America's New Role: Bully

Up until now, America had played a familiar role: Con-artist. They were able to sway nations to agree to various things that clearly had American interests. Of course, no one realized it at the time, but reflecting on the past one can clearly see that America was always looking out for "numero uno." At least America had good intentions along with their advancement in the world. The League of Nations would have been beautiful for all, especially America. This was a nice concept, for it saw America has the unifying bond between all countries. Then came the Cold War. The end of this war signaled the shift from this role to the next. America had superior military ability, which was made evident with their success against the Soviet Union. This paved the way for America to carry out their plan of "world domination"-by this I mean they wanted all countries to follow their ideals of freedom, democracy, and capitalism. Andrew Bacevich brilliantly phrases it,"In the century just begun, any nation refusing to adhere to that model-embodied by the United States-was doomed to fail." Of course, "warrior president" George W. Bush found it America's job to assure the world that others were carrying out this mission-the mission to model themselves after the US. Robert Kagan made a very interesting remark, "America did not change on September 11. It only became more itself." This is true. This did not bring the US to cry for peace in the streets, but rather it brought the US to send soldiers in various over-seas places to fight we're not sure who and we're not sure for what. America is now a police force. They patrol the oceans with a navy far greater-in size, stature, etc-than the Royal Navy. Our military grows by the year. With so many problems within our own country, how can America possibly afford to do this? I understand the importance of a standing army, but already being such a great power, why can't America scale down? Not even scale down, just remain at the position they are in now. We do not have to be a defensive military or an offensive one. We can have a balanced medium. Over 100 countries occupy American military forces. This is an absurd number. If the military can scale down and America can resist the temptation to dominate the globe, our domestic relationships will improve-by that I mean citizen relationships with the president, the government, and even other citizens.

Future Readings

If you liked Oscar Zeta Acosta's Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, you might like the sequel The Revolt of the Cockroach People.

If you liked Bob Dylan's Chronicles and enjoyed Todd Haynes' movie I'm Not There, you might like Greil Marcus' book The Old, Weird America.

If you liked James Weldon Johnson's novel Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, you might like his actual autobiography Along This Way.

In the off-chance you liked Gertrude Stein's Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, you might like her first and easiest-to-read novel Three Lives.

If you liked Zitkala-Sa's American Indian Stories, you will probably enjoy Sherman Alexie's collection of short fiction The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. (Alexie's work has appeared The New Yorker, and he has appeared on The Colbert Report.)

If you liked Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis, you will find Art Spiegelman's Maus worthwhile. You might also want to read Zimbabwean novelist Tsitsi Dangaremba's Nervous Conditions, which is not a graphic novel, but Dangarembga deals with issues similar to that of Satrapi.

Whether or not you liked Ben Franklin's Autobiogrpahy, you should read Piri Thomas' 1967 autobiography Down These Means Streets.

If you liked Harriet Wilson's Our Nig, then you should read everything by Toni Morrison.

If you liked James Seaver's Narrative in the Life of Ms. Mary Jemison, then you'd find Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States pretty interesting.

A few more novels that I like, which you may or may not:
Gunter Grass, The Tin Drum.
John Okada, No-No Boy.
Arundathi Roy, The God of Small Things.

Lastly, Joan Didion's allusively-titled essay collection The White Album, and Oliver Sacks' clinical tales The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat are good reads.

Enjoy!

Virginia's Paper (by Wanda)

Virginia’s paper is about Bob Dylan’s Chronicles and Simmel’s essay, “The Stranger.” She argues that Dylan purposefully distances himself from the reader, who reads the book in order to get a closer perspective on his life, and decides to rather remain a stranger, like the one described in Simmel’s essay. Thus, Virginia’s essay analyzes Dylan’s style of writing that plays around with the persona and identity, and how it portrays Dylan as the “Stranger.” The thesis explains three aspects of Dylan’s writing that puts distance between him and the reader: labeling himself as the Outsider, admitting a part of his life that most people have no idea of, and depicting himself as a free vagabond, or a frontiersman. The antithesis is that sometimes Dylan tries to actively reach out for the reader and minimize the distance. Yet, the thesis and antithesis synthesizes into Virginia’s conclusion that Dylan’s promotion of both distance and connection he remains a mystical and mythical figure, undermining our hopes to know him better.

I would like some more explanation about the antithesis and how it reaffirms Dylan’s status as a stranger, in relation to Simmel’s essay. Does the sense of connection and closeness act as a camouflage, to trick the reader into knowing him well? Or is it another veil, another actual step Dylan takes back from the readers?

Wanda's Paper

Wanda’s paper addresses the dual identities present in Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and uses Du Bois essay “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” to deepen the argument. Her thesis states being black in America extends to “white” people as well. Her argument is developed by referring to the changes that Johnson (the narrator) goes through throughout the book. She addresses how Johnson, who originally identifies as a white person, learns to look down on blacks while in his original situation. Once he finds out he is bi-racial, he begins to feel confused about his identity and begins to withdraw himself from white society, isolating himself with his music. At this point, he is at an in-between stage. Wanda then introduces the idea that even though he begins to identify more with his black heritage, he does not completely abandon his white identity. However, the way he relates to white culture changes. In his relationship, he seems more like a secondary citizen. For instance, in the way he strives to date white women yet doesn’t think himself fully worthy or the way he works for a white man as an entertainer. After this, he continues to “flip-flop” between cultures, mixing aspects of both, yet never belonging to either. This sense of uncertain, incomplete belonging is similar to what is outlined in Du Bois.

I think Wanda does a good job of explaining, with numerous examples, they ways that a “double consciousness” exists. However it is not really clarify why it exists. Why can’t a person simply identify as a mixture? One way to answer this is to look at the role of society more closely. It might be interesting to look at travel; how does his identification and understanding of his race vary depending on his location?In the south, he considers himself to be black, in the North he relates more closely with white. Together this indicates race is a product of surrounding.

Vu's Paper

Vu's underlying topic surrounds itself around the scarring of Frado's life, and the inability of the characters in the story to subsequently act upon Frado's pain and be "moral" human beings. To add onto this point Vu explains that W.E.B Dubois' idea of the double-consciousness directly correlates with Frado's situation as a free-slave in a Northern home where she is forced to act as a servant. Vu proposes the fact that the "double-existance" that Frado holds is the underlying theme in "Our Nig". Even though Frado is a free-citizen she still has to face the cultural hatred that the Bellmont family throws at her. Frado comes to the point where she disowns her very being because of the hatred she has to put up with on a daily basis. Frado loses her identity as a black girl even though she is technically able to be whomever she desires without feeling persecuted (she is free). One of Vu's point signals that even the characters who seem to at least try to act based upon their sense of morality seem to succomb to the cruelty and prejudice that the Bellmont family imposes on her.
The characters in the story that try to help Frado seem to attempt to uphold the standards and ideologies of the North. Whenever Mr. Bellmont treats Frado as an equal or even attempts to do so, it seems that someone else in the family brings her down.
Vu's final point focuses on the fact that the internal struggle amongst the characters seems to manifest itself physically through death and illness. Ultimatley one of the only people in the story that seem to fulfill their promises to Frado passes away, James.

Casey's paper

Casey's paper focuses on the role of music and performance in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. She uses a number of ideas from Du Bois to help understand the narrator's actions and feelings. The narrator's struggle with being both black and white indicates the existence of a double conscious. Casey argues that the narrator attributes two aspects of his life- his music and his school- to the races he is trying to choose between. She uses two examples to illustrate Du Bois' idea of seeing oneself as others do. These include his experiences with his father and a duet with a girl.

I think it would be good to expand the idea of how he attributes his music and his school to being both black and white. I wonder if you could analyze the scene where the narrator sees his father with another family at the opera. Would this situation relate to your argument about musical performances? I would also explore the connection between race and performance to a greater level.

Dan's paper

In his paper Dan traces the ex-colored's man path to estrangement from society. He starts by looking at the difficulties the narrator faces with deciding which race he belong to. Using Simmel's arguments, Dan very convincingly proves that the ex-colored man is a stranger to both races. The next step in the alienation process is the narrator's journey to Europe where his estrangement becomes not just racial but national as well. He sees himself as an observer of the United States rather than a functional part of it. The last and absolute part of his estrangement is the denial of his past and the change of his name. He is no longer a stranger just to a race or a nation; he becomes a stranger to society.
Dan's paper raises the question about social alienation and how it arises. Simmel looks at the phenomenon of the stranger mostly from the perspective of the group and how the stranger is seen by them. I think Dan's paper does a great job of looking at the same phenomenon but from the stranger's perspective. Social alienation cannot occur without both society and the person playing a role, so to expand the paper, it would be interesting to look at how other people see the ex-colored man, and not just how he sees the world around him.

Andres' Paper

In short, Andres' paper explains why Bob Dylan is the quintessential "stranger." Specifically, in his Andres' paper, he discusses how Dylan's censored and abruptly represented tone in a book that tries to reveal his own feelings to a larger population is indicative of a stranger who is both near and far. Throughout his essay, Andres' seems to indicate how Dylan's description of his many strange idiosyncrasies means that he is treating the reader as someone who is "organically connected" to him. To strengthen his argument, Andres' mentions how Dylan seems to bypass many, many facts in his description of his own life; instead, Dylan opts for incredibly narrow and detailed account of particular moments in his life. Examples of such moments include Dylan's obsession with Woody Guthrie. To heighten that sense of strangeness or abstractness, Dylan after each description of that specific event seems to jump to another possibly completely different event.

If I were writing the paper, as a means of incorporating antithesis, I would talk about Dylan's ability through his songs to speak of the human condition and how this ability is a sign of Dylan's objectivity. On one hand, Dylan is able to create an intimate, sometimes highly confusing, novel. On the other hand, Dylan wrote songs that captured the hearts of a generation - songs that everyone seemed to relate to and impart their own opinions on. In my opinion which might be completely wrong, Dylan's own songs seem to describe those similarities that are recognized by the stranger. These differences are never recognized by any one population because they never travel or spend an extended amount of time in another distinct, unique region. Therefore, Dylan in a more poetic fashion than the other artists describes the common, "more general" similarities that linked all Americans. Evidence of such objectivity is the story Dylan creates when describing his trip up to New York. His story was one that constantly moving (on a train) - most likely with several stops on the way. In doing so, he stops in any one town enough to build an organic connection with them. In addition, his actual story implies the kind of objectivity that Simmel speaks of - A Minnesota Jew that sings American folks songs. Although Dylan's ability to speak in a convoluted fashion as well as speak to the common man are seemingly contradictory thoughts, both are indicative of the farness and nearness of "the stranger."

Katie Budolfson's Paper

Katie's paper uses Foucault's What is an Author? and Gertrude Stein's Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas to challenge the traditional conception of an author.  With Stein mocking the traditional autobiography and Foucault questioning the importance of who is actually speaking, the author is utterly destroyed.  Katie also brings up the subject of duality and demonstrates how Gertrude Stein uses it by influencing the narration with both her perspective and Alice's perspective, which again devalues the notion of sole authorship.  

Katie shows that What is an Author? conveys how Stein changes the definition of an autobiography by analyzing excellent quotes from both Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas and What is an Author?   Katie's quotes are short but very well connected and culminate in a concise, logical idea.  The content looks great; if I were to change anything it would be smoothing the transitions between paragraphs and adding an antithesis if a suitable argument can be made for one.

Katie Riera's Paper

Katie's paper synthesizes W.E.B. Du Bois' concept of double-consciousness in African-Americans with many of the literary dualities, most significantly the subjection the author faces indoors and outdoors, present in Harriet Wilson's Our Nig.  Katie sets forth a system of parallel dualities; the persecution Wilson endures indoors represents slavery, whereas her life outdoors represents the promise of freedom in America.  She first deals with relating the virtual enslavement Wilson is subjected to indoors to slavery at large, in the process commenting on dualities present in the text:  the split-level house, the split along family lines in terms of how to treat Wilson, the white house (and what that represents) and its sole black inhabitant.  She then discusses the ways in which Wilson's life outdoors parallels American freedom, including the way she has a very human relationship with her dog Fido and the general lack of punishment outdoors.  Katie also includes a discussion of how Wilson presents an exceptional case that transcends Du Bois' double-consciousness, because Wilson is not only African-American but also a woman, and thus faces all the additional discrimination that entails.

I felt the paper could be expanded by incorporating Du Bois's "double-consciousness" into the central argument to a greater degree.  At present, though Katie makes numerous compelling observations and arguments about the dualities present within the novel, she discusses Du Bois mainly in order to show how Wilson furthers the concept; I felt that incorporating the "double-consciousness" idea directly into the text's dualities reveals an important perspective that Katie has not yet explored.

Ross Green's Paper

Ross’s paper discusses the transformation from Bob Dylan’s mere recognition of , to his sharp disdain for, his identification with Georg Simmel’s “stranger.” The paper starts off explaining the characteristics that identify Dylan with Simmel’s “stranger”—the “inorganic appendage” that ties him to New York City, his potential for wandering, and his objectivity. It continues with describing how Dylan begins to identify himself with the “stranger,” or as Ross states, “Dylan’s recognition of his own role.” Dylan begins to understand the rift that separates himself from the folk music community and the places he travels; he will be a perpetual stranger to a place. However, Dylan expands where Simmel has not gone, as Ross discusses “the specific substance and transitivity of a sociological form.” Ultimately, Ross discusses how Dylan’s discomfort with this form and idea of the “stranger” causes him to reject it later in life, forming the antithesis of the paper. Ross concludes that Simmel’s “stranger” allows the reader to better understand Dylan, but Dylan also furthers Simmel’s “resilient” definition of the stranger.

In order to expand this paper, I would discuss how Dylan’s elaboration of Simmel’s “stranger” could be defined. Ross does a wonderful job of following and explaining the transformation to the climax and antithesis of Dylan's rejection. But when Simmel is no longer a resource, postulating exactly what Dylan specifically adds to the "stranger" definition in unchartered territory would allow for added synthesis; how exactly does Dylan further Simmel's "stranger."

Sara Widmark's Paper

Sara's paper is about Oscar Zeta Acosta and his path towards assimilation. She talks about Acosta's focus on his skin, how he stands in front of the mirror looking at himself, and especially how how he refers to himself as a Brown Buffalo. Sara explains Acosta's thoughts of not belonging by using Simmel's "The Stranger". She says that Simmel describes a stranger as sometimes being someone you know and feel close to, but cannot quite describe. Acosta's feelings about being Mexican and being American, but never both are a central focus in his book and in Sara's paper. She methodically includes quotes from Acosta and does not summarize their meaning, but explains what the quotes have to do with Acosta's assimilation and with Simmel's piece of work.

If I could expand the paper I would focus on the moments of self-reflection by Acosta, because those moments fit well with Simmel's idea of being a stranger to yourself. Acosta often remarks about not belonging and not fitting in with anyone, and Sara does a good job of pointing out those more public moments, but I think the personal moments would also be interesting.

Ralitsa Markova's Paper

In this paper, Ralitsa writes that Oscar Acosta becomes a stranger by moving around and absorbing a bit of every culture he visits. By synthesizing so much, no one label can very clearly define him. She begins by investigating the different names people call him, and later progresses to the more symbolic portrayals of his identity through food and the buffalo imagery. She integrates Simmel into her paragraphs very smoothly when she chooses to do so.

In order to expand on the paper, one could examine each label individually and what it indicates about Acosta. Furthermore, some quotations that exhibit the phenomina in the paper would be a great addition. Examining the language that the Acosta specifically uses will allow for a more thorough paper and strengthen the arguments considerably.

identity in persepolis

Unlike other books we've read throughout the semester Persepolis focuses on the clash between beliefs, not race.  Satrapi brings her childhood perspective to life as she is shaped by war, politics, and loss.  Marji believes herself to be against the government because her parents are against the government.  Because Ramin's father was in the Savak (police of the Shah), Marji and her two friends ran at him with "nails between their fingers like American brass knuckles" (p.45).  Unfortunately, guilt by association was common in times of strife, not only during the Islamic Revolution but during the Holocaust as well.  People were identified by who they affiliated themselves with publicly.  However, the difference between public and private life could be everything or nothing.  Marji's family was relatively westernized (they did know what brass knuckles were) in the home with clothing, music, and alcohol, but outside they would follow most rules, women would cover themselves, etc.  

Unlike Ex-Colored Man or Mary Jemison, Marji is not caught between two separate identities, the forces in her life simply restrain or aid her in building her own, unique identity.  I think the cartoon/graphic aspect of the novel brings out even more of Marji's emotion and identity, while still leaving some to the reader's interpretation and imagination.  Who or what do you think had a significant influence on Marji's identity?

Sid Vicous, Punk, and Marji

Wobble, who was a close friend with Sid Vicious, said in an interview that they bonded because of their lively personalities, lower-class backgrounds, keen intelligence, and nose for trouble. They all loved music and getting drunk. More significantly, perhaps, they were outsiders.

"At school, Sid was an incorrigible attention-seeker and general nuisance [...]" said Wobble.

'"Today he's one of the chosen few who enjoy a symbolic relationship with his age: nihilistic, senseless, empty, vain, talentless, iconic. He's a gift for students of postmodern theory, who find his myriad identities, instant celebrity, self-inflicted wounds, and fascination with Nazis endlessly meaningful, but the man behind them elusive and one-dimensional."

Punk, to Marji, represents cultural freedom as well as a temporary sanctuary from the repressive environment in Iran, and loneliness in Austria. Like Sid Vicious, Marji was an outsider in Europe, troublesome and rebellious at school, and struggled for her identity. Whenever she felt repressed, lonely, or confused, Marji turns to punk rock, but she never finds the solution.

The rebellious, nihilistic, and elusive nature of punk rock, exemplified by Vicious's life, entices troubled youths like Marji. Sadly, this liberation is only temporary.

Persepolis and Lost Culture

In the other books we have read, we have discussed how a person can feel like an "other" within the culture they live in. Usually, this sense of isolation is due to differences in ethnicities and race and the attempts made to assimulate to the mainstream culture. Though race is not as much of an issue in this text, there is still a sense of being an "other." Even in her own country, amidst her neighbors and the people she grew up with, Marjane and her family never accept the culture forced upon them by the government. Thus, while the women wear the veils and the father stops wearing western clothes, the notion that they are part of the new Iranian culture is only for appearances.
This idea of being an "other" is further evident in Marjane. In her adolescence, Marjane loves wearing the western punk clothes that she feels represents her identity. Yet, this is not accepted. Like the other protagonists we have read about, Marjane's true expressions of identity are repressed because they are not accepted by the dominant culture.

Through the eyes of a child

One of the most complicated aspects of writing is the ability of the author to portray his/her emotions and views on a particular moment or situation in a manner that will allow readers to understand the author without discrediting their presentation. When writing about sensitive topics, the author must also take into account the emotions of those involved, as well as how the readers may react to the material presented. Satrapi takes a risk by choosing to tell her story in a quite unconventional form - a graphic novel. Although quite unordinary, this decision allows Satrapi to tell her story in a way that would not be possible through the use of words alone. It is the stark presence of pictures and visuals that allows Satrapi to educate the audience on both her life and history through the eyes of a child.

One can claim that it is a child’s innocence that allows him or her to believe everything and to take everything for fact; what is seen and what is heard is truth. The use of black and white and the lack of lengthy text that is found in a graphic novel add to this factor. Not only through appearance alone is Satrapi telling her story through the eyes of a child, but also in the depth of what is written. Satrapi chooses to focus on what a child would find important and outstanding during those tragic times, such as her reactions to having to wear a veil. Although the story is presented with this “child-vision”, it is successful in the sense that this format enables the reader to more easily digest such troublesome material without even realizing it. Satrapi does not lie, she merely tells history the way she experienced it, and in a way that readers will allow themselves to understand her story through the unbiased, innocent eyes of a child.

Images

In the last few books we read race was one of the main issues. The difference in skin color was the main topic in Ex-Colored Man, Brown Buffalo, Our Nig. They all explored the connection between race, identity and perception. In Persepolis, because of the black and white images, all the people seem to have the same skin color. We don't get the concept of race directly from the author, only from the people surrounding her (when Marji said she was French and the other girls laughed at her because she didn't look French). The world Marji presents to us is surreal - all the differences in appearances she mentions are beard, moustache, clothes - things we can change and choose based on our personality. She doesn't draw images, she draws personalities. I find it somewhat starnge and fascinating that the only gaphic book we've read this semester is one of the least concerened with the way people look on the outside.

Thoughts So Far

Although I enjoy both the book and the movie, there seem to be noticeable differences between the book and the movie. For me, the defining difference has been the speed of movie to that of the book. While reading the book, I was able to look and analyze (most of the for about two seconds) the frames of each page. While doing so, I was able to appreciate the techniques Satrapi uses to better leverage her book: the use of black and white to expand on certain themes of the book, the use of picture to better reflect the dispositions/moods of the character, and her use of height/dimension to communicate particular messages within each scene.

With the movie, I find myself more preoccupied by the plot and the characters than by the art of Satrapi. Of the parts of the movie that I have seen so far, I feel like some of that subtlety has been lost. Instead, had I not read the book, I would wonder 'why make the movie in the form of a cartoon in the first place?' The most distinct of the animation has to be the use of black and white, but couldn't that dichotomy between white (good?) and (black?) have been recreated fairly easily (something along the lines of Sin City I guess)? Wouldn't the use of real characters create more empathy for Satrapi from the audience? Although I haven't finished the movie, so far, I would say that Persepolis definitely lends itself to the graphic novel as opposed to the movie.

To digress, at what point in this book am I supposed to sympathize with Satrapi? Certain aspects of her personality (the obsession with becoming God and finding a "hero") was really offputting, and her life as opposed to the lives of others around her, has seemed to greatly benefit from luck.

An Image I Particularly Liked

I could not figure out a good way to post this, so please bear with me.

p. 91
The bottom left hand panel.

This is really interesting, because up until this frame you see no more than the stars, and then in this frame alone to the stars and stripes appear together. It's an interesting image in that implies American influence, even American presence, but it lacks any substantial role. In addition, the blankets are put together in such a way that it looks a bit like the flag is being ripped...or that Satrapi is pulling them back together. The flag could be seen as being disrespected (children standing on it), or as holding the highest honor (sheltering children). In short, it is a powerful image that is up for interpretation.

Any thoughts? I am all out.