The White Castle

   The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk was another interesting read for me. It details the experiences of a young man who is ambushed and captured by Turkish pirates and taken to the city of Istanbul. The young man later is given as a slave by a pasha (Turkish officer) to Hoja who is deemed his master. As the story unfolds, we learn that both men Initially, I was intrigued by the theme of identity and the overarching question of what makes us exactly us, and not someone else? As the story unfolded, I become confused about the characters of Hoja and the unnamed first-person narrator. “I looked up at his face and immediately---I was terrified.” Both characters eventually become ambiguous and the reader is left to determine who exactly is who. I’m sure this mystery was intentional by Pamuk, but it was disorderly for me as a reader.

    As an author, I appreciated Pamuk’s value of knowledge and the idea that we should constantly want to know new things. The story opens up with the narrator finding and reading an encyclopedia book. “I knew that at any moment the book would be snatched from my hand, yet I wanted to think not of that but of what was written on its pages. It was as if the thoughts, the sentences, the equations within the book contained the whole of my past life which I dreaded to lose... I desperately wanted to engrave the entire volume on my memory so that when they did come, I would not think of them and what they would make me suffer, but would remember the colors of my past as if recalling the cherished worlds of a book I had memorized with pleasure.” Self-knowledge and the knowledge of other things is important.

     Aside from identity and the question of “Are we ever really who we say we are,” A significant theme that I noted throughout the novel was the peculiar relationship between the master (Hoja) and slave. To each other they are alter egos and antagonists, but their existence could also be indirectly related to the opposition once held between the culture of the East and the West and the contrasts of fiction and reality. As the story continues, Hoja becomes increasingly obsessive in extracting all knowledge and ideas from his slave. He wants to know everything from his studies in astronomy, geography, and phycology. Together, they seek to exchange not only identities but also beliefs, ideas, and memories. Their relationship is interesting as they seek a personal union.

   I loved Pamuk’s writing style. There’s great imagery is describing the setting of the novel. Also, the storytelling aspect of the plot kept me intrigued. I wasn’t too keen on the repetitive theme of identity. After a while, it became dull. I appreciated the underlying questions and the mind games that I asked of myself after reading the book. Overall, it was an okay book.

Second Paper

Pain and suffering are a natural part of the world. Both are an aspect of life that many come to resent. Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz and Omeros by Derek Walcott describes everyone and everything as being in pain, even broken to an extent. Both story lines depict inequitable social structures as natives struggle to progress in an unfair hierarchy of power. Pain in both books, either implicitly or explicitly, come from several different sources including emotional distress, physical bodily injuries, endless crime, racial prejudice, and economic corruption.

Wounds are central throughout Omeros. Walcott writes, “This wound I have stitched into Plunkett’s character. / He has to be wounded, affliction is one theme of this work.” Plunkett is a war veteran who retires with his wife to the island of St. Lucia. “They’d been out here / since the war and his wound,” Walcott writes. Plunkett’s woundedness isn’t solely a physical one, but also an emotional one. Later in the epic, Plunkett struggles to come to terms with his purpose in fighting World War II. “What was it all for?” the narrator asks about the war. He responds with “A bagpipe’s screech and a rag”. Plunkett’s marriage to Maud is also a degree of his emotional pain and suffering. While he’s away, his marriage gradually declines. Overall, several of Walcott’s characters are wounded, either physically or psychologically, including Philoctete, Helen, Achille, and Hector. Helen’s wound lies in her fractured relationship with both Hector and Achille. Achille’s wound lies in his identity as he’s determined to remember the meaning and origin of his name. He’s out looking for his “name and his soul” because he’s incomplete. “Everything was forgotten. You also. I do not know / The deaf sea has changed around every name that you gave / us, trees, men, we yearn for a sound that is missing.” Philoctete’s wound is referenced as a physical scar, but like others he’s also wounded emotionally as he believes he embodies the pain of slavery. “He believed the swelling came from the chained ankles / of his grandfathers. Or else why was there no cure? / That the cross he carried was not only the anchor’s / but that of his race, for a village black and poor / as the pigs that rooted in its burning garbage.” With his wound, Philoctete is essentially paralyzed. He finds comfort in Ma Kilman’s No- Pain Café which, despite the name, doesn’t actually end his suffering.

In addition to his characters, Walcott also implies that there’s a natural suffering or wound inflicted upon nature. In Book I Philoctete recalls tourists chopping down sacred grove trees for canoes, replacing the old gods and values with a new God. “These were the pillars that fell, leaving a blue space / for a single God where the old gods stood before.” Walcott describes a gash in a tree as a ‘wound’ and the tourists as ‘murderes’. Also, Walcott oftentimes personifies the natural world all throughout the poem. “Night was fanning its coalpot / from one catching star.” The characters and nature in Omeros each possess a wound, one that can only be healed upon reconciliation. Phlicotete’s physical wound is only healed by Ma Kilman’s heritage and memory of the past. Achille’s identity wound is healed by information gained through Afolabe and self-discovery. Ultimately, the wounds depicted in Omeros are cured after a reconciliation of the past of colonization and slavery and the present culture of St. Lucia.

Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz describes a variety of issues and themes, all of which allow readers to better understand the life and culture of a medieval society. One theme that is constant throughout the novel is the theme of justice as characters fight against a system of injustice and corruption. Several of the characters suffer financially as they continue to live their lives in poverty having the lowliest jobs of porters, beggars, and barbers.  Overall, Arabian Nights and Days describes the systematic workings of corruption and the overarching idea of maintaining power, despite the ugliness that comes with having power.

            Mahfouz’s novel begins with the sultan Shahriyar’s decision to spare Shahrzad’s life. “I was saved from a bloody fate by our Lord’s mercy.” Ultimately, the tyrant sultan isn’t happy and he calls for the murder of women. In disbelief Vizier Dandan remarks, “A crime is a crime. How many virgins has he killed! How many pious and God-fearing people has he wiped out!” Murder and robbery bring about bloody purges and pain to nearly every family in the small Islamic town where the story takes place. To end this suffering, the sultan works to stop corruption and the virgin massacre initiated in the very first chapters of the book.
            An interesting aspect throughout Mahfouz’s book is the fact the justice doesn’t eventually come through human powers, but supernatural ones in the form of genies. The good spirits of genies causes acts of love and mercy, instead of evil-doing. Genies slowly begin to take responsibility for everything as they play the role of supreme judge, deciding if a criminal should get punished or not. The genies have a dual role in rewarding virtuous locals and punishing corrupt criminals. This becomes the case with chief-of-police Gamasa and Sanaan Bulti who both rely on genies in moments of corruption. Sanaan when he’s forced to kill the governor and Gamasa who receives a new identity with the help of a genie.
            The ruling authorities in Arabian Nights and Days are depicted as corrupt and unjust leaders as they terrorize locals and only work to protect their own good. This idea of supernatural justice through genies surprisingly alleviates the pain and suffering experienced by local townspeople. Walcott’s Omeros also hints at moral injustices as he describes a hope for non-violence and equity for everyone. Both Arabian Nights and Days and Omeros describe cultures struggling with pain and suffering in a physical and emotional sense.

Aspect of Omeros

      One aspect of Omeros that I noted repeatedly was the idea of healing through history’s past and coming to reconcile with one’s history.  Several characters seem to experience this. The physical healing of Philoctete’s wound through the heritage and history of Ma Kilman parallels the emotional healing of the pain of slavery during colonization. Walcott writes “Their memory still there although all the pain was gone” (277) Even though the explicit pain may be gone, history is never forgotten. In a way Walcott uses the healing of Philoctete to offer hope for a brighter future, one without slavery or discrimination.

     Just like Philoctete, Achille too has to reflect upon his heritage and history to find himself. He comes to realize that he must first be complete with himself in order to live a personally satisfying life. At some point the sea swift leads Achille back to Africa. It’s here that he discovers the importance of history.  Seven Seas says “his name is what he is out looking for, his name and soul.” Following his journey to Africa and conversation with Afolabe, Achille is able to appreciate is heritage and the European influence found in his name. “The yoke of the wrong name lifted from his shoulders...history has simplified him”. “Today he was not the usual kingfish-fighter / but a muscular woman, a scarf round his head. / Today was the day of fifes, the prattling skin / of the goat-drums, the day of dry gourds, of brass / bells round his ankles, not chains from the Bight of Benin / but those fastened by himself. He was someone else today […] Today he was African, his own epitaph, his own resurrection.  Like Philoctete, Achille comes to reconcile with both his past and present. In search of themselves and history, each character finds their future.

Short Paper #1: Mothers in Literature

           Mothers are a significant part of our lives. They bring us into this world, and play an important role in molding us into the individuals we are to become. Mothers are certainly a large aspect of literature, especially, though not exclusively, in works by female authors. Does a woman gain or lose her self-identify once she becomes a mother? The relationship between a mother and her child(ren) is paradoxical, and in a sense, tragic. I aim to analyze the multi-dimensional and complex aspect of motherhood illustrated in Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin and My Michael by Amos Oz.

            Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin details the life of Park So-nyo, an elderly, hard-working mother of four adult children. So-Nyo, referred to as ‘mom’, goes missing while boarding a Seoul subway station in South Korea. With efforts of finding Mom quickly underway, her family slowly comes to realize, almost regrettably, how little they understand and know of their devoted mother. No one seems to know that Mom has this inability to read or write, or that she withstands gruesome headaches on a daily basis, or even when her actual birthday is. Not a single family member can describe a complete and whole image of Mom. Every memory recalled of Mom is fractured and disoriented. However, small truths of Mom’s life come into focus as forgotten memories unfold. “Only after Mom went missing did you realize that her stories were piled inside you, in endless stacks. Mom's everyday life used to go on in a repeating loop, without a break. Her everyday words, which you didn't think deeply about and sometimes dismissed as useless when she was with you, awoke in your heart, creating tidal waves.” The idea of guilt and regret emerges in this passage as Chi-hon, oldest daughter and author, reflects on her actions and neglect of Mom. Hyong-chol, oldest son, echoes her sentiment. He goes on to say, “his heart brims with the desire to do nothing but look after Mom when she’s found. But he has already lost that chance” (120).

Please Look After Mom tells a story of a mother who devotes all of her time, energy, money, and even food to her family. Mom is a self-sacrificing woman whose adult children and husband neglect and ignore her. She doesn’t have an identity outside the walls of the kitchen, where she cleans and cooks daily. No one relates to Mom in terms of Park So-nyo. When asked if she likes working in the kitchen, Mom responds, “I don't like or dislike the kitchen. I cooked because I had to. I had to stay in the kitchen so you could all eat and go to school. How could you only do what you like? There are things you have to do whether you like it or not.'  What kind of question is that?  'If you only do what you like, who's going to do what you don't like?(62). The portrait of motherhood in the figure of self-sacrificing Mom throughout Please Look After Mom is one that isn’t idealized, but historical and culturally rooted.

            Motherhood in My Michael is portrayed in the figure of Hannah Gonen, a young mentally-unstable woman and mother to son, Yair. Hannah is an interesting character who struggles with her own identity even before she becomes a mother. She neglects to record any personal details about her pregnancy, contrary to that of her intricate dreams, and virtually ignores the actual birth of Yair. Hannah’s identify is further lost once she becomes a mother. There’s a complete disconnect between her and Yair from the very beginning of the novel:

Sometimes, when the baby cried and Michael was out, I would get up barefoot and violently rock the cradle…As if my son had wronged me. I was an indifferent mother during the early months of my son’s life. I remembered Aunt Jenia’s distasteful visit at the beginning of my pregnancy, and at times I imagined perversely that it was I who had wanted to get rid of the baby and Aunt Jenia who had forced me not to. I also felt that I should soon be dead and so I owed nothing to anyone, not even to this pink, healthy, wicked child. Yes, Yair was wicked (80).

It’s interesting to note that Hannah compares Yair’s birth with that of her death, and fails to form any type of meaningful bond with him. His official birth announcement is cold and blunt. “Our son Yair was born in March 1951”(67). Surprisingly, there’s a lack of joy and warmth behind the life-changing statement.

Following the birth of Yair, Hannah develops a form of post-partum depression. Though, I would argue that her sickness is only an excuse and a physical manifestation of her emotional rejection of Yair, even after she becomes well again. “Even when Dr. Urbach announced that he was satisfied that the complication was cleared up, and that I was free to resume a normal life in every way, even then I was still ill” (81). Even though Hannah is able to care for her son, she neglects him. There’s a total absence of love and affection as Hannah fails to look Yair in the eyes and even forcibly beats him. “I would thrash him, without looking into his grey, calm eyes, until panting; I succeeded in wringing the sobs from his eyes. His will power was so strong

that it sometimes made me shudder, and when his pride was finally broken, he would throw me a grotesque whimper which sounded more like an imitation of a crying child”( ?).

When Yair becomes too much of a burden, Hannah sends him to Michael, her quiet and unassuming husband. “At the age of four Yair sometimes come out with questions which I cannot answer. I send him with his questions to his father” (102). Hannah quickly gets impatient and irritated with the fact that she can’t grapple with the active mind of her young son. As any proud mother would, Hannah’s incapable of marveling at the intellect and maturity of Yair. At one point in the novel, Michael notices Hannah’s lack of love and nourishment towards her son and pleads with her to put forth some effort in loving Yair. He exclaims, “I’m nothing special, Hannah, but you must try as hard as you can to love Yair, It will be better for you if do, too…I have the feeling that you’re not wild about him” (142).

Motherhood is a complex issue that’s deeply embedded in our concepts of identity and personal subjectivities. The idea of Motherhood illustrated in My Michael is tainted by the actions and mentality of Hannah Gonen. Hannah is a strong negative force in Yair’s life, and doesn’t at all represent the universal mother figure that we all come to love.

My Michael

My Michael, by Amos Oz, is by far my favorite book this semester. The novel, which details a fragmented marriage between Hannah and Michael Gonen, is as relevant today as it was when it was written over 50 years ago. The idea of not knowing someone beneath an exterior surface is common and applicable in today’s society. “My husband and I are like two strangers who happen to meet coming out of a clinic where they have received treatment involving some physical unpleasantness. Both embarrassed, reading each other’s minds, conscious of an uneasy, embarrassing intimacy, wearily groping for the right tone in which to address each other.” We gradually come to understand that both Hannah and Michael are essentially strangers in their marriage, coexisting with one another.  

I particularly enjoyed the writing style and format of the novel. Hannah tells her story of life and love in the first person narrative. The descriptive and poetic language that Oz uses to describe the scenery of Jerusalem, or the dialogue and tense interaction between characters is energizing. I applaud Oz’s ability to write the entire novel using a female voice. The tone and voice of the novel certainly come through. 

One thing that I found interesting was the historical backdrop of the novel in relation to the characters. We read that Hannah and Michael are married in early March 1949. Historically, Israel gains its independence shortly after. I noted a parallel between Hannah’s battle for independence and control within her marriage, and the struggles to defend the State of Israel. “You’re mine,” I whispered. “Don’t ever be distant,” (30). Hannah’s life isn’t anything as she imagined it would be. She lacks a personal and emotional connection with her husband and son, and watches as Michael furthers his educational studies, while she puts aside her love of literature and education. Although Hannah is in awe of Michael’s studies, she ultimately longs for a sense of excitement in her life, as she vividly recalls several re-occurring dreams and fantasies about “Hazil”. Her tedious life is paralleled by the same issues of the Israeli State: finding identity and maintaining stability.