Mother Knows Best

Beloved by Toni Morrison explores the unique connection mothers have with their children by depicting three different mothers and their relationships with their children. The novel seems to be expressing that it is hard to pin down what exactly makes a “good” mother, or what makes a “bad” one. Some of these mother’s actions can be considered disgusting, however the context in which the actions were committed blurs the line between necessity and cruelty.

                  The first mother in the chronological story, Baby Suggs, is a woman whose son bought her freedom by working overtime. She moved north to ensure her son’s hard work did not go to waste. Tired from the hard life of slavery, she felt it difficult to truly enjoy freedom but she felt is necessary to create a home for which her son and his family to escape. Though Baby Suggs does not commit a deplorable act against her children, she does possess a deep spiritual connection with her sons. Every time one of her children dies, she can sense a loss within her. Loss wears away at her until she falls into a deep depression, and eventually passes away. Perhaps her depression is in part due to regret for not being able to protect her children, or perhaps it is due to the departure of her grandsons, Buglar and Howard, Sethe’s children.

                  Sethe’s dedication to her children runs deep within her character, motivating her to defy death (or welcome it in some cases) in order to protect her children. She is forced to decide, before leaving Sweet Home to either wait for her MIA husband, Halle, or leave with the presented opportunity to reach her kids. During her escape to freedom, she has a near death experience in which she collapses from exhaustion and pain. As she is about to give up, she feels her baby Denver in her womb kicking, and she thinks of her children waiting for her in the North. Amy discovers Sethe and nurses her back to health, and Sethe with a second wind takes her enormously pregnant self to safety in the North. (Ok so I need to mention this, I am not sure if a lot of you are 100% aware of how IMPOSSIBLE it is to move when you’re really freaking pregnant like ok I am sure you have all seen pregnant people but listen ok my mom was pregnant when I was a subbie and lived with her and tended to her I am absolutely sure that traveling in the wilderness with no shoes would kill 9/10 pregnant women like Sethe is metal ok that is a mommy’s love thank you)

                  Once in the North, Sethe is able to decompress and enjoy freedom with all of her children… until schoolteacher shows up. Sethe’s reaction is instinctual. She makes the decision for her children that death is better than a life of slavery. People criticize Sethe because Sethe had escaped slavery to the North. In order to better understand Sethe’s rationale (if there even is any) for her choice, we need to look into what we can assume about her mother from the information were given about her as well as Sethe’s experience as a slave. Sethe’s mother wsas hung perhaps over a failed attempt to escape slavery. Sethe thinks over this and wonders if her mother really would leave her in order to escape to freedom. These thoughts motivate Sethe to be a better mother and never leave her kids behind. She has an ingrained dedication to her children over the abandonment she felt when she was young. To kill her children was a desperate attempt to protect them from the life she lived under school teacher. In her mind, she saved her children from being raped, from being whipped, from being separated and sold, and she saved them from living a life that was not their own. Whether or not her children could have escaped slavery if they were taken is irrelevant. They were not taken. If they were taken, the suffering they would have had to endure would taint the rest of their lives. A physical representation of this tarnish is Sethe’s tree on her back. Do I agree with Sethe’s actions? It is hard to say… I am still deciding what I think. It is hard to wrestle with because it was instinctual, it had noble intentions, and it ended up saving 3/4 of her children.

                  A mother that killed her children not out of protection but out of hatred and disgust was Ella, a former slave that was sexually abused and raped by her white owners. She was forced to carry the child of one of her rapists, and instead of raising the child she hated, she let it die. This was another really difficult choice that was made in Beloved, and another hard choice to judge. Toni Morrison may have been creating such difficult scenarios to make us look into ourselves and think about how judgmental we are being. We are being just like the community in Cincinnati. It shows the kinds of impossible decisions mothers must make in order to do what is right.

吉子さん

Yoshiko's purpose in the novel The White Boy Shuffle is much more than just being a "mail order bride". She becomes a powerful companion to Gunnar by exposing him to Japanese literature and culture. Through this exposure, Gunnar develops a new, more complex view of his world. Further, Yoshiko's exposure to western culture (initially through Gunnar's poetry) and the English language have allowed her to develop a strong relationship with her new husband.

Upon meeting and getting married, Yoshiko defends herself against Betty and Veronica successfully, thus winning their approval as opposed to fighting with them outright. This display of confidence gives Gunnar and his family more confidence in their relationship. Gunnar's world seems to open up literally and figuratively the moment Yoshiko touches Gunnar's anus for the first time. The newlyweds are off to college together, a place full of possibility (even though we end up seeing Gunnar being pretty disappointed). After a hard day at class, he returns to his dorm butt naked and falls into Yoshiko's lap. Her response is very casual, revealing that their relationship has risen to a much greater level over the course of their time together.

What makes this scene interesting is how casual she remains throughout the bizarre events. Her behavior in part is what makes people uncomfortable with the novels course, as her apathy adds a sort of surrealism to the novel that people don't expect. 

Yoshiko's behavior illuminates how comfortable she and Gunnar have become over the few weeks they've known each other. As mentioned in class, Yoshiko's constant butt poking is one of the many twists on stereotypes the novel presents. Typically, African American males are supposed to be extremely masculine, however this kind of behavior between Gunnar and his wife is emasculating him in a way that makes the stereotype not fit quite right. 

By the end of the scene, with the help of his entire Writing 104 class, Yoshiko has convinced Gunnar to publish a book of poetry.

Yoshiko's most important influence may come from her letters to Gunnar while he's away playing basketball. She sends him traditional Japanese literature that creates a new perspective for Gunnar. Of course, the literature resonates with him because he's a nerd who loves to read, but it gives him an idea of what other philosophies there could be in the world. Eventually, the most relevant ideology he receives from Yoshiko is that suicide is not giving up, but a defiance against the enemy. 

This idea drives the end of the novel, as countless people begin sending Gunnar death poems before the commit suicide, in haiku format. Japanese death poems were written by samurai before committing sepukku by cutting their abdomen and bleeding to death. It was considered honorable as opposed to pitiful.

Yoshiko provided Gunnar the information he needed to drive the movement, however when Gunnar believes it is time for him to commit suicide she is violently against the idea. She cries out that she knew Gunnar would leave her with a baby to care for on her own. Ironically, the only Japanese character in the novel is against the Japanese suicide method that is sweeping the nation! It is hard to say whether Yoshiko is against the idea of seppuku as a whole, or for her family in particular. But there is no doubt that Yoshiko played a pivotal role in the novel. 

*The Correct Protest Novel*

The prologue in The White Boy Shuffle gives a very sinister reality in which black Americans have given up all hope of achieving equality. For a novel written far closer to the present in relation to the three others we’ve read in class, I’m not so surprised this one seems more aggressive in its tone. With swear words and dark imagery, the novel starts out with a setting that pulls the reader in.
The novel comes after the civil rights movement, which was a time full of change and hope for African American equality, yet it was met with assassinations and true equality was still kept from protestors by the racist white establishment. 

Even today, our American society has a long way to go before we reach true social equality. It is not a new epidemic that officers have been killing black Americans over minor offenses. The media has been giving these crimes more attention, and the Black Lives Matter movement has gained a lot of momentum, which are great steps, however these have not yet changed the fact that the officers more often than not receive no punishment for their actions, and justice, in many cases, in not served. (EDIT think of Rodney King all the way up to Michael Brown and the countless others who have become victims) Even today, in 2016, the prologue of The White Boy Shuffle may have some sort of point. I’m not saying its hopeless, nor am I saying that suicide is the way to go when things are looking rough, but try to imagine how it must feel that after hundreds of years of a fight for something so simple — to be treated like humans with human rights, to be treated the same as any white person — it must get really old when so many people refuse to listen. The prologue seems to be asking “What’s the point?” when one of the most important values of the American constitution “liberty and justice for all” fails an entire race of people…

It’s a very dramatic contrast with Invisible Man, in which the narrator’s protest is individual. He doesn’t seem to be making that big of a difference in the big picture, but what matters to him is his personal defiance. Also, for some reason, the narrator really enjoys the American constitution and is totally jazzed by the Founding Fathers. Not to say Invisible Man isn’t a great novel in terms of protesting the white establishment, these two novels just take very different stances on how to successfully protest I guess? I think Native Son is closer to The White Boy Shuffle's prologue because of the futility expressed in both. Considering how aggressive Richard Wright is about ****THE CORRECT PROTEST NOVEL**** I'd like to see what he thinks of The White Boy Shuffle, and the prologue especially. There is definitely a possibility that The White Boy Shuffle has taken inspiration from both novels, and may be making commentary on both of them in order to add a modern contribution to the protest conversation. 

       I can't wait to see how Gunnar grows up to become the radical leader he says he is. Let me know what you think of the prologue! Do you think its reflective of some of the attitudes of post civil rights protestors? Do you think post civil rights activists felt, and possibly still feel that they need to make an even larger statement to make a change? 

Its a Cycle :/

                  Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God meets many suitors, but her two later partners, Jody, and Teacake have some parallels that may indicate that Janie is at risk of being disappointed again.

                  Both Jody and Teacake stroll into her life from out of town and immediately start talking about taking her out. Jody literally walks up to her all the way from Georgia. Both men sweep her off her feet for one reason or another. Jody seduces her with an easygoing, wealthy lifestyle that Logan had been keeping from her, and Teacake offers her the freedom she’s been missing for 20 years.

                  By offering her something she’s craving, the men have an advantage. She’s given the opportunity to have a better life, but at any moment, they could turn it around on her. We see this with Jody. Although he fulfills his promise to keep her from doing hard labor, he very quickly goes back on his statement that “A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo-self…” He confines her the the inside of the store to listen to all of the fun outside. She becomes incredibly lonely, and her marriage begins to fail because of the restrictions placed on Janie.

                  (A quick digression here, but in class we talked about Janie’s alignment with nature, and her desire for freedom etc. Jody is actively preventing her from even being outside to breathe the fresh & natural air. Without what she instinctively desires, her marriage was destined to fail. We could also say that Jody has a secular alignment, by spending his time working on the town, something that is not natural.)

                  Teacake, like a second, more refined (?) Jody, walks into her husband’s store as opposed to her husband’s potato patch. I say more refined because AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, he’s living up to what he’s saying. He sells her almost the same story as Jody, however now appeals to her new desires. Teacake is a charm to read and is a little ball of fun, but I’m worried for Janie. If Teacake is similar to Jody, will he start to try to control Janie too? Both husbands so far have tried to restrict Janie in some way. Will Teacake do the same someday? Will Teacake be the one to put her in the dirty overalls?

                  I’m curious to see… I wonder what you guys think of this. Tell me if you have any other comparisons between the two!

What's in the box?

The briefcase from Invisible Man has interested me since I’ve noticed he’s been carrying with him throughout the entire novel. That stuck out to me because, although it’s like a backpack to a school student, things like that aren’t mentioned, especially in an Ellison novel, without some significance. Reading further into the suitcase and its origins, as well as it’s contents led to some interesting revelations…

                  We’ve gotta go back to where the narrator receives his suitcase: the battle royal. The battle royal chapter as a whole was pretty freaky, so being presented with a BEAUTIFUL AND GLORIOUS suitcase for his speech (disregarding the fact that the fighters got a terrible electric shock for trying to get some coins… we will come back to that later) isn’t so strange. He cherishes the suitcase, even throughout his time in Harlem. He never stops to think about who gave it to him and what that means. White upper class men found the narrator to be entertaining enough to receive a gift for his “performance.” I say this because although he supposedly receives it for his merit in his studies, the college he is sent to does hardly anything to give him a higher education. (And his speeches kinda suck) Though this is kind of a stretch, I think the suitcase could represent the burden of white supremacy he has to carry with him. What supports this claim may be found in the suitcases contents.

                  The first of many relevant contents in his suitcase are the letters he had received from Bledsoe. They were used to “keep him running” and also meant to further portray how Bledsoe used his subordinate act to make his way in the white dominated world. Although these letters are not permanent residents in the suitcase, they illuminate part of what the suitcase is about. A common link between the letters and the origins of the case is their connection with the oppressive and suffocating world around him. It’s as if no one wants the narrator to succeed!

                  The next thing we see placed into his briefcase is the chain Brother Tarp had given him during their heart to heart over black members of the brotherhood. Before putting the chain in the case, he had it displayed on his desk. Brother Westrum, another black member of the Brotherhood is offended by the narrator’s choice to display it and commands him to put it away, thus making the chain’s new home the narrator’s suitcase. These two different reactions to the chain (to embrace it and to hide it) could be seen as the two clashing opinions on how to treat the past of black Americans. We’ve seen through Brother Jack’s behavior that members of the Brotherhood fear racializing their speech, and get uncomfortable when race is brought up at all. The dismissal of race also dismisses the oppressive past that white Americans have imposed on their fellow black Americans. (Also making Brother Jack seem like a hypocrite by advocating for civil rights while ignoring/ being uncomfortable with the concept of race) Even though Brother Westrum is not white, he may still have been used to articulate this fear of the past similarly felt by Brother Jack. This whole dynamic can be bundled all into one with the symbol of the chain now carried by the narrator.

                  The briefcase is forgotten for a while until he returns to Mary’s home after getting his payment from the Brotherhood. His eyes are drawn directly to the freaky Americana bank. The bank, being a stereotype with absolutely no subtlety is worsened almost by the fact that the narrator is holding money in a similar way to how the bank is consuming money endlessly. The narrator shatters the bank, and metaphorically shatters the stereotype that black individuals are “money hungry.” He cleans up all of the coins, of course, he wouldn’t steal. (Which is also sort of a testament to how the stereotype is really not true.) The narrator desperately tries to get rid of the stupid broken bank but it keeps following him. Not only will it not freaking go away, but he gets hit with more stereotypes by the people trying to return the garbage to him. The bank seems to be some kind of metaphor for how inescapable stereotypes can be, especially in this period of American history. The narrator carries this sentiment with him now.

                  The Sambo doll, which is our next little friend in the case, is not as relevant as the context in which it was recovered. The doll represents more about what happened to Clifton, and the future of the narrator. After falling off the map, Clifton sells the Sambo dolls on a street corner in Midtown New York. The narrator focuses on the doll in the same way he focused on the bank, but when he sees Clifton he forgets about it. As Clifton flees the police, the narrator is drawn back to the dolls and retrieves it as opposed to crushing it. An interesting choice to make, maybe he learned his lesson from the bank? The narrator reflects on Clifton on his way home, asking himself why he would want to remove himself from society. This reflection is what made me think the doll is a representation of his future. Not the doll itself, but Clifton and his invisible lifestyle seems to be the closest to what the narrator is in the prologue…

                  Tell me what you think guys. What else could these objects represent? Do you think they mean anything?

EDIT (10/3/16)
Hi guys! After finishing the novel, I think a few more details can be analyzed to augment my beautiful post here.
Let's talk about the narrator returning to the burning building for the case. I'm not sure if this could be interpreted as him desperately trying to save what he thinks is still important, or if he really really holds his suitcase dear to him. I think the underground scene illuminates this a little. Today in class, Yamini made a really good comment discussing how liberating it was for the narrator to burn all of his papers, even if it was painful (finding out Jack was playing him from the start didn't feel very good). I think once the narrator fell into something he couldn't get out of, he had to compromise and sacrifice the papers to create light. The irony in this is he deliberately risked his life a few pages earlier to save the suitcase from burning.
It doesnt seem like he'd particularly miss any of the contents from his suitcase save for his highschool diploma which could have some sentimental value. He'd mostly been carrying around things he resented to some degree.