When race is being spoken of, I do believe the authors race should be considered. If a story is focusing mainly on minorities however the author is not apart of the minority being spoken of then their credibility does come into question. In dealing with issues of race I personally would feel that if the author was not a member of said race, then they would not be able to fully understand the struggles that race encounters. With that being said authors such as Kate Chopin, although they aren’t members of the races they speak of they do capture some of what that race has to deal with from an outside perspective.
Fiction
Armand’s Reaction
Armand stared at the letter, stunned, he couldn’t believe what he just read. This isn’t possible, he thought, it can’t be. His mind flashed back to his childhood, to his loving and supporting mother. The shock he felt before was now replaced with outrage an anger. How could she do this how could she hide this from him? Amidst all his anger and bewilderment arose a hint of sadness. It all made sense now, Desiree wasn’t the reason their baby looked as it did, he was. Armand was disgusted with himself, not only for what he did to Desiree but for who he now knew he was. He could never look at his slaves the same, knowing that part of their blood ran through his veins. After barely recovering from what he had just learned Armand knew what he had to do. He raced out of the house in search of his wife and child. He had to reconcile with Desiree and reunite his family. Armand searched and searched for them but they were nowhere to be found, they had disappeared and to Armand’s dismay never returned. For Armand life was over as he knew it, he spent the rest of his days regretting that fateful day wishing he could rewind time, he wished he’d never told her to leave and most of all he wished he’d never found that letter.
Feminism in Ichiyo
I think the character Oseki represents women who lived during that era in Japan. The roles women played during this period of time were to get married, become a house wife, and have children. Women didn’t have much power during this time because they were expected to be dependent on their husbands and weren’t given much decisions to make, so it was tough to navigate through the system by themselves. At the time, they were only able to navigate through the system of power through their husbands and their appearance. Women during that time also weren’t expected to have a good education and weren’t able to engage in politics. I think the character Oseki falls into the category of feminism in The Thirteenth Night because she wanted to take control over her own life and divorce her abusive husband. I think Oseki trying to get into her own power was a symbolism of feminism.
Marxism in the Thirteenth Night
While reading the story The Thirteenth Night by Higuchi Ichiyo, I thought about Isamu and Roku’s similarities and differences. Isamu and Roku come from different lifestyles, Isamu is a wealthy man while Roku is from a lower class. They also feel different about Oseki. Isamu doesn’t respect Oseki because of her level of education and likes to humiliate and verbally abuse her. Roku was in love with Oseki and was romantically involved with her before Oseki was forced to marry Isamu. The similarities I found between Isamu and Roku were that they both are selfish, mistreat their families, and our overall unhappy with their lives.
While Oseki was talking to Roku near to the end of the story, I think Oseki learned that no matter the class there will still be similarities between a man from a lower class and higher class. For example, Roku and Isamu still had the same behavior even though they were from different classes. I think from that, she realized she could have ended up in the same situation if she married Roku instead of Isamu, but on the other hand she felt like life could have been better with Roku since they came from the same class and understand each other better. I think Oseki also learned that no matter the class, everyone has their struggles.
discussion post topic 1: armand
In a state of shock, Armand drops the letter. People with whom he shares blood with he despises and considers as property.
“Shatter”
“Smash”
“Crack”
Armand snatches and tosses everything in his path. He is filled with rage and utter confusion on the inside. He wonders how they could have done this to him. How they could have failed to inform him of this. Armand sits at his desk for hours, staring at the letter and then back at the photo of Desire, him, and their child. He catches a glimpse of a photograph of his mother. He takes into account how people would treat her if they found out, and how cruel he was to his slaves. He was disgusted with his actions and with himself. Armand leaves the house to burn the letter. He goes to release the slaves and then to get his family back.
“Desire, Desire!”, he calls out. “Where are they, Madame Valmonde?”
” Oh son, they went for a walk and never returned.”
Armand collapses to the ground.
Rationale:
“And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves.” (Chopin 4).
“Moreover, he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had
brought upon his home and his name” (Chopin 5).
As we can see, Armand treated slaves badly. And when he discovered that his wife and child were allegedly black, he tells them to leave. As a result, in this alternate ending, he is ashamed of himself after finding out the truth, frees the slaves he tortured who he shares the same blood with, and returns to his family.
feminism in ichiyo
Higuchi Ichiyo’s “The Thirteenth Night” was written in the late 1800s, so what was expected of women was quite different. Women’s roles were to do housework, care for their children(s), and be considered their husbands’ property. Oseki exemplifies what the majority of women had to go through at the time. She had planned to leave her abusive husband, but after speaking with her father, she changed her mind. This was because her father told her that she had to fulfill her responsibilities as a wife and mother no matter what has happened. “The Thirteenth Night” depicts how women’s social status is poor and how their relationships are restricted, they don’t have a say in anything. The birth of Isamu’s and Oseki’s son Taro was the catalyst for her abuse. His rage was fueled by the fact that Oseki is less educated. Despite the fact that she was raised at a time when girls were not required to attend school and that Isamu was aware of her background when he desired her. Isamu makes fun of Oseki for being “too stupid to confide in” and keeps her in his house only as Taro’s nursing mother. Reading the biography, Ichoya navigated the system’s power with the help of her father and by continuing to pursue her dreams.
marxism in the thirteenth night
The two characters Isamu and Roku, based on Ichiy Higuchi’s story “The Thirteenth Night,” have similarities and differences in terms of social class. Isamu and Roku are both uneducated. Isamu scored higher in terms of social and economic situations than Roku, who works as a rickshaw puller. They share the same disregard for their families and wives, whom they don’t much care for. Because he had been unable to support her for a long time, Roku’s wife decided to leave him. On the other hand, Isamu, a successful man, has excellent fortune, and his influence aids Oseki’s family in improving their situation. Oseki found it difficult to tell her parents that she intended to divorce Isamu cause of his mental abuse throughout the years. Isamu’s unhappy life is shown as a result of his dissatisfaction with his less educated wife. Isamu’s life is different from Roku’s since he belongs to a superior social group.
During her run with Roku, Oseki realizes that she must continue to stay with her husband in order to avoid becoming homeless like Roku. If Oseki and Roku had chosen each other when they were younger, they would have had a happier life, as opposed to now, because they were both from the same social class. According to Marxist Theory, Oseki’s husband is a wealthy man who mentally abuses her because she comes from a poor family and has a lower level of education then him.
government
Both Sherman Alexie’s short stories “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” revealed how corrupt the government can be, with inequality and racial prejudice standing out. In “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire”, Thomas faced purely racial discrimination in a court of law because he was Native American. While on trial, Thomas was attempting to understand himself by recounting events that had shaped his life and justifying why he was the way he was. Regardless of how Thomas tried to defend himself, the judge was steadfast about locking him up. “The judge was red-faced with anger; he almost looked Indian. He pounded his gavel until it broke. “Order in the court,” he shouted. “Order in the fucking court” (Alexie 146). When the BIA officers discussed Thomas, they already had ideas for why he was on trial, asking, “What charges should we bring him up on? Inciting a riot? Kidnapping? Extortion? Maybe murder?” (Alexie 140). Because the justice system and the BIA were both biased against Native Americans, Thomas received the same horrible treatment as many others. Thomas is given as an example of how the system treats Native Americans with racial prejudice and injustice. In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, Victor needed assistance from the council since his father died in Phoenix. Victor, due to a lack of funds, was unable to bring his father’s cremated remains from Phoenix to the reservation. The Tribal Council of the reservation could only afford to give $100 and showed little sorrow when he mentioned his father’s death.
Racism and cruelty
Deborah Adekoya
Question: First, write a paragraph explaining why you chose this particular story out of the three. What drew you to it? How did you make your decision? What did you base your choice on? Then, write in another two paragraphs about the following questions: What is Colson Whitehead saying about racial relations within an institution such as education? How does he express the capacity for cruelty, as bolstered by racist ideology? Give specific examples from the text. Your post should be well thought out, written in complete sentences, and in good grammatical standing. Remember to make it colorful and media-rich as well.
Answer:
I decided to answer this question before I actually read the story, I picked this story because it is about critical race theory. I really enjoy talking about and reading different forms of literature that have this concept. I entirely based my choice on the topic and my interests.
I believe Colson Whitehead is saying that racial relations affect institutions badly because the students can’t have fair opportunities in their educational places. In the story “The Match” we learn about black students and how most of them do boxing. The school holds this important boxing match, that brings the only form of happiness the black students feel if a match is won over a white student. Griff, a black student, was made to believe his match was fair, till the white superintendent came and told him that in the third round he should let the white student win or else they’ll kill him. I believe they instructed Griff to do so because the white people didn’t want to place bets on black students. This story highlights most systems that are part of critical race theory. Were black folks are put “lose situation” and there isn’t such thing as justice.
What I found different about this story is, that Griff who was put in the “lose situation” did not give in to what the white man wanted. This doesn’t usually happen in these narratives. Whitehead definitely emphasized cruelty when in the story we find out that Griff was not counting the matches, and in the match, he was supposed to give up in the continued fighting because he thought it was the second match. The white people ended up killing him anyway, this part was definitely very cruel. This narrative like most racial-based narratives definitely shows the white man as the bad one and the black people as the victims, just like many other racial-based stories. I feel like the unfairness in this story adds to the cruelty capacity, the fact that grown men have the guts to ruin young boys’ games in order to “keep the system alive.”
Feminism in Ichiyo
Deborah Adekoya
Question: Think about the setting of “The Thirteenth Night”, particularly in terms of the historical era. Given what you know of the era, and more specifically, what you learned about Higuchi Ichiyo’s life story, what or who could the female character represent? What role(s) did women play in society at the time, what kind(s) of power did they have, and how did they navigate their way through the systems of power?
Answer: The female character represents Ichiyo and many other females that lived during the Meiji era. Women were meant to be submissive and obedient wives, that looked after their husbands and children. They had to stay at home and cook, clean, and look after the children. They had no rights and could make no choices. This was the woman’s role in society at that time. They had no clear form of power and when it came to navigating their ways through systems of power, they had to be fearless and rebel against the norms of society. The author of Thirteen Nights, HIGUCHI ICHIYŌ is well known because of how fearless she was during the Meiji era.
