The Namesake Perspective

          The Namesake is written by Jhumpa Lahiri and is set in 1968. An Indian family consisting of a husband and wife, Ashoke Ganguli and Ashima Ganguli, are soon going to have a child and are struggling through pregnancy and labor. The interesting writing style caught my eye when I noticed that Lahiri wrote the entire first two chapters (and most likely the whole novel) in third person. Ashoke, Ashima and even their baby, Gogol, are refered to by their names from an outside perspective of the situation. This point of view doesn’t allow the reader to become emotionally attached to anyone of the characters as easily as a first person perspective would.

          On the other hand, Lahiri writes in a way that allows the reader to understand the strife and emotions of the main characters while still seeing them and reading them in the third person point of view. The way Lahiri shows me the conscience and emotions of Ashoke and Ashima, yet still allows me to watch the events in the novel unfold with no character’s bias, blows my mind. I can’t even describe how the writing gives me a feeling that I’m watching the novel as an invisible spectator, but still gives me a feeling that I can feel and think along with the characters. Lahiri’s writing has given me a mixture of third and first person perspective seemlessly.

Pain Is Fun

            The Underground Man in Dostoevsky’s popular novel, Notes from Underground, derives enjoyment and pleasure from self-inflicted emotional suffering and causing emotional suffering in others. He has suffered all his life and has only recently begun to accept and enjoy the pain of suffering. He regrets not causing others to suffer with him when he was a young man, and now gains pure joy when he causes misery in others. He wants his readers to understand his love of human agony by giving a history lesson about how, “It is said that Cleopatra (pardon the example from Roman history) was fond of sticking gold pins into her slave-girls’ breasts and derived enjoyment from their screams and writhing” (Dostoevsky 22). The Underground Man uses historical examples, even rumors which may or may not be true, of ancient leaders to illustrate his point that suffering is enjoyable even to a demi-god. Though the rumor of Cleopatra may or may not be true, he is convinced that he is not abnormal and that suffering is pleasured by many.

            The Underground Man also believes himself powerless, indecisive  and weak when he commands, “Destroy my desires, eradicate my ideals, show me something better, and I will follow you” (Dostoevsky 34). The Underground Man desires to be hurt and wants to suffer through the destruction of the meaning of life itself for the joy of being killed, mentally, slowly. He causes self-inflicted pain to his own mind and to the minds of all around him for his own personal, twisted enjoyment.

Kayhon Rabbani
Mrs. Hawkins
English II (Block C)
29 January 2014

The Lions Get a Voice

Chinua Achebe and Rick Zand shatter the idea that their respective single stories are the whole truth and strive to show the entire story of Africans and Iranians through examples that show how many Africans and Iranians act contrary to the single story. Achebe uses Okonkwo and the Ibo people in his famous novel, Things Fall Apart, to show how Africans are not just wild, savage, uneducated people by not only showing the missed truths but also showing how the single story is true, just not complete. Zand also breaks the single story of Iranians by exposing the true nature and beauty of Iranians that hidden under the single story. Achebe and Zand’s approach to completing the single story is to unmask the truth by giving solid examples of how Africans and Iranians can be different than their single stories.

In Achebe’s popular novel, Things Fall Apart, set in Nigeria, Africa, Achebe uses the Ibo people, a large civilization of people in differing clans living in Nigeria, to demonstrate the truth of the single story by portraying how the hunters were not wrong just incomplete. The Ibo people are loyal, deticated, hard working, intellegent people who have a high sense of hierarchy and the skills and knowledge to survive and thrive in their environment. The Ibo’s sense of community causes fear in other clans who know not to go to war with the Umuofia due to their power and unity (Achebe 12). Okonkwo, the main character and a member of the Ibo people, who Achebe uses to portray the truth of the single story, shows himself to the world as a strict, violent, aggressive man who beats his wives and children regularly and doesn’t listen to the rules of the Umuofia, his clan, or the gods. Okonkwo represents the Umuofia’s sense of community and is full with pride and confidence. Community, pride, and confidence are the opposite of the single story, but they are a big part of the Ibo culture. Not only is community a big part of the Ibo culture, but so is a sense of order and hierarchy. In the Umuofia clan, “The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons and slaves. Okonkwo was among them. All others stood except those who came early enough to secure places on the few stands which had been built by placing smooth logs on forked pillars” (Achebe 46). The hierarchy favors the old, wise, and powerful, which includes Okonkwo, who proves the single story true through violence and bluntness but also showing that he is part of the Ibo people who show the complete story of Africa. Achebe completes the story of Africa by promoting the single story as true but, at the same time, adding the whole story along with the single story to provide a full view of African life and culture.

In Rick Zand’s “Breaking the Stereotypes of Persia and Iran” article on the PBS FrontLine website, he breaks the lasting idea of Iranians being cruel, unequal to women and terrorists by revealing the mask of the single story, revealing the whole truth of the Iranian people. Zand discusses how people relate the name Persian to the old, proud, elegant ancient empire and Iranian to the scary, dangerous, evil nation in the Middle East. The Persian Empire was beaten and was pushed down into the Middle East where the Persians created their own nation where they were called Iranians. Persians evolved into Iranians through time, but others look at these two civilizations completely differently. Zand uses the West’s perspective to define the perspective of Iran when he talks about how, “The two names define very different identities according to the western perspective. The study of Persia as an Oriental culture is drawn from aesthetics and the exotic… Iran, by contrast, has become demonized by a Western media and polity through the use of epithets…” ("Breaking the Stereotypes of Persia and Iran." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web.). Also, Zand discusses how Iran is painted as dangerous while Iran is a bustling place filled with workers and businessmen who want to live calm, enjoyable lives like all humans. But the single story shows that, “In the Western perspective, Persia can be subdued, painted, written about, romanticized, and dominated. Iran is perceived simply as hostile” ("Breaking the Stereotypes of Persia and Iran." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web.). Zand strives to reveal the true nature of Iranians, not just the carefree danger of some. He tries to give the lions a voice, not just the hunters with guns.

Achebe and Zand both strive to show the world the full story of their people and break the single story holding back their peoples. The single story of Africans and Iranians both cover up and hide the truth about the real complexity, unity, and kindness of Iranians and Africans. Both Achebe and Zand break the single story by showing concrete examples of many exceptions of the single story, thus proving that the single story is an incomplete story of the truth of Africans and Iranians. Achebe’s quote from Things Fall Apart, “But there was a yound lad who had been captivated, His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it…. Nwoye’s callow mind was greatly puzzled,” reflects the ideas that Zand is trying to convey about Iranians and how they are complex, interesting, and faithful people, like the Ibo people. Achebe uses Nwoye to go against the single story of Africa because of his deep belief in faith, thrust, and discovery. Achebe and Zand give Africans and Iranians a voice to speak against the world and tell all their true selves and their own stories.

The single story of Africa and Iran is not only promoted by Chinua Achebe and Rick Zand but also broken. Achebe and Zand attempt to show the world the complete story of Africa and Iran by promoting the single stories as true but also by showing that each people have hundreds of stories comprised to make the complete story of a people. The single story of any people is only told from the victors’ standpoint. The story is only complete when hear the voices of the victors and the defeated.

I think you did really well on your essay! I just wished you used more quotes from your additional text and really delved into the stereotypes the others impose on the people so you could counteract them… also maybe trying to converge the paragraphs because you are writing a comparison essay on it.. overall great job!

Bibliography:

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.

Zand, Rick. "Breaking the Stereotypes of Persia and Iran." PBS. PBS, 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.

Breaking Away

        Umuofia is a clan centered around spiritual and ancestral ceremonies. Throughout a week in the Umuofia clan, many ceremonies are performed. The Umuofia have ceremonies to celebrate marriage, death, harvest, planting, and burrials. These ceremonies are costly and performed with respect and fear of spirits. Okonkwo, though, begins to become skeptical of these ceremonies and traditions and does not understand why the innocent and accidents should be punished. He questions, “Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently?” (Achebe 125) Okonkwo had accidentally murdered a boy but was still exiled for seven years because of a rifle malfunction. Also, Okonkwo remembers when his wife had twins, and he had to take them to the mountains and murder them. He also questions why he had to murder his children and, “What crime had they committed?” (Achebe 125) Okonkwo is now starting to question the Earth Goddess but knows not to share his ideas and emotions for fear of rejection and failure.

        Okonkwo has also physically defied the gods by beating his wife during the Weak of Peace. His actions and mind are slowly forming their own sense of right and wrong, beliefs and ideas, and practices and routines. Okonkwo goes into deep thought, after being exiled from his village, about the rules of the Earth Goddess and her ceremonies and traditions. He is slowly breaking away from society and leaving his ideal, patriotic figure behind. Okonkwo has already began to break away from society mentally, in regards to his ideas and beliefs, and now physically, exiled from his village.

The Deep Unknown

The TED Talk “My Underwater Robot” by David Lang talks about deep-sea exploration with ROVs, remote operated vehicles. David Lang began his business in underwater robotics because of his curiosity of the unknown. He has created ROVs with inexpensive parts, but the ROVs can still produce live, clear video. He has not secluded the design for a profit but has freely posted all of his codes and parts online for others to give feedback on and improve his designs. David Lang is a prime example of someone who doesn’t care about money or fame, but wants to further the human understanding of the unknown. He is spreading the ideas of deep-sea exploration using ROVs and is gathering a following all around the world containing curious explorers who collectively want to improve the future and understanding of our world. He created a Kickstarter to raise money for shipping kits explaining how to make ROVs. David Lang has received many videos and photos from people sending images seen by the ROVs. ROVs are becoming more common in exploration to search and retrieve samples from extreme places in which humans could not survive. If people work together as a scientific community and not for personal profit, we could fully understand our world and all of its surfaces and minerals in a matter of years. ROVs act as an extension to the human eye by seeing and recording sights and phenomena we could not possibly see. Hopefully ROVs will soon be cheaply created to explore the outer reaches of our solar system and, eventually, our galaxy.

Hamlet's Renaissance Journey

Hamlet, a talented painter, lives in the heart of Venice during its prime, the Renaissance. Hamlet is a young artist whose apprentices, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, have betrayed him and have sided with Hamlet’s new patron, Claudius. But before Claudius had entered Hamlet’s life, his mother, Gertrude, was only a lowly potter years ago with a brave warrior husband. Then everything changed when Hamlet’s father was killed in combat and Claudius, who attends many of the fallen soldiers’ funerals, noticed a beautiful potter who was now a widow. At that moment, Claudius decided to ease her pain with wealth and love by marrying her and giving the poor young artist, Hamlet, a real career. At least, this is what Hamlet believed. He soon realized, due to his father’s ghost, that Claudius had killed Hamlet’s father and threw him into a battlefield to make it see as if Hamlet’s father died in combat. He murdered Hamlet’s father because a couple of days before the murder, Claudius had passed by the bread lines where free bread was handed out to the poor who could not afford food and saw the most beautiful and attractive women he had ever seen. Once Hamlet learns of his father’s murder, his life changes radically.

After Hamlet’s encounter with his father’s ghost, he decides to act insane so no one suspects him on any future actions and so people would leave him alone to plan the revenge and murder of his patron Claudius. To keep people away from him and to fool his patron into thinking he has gone crazy, Hamlet meets up with the daughter to the treasurer of Claudius, Ophelia. Ophelia’s father, the treasurer, Polonius, has recently forbidden her to speak to her love, Hamlet, in fear she might fall to deeply in love. Ophelia defies her father to meet with Hamlet, but he is not what she expects. Before she can say a word of how much she loves him, Hamlet whips out a paintbrush and begins to paint her on the wall. He doesn’t respond to any of her questions and has a crazed look in his eyes. As Hamlet paints, Ophelia notices his colors don’t match and his portrait looks amateurish, and she looks deformed. Hamlet, as she knew him, was a perfectionist and wanted everything to match. Ophelia knew something was wrong with him and fled as he breathed heavly and continued to scratch the wall with his dry, colorless paintbrush.

The Struggle

In Oliver’s Hamlet film (1948), the “To be or not to be” soliloquy portrays Hamlet contemplating his own fate at the ocean’s edge. Hamlet speaks slowly, carefully to show how he is making one of the greatest decisions of his life and to make sure every word is with purpose and strong meaning. His voice makes every word thump in your mind like a heart, beating. Hamlet’s distant glare expresses himself deep in thought, deciding whether to sin, commit suicide, or to continue living his miserable life. Oliver mainly focused on the auditory portrayal of the speech while Kenneth Branagh focuses on the visual portrayal of the speech.

Kenneth Branagh portrays Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy in King Claudius’ home. Hamlet, like Oliver’s Hamlet, speaks slowly to emphasize the importance of each word but also uses visual means to depict the soliloquy. The mirror Hamlet stares into during the speech shows his indecisiveness in deciding his own fate because he uses his reflection to watch himself and judge if he deserves to live or die. He later pulls out his dagger and taps the mirror as if wanting to strike himself down yet knowing he cannot. While Hamlet emphasizes his words with a slow, carefull tone, he still uses visuals to get his main interpretation across.

In my opinion, Branagh’s display of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy truly encapsulated Hamlet’s struggle to either kill himself or continue living his tortuous life. Branagh’s Hamlet not only convinced me Hamlet was making one of the biggest decisions of his life but also showed me the reasonability of Hamlet and his powerful words.