Response 18: "The African Writer And The English Language"

The case that Achebe makes for integrating native experiences through a changed English language is interesting. “Achebe argues that having a ‘national’ language, even if it was one that served colonialism, can be a positive communication tool, without eliding local differences and particularities” (547). He does make a valid point through that statement because if one were to simply write a story in a language that is only native to that particular region, the story will not be understood by or become accessible to a larger audience. While African literature is not “one unit but…a group of associated units—in fact the sum total of all the national and ethnic literatures of Africa”, expressing these different stories in a global language can make the stories resonate and show/educate readers on the diversity and different example of the complexities and differences in African literature and culture and provide reasons as to why one “cannot cram African literature into a small, neat definition” (548).

Using English instead of native languages could contribute to “speaking of African experience in a world-wide language”, again because it would be accessible to and understood by a larger audience (552). Perhaps if the author doubts that the story can remain purely authentic if written in English, the author could write a story in their native language and then also provide the story written in English. However, while choosing to provide an English version of stories and literature, “The African writer should aim to use English in  a way that brings out his message best without altering the language to the extent that its value as a medium of international exchange will be lost” (552).

There is also a question posed in the reading, about how “The real question is not whether Africans could write in English but whether they ought to” (553). I do agree with Achebe’s viewpoint that if English can authentically portray the African experience through literature, by also keeping authentic African surroundings, language, portrayal of relationships etcetera.  Someone in class once mentioned that one purpose of literature is to show the reader the rest of the world, and if African stories and literature can be used to depict authentic experiences if written in English, it would be beneficial to do so because it educates outsiders and can be a source of comfort for people that can relate to those experiences. 

Response 17: "Orientalism Now"

“Moreover, the Eastern travelers in the west were there to learn from and to gape at an advanced culture; the purposes of the Western travelers in the Orient were, as we have seen, of quite a different order” (533). This statement suggests that while Said recognizes that the West is not in awe of Eastern cultures, he also does not seem to approve of the high regard in which the East holds the West; this can be seen particularly in the phrasing “gape at an advanced culture”. The term gape (instead of admire, aspire to etcetera) especially seems to point towards that hint of disapproval. This disapproval of not only the West, but also the passivity of the East is further implied in the statement: ““For a number of reasons the Orient was always in the position both of outsider and of incorporated weak partner for the West” (535).

Said disapproves of the almost blind adoration that the East held of the West despite the fact that “The Oriental was linked thus to elements in Western society (delinquents… women, the poor) having in common an identity best described as lamentably alien” (535). Perhaps it can even be observed that the Oriental was not just linked to elements that were seen as lesser but perhaps the Oriental was held in an even lower regard by the West than how it regarded women, the poor etcetera.  

“Orientals were rarely seen or looked at; they were seen through, analyzed not as citizens, or even people, but as problems to be solved or confined or—as the colonial powers openly coveted their territory—taken over…since the Oriental was a member of a subject race, he had to be subjected: it as that simple” (535). While the Oriental was taken over, the Oriental was also “rarely seen or looked at” and that “in discussions of the Orient, the Orient is all absence” (535). For the West, women may not have been as much of a threat because for example, during the Victorian era the trend of becoming ill and fragile perhaps subdued female observations of patriarchal structures. Women were perhaps also the weaker binary in the male/female binary hierarchy, and had been for a long time. In addition, “Orientalism itself, furthermore, was an exclusively male province…This is especially evident in the writing of travelers and novelists: women are usually the creature of a male power-fantasy. They express unlimited sensuality, they are more or less stupid, and above all they are willing” (535).

Perhaps one reason that the Orient was regarded as even lesser than these alien identities was because of the threat the Orient possessed through ownership of land and resources that the West coveted. Perhaps it was also less threatening to the West that the weaker binary in the East/West binary hierarchy to possess these desired resources. 

Response 16: "Voices From The Margins"

Rap culture and rap music has undoubtedly changed since its emergence, but one of the great things about it is that it has now become its own voice and heavily influences other aspects of mass media and popular culture (although there are some drawbacks to the new promotion of a lavish lifestyle).

“news media attention on rap seems fixated on instances of violence at rap concerts, rap producers’ illegal use of musical samples, gangsta raps’ lurid fantasies of cop killing and female dismemberment, and black nationalist rappers’ suggestion that white people are the devil’s disciples” (179). This statement kind of gets one to think about the media’s tendency to not perhaps always go with the best story, but rather stories that would gain the most public attention/outrage/surprise etcetera. It is no secret that minority actors usually get typecast into stereotypical roles associated with that race or ethnicity. On the Steve Harvey Show, Steve brought on some people that work in Hollywood to ask whether roles are still typecast into stereotypes and one African American actress talked about how sometimes there would be stories/scripts of a black character but the story didn’t fit the traditional stereotypes of black culture/community and so those scripts would be given to white actors instead.

I do agree with Rose’s statement that “Rap music is a black cultural expression that prioritizes black voices from the margins of urban America” (179). Although “Even as rappers achieve what appears to be central status in commercial culture, they are far more vulnerable to censorship efforts that highly visible white rock artists in the music and sports industries”, rap music today is still more expressive of African American culture and subcultures than African American characters that are portrayed in a majority of films and television shows. 

Response 15: "The Complex Face Of Black Canada"

While I do understand Clarke’s reasoning, issues of gender almost seem to take a backseat in comparison to the issues of race, and one reason I concluded this is because the primary arguments focus on comparing specifically black males against the general population or comparing specifically black males against  white males. However, the drawbacks that black females face are only briefly mentioned throughout the reading (for example, the history of immigration of black females and males). Due to this, Clarke seems to be subconsciously establishing a binary hierarchy where black males are the dominant binary and the black women are the weaker/lesser binary. Another reason could be that he includes a lot of personal experiences in this reading, and because of that, simply focuses on the issue from a male perspective. 

The data he provides on education versus employment/unemployment rates, comparing black males against the rest of the population do strengthen his claims. It also emphasizes the stark reality of his statement: “A constant interrogation of our belonging inculcates within us” (434). Perhaps this wound of not belonging is made even rawer by the grim statistics Clark provides where “Blacks are as well educated as the average Canadian but suffer higher unemployment (15 percent compared to the Canadian average of 10 percent…)” (437).

 It was particularly surprising that “83 per cent of Canadians did not know that slavery had been practiced in pre-Confederation Canada” (434). Perhaps one reason for this is that “The African-Canadian communities, accounting for only 3 percent of the Canadian population, will have a more difficult time achieving solidarity than American Americans, who comprise 13 percent of the American population” (436). 

Response 14: "The Fact of Blackness"

In Fanon’s reading, the subject of binary hierarchies comes into play: “not only must the black man be black; he must be black in relation to the white man” (402). His experience on the train was particularly sad. I also have to agree with his statement that color prejudice “is nothing more than the unreasoning hatred of one race for another, the contempt of the stronger and richer peoples for whom they consider inferior to themselves” (405). Again, going back to the binary hierarchies, it reminds of a reading we had very early on in the semester where it talked about how while the slave had to be reliant on the master for protection and survival, the master was also reliant on the slave for his status and level of prominence in society. In the same way here, even the richer would need someone to be “less” than, perhaps in this case “less” than financially otherwise they wouldn’t be the dominant binary societally.

There is also this dilemma Fanon faces of not fitting in not only with the whites, but also with others of his own race and ethnicity on several levels. He mentions “that little gulf that exists among the almost-white, the mulatto, and the n-word” (402). It reminds me of Clarke’s “The Complex Face Of Black Canada” where in the intro, it is mentioned that “people from ‘black-majority countries’ often identify via class” (433).  In areas where there aren’t large racial divides, there are divides based on shade of color and economic standing. Here, Fanon is facing not only exclusion from whites, but from people with whom he shares a common ethnicity and similar heritage.

There was also another passage that caught my eye: “The white world, the only honorable one, barred me from all participation” (404). It’s a sad kind of irony that the dominant binary is self-proclaimed to be “honorable” and civilized but is both subtly and unsubtly exclusionary. 

Response 13: "Gender Asymmetry And Erotic Triangles"

I liked this reading because it has an interesting argument that “even heterosexual relations in literature and culture often take their structure not only through the relation between women and men, but also, and especially, through men’s relations to each other” and that “the desired woman…gives the desiring man status with other men, a trophy, a sense of victory and power….over observing, envious, or rival men” (321). While it is true that sometimes rivalry between the males is what shapes their actions perhaps to figure out each other’s strategy because neither wants to lose the woman. In a way, it’s a little sad that there is more emphasis on the rival and figuring out their strategies etcetera. It also made me question if either male rival ever spends as much exhaustive intellectual effort in regards to the woman of interest. Honestly, if she were portrayed as intellectual and powerful (and if she was aware that both of them were fighting over her), many stories where patriarchy and this “relationship” between the men would not exist; because if she was intelligent and strategic, she would pair up with the man she was interested in and they would scheme together on how to defeat his rival together.

While I can understand the reasoning behind the first quote, I’m not entirely convinced on the declaration that “’The total relationship of exchange which constitutes marriage is not established between a man and a woman, but between two groups or men, and the woman figures only as one of the objects in the exchange, not as one of the partners’” (324). However, I can see this statement being more applicable to societal structure more in 1985 than today. At the same time, I do have to admit that this structure still does exist in some areas of the world. Even in arranged marriages, the agreements are primarily between the parents (of the male and female) or agreements are between the male and the parents on both sides.

Response 12: "From Interiority To Gender Performatives"

I do agree with Butler’s argument that gender is held to “’compulsory’ and ‘normative’ heterosexuality” (581). One reason is because even today, most societies around the world frown on any type of sexuality that isn’t heterosexual (homosexuality, asexuality) and because of this, “as a strategy of survival within compulsory systems, gender is a performance with clearly punitive consequences…indeed, we regularly punish those who fail to do their gender right” (585). “the gendered body is performative” and expectations of how gender is portrayed varies throughout the world (583). The idea of what is means to be male is primarily characterized by “male” traits such as aggression and an external toughness, physical and emotional. The football quarterback is the epitome of an ultimate male, in the West anyway. However while strength, especially physical is a generally universal standard/expectation of masculinity expected from men, the definition of masculinity is different in other areas of the world, such as parts of Asia. In Korea, men are increasingly becoming meterosexual, they even get clear pedicures, and Korea is actually one of the largest emerging markets for male facial skin care and some cosmetic products. While the idea of a meterosexual male has slightly permeated towards the West, it is still not an idea that is absolutely accepted. While Derrida might disagree, a universal truth is that human beings do not want to be shunned by their societies. Due to this, many perform repeated actions that are associated with either gender to fit in so that they are not excluded for being themselves. In a way, this act of attempting to fit in by performing expected gender roles is in a way a mimicry of what it means to be an ideal man or an ideal woman.