Oscar Wao - final chapters

Ayana Roseborough writes:

1. Socorro realizes she is pregnant after Abelard is sent to prison. She dies soon after Belicia's birth. After the discovery that Socorro is pregnant, the narrator asks "fukú or zafa?," thus questioning whether the third daughter of the Cabrals is a form of good luck or bad. Which do you think she is?

2. Is there hope at the end of the story? Is there reason to believe Lola's daughter might escape the curse of the de Leons?
3. Did Oscar make the right decision by going back to the Dominican Republic? Knowing what awaited him, he still believed it was the right decision. His family and Yunior did not. What do you think?

Oscar Wao chapter 6

Brittany Harper writes:

1. The title of Chapter 6 is "Land of the Lost," which is the title of a television show about a family trapped in an alternate universe.  How does the title of Chapter 6 relate to Oscar's life?

2. Why does Oscar feel like he is "the permanent bachelor"?

3. What does Oscar's first kiss and first beating symbolize?

4. On page 303, Oscar realizes that the family's curse ("fuku") might be true.  Do you think Oscar's life experience is based on a family curse or on the poor decisions he continuously makes?

Oscar Wao questions pp166-210

Dana Cox

 1.Oscar and Jenni are seen as strange by other Latinos. Oscar because of his nerdiness and Jenni because she is goth. What effect does this shared experience have on Oscar?

 2.Does the rejection Oscar feels from Jenni further contribute to his detachment from his culture?

3.How does Oscar's detachment from some aspects of his culture contribute to his suicide attempt?

4. Oscar's belief that the fuku was responsible for his suicide attempt and Yunior's rejection of that idea when he says "that's our parents' shit" is an example of the differences in the relation of the characters to their Dominican culture. In what ways do these differences affect these characters in society?

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (pp. 51-165)

Melanie Matos


1. Before Lola discovers the lump on her mother’s breast, she explains, “And at that moment, for reasons you will never quite understand, you are overcome by the feeling, the premonition that something in your life is about to change...you don’t know how or why you know this thing but that you know it cannot be doubted” (53).

If Lola had an intuition that the “bruja” was present, why couldn’t she support her mother? Why did she want to run away?


2. From the outset of the novel, Diaz mentions the fuku – a curse or doom that Yunior and his family encounter throughout their lives. How has the “fuku” affected Yunior and his family, especially Lola?

3. Despite horrible circumstances and not fully knowing the Gangster, Beli still hoped for a future with him. How powerful is love and commitment in chapter three?

4. In a discussion with the Gangster, Beli states that she wants to be free just like him. Are either of them truly free?

Terryann John

Brief Wonderful World of Oscar Wao Questions(pages 1-50).

1. Why does Diaz incorporate so much science fiction concepts in his novel?

2. Why such an abnormal depiction of the family members throughout the chapter?

3. Does Diaz depict the family as having any deep connection to their cultural heritage?

4. Is Oscar and his family more concerned about assimilating into American culture or upholding their own cultural background?

5. Why such a strong emphasis on the Trujillo regime in the novel?

6. How does stereotyping play a role in the novel?

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Chapter 1

1) Throughout the first chapter, there is an overwhelming desire for the male characters to find a girlfriend. At one point, Oscar asked his mother if he was ugly and she responded, “Well, hijo, you certainly don’t take after me.” How does Diaz portray Dominicans in this novel?

2) What do you think of the explicit language Diaz uses? Is it necessary?

3) How does Diaz’s novel relate to what we have been reading so far this semester?

Questions for James Baldwin readings

1. What does Baldwin mean when he says smiling and grinning is "part of the American Negro's education ...that he must make people 'like' him?" Does this idea of over-smiling work in affecting social acceptance, according to Baldwin?

2. Baldwin closes his essay with a bold declaration that "[t]his world is white no longer, and it will never be white again." What does he mean by this and do you think this is true today?

3. For Baldwin, Racism can even stem from good intentions, or at least innocent "curiosity" and "wonder" (as expressed by the majority of the village's inhabitants). Does unintentional racism still exist in America, or is it solely a manifestation of Baldwin's perspective as a visitor to a foreign land?

4. Why does Baldwin stress a "difference between being the first white man to be seen by African and being the first black man to be seen by whites?"


-Ocean

On Issues of Race.

The somewhat charged content of the last fifteen minutes of today's class discussion reminded me of a story from some seven years ago. Particularly, it was Josephine's question of, "Why is it alright for an African American to want to segregate their community but not alright for a white person to say the same? Is it not wrong in either case?" (Correct me if I misunderstood your question, Josephine).

At my old college, I was very briefly involved in a minority-advancement club. As a first-generation immigrant I received an invitation to join the week I showed up to school, and as this was early in the semester when people are still looking for friends among strangers (and because I very much needed the work-study graphic designer job they were offering, and only offering to members of the club), I decided to visit a few times.

I was never very active. However, there was a definite sense among the core members of race being a major issue, even at this small, ultra-progressive New England liberal arts school. This came to a head when I applied for the position of club graphic designer. One of my interview questions was, "We're attempting to get a colored-persons only dormitory set up on campus, so that persons of color can have a safe place if they feel that they need one. How do you feel about this?"

I thought about it, and then I told them that I thought segregating the student body along lines of race would not do anything to solve any problems the college might be experiencing. However bad it might be, it would not get better by creating an insulating barrier, a place where certain people were allowed and others were not. I said that I understood and respected the desire to have a safe-zone, but that was what this club was. A dormitory was taking it too far, and I was not in favor.

I did not get the job.

However, I believe that this cuts right to the heart of the question Josephine posed in class today. And though I am personally against fracturing a population whether it is billed as separation or segregation, I can understand the impulse, and here it is: It's the difference between segregation, and creating a sense of community in shared experience/origin. The reason that it is never alright for a white person to suggest this to a black person (or, more generally, for a person of any skin tone to force a person of a different skin tone to go away, be elsewhere), is that in that scenario, a group is using that tactic to oppress, or belittle, or make less, in a Tocquevillian Tyranny-of-the-Majority kind of way. Contrast that with black separatists during the Civil Rights movement, or the Minorities-Only-Dorm activists at my old school. Yes, they're functionally calling for a kind of segregation. But it is not the action itself that is the moral quantity here. It is the reason behind it. In the latter scenarios, these groups are seeking a place of safety, seeking to forge a sense of community out of their shared experience of being a hounded, mistreated group.

That's really the fundamental difference. Now, we can argue (as I have mentioned I have) that any kind of separation is wrong. That only integration will truly ever begin to not treat, but actually erase racial tension (As Professor Davis paraphrased James Baldwin today -- I will stop thinking of myself as a black man, when you stop thinking of yourself as a White Man). But in doing so we must be mindful of the power dynamics that are involved when different groups attempt this same tactic, because it makes all the fundamental difference in whether this is a morally right, or morally wrong thing to do.

When We Were Kings

Ming Chan

1.      Why did Norman Mailer describe Ali’s dressing room as “The Last Supper” before the fight?

2.      Why is the ‘right hand lead’ that Ali performed so unexpected? What is its effect on Foreman?

3.      Both being a black man, why did people in Zaire favored Ali and not Foreman? How is Ali being portrayed by the people?

4.      What do you think about the match between Ali and Foreman? Ali claims several times that he’s going to ‘dance’ when fighting Foreman and makes everyone thinks that way. However he chose to perform the ‘right hand lead’ and provoked Foreman during the match. Do you think the plan was premeditated or was it unpremeditated like Mailer suggested? What are your thoughts?

When We Were Kings

Arsenio Perez writes:

1- "Ain't this something flying in an airplane with all black pilots? All black crew? This is strange to the american Negro. We never dreamed of this. And everytime we watch television, they show us Tarzan and the natives, and the jungle. They never told us that the Africans were more intelligent than we are. They speak English, French, African. We can't even speak English good. Ain't this beautiful. I'm free. I'm free." Who is the they in this quote and what does it say about what the African American image was during this period?

2- In the Norman Mailer quote he speaks about Ali's belief that "people in America are spoiled". That people in Africa have a "dignity in your poverty that we don't have." Norman goes on to say "My lord, on top of everything else this man's a political leader, and he's going to be a great political leader." Why do you think Norman Mailer said this and felt this way? What makes Ali soo different from the rest of other famous African Americans that made him so unpopular with mainstream America? 

3- What  did Ali's victory over George Forman mean to America and also Africa? 

4- What would you say is the main purpose of this film and why it was made?  What is its message?

Robert Rydell, "All the World's a Fair"

Hadiel Elsayed writes:

1.  How were the Fairs/Expositions planned and executed?
2.  What was the goal of the Fairs/Expositions?
3. How did eugenicists and anthropologists work together to apply hierarchical ideas about race and culture?
4. How does Robert Rydell use science and racism to make his point?

José Martí, "Our America"

1. Why does Martí personify the United States as "the giants in seven-league boots" (288)? What is Martí 's attitude towards America's imperialist ambitions if he views them through a critical eye? 

2. Martí asserts that "the urgent duty of our America is to show herself as she is, one in soul and intent" (295). Why does Martí strongly advocate the unification of Latin American countries? 

3. How does Martí use his comparison of "the artificial man" and "the natural man" to express the importance of embracing one's native roots? 

4. Martí illustrates his preference for "creation" rather than "too much imitation" by encouraging Latin Americans to "make wine from plantains; it may be sour, but it is our wine" (294). How does Martí use this idea to resonate a sense of hope for the future of Latin Americans? 

Soldiers of Fortune

Josephine asks...

1. "When the coup, organized by corrupt politicians and generals, threatens the American-owned Valencia Mining Company, Clay organizes his workers and the handful of Americans visiting the mine into a counter-coup force" (www.amazon.com).  It's also been stated that Clay is a mercenary and out for whoever pays the most.  Which side is Clay on?  He talks about paying the workers when they were never paid before, yet he leads a revolt against the people. 2. We've talked about manifest destiny and imperialism in class.  In the 2 chapters we've read, how is this shown in Soldiers of Fortune? 3. What have we seen so far that would help promote the Spanish-American war.  This novel was written right before it started.   4. We have looked at primary documents in dealing with transnationalism.  This is a work of fiction.  What is your feeling about this story?  Do you find it more interesting?  Do you believe we can learn just as much about the history of America from a novel like this?

KONY- Transnational? Imperial?

I know I am not the only one who has been overwhelmed with the volume of people I know posting about the KONY 2012 video. So I finally watched it and found there to be not only a transnational tone, but also a sense of "duty" that seems familiar (Roosevelt, Twain, Empire).

Is this the new means, or method of expansion of United States influence?

For me I think the most exciting aspect is the usage of tools to send a specific message to so many people, but what exactly is the message in the larger context of American (USA) transnationalism?

I have also seen many post this link as well- (Rosebell Kagumire's blog video) and this article has links to a previous article....

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/african-critics-of-kony-campaign-hear-echoes-of-the-white-mans-burden/

Imagining an Empire

The Hudson River School of Painting was one of the most celebrated American Academies of art and key to the imagining of an the Manifest-destiny movements. Both these paintings are by Thomas Cole- an immigrant from England who became one of the fathers of an "American" style in painting. This of course is an anglo vision of empire and expansion that is evident in Theodore Roosevelts ideology as well as the early European expansion and imperialism in the New World.

1.Both images bring to mind not only Roosevelt's speeches, but Columbus' journals discussing the end of the earth. What if any connection do you see between these paintings and the America envisioned by President Roosevelt? How do these earlier (than Roosevelt's speeches) images reflect Roosevelts words "[of course] the best that can happen o any people that has not already a high civilization of its own is to assimilate and profit by American or European ideas, the ideas of civilization and Christianity, without submitting to alien control; but such control, in spite of all its defects, is in a very large number of cases the prerequisite condition to the moral and material advance of the peoples who dwell in the darker corners of the earth"(67)?

2.Through the promotion of civilization and white expansion, Roosevelt also stresses that "The timid man, the lazy man, the man who distrusts his country, the over-civilized man, who has lost the great fighting, masterful virtues, the ignorant man, and the man of dull mind, whose soul is incapable of feeling the mighty life that thrills 'stern men with empires in their brains'- all of these, of course shrink from seeing the nation undertake its new duties;shrink from seeing us build a navy and an army adequate to our needs; shrink from seeing us do our share of the worlds work, by bringing order out of chaos [...]"(69). In arguing for the "strenous life" Roosevelt places the United States in a way that echoes the Empires of Europe and highlights the virtues of expansion- how does this relate to the images above?

Despite the fact these images preceded Roosevelt's speeches, how do they relate to each other?

Thomas Cole's series entitled "The Course Of Empire" documents the rise of an Empire- I am including three Paintings below

Left to right

The Course of the Empire: The Savage State 1836 Oil on canvas 39 1/4 x 62 7/8 inches (100 x 160 cm) The New York Historical Society

The Course of the Empire: The Consummation 1836 Oil on canvas 50 7/8 x 75 7/8 inches (129.5 x 193 cm) The New York Historical Society

The Course of the Empire: Desolation 1836 Oil on canvas 39 1/4 x 62 7/8 inches (100 x 160 cm) The New York Historical Society

3.How does "The COurse of Empire" relate to "The Strenuous Life" and "Expansion of the white races"? How do these paintings relate to the "Concept" of America seen through Roosevelt's perspective?

Theodore Roosevelt's vision for America is reminiscent of the justification of conquering that we saw in previous readings (Columbus' journals).

The empire that Roosevelt envisions is not new- where have we seen this ideology in previous readings?

Boudoir vs. Peignoir

A boudoir is a lady's private bedroom, sitting room or dressing room.

A peignoir is a long outer garment for women, frequently sheer and made of chiffon or other translucent fabrics.

"The Expansion of the White Races"

1. Who is Roosevelt addressing in this speech?

2. “[submitting to] alien control… in spite of all its defects is, in a very large number of cases, the prerequisite condition to the moral and material advance of the peoples who dwell in the darker corners of the earth” What do you think Roosevelt is trying to say here; or, rather what is he trying to justify?

3. Considering the time this speech was delivered (1909) what correlation, if any, do you find between Roosevelt's rhetoric and the issues/sentiments of postbellum America?

4. What do you think of Roosevelt’s use of the extermination and disintegration of Indian communities throughout the Americas and the rest of the world as an example of why the expansion of the White Races is necessary and beneficial to all whites and non-whites alike? What is he evoking here?

The Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt

1.       What did Roosevelt mean by the “strenuous life?”

2.       What was Roosevelt’s description of the role of man in the 1800s?

3.       How would you characterize Roosevelt’s attitude towards the United States as a wealthy country? Was the greatest contributing factor to the United States growth as a nation, the great minds of men or the breaking backs of the laborers?

The Hemispheric Jamestown - Anna Brickhouse

1. Does the fact that the supposed "birthplace" of the U.S.A. experienced colonization by the Spanish Jesuits before the English have any implications on what you conceived as the history of America?

2. On page 43-44, Brickhouse mentions that there was a supposed younger brother of Don Luis' who was on the verge of death, possibly the Chief Powhatan himself. On page 39 from John Smith's The General Historie of Virginia, Powhatan mentions that he has experienced the death of all of his people thrice and he has been the only one living from those generations. Does this overlap in information provide any new insight?

3. What do you think some of the motives were behind Don Luis' unfaithful allegiance to the Jesuits? Was it pre - meditated as Garcilaso and Ribadeneyra suggest?

4. What reasons other than the propagation of the Black Legend do you think the Spanish Jesuit mission preceding the Virginia Company mission wasn't emphasized as much?

5. How is Alonso's and Don Luis' transculturalism viewed by the Jesuit historians?

"The Americas" by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto

·        1) “America is a term even elastic enough to extend beyond America, as ordinarily understood, into or across the Atlantic and pacific” (14). According to F. Fernandez-A. Why is America so hard to define?

·        
         2) As Fernandez describes how America is a mixture of cultures and more, how does that change the way in which you look at America today?

·         3)  “The Old World heartlands from which it was transposed were tiny comparison marginal cattle-rearing lands in Extremadura and shepherders’ narrow routes of transhumance, which crossed Castile. In the New World, ranching came to fill huge tracks of prairie, pampa, and sertao. “Before the inruptions of European colonialism it was an almost unknown way of life” (89). What are your thoughts about the New and the Old World, looking at the information provided by Fernandez?

John Smith

Smith refers to the Native Americans as barbarians, savages, and devils. However, his negotiations with Powhatan show him to be a reasonable and articulate leader. Do you think Smith is actively dehumanizing the Native Americans or is he merely ignorant?

Historian J. A. Leo Lemay suggests of the scene during which Pocahontas saves Smith’s life that “Smith was being ritualistically killed. Reborn, he was adopted into the tribe, with Pocahontas as his sponsor. But Smith, of course, did not realise [sic] the nature of the initiation ceremony” (52). How would this information change your reading of the scene?

What do you notice about the differing artistic portrayals of the colonizers, the Native Americans, and the English nobility in the following images from The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles? How do they relate to Smith's corresponding text?


http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/smith/title.html


http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/smith/ill1.html

Captain John Smith, "Generall Historie of Virginia...", Selected Vocabulary

salvage (246, 249): savage
fayning: pretending

subtill (248): subtle, crafty

bruit (248): noise

Werowance (249): leader

doe what you list (249): do as you please

curtesies (249): courtesies

Divels (249): devils

Pinnace: ship, boat

misprision (250): misinterpretation

An Excerpt from Chapter One of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

Re: Christopher Columbus and John Smith:

It began with Christopher Columbus, who gave the people the name Indios. Those Europeans, the white men, spoke in different dialects, and some pronounced the word Indien, or Indianer, or Indian. Peaux-rouges, or redskins, came later. As was the custom of the peoplewhen receiving strangers, the Tainos on the island of San Salvador generously presented Columbus and his men with gifts and treated them with honor.

“So tractable, so peaceful are these people,” Columbus wrote to the King and Queen of Spain, “that I swear to your Majesties that there is not in the world a better nation. They love their neighbors as themselves, and their discourse is ever sweet and gentle, and accompanied with a smile; and though it is true that they are naked, yet their manners are decorous and praiseworthy.”

All this, of course, was taken as a sign of weakness, if not heathenism, and Columbus being a righteous European was convinced the people should be “made to work, sow and do all that is necessary to adopt our ways.” Over the next four centuries, (1492-1890) several million Europeans and their descendants undertook to enforce their ways upon the people of the New World.

Columbus kidnapped ten of his friendly Taino hosts and carried them off to Spain, where they could be introduced to the white man's ways. One of them died soon after arriving there, but not before he was baptized a Christian. The Spaniards were so pleased that they had made it possible for the first Indian to enter heaven that they hasted to spread the good news throughout the West Indies.

The Tainos and other Arawak people did not resist conversion to the Europeans' religion, but they did resist strongly when hordes of these bearded strangers began scouring their islands in search of gold and precious stones. The Spaniards looted and burned villages; they kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children and shipped them off to Europe to be sold as slaves. Arawak resistance brought on the use of guns and sabers, and the whole tribes were destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people in less than a decade after Columbus set foot on the beach of San Salvador, October 12 1492.

Communications between the tribes of the New World were slow and news of the Europeans' barbarities rarely overtook the spread of new conquests and settlements. Long before the English-speaking white men arrived in Virginia in 1607, however, the Powhatans had heard rumors about the civilizing methods of the Spaniards. The Englishmen used subtler methods. To ensure peace long enough to establish a settlement at Jamestown, they put a golden crown upon the head of Wahunsonacook, dubbed him King Powhatan, and convinced him that he should put his people to work supplying the white settlers with food. Wahunsonacook vacillated between loyalty to his rebellious subjects and to the English, but after John Rofle married his daughter Pocahontas, he apparently decided that he was more English than Indian. After Wahunsonacook died, the Powhatans rose up in revenge to drive the Englishmen back into the sea from which they had come, but the Indians underestimated the power of English weapons. In a short time the eight thousand Powhatans were reduced to less than a thousand.

Discussion Questions - 2/9/2012

For the writings of Christopher Columbus and John Smith.

1. How does Christopher Columbus potray himself in his account? How does John Smith portray himself? What are the similarities between them?

2. How do both men view the local Indians?

3. What, if any, are the differences between the confirmed historical record and these autobiographical descriptions?

Assignment for Thu Feb 2

In addition to "Baywatch and de Preacher" (below), please read "The iEconomy" (NY Times 1/22/12) and listen to “Pimp My Ride Morocco” (Marketplace, NPR).


Oonya Kempadoo, "Baywatch and de Preacher" (click images to enlarge)