Research paper

I will be writing a traditional research paper for this class by default. I love the idea of the multi-genre project, but I don't possess the computer skills to make that happen.
I'm exploring the possibility of using Oranges and Blankets as my text, and discussing how religion can play a roll in the "coming of age" process. I'll be investigating how one's religion can positively and/or negatively affect a person during their journey to adulthood and beyond.

Blankets

I've chosen pages 13 and 16 of Blankets to do a close read of. On page 13, we finally meet Craig and Phil's father. As seen through a child's eyes, the author does an excellent job of making him look and sound intimidating. The fourth panel on page 13 portrays the father as disproportionately larger than the boys, leering over them, while they perspire with fear. And what the Dad says, "Don't question your parent's authority!", is written larger and darker then any other text on the page, making the reader a bit fearful of this character.
The single panel on page 16 conveys a child's imagination of what's in the "cubby", along with the reality of a stark room with a mattress. Thompson does a superior job with subtley using drawings of skelaton-like figures on the borders of the panels to convey what Phil is imagining. Also, the teeth drawn on the mattress, the overly large eyes of Phil, the huge hands of the father, the spider suspended from the ceiling, all make the reader understand the young boys fear. Interestingly, there is not text in this panel because words are not needed. Thompson was able to communicate effectively without words.
Craig's relationship with his father changes as he gets older. Thompson portrays this on pages 572-577 by drawing the father with gentle strokes and proportionately in line with the other characters. The father seems kind, calm. Craig no longer fears his father, but instead, is courageous enough to disagree with his religious views. The author seems to have made peace with his parents and that is shown by the happy drawings of family on the last pages of the novel.

close reading - oranges

The chapter titled "Joshua" in Winterson's novel is interesting in its comparison to the Garden of Eden. The passage starts by mentioning the "banks of the Euphrates" and the secret garden that is there. In the Biblical book of Genesis, the Garden of Eden is said to have the Euphrates flow through it. Also similar is the mention of a fruit tree at its center. Although, in Winterson's novel it is an orange tree, and Biblically, the type of fruit is not mentioned but commonly thought to be the apple. The author mentions plants that grow in a circular fashion. This reminds me of a coil. Not unlike a coiled serpent in Genesis.
I especially find one particular sentence intriguing: "This fruit had tripped up athletes while others have healed their wounds". If Winterson is comparing the fruit to religion or theology, perhaps the analogy is being made to the way some people find comfort and solace in religion, while others find it to be a lesson in frustration, always grappling, always questioning.
Winterson also speaks of the split fruit pouring out blood. This compares to the death of Jesus and his necessary blood shed found in the Gospels. Also, the fruit being a "full bowl for travellers and pilgrims" reminds me of someone on a journey, perhaps eluding to a spiritual journey.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

My personal beliefs are grounded in Judeo-Christian teachings. I was raised by Christian parents, attended church weekly, and raise my own family in a similar fashion.
Many people shaped my belief system: parents, friends, teachers. However, most profoundly, my mother and father, though not always for the better. As I grew from child to adult, I found their beliefs didn't always fit with my interpretation of truth or even Christianity. My early childhood was very legalistic and stifling. It took many years to "undo" that type of upbringing, to sift the good from the not-so-good.
In Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, the beliefs that are upheld only vaguely resemble Christianity. Mostly, it is a warped interpretation of the religion that is twisted and hateful. The predominant belief that is challenged is that homosexuality is a sin. In the chapter of "Numbers", the author explores the notion of never marrying because all men are pigs! And not matter who she talks to about the subject, she's told that she'll eventually get used to it. Although her mother's belief system could not handle homosexuality, Jeannette dares to entertain the idea in her head, and eventually literally with Melanie.
The "Exodus" that Jeanette takes from home to school foreshadows the ideological separation from her mother that is to come. Her world is broadened, if only for a short time, by the relationships with others her age and her teacher. However, the way Jeanette becomes a cast-off at school also foreshadows the way she will not be accepted as a homosexual. Foreshadowing aso takes place in the chapter of "Leviticus" by the way the author disagrees with Pastor's theology of a "perfect person". Instead of always being aligned with her mother's belief system, she starts to develop her own.
Obviously, struggles still exist for Jeanette as they exist for us all. Primarily the struggles will be with relationships, whether her mother or God himself!

common themes

The common theme between American Born Chinese and The Bluest Eye is the struggle for self acceptance.  Yang's characters of Jin Wang and the Monkey King, and Morrison's character of Pecola, all struggle to fit in with their peers.  The noticeable difference is that American Born Chinese ends with the characters coming to terms with who they really are, while The Bluest Eye ends with Pecola being driven mad by seemingly relentless affirmations of her worthlessness.

The experience of reading Morrison's novel, as well as viewing the doll video, left me with a knot in my stomach.  At times I feel embarrassed to be white.  Have I ever, unknowingly, done something to promote our society's view that white skin is somehow superior to black?  My response to this literature about culture and identity is to become more aware of the prejudice that people deal with and the impact it has on their lives as well as our culture as a whole.

While I've  never been knowingly discriminated against because of my skin color, I can relate to being treated as inferior based on my gender.  This knowledge gives me compassion to others who suffer because of not fitting in based on something that is out of their control.

One passage that I found to be particularly powerful was Morrison's account of Pecola at the local sundries shop.  She encounters Mr. Yacobowski, the owner, and "at some fixed point in time and space he senses that he need not waste the effort of a glance.  He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see"  (48).  This passage bothered me so much because I cannot imagine treating a child as though they were worthless, and yet I know that this kind of behavior goes on every day.  I wanted so badly for the character of Pecola to receive some form of love throughout the book:  a hug, a word of encouragement, a new dress or an ice cream.  But the story reads like a stoning, pelting the character to death.

Another passage I found to be especially difficult was the rape of Pecola by her father.  Morrison does such a wonderful job of forming  Cholly's character that the reader doesn't want him to perform the act, not just for Pecola's sake, but for his as well.  I felt sorry for Cholly, for his life was also difficult.  But the thought of a little, innocent girl being raped by her own father was almost more than I could take.  Maybe because I have two daughters of my own.  Since I am a mother myself, the fact that Pecola's mother didn't come to her defense made the passage challenging to digest.

While I enjoyed my first experience with a graphic novel, American Born Chinese didn't influence me the way that The Bluest Eye has.  One only has to pick up the newspaper or turn on the local news to hear similar stories of people on the fringe of society being victims of or performing heinous acts.  In other words,  Morrison's work of fiction could very well be someone's biography, and that's what makes her story so haunting.