What makes a survivor?

In class today, the question was asked if The Shawl is a story about a survivor and what makes Rosa a survivor. Most stories that you hear about the Holocaust is about people who have lived and tell their story about how much stronger they are because of their experience in the camps. At least I have never heard a story about a person from the concentration camps who thirty years after the experience is still tragically traumatized like it was yesterday. Rosa, one of the main characters and focus of this book, seems to be that unique case where she is still in victim mode once she is released from the concentration camps.

Once Rosa is released, she then moves to the United States with Stella, in hopes of making a better and safer life for themselves. Rosa then becomes a successful antique businesswoman and is living a quite comfortable life compared to back in Europe and especially in the concentration camps. However, Rosa's mind is telling her that she does not deserve this wealthy life and here begins her act of punishment unto herself. She destroys her store, for many reasons such as her offensive customers, but a main reason to point out is that she feels unworthy of what she has made for herself. She cannot bring herself to move on and make a new life, because as a victim she begins to hate herself for even beginning to forget about what happened at the camps and what happened to her daughter, Magda. This is an interesting perspective read about because most survivor stories do not have their main characters relapsing into the camp mindset, like you can see in Rosa. While in her store, she begins to hear voices and is having flashbacks, which is another trigger towards her reaction of smashing her store. Rosa's replication of camp life is opposite of Stella, who is moving on and becoming Americanized and finding opportunities to take and better herself. Even when she is almost sixty, living in Florida, she reverts to victim mode so much that she is so helpless that she cannot even take care of herself. She sleeps in a shabby hotel and lives in poverty, much like the conditions of a concentration camp, but obviously not as harsh. She loathes herself for having tried to move on from her camp experience and her daughter, so she is purposely putting herself into victim mode by punishing herself. Rosa's story is a very unique tale of one woman's battle to live in the present while still clinging onto her past experiences. She punishes herself because she feels that she does not deserve a future if her daughter, her family, and so many others did not have that opportunity.

The Shawl Part One

  

The symbolism that I have found in this book so far is the significance of the shawl. Rosa starts talking about her shawl right from the beginning of the book, which shows that the shawl is a key component to her life and a significant material symbol in her life as well as this story. The shawl seems to me Rosa’s security blanket and is representative of protection and hope. The shawl is always wrapped around the little baby Magda, who Rosa says should have been dead already if she had not been wrapped up in the “magic shawl.” No matter how hungry or tired Rosa and Stella are, the magic shawl tucking Magda in and keeping her safe and alive, is also what keeps them alive. Of course one may be thinking this idea of hope is farfetched because Magda eventually is killed because of her howling, and Rosa does not even flee to her body but rather went to Magda’s shawl. Although Magda died, her shawl allows Rosa to remember her and want to keep pushing on so to not end up with a fate like Magda’s. Rosa’s personality from what I have figured is that her environment easily influences her. From living in those concentration camps, she became dumb to death, even the death of her own kin, Magda. From living in Florida, she learned to linger on her regrets like the rest of the old folk she was surrounded by. And by hanging out Stella so much, she began to fill up with hatred towards Stella who is so cold, selfish, and the angel of death. All of these situations make Rosa develop even more into her “madwoman” status you see in the book.

I thought that the last few books were racially controversial, but this book to me is by far the hardest hitting than any book we have read so far. It is most obvious that the main reason is the topic for this book; Jewish concentration camps. This topic is one that I always tip toe around because it is so emotionally charged; I'm not even Jewish and I find this so heart wrenching.  I have not finished the book yet, but I am anxious to read the ending of the book and see how this character’s finale is. 

When the Emperor was Divine

Now that we have finished reading the book I wanted to reflect on the ending of the book and how it reflects on the characters and all that they have gone through. Towards the end of the book, the family finally leaves the internment camps and returns to their home. This outcome seems like it would be a happy ending, but like the rest of book, it is just a bleak ending to their already sad story. Their house has clearly been lived in for the past few years, but not by respectful renters but most like by homeless people or drug dealers. The mother was on the ground scrubbing the filth off the ground left by those people. Although they all were excited to go home and finally have the freedom and protection from their own home, but once they get home they don't seem as happy as they had anticipated. They all still sleep in the same room, and the mother doesn't even go looking for her homemade wine bottles; it is as though they are desensitized to feeling any happiness for being back. It doesn't help that their neighbors and the rest of the community are still looking at them as criminals and shunning them to continue the feeling of isolation that they felt back at the camps. And then at last, things seem to turn around when the father comes home, but once again Otsuka turns that little moment of hope into more despair when the father is completely different and traumatized from his experiences in the camps. He is not the same loving, fun, and active father that his children remember him as, but rather he is paranoid and nervous most of the time. Throughout the whole book I felt so sorry and horrible for this family and all those generalized families who went through that same experience of the internment camps. I felt that this family never got a break, and that their future is not hopeful from how Otsuka writes the book. This family will always remember their experience, as will all the families who went through the same thing, Otsuka wants us to have that same haunting memory as those families did, as dreadful and unhopeful the ending is.

Divine Emperor Questions Answered

Why do you think the main characters are unnamed in the book? How does that detail add to the author's project? Compare the lack of names to people and places that are named in the book and see what is emphasized in this comparison.

I think that Julie Otsuka's choice to unname the characters was a brilliant idea and really has a significant reason. The situation that the characters have found themselves in is a huge reason for their lack of names. The treatment and situation of these internment camps are so degrading towards the Japanese people. It almost seems that if they take their identity away from themselves, de-root themselves from their heritage, and in every way depersonalize their lives, then maybe they wouldn’t be in those camps. When the mother and children leave their house, they only take the basics and leave things such as the homemade wine behind. The mother detaches herself from her past identity because look where it has taken her...into these internment camps. Although I think the family was never ashamed of their identities, I think that because of the situation they are forced into, they feel that to better their futures they must leave anything personal behind them, such as the mother's homemade wine. She leaves a part of her behind, so that if she ever returns, she has a piece of her old self still in existence, but she knows that for now she must move on and leaves her identity behind her. Also, I feel as though the lack of names to these characters makes their story more generalized to the whole population. Many Japanese families were sent to these camps, with fathers already taken away for questioning, and without really knowing what the future holds for them. Otsuka talks about his one family, but because they are so impersonal they represent this bigger movement and situation for their people. And although the main characters are without names, there are random characters that do have names. I have been wondering why Otsuka would include their names at all, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it is their impact on the characters that make them memorable. These characters that interact with the main characters have some kind of impact on the story and the main characters. “White Dog” was their beloved family pet that the mother had to kill before they left for these camps. This dog is significant in showing the mothers’ lack of affection and the beginning of her desensitization during the whole camp predicament. The family also had a deep connection with this dog and when he dies or “runs away”, the family seems to begin to fall apart and lie to one another.

When the Emperor was Divine

I thought that this book is very different from any others that we have read, but maybe that is because for me, as I have read through the first two chapters, all that I can think about is history and my history classes. My second major is history, although its focus is in European History, but whenever history pops up, my first reaction is focusing on those historical parts. 

This book fascinates me in two distinct and very different ways. The first, is that this historical focus is on the Japanese families in America during World War II and this perspective is rarely talked or heard about from the public. I am not the biggest fan of American history, but how Otsuka displays this historical view in the eyes of a family, but especially in the eyes of this mother figure is what makes the book that much more enjoyable and suspenseful. When I was younger, I used to read the "Dear America" series of books that were essentially historical novels and diaries of young girls. What made those books so entertaining was that they are relatable. My second reason that I like this book is that I feel as though I am living through the mother’s eyes.  The mother is a character that, as another woman, is sympathetic and relatable. When she is deciding whether or not to tell her children about what is going on with the Japanese people and the camps. You really feel as though you are making those decisions with her, and I enjoy a book that is not lecturing you or telling a specific lesson that you should realize after. I am looking forward to finishing this book and seeing how the rest of this novel plays out. I am interested to see how Otsuka describes the families journeys as a Japanese person living in America and living in those camps.

Push

I think that this book deals with many difficult and controversial topics, and that is what makes is such a moving and influential book. As I was describing this book to my mother the other day, she was shocked that I was reading this in an English class or in school at all. But, I disagree with that and think that this book needs to be read in school because people try to elude topics that are addressed in this book and no one is ever informed of such things. Students never hear of sexual abuse, rape, illiteracy, or homosexuality on the daily or read books with issues such as these. As a college student, of course I have heard and am aware of such occurrences, but this book really opened my eyes to all that goes on outside my little college life bubble. After just reading Fun Home, I think it is interesting to see that sexuality also occurs in Push. Bechdel tells her own story that includes the topic of homosexuality, but somehow I feel that homosexuality in Sapphire's book is almost more influential because it gives the perspectives of both heterosexuals like Precious, and homosexuals like Ms. Rain.
Precious' initial thoughts about homosexuals are that they are butch, weird, and gross. There is a girl in her class who she immediately dismisses because she is butch, without even trying to get to know her. She even makes comments about lesbians or "fags" when she finds out she is HIV positive. Her mother even assumes that Precious has HIV because she did it with her father the way those "gays do it" or in the butt. Basically, her reaction to homosexuality is a negative view, UNTIL she finds out that Ms. Rain is a lesbian. Then she starts to have a different view. She likes Ms. Rain, she even loves Ms. Rain and the feeling is mutual. Precious was shocked to hear that Ms. Rain was a homosexual. A very good point that Ms. Rain makes is that why does she not like homosexuals? Homos never raped her or made her go 16 years without knowing her ABC's or beat her. By knowing someone who was homosexual, she was able to change her mind and react differently, which is a very good turning point for her and others.
This is how I feel that many people think, too. Many people have tunnel vision and just assume that all homosexuals are the same and based on what they hear from the media or other people, they put them down without really getting to know their real story or see who they really are. That is why touching this topic in this book is so important, because this book already is influential for other topics that it can really be a legitimate influence for those who have preconceived ideas on homosexuality.

The change in Precious

At what points do we see change in Precious? At what point do we see Precious owning her identity and her destiny rather than accepting what others have forced on her? What influences her change?

 In class we started to discuss who changes Precious and what specific events lead to change within Precious. It is clear that without the help of certain people, the life that Precious lives may have never changed. Was it luck that Precious met these encouraging and supportive people who changed her life? Or was it really just Precious who got her to where she needed to be to change her own life? I think that Precious finally started to make the decisions to begin to better her own life and these important people helped make that transition a little more smooth.
  From the beginning Mrs. Lichenstein, her principal from her public middle school, was the first influential person in Precious' life. By getting Precious suspended for being pregnant, she then found an alternative school that she felt would be a much better fit for Precious. She even took the time to go to Precious' apartment to tell her about this alternative school close by to her home. In this particular situation, I think that it was Precious, herself, who made the decision to go to this alternative school and see what it is like, and that Mrs. Lichenstein was just there to help her find her path but never forced her to do anything. It was all Precious, which goes back to the incredible strength and courage she had to start to take control of her own life. Ms. Rain, her teacher, was then the first teacher who ever showed her encouragement, expectations, care, and concern for the growth of Precious. Precious always seems to find something wrong in everybody, but the relationship with Ms. Rain is different. For the first time, I feel that Precious is excited to go to school and learn from Ms. Rain, and Ms. Rain is excited to teach Precious and watch her grow intellectually. Ms. Rain raises the bar for Precious and pushes her to do her best, but in the end it is once again, Precious who pushes herself towards a higher education despite the negativity she receives at home. Lastly, I think that the birth of her second child and her motherly instincts are what really change her the most and help bring her out of this identity of her own mother and upbringing. Precious sees her own identity and upbringing and knows that she does not want that for her kids, and that she wants her children to be able to know their abc's. Precious makes the decision to leave her mother and tell the social worker about her mother and father.
The decision of going to school and working her hardest, lead Precious to finding support groups and making friends for once, and learning how to read and write. These important things happen in her life because of Precious and these people make her journey that much easier. Precious makes her own identity and destiny because of changes and decisions that SHE made!

The final stretch of Fun Home by AB

As I have come to the end of Fun Home, I have been thinking of a few of the topics we discussed about in the classroom. One in particular stuck to me and has been invading my thoughts as I finished this book, and the thought that keeps popping into my head is her mother. Was her mother and influence on her life? how? What did she do or did she not do in Alison's life that may have effected her nowadays? My answer to that is that I don't think the mother was as influential as her father, especially for the reasoning that her mother seems like a less important character in her autobiography. Neither her mother or father seemed to have shown affection towards Alison or her two siblings, but her mother still insisted on her "normal role" in the sense that she always bathed them or made dinner for them. When Alison tries to tell her mother that she got her period, her mother doesn't even look up from her reading and just asked if she had cramps. That role model figure is what Alison was lacking as she was growing up and that structure may have really affected her. Her mother was always there physically it seems, but never there completely intellectually because she was constantly writing her thesis. She strived for her fathers' attention as a child because he was the more aloof parent of the family, although you can tell especially from the pictures that their mother was drained, dull, and unhappy. A couple times their friends who were professors just took the kids away for a day or so to give the parents a break. At first I thought this gesture was nice, but looking at it I realize that the parents were both trying to escape the life they lead. I think that her mother and her father never wanted or expected the life that they had, and for different reasons are still in the marriage. Her mother was not mentioned a whole lot in this book, so I don't think she had a huge life impact on her, mostly because her father's influence outshines what her mother has done. Her mother is still alive and around, and communicative, as her father is the opposite so Alison may take advantage of that aspect of her mother's relationship.