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.