from caucasians in the United States.  They books and selections seem to be isolated from caucasians.  Dessa Rose breaks the boundaries between a minority and caucasians in America.  The novel follows the life of Dessa and her many interactions of Southern Whites, learning about each other's culture even though they live in the same country and even on the same farm.  Dessa ends up defending and helping a white woman, Mr. Oscar's wife.  She fends a man off the white woman's bed with pillows and shoves him out the door.  They laugh together and have this moment of bonding.  Dessa laid awake most of the night, "I didn't know how to be warm with no white woman.  But now it was like we had a secret between us, not just that bad Oscar-though we kept that quiet" (Williams 153).

   In Breath, Eyes, and Memories, Bone, and other novels there is almost no interaction with caucasians giving the sense that they are a foreign race.  In The Antelope Wife,  there is an interaction between caucasians and Native Americans.  The book opens with the story of Scranton Roy and his unofficial adoption of a Native American baby.  He begins to adopt some of the philosophy, the philosophy which he originally attacked.  This is the parallel that exists between Dessa Rose and The Antelope Wife, both races begin to integrate and attempt to reverse the oppression minorities face.

Dessa Rose: Court

Dessa exemplifies the concept of constructed knowledge very clearly in explanation of the court.  "She had no idea what a "court" was; she had never been more than five miles from where she as born before being sold... She understood "court" as white folks for trying to figure out if everyone on the coffle had been caught" (36).  Her construction of court is the reflection of white people's idea in the south of a slave.  They don't believe slaves are equal to that of men and Nehemiah is talking with Dessa to figure out how to continuously condemn this group of people.  Nehemiah soon learns how smart Dessa can be, she strategically answers all questions to give no advances to the story Nehemiah is looking for.

The Antelope Wife: Reality

Windigo Dog visits Klaus in Chapter 12 but is very harsh to him.  It is expressed that the Klaus is only food for the dog.  He is not a human who judges, "Utter animal hunger that did not care whether you were sober or brave or had your hard-won GED certificate let alone a degree.  No matter.  Just food" (166 in large print book).  Although Windigo Dog was not there to judge Klaus he was only visiting for food.  He gives Klaus a sense of reality, begins licking Klaus until he cries hysterically.  At this point the dog breaths into his face and tells him a "dirty dog joke"(166).  Windigo Dog was punishing him for being drunk yet again.

The Antelope Wife: Respect

With the fact that there are multiple that are in various generations, each one is warranted some amount of respect.  The one most commonly thought about when respect is brought up is your elders. “He was excited by this ancient working out of the old-way vengeance, pleased young Shawano had taken his advice.  He nodded all around at the other men, grinning. “ (132) Anything an elder said was taken to heart, and if advice was given a person took it with gratitude.  If they advised you that you adopted someone to replace your dead brother, the quoted passage, you did so and tried your best to succeed and uphold their instructions.  Older members of a group usually get the respect they get due to all the years they have experienced and survived.  That is why in most traditions one wouldn’t do anything until approved by an elder,  or the family would wait for the elder to go first before any of the others, “When they all had the cake in hand, they looked at it hungrily and waited for the elder to taste.” (138) But not only do elders deserve respect.  Anyone that is older than you should get your respect.   A mother deserves respect, but not only because of her age but because she is your mother.  One may not think somebody young deserves respect, for example one as old as twenty years.  But they still deserve it, they have ideas of their own that may not have been thought of before.  So stereotypical or not, you do have to respect your elders – who do know a lot from their years of living.  But also, one must consider the minds of the younger ones who have been raised in different ways than the elders and exposed to different things.

The Antelope Wife: Colors and Beads

There was a lot of symbolism embedded in this novel. There were two symbols and words that jumped out at me the most: beads, and colors. Beading seems to be a popular practice among the Native American women. Particularly in this class, where we have looked at various Native American books and art, this seems to be a popular trend amongst the women "Zosie's beadwork was tight and true" (Erdrich 208). There are parts of this novel have whole chapters that almost completely focus on beads alone. There is one scene at the end of the novel where Cally thinks to herself "I have got to know what the necklace of beads looks like, that blue" (Erdrich 217). Beads are a huge part of the Native American culture and come up several times in this novel and other Native American works.

Color, too, appears a lot in many Native American stories and novels. In this book, color was usually used to describe an object. Mainly for this book colors were described in great detail and often went along as descriptors for the beads. It also is interesting that colors are never simple. Often in schools and Western culture colors are just one word in length and simple. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet are how most people describe colors. Even when people venture outside of these six colors, even more elaborate words are simple; magenta for example. In this novel colors are complex, "Like a mist, like an essence, a blueness that is a hook of feeling in the heart" (Erdrich 217). It was very interesting to see how different Western novels are compared to Native American novels and how Western Cultures interpret the stories as well.

The Antelope Wife: Connectivity

This novel was particularly unique in how the story was told. The story did not follow a linear pattern much like is seen in the majority of novels that are written today. It appeared as though everything had a way of connecting back, almost in a circular pattern. Many of the things I read as I progressed through the novel at times really troubled me. The story often would jump between different characters stories and from their past stories to their present stories. This was even more complicated because there was no background information given in the first part of the book. Characters stories came into perspective as the book neared its end, and the reader had ample amounts of past and current information on the characters. Even with all of this information, it still took a while for me to get a handle on what the big picture was because I had to put all of the pieces together; it wasn't spelled out for me on the pages.

Choosing to write the chapters of this story in this way is interesting because of the connectivity between all of the characters in the novel. For me, I had a hard time following how all of the people in the novel were related or connected until the very end of the book. Having the chapters jumping between characters and past and present didn't make the interpretation of the book any easier either. For instance, it wasn't until the end of the book that I realized that Cally was actually related to all of the people in the book in some way or form; through blood or by marriage. "Already, you want them, I know. But you will have to trade for them with their owner, your uncle's wife, Sweetheart Calico" (Erdrich 218). This was the only time in the novel that it was explicitly stated how two characters were related. There were implications in other parts of the novel but none were as explicit as this scene. This connectivity and how it was presented made for a challenging read, but was still an interesting story all the same.

The Antelope Wife: Almost Soup perspective

"You hear things you'd never want to know," states the dog of Cally, Almost Soup.
The perspective of the dog is rather odd at first, the purpose is unclear.  The more I read in chapter 8 the more I realize that an animal's perspective gives an outsider's perspective to human reality.  The dog sees and understands things in ways the humans overlook.  Humans are too wrapped up in their own issues that they cannot take a moment to look at their lives thoroughly and reflect.  The dog hears things that are disturbing and "doesn't want to know."  It took me back a bit when an animal didn't even want to know about the lives of humans, that it was too horrid to want to know.

The Antelope Wife: Windigo Dog

I find it interesting that a section of the book was written in a dog’s point of view.  Previously I had been wary of the changes in the story that was brought about different characters from different generations telling what happened to them.  But when I fully realized that a dog, a real dog, was telling the chapter, I was much more confident that I would be able to understand what was going on because they probably wouldn’t be able to realize minute details of the actions and people around them.  It was interesting how he spoke of not only his own, personal origins, but of the origin of the first dog and dogs’ role to humans.  The chapter was not only different because it was told by a dogs point of view but because it seemed like it was directly speaking to the reader. “You’re only going to get this knowledge from the real dog’s mouth once.”  It was only in the following chapter (9, still told by the dog) that things became strange and I got somewhat lost as a reader.  I understood the relationship and the commitment that a dog has to man, as described by Windigo Dog/Almost Soup.  On page 90 Almost Soup says that he put Cally’s life back into her, “It was then, in the hospital room, halfway asleep, that Rozin feels me put her daughter’s life inside of her again.”  I don’t question so much as the dog’s ‘ability’ to take the daughter away, having been told the close relationship a dog can have with a human, it’s just when did he actually take it?  The dog goes on to narrate nearly every bit of action that happens but then leaves out this bit where he takes the girl’s ‘life’?  Along with that, there is the sudden jump back to the sewing of beads and such.  It’s a very interesting tale, and the way it is told is what makes it that way.

The Antelope Wife: Stereotypes

It was interesting to me as to how the women are portrayed in this work. I personally am not a fan of stereotypes but I couldn't help but notice how the women in this novel tend to break from the very "Americanized" female stereotypes. For instance, it is really common to hear about men that cheat, or are unfaithful to their spouse more than you hear about women doing the same thing. Interestingly enouh, it seems that thus far, it is the women that have been unfaithful, and have issues with their husbands and has led in one case to separation. It is also interesting to also examine the men, who also break from many stereotypes. The men seem quite needy, which is odd since women typically are portrayed as being quite needy, especially in relationships. I still do not understand why the author has choosen to portray the characters in this light. I am wondering if by the end of the novel there will be a more obvious answer to this question. I am also curious as to if anyone else had noticed this sort of portrayal of characters in this novel and if there are any possible explinations or solutions to why the author choose to write this way.

I Hotel 1972: Feminism

In previous readings from I Hotel it seemed as though there was a large emphasis on issues around race. Specifically, the issue of equality and treatment of groups other than white Americans. Chapter four in particular struck me because it took a look at the lives of a few women who not only struggled with gender equality but also racial in some cases. Then there was also a short paragraph that gave a little bit of background to Olivia's story, which had to do with race, class, and gender. It said that Olivia "...returned with a Negro boyfriend. These events were not in the auspicious plans of the Wag clan..." (Yamashita 330). When I first started reading I Hotel I wrongly assumed that the work would only focus with racial problems and this chapter really suprised me when it took another look at other kinds of discrimination.
One scene in particular interested me because it showed a woman that could not identify with any one particular group and struggled with acceptance. La Nada had "...dark olive skin tone, her braided auburn hair, her Oriental eyes, all conspired to confuse" (Yamashita 334). She then had a hard time fitting in with other women because she could have identified with various groups and many women had a hard time accepting her. In hope to find a group she "...joined a white women's lib group to demand a woman's right to education and equal job opportunities, pretending that she too suffered the boredom of the suburban bedroom..." (Yamashita 334). Although she is brought into this group La Nada still will not have a true sense of identity or a "group" because she has to pretend that she is someone she isn't just to be excepted into the one group that she does successfully join. It was interesting to see how the author managed to tie racial, class, and gender into one chapter and still make it fit nicely into the rest of the story.

Under the Feet of Jesus: Family

   At the end of chapter 3 there is subtle, or maybe not at all, symbolism in the family attempting to free their car.  It is their sole means of transportation to other farms and their home at times.  When it becomes embedded in the mud Estrella pitches in to free the car.  Estrella lays down a rock and sticks creating a path for the tires and giving them traction.  Perfecto guns it and "Arnulfo crossed his fingers.  The twins covered their ears.  Alejo lifted his head up and looked through the splattered rear window while Petra held her breath because the the black fumes of exhaust made her nauseous" (130).
  Each family member reacted in their own way, they are all so different.  Yet their farm work jobs keep them stuck and make them lose hope.  Every farm they visit brings them new experiences and allows each person do develop.  But really they are just stuck in a series of jobs that will keep them from other opportunities.

Under The Feet of Jesus: Food and Work

There always seem to be a large emphasis of food in this novel. Food is directly related to the work that the entire family does on the farms and affects their quality of life. The amount of food that the family obtains will determine how much money they make and will directly affect their quality of life. Also, if they do not work as well as the other workers, they may find themselves without jobs. Their kind of work is also extremely dangerous. Several of the workers get sick because of pesticides that are sprayed on the fields and often get sprayed onto themselves if they are in the field at the wrong times. There was also mention of children being born to workers with severe birth defects due to the exposure of the dangerous pesticides.

Although the families all live and work very closely with food, food for their family to eat is often obsolete. Many of the families go hungry and are in constant need of better food, and larger quantities of food. It is really horrible that these families are working with the food that better off families will end up eating while they go hungry themselves. It is not fair that they have to go through so much torture for the comfort of other people. In this way their line of work and their food struggles are ironic and disturbing. Even though this is a novel, this kind of situation happens frequently even today. What is it going to take for this kind of work torture to change?

Under The Feet of Jesus: Environment

It is interesting to see that the environment is as much a part of the novel as the characters themselves are. In almost every page of the novel there is mention of the environment and how it affects the characters. A lot of this may have to do with the characters lifestyle and work. Although the characters do not choose to work on horrible plantations, it plays a huge role in their lives. Specifically, the family works on a peach farm where they are working horrible hours and are doing very physically demanding work. Perhaps, if the family was not put in this horrible working situation the environment would not have played such as huge role in their way of life.

It is interesting to also look at how the author describes the environment. She often is very descriptive in how she describes the elements. She gives various details such as color, textures, and smells. She also does a fantastic job of giving the nature human and animal-like qualities. She says at one point that the road is like a long snake (Viramonte). She is equally descriptive when it comes to describing the characters as well. She often talks of how dark the workers skin is due to the extreme sunlight exposure from the very long work days. She said that a lot of the men when shirtless, look as if they are still wearing a shirt because of the intensity of their tan lines (Viramonte). Her attention to detail really captures reader’s attention and helps to make readers relate to the characters and their environment.

Under the Feet of Jesus: Self-Awareness

   From Estrella's point of view, her life is what she knows as normal.  She is well aware it is not an ideal lifestyle traveling to farms with her family, sleeping in close quarters or in the car, and working to the bone but it is what she is familiar with.  Mrs. Horn, one of her teachers, pointed out aspects of herself that she was not aware of previously.  Mrs. Horn asked, "how come her mama never gave her a bath" (25).  The voice of the novel explains that "until then, it had never occurred to Estrella that she was dirty"(25).  Many people aren't fully aware or self-conscious about themselves until its pointed out by an 'outsider.'
   Much of the content Viramontes writes about is probably an unfamiliar experience to many Americans. For Estrella it is all she knows.  Sleeping in untraditional accommodations and dealing with pesticides on an almost daily basis isn't shocking to her because everyone she knows is experiencing the same thing.  When an outsider, Mrs. Horn, points out her uncleanliness she is also pointing out her different culture and lifestyle.  She is so isolated in fieldwork in America with many other Mexicans she forgets that her life is observably different than any other American lifestyle.

Citizen 13660 and When The Emperor Was Divine: Style

The style that the two others choose to write their books was quite interesting and is what really set them apart. “When The Emperor Was Divine”, was a book that was written off of factual information, history, and stories that the author had heard from relatives that actually were placed in the holding camps. “Citizen 13660” was different in that the author was telling readers about her own personal experiences in the camps. The way that they books are written are so different because of the personal experiences that the two women have gone through. Since their personal experiences are so different, with some minor similarities, the two others were bound to have taken on two completely different writing styles.

“When The Emperor Was Divine” was written more like a novel, with a plot with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. The second book was a picture novel but was very factual. It was written all off of the authors experiences while in the camps with minimum background information and ends abruptly with the author being released from the camp. The two different styles also probably have a lot to do with how the two authors handle the trauma and violence of the camps. Otsuka is able to write in a more “story- like” way because she did not experience these horrors personally and may have made it easier to write a book with a lot of details and additional information. Okubo experienced everything in her book first hand, and may have wanted to stick to the bare facts, avoiding a lot of personal or familial background. It is tough to say if these are the real reasons why the others choose these styles of writing, but in either case there was a lot of overlap in historical details and both effectively got the message across about how horrible these camps were.

When The Emperor Was Divine: Culture

It was really interesting to see how culture was dealt with in this novel. Usually when immigrant cultures are in the United States it is not uncommon to hear how they lose a sense of their native culture and traditions. Usually this results in the individual or family becoming more "Americanized" and experience a shift more towards American/European religions and traditions. The most interesting part of "When The Emperor Was Divine" is that there was a slight shift towards more American lifestyles but there was also a large push to be more "Chinese".

Mainly, this was due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was known that the Japanese military was responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor which leads to the discrimination and hatred towards the Japanese culture in America. This made many Japanese individuals and families try to become more "Chinese" and even children were told that, if asked, they should say that they are Chinese. It was really interesting because this is probably one of the few times that a group of individuals tried to take on a different identity that still wasn't part of the popular culture. This is probably one of the very few times this has happened in the United States that is also openly talked about such as in novels like this one; a novel based off of true events in history.

When the Emperor was Divine: Loss of Culture

   Upon finishing the reading the book and reviewing paradigm questions I realized that there was a severe lack of Japanese culture mentioned.  Otsuka mentions some Japanese items and cultural characteristics but they are either packed up in the beginning with all the other household belongings or mentioned to the children not to bring them up.  I feel as though it is a method Otsuka used to signify the decay of Japanese culture in Japanese Americans that went to the detention/holding camps.  This is also signified by the title.  The children are taught not to mention the Japanese emperor's name and therefore devaluing all things representing Japan.
   When they all returned from the camps it was implied that they lost a lot out of their time in the camps even though some characters mentioned that it was only a segment in their life.  It was not just a section of  their lives, it was a pivotal moment in Japanese culture in America.  When the father returns, he is not the same man he was.  He was easily upset and not as happy as he use to be.  His detention took some of his life and soul out of him.  Japanese culture was taken away from many of them.

Citizen 13660: Environment

The effect of the elements (environment) had an affect on the life of people in the camp.  The weather required the people to assume a new lifestyle in order to survive the latest environmental curveball.  Rain would leave things muddy and traveling to different places in the camp more difficult.  Getas (traditional wooden clogs) were used to get through the rain soaked earth, “Homemade getas took place of rationed shoes and boots.  Because of the mud puddles, some people built their getas a foot high.”(p. 161)  I wonder how they felt about using their getas in order to get through their day.  Did they feel smart, because they already knew of a simple solution to get through the mud?  Or did they not like the reminder of why they were put in the camps in the first place?

Miné Okubo mentions on a number of occasions the strong wind at Topaz.  On all occasions the wind is adverse and is usually harmful to the people, strongly blowing into their faces picking up the alkaline soil.  On page 183 the climate of Topaz throughout the year is described.  The harsh winters and summers would cause problems that all the people in the camp would have to get over.  If it was the heat, they had to choose to stay cool outside, with the bugs or stay indoors in the stifling heat.  There was no third choice, only one or the other.  All summer they would have to deal with such decisions along with trying to keep themselves busy or entertained.  I don’t think I could go through that for a whole year; it would be very difficult to do.  I feel bad for the ones who didn’t make it out, dying in the confined area of the camp.

Citizen 13660: US Representation

   Although Okubo was treated unfairly by the United States through Executive Order 9066 she remains fairly unbiased throughout her text and illustrations.  The text is descriptive of her experience bearing little emotion.  It can be gathered that she still holds respect for her nation, especially when she shares her experience through the process of dividing up the "loyal" and "un-loyal" Japanese Americans.  In an illustration she is sticking her tough out at one of the "rabble rousers" (176-177).  The text, however, remained unbiased and descriptive rather than personal.  

   The illustrations overall were comical keeping the mood light despite the controversial situation.  It is a reflection of her mood throughout the situation from my perspective.  She had to make what she could out of the situation.  Instead of demonizing the United States she created comical illustrations of her experiences.  At no point did any of her context give me the impression of anger towards the nation.

Lakota Woman: Family

Some of the traditions of Navite Americans  are described in this book.  For example: how a regular community was tied together.  They all helped each other out, mainly family – but basically everybody was family.  This tight-knit, communal structure was attempted to be eradicated  when the whites came.  In the book it is stated that the “traditions and customs [were] a barrier to what the white man called ‘progress’ and ‘civilization’.” (p. 13)  The structure was changed into a “nuclear family”, where only immediate family members helped support each other.  The Father and Mother would work to earn money and the grandparents would help take care of the children.  The kids were, in a way restricted in their learning because they didn’t have the wealth of interactions they could have had otherwise.  In the normal tradition a man was chosen (in a way like a godfather is chosen) who would take part in taking care of the children while teaching them things, like how to hunt.  This second man would be also called Father, because he was so close to the family and its workings.

When the government intervened they did change their culture and the Christian religion was pushed on them.  People accepted it because they believed it would help them, their family and their children to get a better life.

Lakota Woman: Gender

It was really interesting to see how differently men and woman look at gender roles in this culture. Much like the vast majority of the modern culture we live in today, men and woman often have conflicting ideas about what roles each gender plays. This is also true towards the end of the autobiography as well when it is disclosed how Crow Dog feels about the women’s role in their culture. In the United States, traditionally, and especially in the 1950’s, women were thought to have a housewife role. Their main responsibilities were to marry, raise children, cook, clean, and care for the nuclear family. It wasn’t until much later, and even very recently, that the way men and woman view the importance and roles of woman in the family and culture have started to shift. More women work than those that don’t, and it is very common for children to be put in daycare rather than having a stay at home mom that plays the 1950’s housewife role. Men also are experiencing changes as well. More men are sharing the responsibilities that formally were only “women’s roles” such as cooking, cleaning, and raising children.

Despite their being progressive shifts in attitude towards gender roles in most societies, it seemed as though some older more “traditional” gender roles were still held in place in this Native American culture. Although it seems at the end women are gaining more power, and are looked at with great importance, women still seemed to carry a large burden. Especially when the fights are going on among the authorities and the Native Americans, and the women were often left without men to help them. During this time the women had to take on all the responsibilities of two people. Crow Dog tries explaining to Mary how important the woman figure is in their culture and the symbolism behind the woman but there are still some issues that are yet to change. For example, while Crow Dog is in jail women are taking a more active role in a lot of the important ceremonies that take place on the reservation. There was even talk about an all lesbian group holding a ceremony which greatly upset Crow Dog. This helped to show that even though there have been a lot of improvements towards the equality of women and their roles in that culture, there is still more progress to be made before the two genders are truly equal. This not only shows how this culture is uniquely different from ours, but also how similar it is as well. Even in America women often are paid less for having the same profession as a man. While reading this autobiography some of the content may seem rather harsh and raw but it is interesting to think that Americans for a long time have also dealt with similar struggles in terms of equality and fair treatment.

Lakota Woman: Gender Roles and Identity

   Lakota women's role in Mary Crow Dog's generation differs from traditional white culture of her era but are still below men in an unofficial hierarchy.  Lakota women fight, drink, be rowdy, and do many things men do including fighting off cops.  Many of MCD's interactions with brawls are Sioux and white men fighting with herself inserting herself where she can.  No white women are involved in the brawls except if a woman angers MCD in bar when she is drunk.  In the AIM movement the characteristic of Lakota women being much more aggressive than white women but less than any man is revealed again.  The men led the AIM movement becoming a psuedo-warrior that women praised.  Women either attempted to be "free" with the warriors or become their wife.  Women participated in the movement that made its way all the way to DC however, men were always at the forefront.
  MCD addresses this disparity between the two sexes after analyzing another Native American culture, the Pueblo.  "I could not help noticing the great role women played in Pueblo society.  Women owned the houses and actually built them. Children often got their mother's last name, not their father's.  Sons joined their mothers' clans.  It made me a little jealous" (106).  She blatantly states her jealousy for the female hierarchy advantage in Pueblo society.  She subtly brings up her discontent with her status as a woman in her writing but rarely as open than on page 106.

Bone: Generation Gap II

   The development of the characters in the ending of the novel surprised me.  Mah's character was built as a traditional older woman.  One would expect a character, or at least I did, to be disgraced that their child is having premarital sex or moving in with their unmarried partner.  Therefore, Mah's response to Liela's decision to move in with Mason was surprising.  "Give it a test. Remember to have a way out,"  was not at all expect ().  I expected at least a small argument or passive aggressive resistance but not advice.  It made sense almost as immediately as I read it.  She had already been through a lot with relationships, things unspoken and left unknown.  Mah wanted what was best for her daughter and she understood that this non-traditional route could be beneficial in the long run.
   It made me realize that traditions are broken down by experiences.  Mah wasn't accepting of Leila's fast past relationship because she was "Americanized," what I first thought, but because of her failed marriage in Hong Kong.  Leila wasn't becoming "Americanized," rather she was deciding on her relationship based on what she experienced and saw in America.  It reflects the title of the book and superstitions, its not superstitions that change lives for the better or worse but those experiences change the direction a life heads.

Bone: HOME

It was interesting to see how frequently the idea of “home” was brought up in the second half of the novel. It has often come up in class discussions how ones upbringing and culture can have a lot to do with how they look at their home. This could be the literal location of where they reside, but it can also go even further and broader. These broader generalizations could be particular locations, objects, people, and memories that they associate with home. It was interesting to see that while Leila and the family is greatly struggling with the loss of the middle daughter Ona, Leila also starts to wonder what makes her “home”.

 For the longest time, Leila thinks that her home is where she resides, on Salmon Alley.  Leila thinks to herself “It was my address; it was home, where I lived” (180). After the loss of her sister she has the urgent feeling of needing to be at home where she can be closer to her mother. This is also where her roots are, and has greatly contributed to who she becomes as an adult. What Leila does not realize is that what makes Salmon Alley feel like home to her, are the memories that she has when she thinks of the apartment there. Not many of the memories that Leila has of the apartment are positive ones. In fact, most of the memories that Leila has of Salmon Alley are rather traumatic. She vividly remembers all of the times that Leon never came back home after her mother has an affair and the countless times that Ona was locked out when she was with caught leaving the house to be with boys. This is the same address where letters would come addressed to Leila from her biological father; the letters were always saddening.  Towards the end, this is also the same place where people came to mourn and pay their respects after the suicide of Ona.

It is not until the final pages of the novel that Leila gets in touch with her similarities to Leon and how he feels about home. She recalls a time when Leon tells her “…that what we hold in our heart is what matters. The heart never travels” (190). This is the first time that Leila shows a change in opinion about what makes a home. This is when she first realizes that her “home” is where her heart is. This is the place where all of the good and the bad memories are that help mold Leila into her own person. She now realizes that no matter where she is she will always have Salmon Alley in her heart. This leaves readers feeling optimistic that only good things will come from this commonality that she shares with Leon.

Bone: Generation Gap

   The generation gap between Leila and her parental figures, Mah and Leon, exemplify the differences between Chinese-American and modern American culture.  Mah and Leon are hard working, Mah more than Leon, making enough to keep the family stable.  They are not looking for careers but rather jobs that pay.  They don't have a background to build a professional career.  Leila and her boyfriend/fiance Mason are specific in what they want to do with their lives in terms of work.  Leila is very satisfied in her steady job with the school.  Its a lot of work but she seems to enjoy it a lot.  Mason works specifically on foreign vehicles, attempting to secure a stable job doing what he enjoys.  The focus on jobs differs, the Chinese-Americans are driven by money mainly in there new country willing to take what comes their way where as the new generation has the opportunity to be driven by a certain desired career route.
   Leila has however inherited many of her mother's qualities.  Her mother constantly stresses about money, Leon, and the family.  Lelia has found ways to relax (sex & drugs for example) rather than constantly stressing like her mother.  She still has many concerns for her family though.  When Mah goes to Hong Kong with Nina for vacation, Lelia still worries.  Mason has tells her "Don't worry...You worry too much" (93).  Through this examination of career paths is shows that the generational gap includes a new ideology adapted by the new generation but Leila's characteristics also show that one cannot be completely free of old ways.

Bone: Language

In the novel Bone the main character’s family speaks Chinese, English or both.  In some instances it creates a language between characters, creating interesting dynamics.  Those who speak both are left to translate and sometimes omit things as they are translating.  I had always wondered if people did this as they translated, it was nice to have it finally admitted.  Leila says in the book that she did it with her Mah, when they were told about Ona’s suicide.  The job that Leila has she got most likely because she speaks Chinese and can communicate with the student’s parents.

In the novel, Leila occasionally uses Chinese words to describe things and how it in some ways can express a feeling English cant.  That or it has a stronger meaning when said in Chinese.  This brings up questions about how a language, in a way, can constrain us.  You can only think about something within the words that you know.  That feeling that you get, when you can’t find a word to describe something, is an example of this.  By knowing two languages you are able to expand you vocabulary in a sense that you have more ways to describe something.

I feel like the character speaks Chinese also for the culture that stands behind it.  Leila could have been the daughter of any number of immigrant families that could speak some language.  I think the writer picked Chinese (not only because the writer is Chinese) due to the rich heritage, and the material that could be incorporated and used within the book.

Family Relations in "Bone"

                The familial relationships in the novel Bone are rather interesting and complex. It is hard to understand where Leila, the main character, stands in her relationships with both her mother and father. She does not make it very clear if there is a preference, or if she is closer to one parent or the other. She does however make it known what characteristics of her parents she dislikes, but it never goes much farther than that. Similarly, it is unknown how Leila’s parents feel about their children. It is obvious that the family is mourning the loss of their middle child and that they don’t approve of their youngest daughters lifestyle all the time. However, it is interesting to look at the kind of relationship that has developed between Leila and her parents as the first half of the novel progresses.

                It appears as though Leila has become the “adult” from a very young age. Her parents don’t get along as well as they used to, and readers are able to sense a bit of animosity amongst the parents. Leila’s mother and father often go back and forth using Leila as the middle man. Since the parents live in separate houses they use Leila as a kind of messenger which she strongly dislikes. Leia also has had to be a messenger in the literal sense in that her parents often used her to translate for them when dealing with people that could only speak English from the time that she was a young child and onward. This weird relationship that Leila has developed with her parents is affecting her on several levels, especially after the death of her middle sister. The parents often asked Leila why she didn’t know that anything was wrong, and why didn’t she see the signs? This seems a bit off, since usually when a child commits suicide most parents immediately place the blame on themselves. Why would they place the blame and ask such bizarre questions to Leila, who is merely the sister? Isn’t it the parents’ responsibility to know what kinds of issues are going on in their child’s life, and be the people that try and prevent such issues as suicide? This absence of parental responsibilities has caused Leila to grow up very quickly and often times she doesn’t have a parent to turn to because she has now become the parent figure in their nuclear family.  

19 Varieties of Gazelle: 19 Varieties of Gazelle & Jerusalem Headlines 2000

    In 19 Varieties of Gazelle, Nye writes highly of the freedom the gazelle have.  She poses her audience to contemplate the freedom of the gazelle by asking "Is the whole air the path of the gazelle?" (88).  Animals truly have freedom to take any path they ca reach.  Nye connects the freedom of nature to the Middle East yet again in section two.
   Nye highlights the collaboration of nature and Arabs in Jerusalem Headlines 2000, how an act of nature brought two divided groups of people to save their people.  The headlines from the unprecedented snowstorm in Jerusalem are weaved into the poem speaking for themselves while Nye adds deep artistic and contemplative text further delving into the complexity of nature and human nature.

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Section 2: The Tray & Trenches and Moats and Mounds of Dirt

The poem The Tray (p.105) is a short little poem.  It’s almost like its explaining what the phrase “every cloud has a silver lining”, that whatever goes on in the day whether it be displeasing or distressing that there are still those little highlights of the day.  Even if that one highlight is sitting down and spending time with people, no matter their own history, or their people’s history, is.  Nobody needs to talk for you to feel a connection with others, just sharing a nice peaceful moment is enough to create a pleasant memory.

The other poem Trenches and Moats and Mounds of Dirt (p. 117) is possibly twice the length of The Tray, but holds just as much meaning.  At first it describes a changed and ruined land, “…a bird rises from the cloth to fly in circles over a scene she does not recognize.  Where is her nesting place, the safe slot between branches?”  This passage may not represent displaced animals but also the displaced Palestinians.  Some people lose their families in a matter in minutes, it is a  saddening fact and worse is that it doesn’t just happen in the Middle East.  People will always conflict with one another, usually ending in fights and wars.  There is such a language “called Mean” that I would gratefully see die (if it could).  While the ‘Mean’ language goes extinct we should all make friends in the least expected of places, making the chances of fighting die of with each friendship that we forge.

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Red Brocad & They Dropped It

Passage from Introduction:

"She wanted people to worship in whatever way they felt comfortable.  To respect one another, sit together around the fire cracking almonds and drinking tea, and never forget to laugh, no matter what horrible things they had been through." (xvii-xviii)

  Nye brings a sense of calm to my thoughts of the Middle East when reading her poems.  I stopped after Red Brocad to contemplate what I had just read.  Post 9/11, many Americans are led to believe that the Middle East is full of people who hate and ridden with terror everyday.  Nye's statement that Arabs use to say to allow a stranger in you home for three days shifted my mind completely out of all stereotypes I am bombarded with.  I pictured and Arab family, Mom, Dad, Children, become great acquaintances with a stranger.  No one was judgmental, ignorant to the stranger's background.  "I refuse to be claimed," really jumped out at me (41).  I live in a country where time is everything and an Arab-American woman is challenging my conceptions about being so scheduled.  

   The author also challenge's people to deconstruct this image of a terror ridden Middle East with her poem, They Dropped It.  There is this idea that one's age, class, or any characteristic can stop one from recognizing and appreciating the beauty nature gives us.  There is a question posed, "Who deserves flowers more? Rich people who never came outside or children stuck all day in school" (83)?  In the end of the poem, the one who enjoys the flowers the most remains ambiguous other than the fact that home is across a sea.  Someone is able to stop and appreciate something that is overlooked by most.  Maybe Nye is referring to herself, appreciating something because she is far away from the source of her culture.

   Both bring this sense of calm and appreciation for people when thinking about the Middle East.  She wrote about the controversy that 9/11 has brought about Arab people in her introduction and refers to 9/11 in poems.  Her Grandmother's morals of acceptance in all comes through in these two poems.  There is challenge to readers to think about judgement and refrain from it.  If you refrain from it you may have something great to appreciate.

Section 2: "19 Varieties of Gazelle" & "Footfall"

19 Varieties of Gazelle and Footfall are both very unique and similar poems because of the use of animals. Both poems depict the animals (gazelles and turtles) in a positive light. Both of the “voices” in the poems speak of how beautiful the animals are and how unique and different they are compared to humans. In 19 Varieties of Gazelle, the gazelle is depicted as a graceful and quiet animal and is even described as a “Gentile gazelle, dipping her head, into a pool of silver grass” (89). The reader is made to think that the observers in the poem are in awe of the gazelle and say that there is “Nothing better than 19 varieties of gazelle” (88).  In Footfall, the turtle is also appreciated but for different reasons. The people that live in the same area as the turtle try and show the animal the upmost respect and consideration. The turtle is sensitive and “She feels your footfall” (114). This footfall makes the residents take their time and slows their movements so as to not disturb the animal and they “…tiptoe through her yard” (115). Even with the tiptoeing, the turtle is still timid and scared.

This makes me wonder why animals are used so often in the poems? Do certain animals mean or symbolize different aspects of the culture? Are the animals trying to tell the reader of the poems something? Lastly, why is the turtle in Footfall so scared and uneasy?

Lost Children: "Biography of an Armenian Schoolgirl" & "For Mohammed On The Mountain"

These two poems were of particular interest to me because they both featured children that are wise beyond their years. In the first poem, a young school girl is trying to make sense of the world around her and her culture. She does not understand why she is being taught certain subjects in school and specifically raises questions about marriage when she says “How will I sleep with him, I who have never slept away from my mother?” (11). The girl has a wonderful imagination and pictures a different life for herself but is never able to achieve it because she is suppressed due to her culture which is seen as she writes on her tablet. “There is something else we were born for. I almost remember it. While I write, a ghost writes on the same tablet, achieves a different sum” (13). Her culture will always have an impact on how she acts, presents herself, and thinks.

The second poem is similar but different in a few specific ways. It features a young boy whom also has a lot of questions in regard to his culture, specifically his religion. He is continually questioning his father about Mohammad and asks such questions as “But why did he go to the mountain? What happened to him?” (25). The boy also starts to question his faith when things are not going well with little sign of improvement. He asks Mohammad, “Are you angry with us? Do you think my father forgot you?” (27).  At the end of the poem, we learn that despite having so many questions and possible doubt about his religion and culture, the boy still continues to believe. He even wishes to one day to be united with his friends on the mountain with Mohammad (29).

While the boy in this poem questions his religion, the girl in the first poem questions her education and her roles as a woman. This is what makes the two poems so different and interesting. Due to the different gender roles in the cultures, the boy and the young girl concern themselves with two different aspects of their culture. In this way they are lost and both are trying to figure out where they stand and what their place in this world is going to be. Since they are of different genders, their answers to these questions will be different. They may never find the answers they are looking for but they both seem rather determined to keep searching.

Powerfull Passage

"I dedicate these poems of my life to the wise grandmothers and to the young readers in whom I have always placed my best faith. If grandmothers and children were in charge of the world, there would never be any wars" (xviii).

19 Varieties of Gazelle: My Father and the Figtree & Passing the Refugee Camp

My Father and the Figtree is a more simple and lighthearted poem compared to the others in Section 1 of the book.  The poem has a specific subject a father and his obsession with fig trees.  In the poem you can also identify a mother character along with the person telling the ‘story’.  The dialogue is actually in quotations in the poem, which is formatted into four block paragraphs.  I like this poem simply because it is a nice poem recalling happy memories, it actually made me laugh; “ ‘Plant one!” my mother said, but my father never did.  He tended garden half-heartedly, forgot to water, let the okra get too big. ‘What a dreamer he is.  Look how many things he starts and doesn’t finish.’”  Both the first and second comments that the mother makes were the things that I laughed at.  The second comment, about what a dreamer he is, was funny to me because it was so true, people can really be like that in real life.

Passing the Refugee Camp was written in a different, darker light than My Father and the Figtree.  The paragraphs made of only two lines (with the exception of two paragraphs) make the words stand out more and make them more profound. “In suits the color of olive trees soldiers stand and stand.” (p. 30) The simple description of the soldiers was enough to create a strong image in my mind.  This poem isn’t about any one person, but more about a feeling, something a group of people had to go through.

Breath, Eyes, Memory: Character Use

Every time a new character comes into the story, I find myself taking note of a lot of things.  Like what I picture them to look like, remembering their name, who their family is and what their relation is to the main character.  After getting well into a book I occasionally start to get confused and wonder if these new characters are necessary for the story to move along.  For example I had thought of this when Eliab was introduced.  When Eliab is introduced on page 121 it is halfway through the book.  I had begun to question the importance of this character and why Edwidge Danticat had put Eliab in.  But then later in the story I realized the use of Eliab.

The kite boy Eliab reflected upon Sophie’s story thus far.  When Eliab is first introduced he is attempting to fly his kite (p.96).  Later in the book, shortly after Sophie learns of his name he gets his kite into the air, but it gets cut down by another.  He ends up breaking down and crying at the loss of his kite (p.130).  Elaib’s little story reflects Sophie’s story arc so far: She wasn’t faring well with her relationship with Joseph at home along with her now non-existent relationship with her mother.  Then she talks with her grandmother about her troubles with Joseph.  Then as things are starting to look up, problems arise one again. 

Every character has a purpose to help move along the story and help the other characters through the lines in their arcs.  It is fun to create different characters, but they all contribute to the story.

Breath, Eyes, Memory: Ou Libere

Sophie's attack on the cane field was only given less than one page but it meant so much that it could not be put into more words.  There was so much emotion involved, too much to even understand no matter how in-depth she went.  The only thing in this section is the physical actions and vocal response from her grandmother and Tante Atie.  No emotion at all is written.  The reader is left to bring about the emotions in themselves.  Her mother is free from suffering and now it is Sophie's time to do the same on the same day as her mother's funeral.  

Her grandmother's response, as she has established, tells the reader that she knows what is happening.  She prevents the priest from stepping in and reacts like she is in the market.  "From where she was standing, my grandmother shouted like the woman form the market place, "Ou libere?" Are you free" (233).  Her grandmother knows what Sophie is doing is right.  How long has she know that this is what she needed to do?

Breath, Eyes, Memory: Mothers and Testing

A particular paragraph in chapter 31 left me with a lot to think about. In the middle of page 203 Sophie makes a comment about how it is "...up to me to make sure that my daughter never slept with ghosts"(203). This was of such high interest to me because this isn't exactly a thought process seen by the other females in her family. Although none of the women in their culture liked being tested as young girls they still continued to test their own daughters. When Sophie asked her mother and her grandmother why such a test has been carried down through the generations she always gets left with the same answers; it is something that they have always done and continue to do with their own daughters. If testing is a ritual that all of the girls despise of so much it is hard to understand why then it continues to happen. Furthermore, it seems really nice that Sophie does not want to put her daughter through the same test that she had to go through but what makes Sophie think that she won't test her daughter? When Sophie's mother was being tested as a young girl she may have thought the same things about when she had a daughter of her own (she may have thought she would never test her daughter). Even though Sophie thinks she won't test her daughter now what makes her think that she won't change her mind when her daughter hits puberty?

Breath, Eyes, Memory: the music of Joseph

     The curiosity brought on to Joseph is not only just his self, but his profession. Jazz music is soulful and beautiful. Jazz also has a rich history to it. It was born in the south and was created through a mixture of different musical styles. It started out with a small audience but grew in the public eyes after some time. In a way, you can see Sophie’s story (thus far) in Jazz’s own history. She’s just come out into the world that had existed and flourished without her, and now she just needs to find her place. That place ends up being at Joseph’s side. At the beginning and slow start to their relationship, Sophie could be with Joseph through the sound of his music, "I spent the whole week with my ear pressed against the wall, listening to him rehearse…Sometimes at night, the saxophone was like a soothing lullaby." (P71)

     Joseph’s occupation, may not have originally written to be viewed in this way, but I saw it and wonder not only of Sophie’s future but what else there may be to find in the rest of the story.

Breath, Eyes, Memory: a reminder of why they left home

Sophie's first night with her mother in New York embedded in her mind why she had to move there rather than staying in Haiti as she desired.  She seemed to understand Martine's nightmare, "screaming as though someone were trying to kill her" (48).  Her nearly nonchalant reaction to the chaos occurring outside the airport gave us an understanding that it is not unusual for her to witness such activity.  When she heard her mother screaming she knew how to help her, with Tante Atie's remedy consisting of tea and by climbing in bed.  Most Westernized young females would not know how to react to such a horrifying reaction to a nightmare.

This small section at the end of chapter six, I believe, was included to explain to the reader that even though Sophie and Martine have escaped the turmoil in Haiti they will still always have those memories to haunt them.  Martine will especially be forever haunted by her Haitian memories because, as readers find out, she was impregnated by a rapist in a cane field.  Memories and trauma such as that can always stick with a person, no matter how far away they get.  It also exemplifies the reason why she worked so hard to get her own child out of Haiti.  There is still political turmoil occurring as Sophie is leaving which means can mean the same route as Martine unwillingly was led down.

There is a large emphasis on Sophie's sex.  Her mother is trying to protect her from rape and lack of educational opportunities.  What if Martine had a boy?  Would she have migrated to the United States for a son?

-Chase Sheaff

Daffodils in "Breath, Eyes, Memory"

The daffodil is a flower that is mentioned rather frequently in Breath, Eyes, Memory. The daffodil is mentioned on the very first page of the novel and is mentioned several times in subsequent chapters throughout the first and second parts of the book. The daffodil is not only important to the main character Sophie but also to other characters including her biological mother in New York, and her Aunt Atie whom is her primary caregiver. The flower is also very popular in the island of Haiti where it thrives. The daffodil has a particularly special meaning to Sophie and is quite symbolic in regards to her life story up through part two of the novel.

Sophie likes the daffodil for its beauty and also for the memories that are associated with the daffodils. The flower grows quite well in Haiti and is a favorite among the natives. Not only is the daffodil a flower that is beautiful to look at, but also the daffodil reminds her of home. Home to Sophie is in Haiti with her Aunt whom has raised her until the age of twelve. When Sophie thinks of her Aunt she thinks of the daffodil which is why she decided to use it as decoration for the cover of a mother's day card that she had made. When Sophie thinks of home she pictures it with her aunt Atie who "...is a daffodil...iron strong" (29).

Little does Sophie realize she also is a daffodil. Aunt Atie tells Sophie that the reason Sophie's mother liked daffodils so much was because they weren't supposed to be found in Haiti; they were brought over from Europe (21). Sophie, like the daffodil, is brought into a foreign place against her will; a place that she does not consider to be her home. Despite feeling like she does not belong, she thrives in her new home. She goes to school and gets great grades and starts attending college. A success that may not have been possible for her if she had stayed in Haiti. In this respect, Sophie like the daffodil is uprooted from where she considers home to a new place but still manages to thrive even when she (like the daffodil) feels as though this is not her home and where she belongs. In this regard Sophie and the daffodils of Haiti alike.