Final Blog

From the very first piece of literature we read in this class, I feel as if humanitarianism has been one of the main themes in the course and in women’s literature. Humanitarianism is “the doctrine that man’s duty is to strive to promote the welfare of mankind” (www.dictionary.com, 2011). Every piece of literature that we read in this class caused me to think about myself in relation to society and the community, forcing me to constantly think of one of my favorite quotes of all time: “Be the change you want to see.”

 Every author had their own style and technique for getting readers to think about how society views certain groups or types of people in their own unique way, that forced readers to think about themselves in relation to what they author was talking about and society in general. Even though they all had their own style and technique, I feel as if all of the authors and all of the pieces of literature had played on people’s emotions to prove their point, but again, each author did this in their own unique way. I think this was an effective mechanism to really force readers to think about his/herself in relation to what the author was saying and the point that each woman was trying to make.

Naomi Shihab Nye promoted humanitarianism by having readers think about the person, the individual; not the person in the context of society or a specific culture or group, in her poetry book 19 Varieties of Gazelle. She accomplished this by sharing stories that explained some of the Middle Eastern traditions to show they are human, just like everyone else. One of her goals was to have readers try to understand their culture a little bit better to help American society develop a more accurate picture of the culture and the people rather than think of them in the context that the aftermath of September 11, 2001 created.

Although promoting the same ideas of humanitarianism, Julia Alvarez took a different approach, but was still just as effective in her piece of historical fiction, In the Time of the Butterflies. Alvarez introduced readers to four very different sisters and took readers along on their journey through life. Three of the sisters were activists, fighting for the improvement of their nation, but each of these sisters had a different path to getting there. In the end however, they had one common goal and that was to improve the state of the nation. Although the forth sister, Dede, may have not been an activist like her sisters, she too played a role in the fight for the nation by carrying on their legacy, sharing their stories after they died, and helping to raise their children. Dede practiced humanitarianism by hoping to inspire others through sharing her sisters’ stories while her sisters practiced humanitarianism through activism.

Alison Bechdel promoted humanitarianism by challenging what the traditional American appears to be with what the traditional American family tends to be in reality in her graphic novel, Fun Home. This was the first graphic novel I have ever read and it really left an impression on me, because I love imagery. Bechdel challenged what American culture considers to be the traditional family by allowing us into her childhood and her journey to adulthood. She was a member of what appeared to be a traditional family, mother, father, son, daughter, and pet, and her family played the part in public, but in reality, this was not the situation. Her father struggled with his sexuality and gender orientation; Bechdel herself struggled with her sexuality; the mother worked, something very uncharacteristic for the time period. This caused things to never really be as they seemed. Their community viewed them as “normal” when in fact they did not fit the stereotype. Bechdel was promotion humanity by sharing her story and saying hey, its ok to be a little bit different; no one family actually fits this cookie cutter image society has set forth on what a family should be.

Sapphire also addressed humanitarian issues in her novel Push. Sapphire challenged society by sharing the story of Precious, an autistic teenager who was sexually molested by both her mother and father and bore children out of incest. She was what most would define as a “menace to society,” because she was not moving up in the educational system, appeared to be unintelligent and ignorant, and lacked a support system. Sapphire promoted humanity by having readers sympathize with Precious and understand why she was the way she was. I think that Sapphire’s goal was to just have society stop and think about how what really causes an individual to be in this type of situation, and what society can do to help people develop the life tools and guide them to the proper resources improve their lives.

In conclusion, the reading I did this semester really caused me to think about myself in relation to society and the community of which I am a part of. I really did not know what to expect going into the semester, but was pleasantly surprised. All of these books motivated me in some way and had a positive impact on me. As a future public health professional, I consider myself to be a humanitarian whose goal is to improve the quality of life for the public, especially underserved, deprived populations. The literature we read this semester gave me a different perspective that will help to keep me motivated when I enter the profession.

I decided to examine one of the little pieces of life advice that Dorothy Allison gives through out her memoir. “Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I would rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me,” (pg. 71).

Allison uses this quote to conclude the section where she shares that the story of the last time her stepfather beat her when she was sixteen with readers.  However, it is not just a story of how she stood up for herself the last time her stepfather beat her. She tells readers how she reclaimed herself and how she would not let this one aspect of her life define who she was and the woman that she wanted to be. “I took back my sex, my body. I claimed myself and remade my life. Only when I knew I belonged to myself completely did I become capable of giving myself to another, of finding joy in desire, pleasure in our love, power in this body no one else owns, (pg 70).

Out of all of the stories, phrases, and life advice in the book, I believe that these are the most powerful, and that everyone, man or woman, can use this type of advice and perspective to help them get through something, because of the truth it resonates. Everyone has some type of stereotype that follows them, some role that they are expected to fill or fall into. What most people do not realize is that is their option on whether or not they do. I believe that falling into a stereotype and filling the role you are expected is the easy path in life or the easy way out, because you are only doing what is expected.

I am like Allison. I believe in creating my own life and paving my own path, setting or raising the standard along the way. I could be the typical college student, but instead, I went above and beyond, creating opportunities for myself and others, and developing into a woman and person whose reflection I could be proud of. It was not easy and at time it was infuriating, but in the end, it was worth it. 

Allison Blog 1

            I feel as if I have said this a few times this semester, but this is a new literary style and tactic for me. I have read autobiographies before, but never one like this. I feel although this is an autobiography or a memoir, Allison tries to keep us on our toes, as we read. I think she best accomplished this through the contradictions that I have picked up on so far in the book. I feel like as I am trying to absorb the story, I find myself thinking back to previous things that she said or photographs that were shown. For example, she will talk about how the women in her family are ugly because they are poor one minute, but give a physical description of why they are ugly, but their looks to that of movie stars. At one point, she talks about how one physical feature, the high cheekbones I believe, make them look like peasants, but then later she talks about the high cheekbones in relation to movie stars. The contradictions just throw me off, because it changed how I pictured the story happening.

            I also feel that she keeps readers on their toes by throwing in little phrases that make you question what she is saying. There is no doubt in my mind that she experience all of the things she discusses in the novel, but I think it is very important to think about the perspective of the story, just like with the previous book we read. At some points during the reading, I felt a little bit unsure of whose perspective it the “story” was coming from, because I know it is supposed to be autobiographical, but their was something about the way it was told that just threw me off. Maybe it was because it was the adult version of Allison looking back and telling the story. Maybe she understood or had an epiphany about what happened and that changed her perspective in it. I am still trying to put my finger on it.

            I wanted to touch on the photographs, because I know that was discussed in class today. I love photography, and think that pictures can be worth 1000 words. One thing that kept crossing my mind as I was reading was why she selected the photographs that she did, which is something I tend to think about in general when I see a photograph. I want to know what it was about that picture; what was the story behind it; what made it stand out to her from others? I feel like some of these questions could have been better addressed in the “story” by having captions instead of having the context of the photo in the “story.” I also think it is a little bit of a contradiction to have an autobiography or memoir, which is told from the individual’s perspective, and then have photographs, which she did not take, because they are from else’s perspective. I sometimes wondered who took the photographs and what their story was in relation to Allison’s.

            So far, I am glad we are ending the semester with this type of book. I graduate at the end of the month, and I think Allison is on to something when she says, “the 2 or 3 things I know for sure.” Anything can happen and life can change in an instant. While trying to figure out what I want the next step to be for me, I have been stopping and thinking, what do I know for sure? Right now, I know 1 thing for sure, and am using it to try to help me figure out what comes next. 

Ozick Blog 2

            On Friday, I could not verbalize what my thoughts in the in-class writing or the class discussion, so have decided to try to do it in this blog, and hopefully I am much more successful.

            Although it was not a very significant line in the passage, when the hotel manager told Rosa to go home, I started thinking about what Rosa considered home. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, there are a handful of definitions for the word home; one of which is “the social unit formed by a family living together.”

Rosa was ripped from her home and her family in her early to mid twenties. Readers never find out what happened to Rosa and Stella’s family, nor if Rosa or Stella found out what happened to them. The last place that Rosa felt she had a family was in the concentration camp before Magda was executed by a Nazi throwing her into an electric fence. When a mother loses a child, part of the mother dies with the child and I believe this is extremely evident with Rosa. When Magda died, she began to regress emotionally and started sucking on the shawl the way Magda would. When Magda died, Rosa felt she lost all that she considered to be family and home. Rosa may have been alive physically, but mentally and emotionally, Rosa died with Magda in the concentration camp.

Rosa tried to create this sense of family by writing letters to Magda and creating a fantasy life; she was trying to create a place where she could feel at home. Although Rosa seems to be out of touch with reality most of the time, I think it is because she never fully coped with what she experienced and everything she went through.

Although Rosa does not treat Stella very well, I think it is safe to say that Stella still associates Rosa with a sense of home. Stella younger than Rosa when the Holocaust started, and I feel that allowed her to be more resilient when moving to the United States to start to put the pieces back together. Stella demonstrates her commitment to Rosa by sending her money each month to survive. I also believe this is why Stella wanted Rosa to take part in the study. Stella feels she has done all she can to help her aunt put the pieces back together, but knows she has not gotten anywhere and that her aunt is slowly losing touch with reality. Stella knows that Rosa needs guidance to be able to deal with everything they had to endure at the concentration camp, and feels that the study will help her to do that. Stella wants Rosa to take part in the study because she does not want to lose the last family member that she has and the sense of home that creates.

This novel has been a bit challenging for me to read. It is not one you can sit down and read leisurely. You have to take the time to keep re-reading passages to pick up on the carefully placed symbolism and irony to understand what is happening. Sometimes I feel like I spend so much time focusing on one part, that I do not get exactly what I should be getting from the other parts. I also think this is why I had some trouble verbalizing what I was thinking on Friday. I am also a little bit intimidated to talk about this book during class discussions, because I am not sure if I am on the right track. 

Ozick Blog 1

            Like we discussed in class, many novels, especially about horrific events in history, have some type of happy ending, where the main character(s) get some type of closure, regardless of how severe the hardships were. Although this is very appealing to readers, this tends not to be the reality of a situation. I think the “happily ever after” most stories have, especially when they are historical fiction, take away from the harshness and the reality of what happened. I was pleasantly surprised to find out in class that this novel would not be like that, and that readers would get more of an understanding of the healing process, or lack their of, after unthinkable events such as the Holocaust.

            When thinking about people heal after tragedies such as the Holocaust, I think that we must look at what Rosa and Magda. We never find out how Magda was conceived, but I think it is safe to say that Rosa was sexually assaulted by an Nazi officer because of the physical description that Ozick gives readers. Rosa did everything that she could to protect Magda and keep her safe, and the shawl allowed her to be successful at this for a little over a year. When Magda was discovered, she was thrown into an electric fence and murdered. Rosa was paralyzed with emotion and anxiety, but knew she would be shot if she did anything to protect Magda, and then they would both be dead. Rosa was forced to watch her infant daughter be executed.

            Readers know that Rosa and Stella eventually are released from the camp and become refugees in the United States. Going back to what was discussed earlier, it would be unrealistic to have Rosa magically “heal” from what she had to endure while in the camps just because she was released and became a refugee in the United States. Although I find this book completely confusing and frustrating at times, because it is difficult to follow what is going on, the fact that Rosa struggles with what she endured while at the camp intrigues me and draws me in. It makes me wonder what is going to happen next and how the story is going to end.

            This story really makes me stop and think about the healing process. So many people have gone through so many awful things, you just have to stop and wonder how they got through the experience and what they did to heal. Although none of the children at my internship have gone through an experience such as Rosa and Stella, some of them have been through extremely traumatic events. I want to be a Public Health Specialist, because I want to help children overcome all of the traumatic things economically disadvantaged children have to go through, and show them there is a better way then gangs, violence, drugs, etc, but it is hard when this is how they are raised. I think the greatest struggle I will face is finding the children that want to heal, such as Stella. Although she may not have “properly” healed in Rosa’s eyes, she did make great strides in life considering all of the hardships that she had to endure and the lack of support and love she had. The one thing she did have though, was fight, and she knew she was not going to let this experience define her. I think that Ozick showing this side of the healing process is amazing, but at the same time, I hope that Rosa does not let this define her as she has been. 

Otsuka Blog 4

            Although the shortest chapter in the entire novel, I feel that “Confession” is one of the most significant, because the reader gets a close look at what Japanese people went through emotionally. The other chapters are very superficial, and the reader has to do close reading in every chapter to pick up on carefully placed emotion, symbolism, irony, and underlying message. The final chapter of the book is more up front and in the readers face. How different this chapter is compared to the rest is made evident right off the bat, because it is written in first person as opposed to third person. This is a dramatic transition and makes what the father is saying more direct and personable, and the accusations in the false confession more mind boggling and ironic. At multiple points throughout the chapter it almost feels like the father is addressing you, the reader, as the accuser. There is a sense of confusion and anger in this chapter that is not as evident in the other chapters. The reader can tell from the way the father is speaking that he literally cannot believe everything he is being accused of, and that he is angry that the accusations never really seem to stop. The father is definitely the every man character in this chapter. Although he may have been accused of more than one terrorist act, it is difficult to fathom that he was actually accused of doing all of these things. Some of the accusations are probably what he heard other men being accused of; men that he could relate to and that he understood on an intimate level, because they knew exactly what he was going through. The father, along with all of the other men falsely imprisoned, lost their sense of self, their identity. They know longer knew what to believe, because their were so many lies going around, and because the truth could not save them. The words coming out of their mouth did not matter; their race and ethnicity did. The fact that these men were Japanese was more important than the type of men they had become. I believe this is the significance of the false confession. The father admitting to “doing” all of these terrorist acts was his way of rebelling against the system and the way they tortured him. He made a mockery of what the system put him through by showing society how ridiculous and absurd what was happening and what the Japanese were being accused of really was. One of my favorite parts of the entire book was the sarcasm and cynical attitude it ended with.

“So go ahead and lock me up. Take my children. Take my wife. Freeze my assets. Seize my crops. Search my office. Ransack my house. Cancel my insurance. Auction off my business. Hand over my lease. Assign me a number. Inform me of my crime. Too short, too dark, too ugly, too proud. Put it down in writing – is nervous in conversation, always laugh loudly at the wrong time, never laughs at all -  and I’ll sign on the dotted line. Is treacherous and cunning, is ruthless, is cruel. And if they ask you someday what it was I most wanted to say, please tell them, if you would, it was this:

                        I’m sorry.

                        There. That’s it. I’ve said it. Now can I go?”

           

            This ending was just the icing on the cake for me, for both this chapter and the entire novel. The father basically gave the system the middle finger and said how can you really do this to me in a “free” country. It is absurd and unethical. He said what they wanted to hear, because the truth did not matter.

Otsuka Blog 3

            After our brief discussion on identity in class today, I decided to expand on this more in my blog post, because I feel that it is extremely significant to understanding and getting the most out of this story. Throughout this entire novel, knowing who you are and where you belong has been the most prominent theme. In the beginning of the novel, all of the family members identified with being American more than they identified with being Japanese, and each demonstrated this in their own way. By the end of the novel, all of the characters had a change in identity and felt they could relate to being Japanese more than they could relate to being American. I feel that the characters that had the greatest change in identity were the boy and the girl.

            In the beginning of the novel, the girl is presented to readers as a typical teenage girl. “The door to the girl’s room was closed. Above the doorknob was a note that had not been there the day before. It said DO NOT DISTRUB.” This is a very Americanized when compared to the Japanese culture where women and children are expected to be submissive and do what they are asked without question and meant to blend in. In the same chapter, the girl demonstrates that she is confused with her identity, because she feels that she does not look as American as she feels. “’Is there anything wrong with my face?’ she asked. ‘Why?’ said the women. ‘People are staring.”’ Here, the girl is clearly demonstrating that she knows that her physical Japanese characteristics make her different, and that even though she feels more American than Japanese, people do not perceive her that way. By the end of the novel, the girl is identifying more with the Japanese culture than the American culture, primarily because of the lifestyle change that came with being at the camp. The changes in the girl were subtler than the changes in the boy. The girl’s biggest change was that she became more submissive and ready to please. In addition, she knew that no one would look at them or treat them the same.

            The boy also changed which culture he identified more with as well. In the beginning of the novel, he was your typical little boy. He enjoyed spending time with his father and loved baseball. He had a sense of innocence that could not be missed. The first time we see a change in the boy is when they are talking about horses and jockeys. The boy said that he wanted to be a jockey. Someone told him he should want to grow-up to be a big American man instead, therefore identifying the Japanese culture as small and weak, like a jockey. When the boy hears, this he says he wants to grow up to be a strong, American boy. Whether or not he realizes it, he is distinguishing between the two cultures; he wants to go from being a weak Japanese boy to a strong American boy. In addition, he would also walk around the camp muttering the Emperor’s name, even though it was forbidden. This deliberate action shows that he does not want to identify with the American culture right now, because he does not like what they are doing to the Japanese.

            Overall, there is a clear identity and sense of belonging transition throughout the novel. The family goes from clearly feeling and identifying more with American culture to Japanese culture. The family started to have some misidentity in the camp, because even though they felt American, they were being treated like Japanese, an enemy of the state in most Americans’ eyes. Even though they do not want to identity with the Japanese culture because they do not want to be seen as the enemy, they do, because of their experiences. 

Otsuka Blog 2

            I chose to examine the ideas that identity that have presented thus far in the novel for the girl, the boy, and the woman. I chose to examine this, because it seems to be a running theme throughout the novel. The family seems to be struggling with incorporating and accepting both their Japanese identity and heritage and their American identity and future.

            From what I have read so far in the novel, the girl seems to be struggling with her sense of identity, and seems to be torn between who she is physically an who she wants to be mentally. How much she struggles with this internally is evident when she asked her mother if there is anything wrong with her face. This demonstrates that she is struggling with the fact that she looks Japanese and that his causes people to stare and treat her differently, when she considers herself American and feels American. A second incident in which the girl struggles with her identity is when she writes her name on an ordinary deck of cards and throws the card out the window. By the girl doing this, she was trying to make sure that she meant something and that she would not be forgotten. Being a pre-teen and a teenager is difficult. There are so many emotional and physical changes happening at the same time, that it can be difficult to handle. As she is trying to discover who she is, she is forced to not only deal with the normal teenage feelings, but with her life being torn apart, because of an identity she does not feel connected with.

            Even though the boy is much younger and therefore less mature, identity is something that he struggles with as well. I believe the first time this is made evident is when he says he wants to be a jockey. When he says he wants to be a1 jockey, he is told that he should want to grow up to be a big, strong American boy, implying that jockeys are small and weak. There is a lot of symbolism and irony in these few statements. Horses are generally perceived as strong, beautiful animals; this is what the boy aspires to be. Jockeys are typically petite in stature, which is generally viewed as a weakness in American culture, and how the Japanese are perceived. By the boy saying he wants to grow up to be a big, strong American boy, he is trying to dissociate with his Japanese identity.

            The woman also struggles with the identity, as a person, wife, mother, and woman.  Since her husband was arrested, she had to not only fulfill her role as mother, but had to step up and do what her husband would typically do, such as take care of white dog. How much she is struggling with this is evident when she has her breakdown and drinks wine after the kids went to bed. She could not break down at any other point and knew she would not be able to breakdown again for a long time, because she was expected to be the strong one and had to be the one to provide her kids with strength and courage to deal with what lies ahead. It is evident in the first few pages of the book that she struggles with her identity as a person and woman when she does to the hardware store. Joe refuses to look at her in the eye, which makes her feel insignificant. This is also the first time that she calls him by his name, crossing a boundary that is drawn in her Japanese culture, but is not as definitive in American culture.

            All three of these characters are trying to figure out where they fit in within this society and within their new conditions. As they struggle to figure out who they are and what their identity is, the government and their fellow Americans are struggling with what identity they associate with Japanese Americans and how they fit in to the picture with the current global situation. 

The Emperor is Divine Blog 1

            So far for me, this novel has been extremely monotone and dry, which makes it difficult for me to continuously read at points.  I can read a section, but need a break after, because there is not the type of emotional appeal that I am accustomed to. With that being said, I think there is a different type of emotional appeal that I am now starting to get used to after having read the first three sections. In addition, I think that if the book was written differently, it would have taken away from the story.

            Although it is monotone, readers can definitely pick up on the sense of strength it portrays, especially when it comes to the woman. The woman is trying to be strong for so many people, she cannot show how she really feels and how much these events are ripping her apart. The first time readers really get to see how difficult of a time the woman is having and how much she is struggling to do what must get done is when she breaks down after she lets the bird into the wilderness after the children are sleeping. She just sits down, has some wine, and cries; something I believe that every woman and person would need to do if they were going through what she was going through. There is a definite sense of irony, because the only time the woman can display how she truly feels is at night, in the dark, when no one can see her. It is like the mask can finally come of in the darkness and safety of the silence.

            It was after reading this section that I could see the emotional appeal in the novel, and this type of emotion is definitely something that I can relate to. The woman seems kind of numb, because she is trying to not let the heavy burden she is carrying take over the best of her. She is doing her best to prepare for the worst while still trying to hope for the best. She does not show emotion, because she believes that she cannot; that it is a sign of weakness.

            I can definitely relate to this character. Although I have not been through and had to do anything as traumatic as her, I am the same way. I rarely if ever show emotion in front of people, especially if it will make me look vulnerable and weak. I have walls that are very very high and very very difficult to break down, as does the woman in the book. We have emotion, but we do not know how to handle it and chose not to. We chose to be the strong one, the one that everyone can always rely on, the one to be there and not only pick up the pieces, but put them back together. We take our emotions and do our best to put them into actions. The actions are a front so that no one ever really questions whether or not you are alright.

Push Blog 2

The role of literacy is very significant in this novel. In the beginning of the novel, Precious is an illiterate teenager that does not even know her alphabet or how to read numbers on a page. At the same time, she wants to evolve into something greater; she just does not know how to do so or the resources that are available to her.

In Push, literacy serves as a means to identity formation. Through what she learns at the Each One Teach One program, she discovers who she is, what is capable of, and what she wants out of life. Precious does through a lot of journaling. The journal becomes such a distinct part of the novel, it evolves into a character. The journal is something that she can always turn to as a way to get her thoughts and feelings out. I believe that one of the reasons that the journal was so effective for Precious is because Ms. Rain would write back to her and force her to think a little bit farther than she had. Before the Each One Teach One program, Precious though that no one cared about her, and in reality she was right. Her mother and father both physically, emotionally, and sexually abused her on a regular basis. Social institutions, such as public education and public health, failed her by not intervening when they should have. Ms. Rain gave her hope and motivation by showing that she cared and boosting Precious’s confidence through the journaling.

Writing served as a means for Precious to express her story and the change in her ability to express herself can be traced throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Precious had trouble saying what she was feeling; she could only really say what happened and give an account of the events that occurred. As the novel progressed, she was able to communicate to the audience how she felt about different things and how things influenced her and her thoughts. For example, when readers are first introduced to Precious, she is giving an account of her physical self and how she planned on writing. Her spelling was awful and she demonstrated no understanding of sentence structure. By the end of the novel, she was spelling many of the words she used correctly and could format a sentence. Precious could use descriptive words when describing a situation and communicate what she was feeling.

All of these are crucial elements to the story, because they demonstrate character development. Through her experiences as a student at the Each One Teach One program, readers see Precious develop as a person, woman, teenager, child, individual and mother. This growth as a person and individual is demonstrated to readers as she moves from being illiterate to literate; what society would consider a waste of time and space to a person that deserves to have investments made in; a woman that wants nothing more than to be a productive member of society. Precious understood that the first step on that journey had to be an education.

Push Blog 1

     There are many problems in American social institutions that Sapphire is trying to bring to the attention of the audience throughout the novel. Every country has a system and every system has a flaw. The American system is extremely flawed and these flaws tend to reflect in the drastically different way people from different socioeconomic levels are served.

One of the first institutions that Sapphire is highlighting the problems of is that of education. The education system in the United States needs to be completely restructured and better meet the needs of all children, especially those that are economically and therefore socially disadvantaged. It has been proven time and time again that students do better and have more success in smaller classroom sizes, but society is slow to make this change. New York City is paving the way by shutting down schools that are not meeting performance standards and opening more focused schools that can give children the time and attention they need to be successful. We also need to make sure that schools are equipped with the necessary materials to have students be successful. When I was in high school, I read a story about a high school that did not have running water in the chemistry labs, had text books that were about twenty years old, did not have a functioning cafeteria and teachers that did not teach. The education system needs more teachers and people like Miss Rain, whom actually care about the students and have expectations for them.

Another institution that Sapphire highlighted in the novel through there multiple failures to protect Precious is the welfare system. Precious should have been immediately taken away from her parents, but no one cared enough to do anything to protect her. Instead, she was physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually abused for years on end. Her social worker encouraged her to do better, but would recorded that she did not think Precious was capable of more than cleaning toilets, when she should have been trying to find and provide the resources that would have allowed her to be successful. As sad is it to say that the social worker failed her, I honestly do not think it is surprising. Social workers have too many cases on their plate to be as effective as they should be, and that is where both the state and federal government failed Precious. Both levels of government should have provided more resources for the social workers to better serve their clients.

     The medial and judicial institution also both failed Precious. The doctors and nurses should have followed through when they realized what type of home situation Precious was dealing with. Instead, they just passed her off to the police, whom she did not trust. The medical professionals should have stayed with her and encouraged to utilize the police as a resource and a tool. The police should have done more by investigating and finding out what was really going on in Precious’s home life.

     Multiple intuitions failed Precious repeatedly. It is stories like this that motivate me. I want to be a resource and tool for those who are under privileged and guide them to the resources they need to be successful. Public health allows me to do that. I can utilize what I have learned here at SCSU about research, program planning, health promotion, and environmental health to create a better life for people, because they can not create it themselves.

Bechdel Blog 3

            I decided to examine one of the discussion questions presented in class on Friday: What evidence shows the time period of the book? I chose to consider this question, because of how much society has changed in a relatively short amount of time. When you really stop and think about it, the setting of this book starts off really only about forty years ago. In forty years, our society and culture has completely changed the way it runs and functions and what qualifies something as socially acceptable.

            I think that what makes the time period most evident in the book is people’s attitudes, especially the father. The father has a constant struggle with his sexuality and his gender identity throughout the graphic novel, but it is an extremely interpersonal struggle; what some would classify as a dirty little secret. The mother contributes to the sense that this is a dirty little secret that could destroy the family, because she also does what she has to keep it hidden. The father also tries to push the traditional gender identity onto Alison. When she tries to be herself, he forces feminism on her. He wants Alison to be the traditional girl and woman, whether it is because he is trying to protect her from the pain he felt due to his own struggle or because he is a little bit jealous that she will have a greater opportunity to express her sexual identity and preferred gender role.

            I also feel that this idea of the nuclear family speaks to the time period of the book. This is the “traditional” American family: a father, mother, son, daughter, and pet with the house and family business. With that being said, I feel like all families, especially families with money, power, and influence, did everything in their power to cover up that could tarnish their reputation. These actions are definitely taken by the Bechdel family in the book, especially the mother. I think that she did this out of motherly instinct even though she is not the most involved mother in the book. She knew the type of judgment and criticism that would be passed on her and her family in such a small, close knit community if anything seemed out of the ordinary.

            Alison never seemed to really care about fitting the gender identity that was associated with being a woman, which I also think is a sign of the times, because that is when everything started changing. She was more concerned about being herself, but was receiving pressure from her family to do what she needed to fit in. I wonder how much of what was happening with all of the civil rights movements Alison was actually exposed to growing up, because it would seem small towns would not focus as much on this or preach much to this, but there is one in every bunch to go against the grain.

           

            

Bechdel Blog 2

            Today I chose to consider why Bechdel opted to use a graphic novel as opposed to a traditional novel, and how it influenced and effected the message that she was trying to relay through this piece of work.

            Like I said in my previous blog, I found this piece to be a nice change of pace because of how it was formatted even though the content lost my interest at times. However even when my interest was lost with because of the content, I found myself to be drawn back in because of the pictures. I think this is one of the reasons that Bechdel chose to format this piece in the context of a graphic novel. She looked at what the nuclear family in the reality in which the exist instead of what the traditional nuclear family is believed to be. If it were a typical novel presenting what the true nuclear family is, I think there would have been a higher probability of people losing interest in the story and the message would have been missed or lost. Presenting what the nuclear family is in reality and all of the flaws that they actually contain in what many would consider an atypical novel format sparks interest and makes the topic more enticing. I believe that in general, the format helped to keep the readers enticed and interested what was going on, and that a typical novel would have lost the reader’s interest.

            With that being said, I think that this format helped to effectively convey Bechdel’s theme and underlying message. In my opinion, the underlying message is that even the most traditional family, the nuclear unit, is not by any means traditional, even during one of the most traditional time periods. Every person and every family has their dirty little secrets that they do not want anyone to know about. The pictures helped to convey this message to readers and understand the struggles that Bechdel went through and the struggles her family members went through. Although a graphic traditional is somewhat untraditional compared to the types of literature I have been exposed to, I think that it was the most effective way for Bechdel to successfully get her message across to the audience.

            This is the first graphic novel that I have ever read. To be honest, I never even really knew about them before this. I was extremely skeptical about how effective this literary tactic could be, because I thought it was going to be one big, pointless comic book with no substance. I was pleasantly surprised, and think that everyone can relate to it in someway, because everyone has their own struggles that they must overcome, whether the struggle relates to sexual identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or just figuring out who you are as a person and as an individual. People can relate. I think the fact that there were visuals exposed a little bit more of Bechdel and her reality as opposed to just the text. Even though it was cartoon like, she allowed readers to see how she perceived reality, or what the reality of the situation was from her perspective. I think that this is brave and bold thing to do, and wish that I was able to open up like that.

            In conclusion, I think that any other literary tactic would not have been as effective and that Bechdel made a good decision when deciding to use a graphic novel. The only negative I see is that it took away a little bit of my freedom as a reader. I am a very visual person and tend to imagine how something would appear in my head as I read. I get very irritated when authors do not successful set the stage for something. I thought I was going to be turned off because the picture was painted for me. After having read the novel, I can respect how much opening up and trust that took on Bechdel’s behalf. 

Bechdel 1

            I have never read anything like Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and I enjoyed it. I was a little hesitant when I first found out what type of work it was, because I though of comic books when it was being described. When I was younger, I never really got into comic books and found them very boring. Fun Home was a pleasant surprise. The graphics really played into what you were reading and provided a nice time out from the text. At the same time, I am very imaginative when I read, and pictured scenes in my head to be one way when the picture was something else. That took a little bit away from me at points. That was definitely something that I had to adapt to as I read the novel. I think that one of the reasons that I enjoyed it was because it was a break from the type of reading I have to do at this point. I also really liked that Bechdel put herself in the novel. It gave it more of a personable feel, because it seems like she put more of herself into it. The topics and themes discussed in the book in addition to Bechdel putting herself in the novel make it more relatable. These ideas of sexual orientation and gender identity are things that many people struggle with at some point through their adolescents, whether or not they are willing to admit it. Reading it actually made me think of my cousin. She is full of questions and not scared to ask them. About two years ago when I was at the beach with her, she just came out and said “I know I like boys, but how come I like boys? Why do some boys like boys and some girls like girls?” The novel did lose my interest at some points, because I felt like it was going in a little bit of a circle with the story line. Overall, I enjoyed that this provided a nice change of pace in the type of reading I have had to do. 

Alvarez Blog 5

To be completely honest, I think that the tale of the how the Mirabal sisters died is a sick and twisted one. The novel ended rather abruptly with Minerva talking about how her and her sisters felt like children again as they were walking up the mountain, and then just ended. We know from the beginning of the novel, that three of the sisters and one man are all murdered on one day, so readers can presume that the sisters died on the side of the mountain.

When I did some research on the Internet about how they died, the stories were disturbing and disgusting. What I read reconfirmed the type of person Alvarez had the sisters describe Trujillo as during through out the novel. Although there is no accurate account of how they died, I think it is safe to presume that they were tortured. No fake car accident could cover that up.

I think that Trujillo had the sisters killed for a few reasons even though they were not directly involved in the revolution. I think Trujillo knew he was losing power and losing it quickly. People knew the Mirabal sisters and knew what they thought of Trujillo as a leader. The sisters had built quite a name for themselves throughout the country. I think that one of the reasons that Trujillo had them killed was to prove a point to other people that were involved in the revolution. He wanted to take down what he considered to be one of the most threats to his dictatorship. They may have no been directly involved anymore, but everyone in the Dominican Republic knew how they felt about him.

This seems like it was one of his last bold moves while he had power from what I read. After people found out he had defenseless women killed, he lost all of his power and authority and his dictatorship ended. I think this tied into the fact he knew he was slowly losing power. If you are going to go out, you may as go out with a band and make a statement.

I also think he did it for some sort of revenge. Trujillo and the Mirabal sisters had a rough history, especially him and Minerva. Because of this, I believe that revenge was part of the reason he had them killed. Not that I agree with what he did or believe in murder or anything like that, I think the fact he had them killed is cowardly. It was an easy way to get rid of them. I believe in confronting your problems head on, and he did just the opposite.

I had a little bit of trouble deciding what I thought the four sisters were when it comes to martyr, hero, victim, etc. I define Dede as the protector. Even though she may have not been able to protect her sisters from death, she knew something bad was going to happen and she tried to stop them from going to visit their husbands. She was also the one that had to step up when Minerva and Mate went to jail. She helped to take care of them and all of their children. After they died, she took care of their children and protected their legacy, both of which were very costly for her.

I would not classify Mate, Patria, and Minerva as martyrs, because I do not think that they were willing to die for the cause at this point. They were still passionate about it, but in a different way. They realized that there are some more important things in life, and I think that prison helped them to realize this. I am not sure I would classify them as heroes either, because even though they did a lot, I do not know if I would classify any of it as heroic. I think I would classify them as fighters, because of the qualities I think a fighter has: strength, dedication, determination, motivation, drive, initiative, influence, charisma, etc. I think that all of the sisters had these characteristics and how they developed these characteristics is not important. Minerva, Patria, and Mate, they were fighters. 

Alvarez Blog 4

            Although Alvarez chose to end the novel rather abruptly, I think any other ending would have taken away from the story of all four of the sisters. After doing some research online and reading the epilogue, it is clear that no one has a clear understanding of what happened on the mountain.  Although this is a piece of historical fiction, a combination of true events with Alvarez’s own interpretation and ideas, it would have been completely wrong and immoral to try to fictionalize their death.  Ending the novel with the known facts makes Alvarez more credible and the story more realistic. Actually, thinking back and looking back, Alvarez did not even bring the novel to the girls being asked to get out of the car. It talked about how Minerva believed they felt like little girls again I was they were heading to the jeep, and that was how they felt going up the mountain. Although I believe the first half of the statement, I do not know if I believe the second half, and believe that may have been a fictional portion of the story. Minerva knew that something bad was going to happen a good portion of the day, and they all must have figure out what was going to happen as they walked up the mountain. I do not think there is anyway you could feel like a child as you are walking up a mountain to your death.

            I find it ironic that this is the day that Dede had a bit of a melt down before they left. It kind of plays on the maternal instinct I suggested Dede had before. Dede had not been much of a character the last portion of the story, but her actions and words really stuck out to me as the three sisters prepared to leave. She knew something was going to happen, and what her responsibilities would become when it did.

            Think about the story as a whole, one can really see how these girls evolved into women and how these women evolved through experiences they each had. Even though they made mistakes and each had their flaws, they are role models girls and women should look up to today. They knew what they believed and they stuck by it, to a fault at times. I see why this book is dedicated to Dede with that being said. She is the unsung hero in this story. Three of the sister died for what they believed, but Dede lived for what they loved and lived for, the children. Dede deserves the same attention and appreciation as the other sisters.

Dede's Timeline

·      Minerva born

·      Mate born

·      Fortune telling with Papa – 5 or 6

·      Private school – 13

·      Met Lio

·      Engaged to Jaimito and Lio went into hiding

·      Married Jaimito

·      Went to the ball with father, sisters, and husbands

·      Father was arrested to help Minerva

·      Father dies in 1953

·      Has three kids

·      Files bankruptcy twice and moves home with mother – husband has bad business sense and does not listen to her

·      Patria wanted to hide guns in field and Jaimito said no

·      Sisters approached her to join movement but Jaimito said no

·      Went to the priest for guidance

·      Goes home to find husband and boys gone – goes to her mother-in-law’s with sisters; reconciles with Jaimito

·      People start getting arrested (Minerva and Mate and their husbands and Patria’s husband)

·      Dede and Jaimito go to the capital to bail them out

·      Realizes she was never not involved in the revolution, because of her sisters’ involvement

·      Would bring things to family while in jail

·      Nelson gets out of jail

·      Sisters get out of jail and are on house arrest

·      Start small sewing business

·      Two of the husbands get moved

·      Has a bad feeling when Mate, Minerva, and Patria go to visit Mate and Minerva’s husband one day in the new location (have been at the new location for four weeks; Mate and Minerva had told her they wanted to move closer to where their husbands were now jailed)

Alvarez Blog 2

One of the aspects of this piece I have been thinking about while reading is why the author chose to have Dede talk in third person while all of the other narrators talk in first person. When I first started reading the book, it threw me off. I knew that the chapter titles related to which sister’s perspective the story was coming from. At first, I thought maybe someone was telling it from Dede’s perspective, but that did not make sense. I then realized that it was Dede’s voice, but that she opted to refer to herself in third person.

I think that Alvarez chose to do this for a few reasons. I feel that the most dominant reason is that Dede has had trouble relating to herself and exactly who she is since her sisters have died. Dede tells readers that reliving her sisters death the way she does every year is painful for her and difficult to do. “Now after thirty-four years, the commemorations and interviews and presentations of posthumous honors have almost stopped, so that for months at a time Dde is able to take up her own life again. But she’s long resigned herself to Novembers. Every years as the 25^th rolls around, the television crews drive up. There’s the obligatory interview. Then, the big celebration over at the museum, the delegations from as far away as Peru and Paraguay, an ordeal really, making the many little party sandwiches and the nephews and nieces not always showing up in time to help.” Readers are introduced to the fact that this an obligation remembrance rather than a choice of remembrance. Dede has been ready for a long while to move on from the tragedy that struck her family, but her society is holding her back from doing so. This seems to have caused some disconnect between who Dede wants to be, who Dede is, and who Dede is supposed to be. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Alvarez chose to use third person when speaking from Dede’s perspective.

Another reason I feel Alvarez decided to use this third person technique when writing from Dede’s perspective is because part of Dede died when all of her sisters died. Writing from third person and having Dede refer to herself as Dede is Alvarez’s method for telling us that. Having lost some significant people in my life, I know what it feels like to have part of you go with them. Everyone says you have the memories, but sometimes that just is not good enough. All you want is the person, especially when you feel they have been taken away from you to soon. I think that this is something that Dede definitely struggles with. After thirty-four years, Dede is still trying to figure out who she is after this huge ordeal. She is still trying to put the pieces back together, but cannot because she is constantly forced to publically deal with the loss of her sisters.

Dede’s sister died an awful death well before they were supposed to leave this world. They died fighting for what they believed in and that makes them heroes in my book. With that being said, I can understand Dede’s situation and why she lost part of herself when her sisters were killed. That incident probably changed her whole perspective on life, living, government, family, etc. She is still trying to put the pieces back together and figure out who she is in the shadow of their death. 

Julia Alvarez - Blog 1

            There were few things that I noticed while reading the first four chapters of In the Time of the Butterflies. The first was the imagery. Alvarez has a clear picture of what she wants the reader to envision as the read the book. At first, I was a little bit confused about what there was so much imagery and why she was providing such a concise picture. After discussing the first few chapters in class, I feel more comfortable making the connection between the imagery and the symbolic meaning they have within the book, as well as how it represents the contradictions throughout the book. For example, the novel opens with the line “She is plucking her bird of paradise of its dead branches, leaning around the plant every time she hears a car.” Birds of paradise are beautiful plants, but she is removing something dead and ugly from it. This relates to what she is trying to do in life. Her sisters died many years ago, and she is trying to move on and lead a beautiful life, but is dragged back to this ugly aspect of her life on a regular basis. I feel like this opening can relate to all of the sisters on some level. Minerva feels like she is a trapped animal and likes to go against the norm. She feels as if the law is keeping her from having a beautiful life, and that the government needs to be removed for her and her sisters to do so. Maria Teresa believes she is living a beautiful life and has a superficial aspect on life because she is young and the baby of the family. She only wants to see the beauty in life. Patria believes she is leading the beautiful life, because of the connection she feels with God and religion. She feels like the ugly things can be plucked out of life with religion and the proper guidance and support.

            This quote also shows the reader that there are going to be many contradictions in the book, which there are, especially among the sisters. It amazes me that all of the sisters have such a different opinion on things. They all seem to have a common characteristic though: they are all strong, opinionated, and independent. For example, Minerva and Patria seem to be opposites on almost everything. Minerva is a religious skeptical, rebel. Patria is very religious and faith based. Patria is the caregiver where as Maria Teresa needs to be cared for.

            I can tell this book is going to be challenging to read, because there is so much to focus as you read. I do not think that I ever realized how much could be contained in a few words on a piece of paper. I surprised myself with how much I picked up on after rereading and discussing the opening line of the book. This novel seems intense and packed with symbolism and meaning. 

I am an Emotional Creature Blog 2

            Feminism, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equity of the sexes; the organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.” Thinking about the technical definition of feminism and the message that I am an Emotional Creature gave to me, I feel as if this novel is advocating for feminism even though the word is never actually stated in the text.

            The novel advocates for girls around the world to feel comfortable in their own skin, with who they are, and to go against the social norm. I feel as if the first two sections are very subtle in advocating for feminism, and that the third section is the most upfront about it, especially the story “Five Cows and a Calf.” This is a story of a girl who goes through the whole process of realizing something is wrong, taking the imitative to change it, improving yourself, and forgiving those who have hurt you. This story left me chocked and my jaw actually dropped. We hear about how girls over come extreme hardships in other countries, but it is difficult to relate, because we do not hear the voice behind the story. Having a voice for this story made it real and heart wrenching. It made me want to do something to help these girls fight that battle.

            I also feel this story cumulates the whole book, because of how it progresses. I feel like it has parts from all aspects of the novel and the journey that a girl must go on to overcome all of the adversities she must face to become a successful woman.  This girl went from being oppressed, something many girls feel, to deciding that she deserved better, and taking the initiative to give herself the opportunity to do something better with her life.

            The idea of feminism closes the novel with the last monologue “I am an Emotional Creature” and the epilogue “Manifesta to Young Women and Girls.” The monologue “I am an emotional creature” encourages girls to ignore what everyone says about being a teenage girl and embrace what it is and being you. The manifesta does something similar. It tells girls and young women what society and industrialized culture the stereotypes of being a girl that you should conform to, but Ensler tells them to ignore all of this and go against the odds. This has feminism written all over it, without explicitly saying it. 

            The ideas of feminism have a bit of a negative connotation in our generation. Most people think of burning bras. They do not think of overcoming the social norms that restrict what girls and women are able to do today, but this is what Ensler does. If she has used the word feminism, I think that this novel would not have been as effective in sending this very strong message, because of the connotation that it has collected over time.

            When I was reading this, I kept thinking how I want the girls at my internship to read it. A lot of these young ladies have many things working against them in making their goals and dreams come true. These girls come from a low socioeconomic status in an area where the educational system is not the strongest, violence rates are high, and the teen pregnancy rate is high. They need to know that girls like themselves have over come hardships and that they are just as capable and can overcome the hardships they face. 

I am an Emotional Creature Blog 1

            One aspect of Ensler’s project that I am glad that she carried over into I am an Emotional Creature are the facts distributed throughout the book. I think that this is key to Ensler’s project and the structure of both The Vagina Monologues and I am an Emotional Creature and serve multiple purposes for Ensler’s project. One of the obvious purposes of having the facts distributed in both of the books is to inform people. I found the facts in both of the books to be very interesting and eye opening. A majority of the facts were something that I did not know or something that I never really thought about, or thought about in that sense. I feel as if some of the facts are topics that are known but never really thought about or discussed, just like vaginas and the emotional state of teenage girls. They are known, but dismissed. Because they are dismissed, they are never really discussed. The one that really stuck out to me was the one about the genocide. Even just sitting here thinking about it disturbs me. Which brings me to another one of the purposes: to get an emotional response. One of the purposes of both of these books is to get an emotional response out of the readers (or the viewers). The facts distributed throughout both of the books help Ensler to accomplish this goal by providing readers (and viewers) with eye opening information. My personal emotional response to some of the facts that I read in both of the books created just as much if not more of an emotional reaction than some of the monologues. One fact that I felt in my gut when I read it in I am an Emotional Creature was “A new report says of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers around the world, about 40 percent of them are girls. The girls are often front-line fighters or used as porters or cooks. Many are sexually abused.” Everyone knows that there are child soldiers all over the world, but many people do not realize how horrifying this fact is, because it is not something that our culture and society deal with in our everyday reality. However, I was shocked to find out nearly half of the child slaves were girls. I do not know why, but I did not think that girls were as at risk to becoming child slaves. I pictured them being raped and left and that they take the boys to fight, because that is what our society is conditioned to believe. This enraged me. I decided to major in Public Health to help fight the social disparities that exist in our country to create a healthier generation and society for children and adolescents. I see first hand the toll the war on the streets takes on the members of the Boys and Girls Club where I do my internship. As awful as all of this is, in reality, this is probably minute compared to what some other children are dealing with around the world. In my opinion, the facts that Ensler has distributed throughout both of the books make her project stronger and contribute to the trail of success it is leaving. People are being provided with stories and facts they never thought about or considered or even knew existed. The facts make the stories real and intensify the emotional that the reader or viewer may already be feeling. 

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler Blog 4

            One question I kept thinking about as I read The Vagina Monologues was “Based on the monologues, what is Ensler trying to say about women? What can we as a society say about women in our culture?” I kept coming back to this question for a few reasons. First, I kept thinking why these monologues? She interviewed hundreds of women, but selected these to turn into monologues. Ensler admits in the book that some of the monologues are verbatim what the women said, some are combinations of what many women said, and she took some creative liberty with a topic that came up in an interview or multiple interviews. Secondly, some of these monologues are extremely personal and controversial. I started to wonder if this was a emotional decision (the stories provoked a strong emotional reaction in Ensler and she wanted to provoke a strong emotional response in the reader or viewer) or if this was a tactical decision (she want was structuring the book or performance in such a way that that certain topics were discussed in a certain way or order)? Possibly a combination of the two?

            When I think about what this piece of work says about women, many words come to mind: strong, sophisticated, loving, compassionate, empathetic, scared, ashamed, explorative, open, kind-hearted, oppressed, inspiring. The women in these monologues amaze me for having the ability to open up and share in the way they did, because this is not something that I can do. I think if I had to pick one word that these monologues inspire is strength. Women have to over come and deal with so much more physically, mentally, and emotionally when compared to many men, and I think that some of the men in our class acknowledged this in some of the class discussions we had on this book.

            When I look at and consider the monologues collectively, I get the same sense of strength, because I feel the book has topics from oppression to freedom. The sense of strength ranges from the strength the women demonstrated in their monologues to the fact they were brave enough to share their story with Ensler. Monologues like “The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could” and “The Flood” give a whole new meaning to womanhood. The strength these women have is even demonstrated when they answer some of the questions that Ensler posed, because I honestly do not know if I would be able to answer a question like “What would your vagina where” or “What would your vagina say?” Then there are the vagina facts, which are interesting and intense, and give me a whole new appreciation and respect for my sex and gender. I never knew the clitoris has 8,000 nerves or how disturbing genital mutilation actually was. It was eye opening to read.

            I really do not know what Ensler’s rhyme or reason was when she selected the monologues she did. I think it had something to do with the emotional appeal and relate ability of some of the stories. Maybe she chose them because she found them inspirational and wanted to inspire others. We know that the topics she selected were common to many of the interviews and that is why they were included, so maybe some of the stories related to the topics were appealed to Ensler’s emotion, and she though they would appeal to the audiences.

            Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I know I keep saying it, but I really did find it eye opening. This is not something that is discussed in our culture, but I think it should be. Women need to know we are all going through similar things and that we can rely on each other. Women have come so far over the past few decades, and this book the response it has gotten is going to help women to continue their journey. 

Vagina Monologues Blog 3

            I though all of the monologues in The Vagina Monologues were very unique and eye opening, but one that really intrigued me was “What does your vagina smell like?” I think one of the reasons that I find it so intriguing is because that is something I never really thought about, and honestly, I do not think that may people do think about it. The only time it is really discussed, or at least in my opinion, is when a vagina smells bad. I feel as if the media raises girls to believe that their vagina is something that needs to be made beautiful. Vaginas have their own deodorants and washes. When these young girls grow up into women, they are cultured to believe that they have to do things, like use the products listed above, to make their vagina more appealing and desirable. I mean, what is wrong with the way vagina smells?

            I found the simplistic structure of this poem to be very appealing. I think that if it was structured any other way that it would take away from the meaning and the affect of the point Ensler was trying to make. It is just the answer to the question with no explanation. An explanation could have influenced how the reader/viewer would have answered the question. Most of the answers are just a few words. They are simple and to the point.  Only one of the answers goes to a second line. When writing this monologue, I think that Ensler was try to get her female readers/viewers to think about how they would answer this question and the male readers/viewers to think about how they would answer this question in relation to the vaginas they have (or have not encountered). Ensler knew this and only gave the necessary information to get people thinking.

            A majority of the answers are pretty different two. Some of them are similar, but no two are completely the same. I this was something that was purposely done by Ensler as well. She wanted to get people thinking, and I think she was successful at this. Again, what a vagina smells like is not something that has a positive connotation in our culture. This is hinted at in some of the answers, but a majority of the answers are provocative and outside of the box. They are enticing and make you think.

            My favorite answer was “Somewhere between fish and lilacs.” I have no idea how something could go from smelling like fish to lilacs. They are completely different and do not smell anything alike, but someone thinks this is how her vagina smells. It just makes me giggle.

            Overall, I find this monologue intriguing, provocative, enticing, simple, and creative. Ensler put light on a taboo topic in our society and I think that she was effective with the structure that she used to have the discussion about this taboo topic.

The Vagina Monologues by Even Ensler 2

            The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler is a very interactive piece of literature. Like I said in my previous blog, reading it was not enough for me and I searched to find video clips of people performing the Monologue. I wish that I could have seen it performed live here at Southern Connecticut State University to see how the audience interacted with the performers and what their reaction was to each monologue.

            I think that audience reaction is crucial with literature like this, because it is meant to be someone telling a story although it is someone telling a story, because individual women are sharing their own experiences and feelings. I feel as if it is meant to be more conversational, because Ensler wants to push people out of their comfort zones and get them to talk about vaginas. I watched a portion of an interview that Ensler did on the monologues and she talked about how astonished she was when she herself realized how little vaginas were talked about in our culture.  Ensler herself was shocked. She set out to find out why they were talked about so little when she decided to do the monologues and make it acceptable for vaginas to be a topic of conversation.  If the audience does not interact, then the conversation dies before it can even really start. When the audience interacts with the performance, the conversation is started and continued throughout the show; possibly even farther.

            This is another reason why I think these are meant to be performed rather than read. I thought all of the monologues were interesting and entertaining to read, but my entire perspective changed when I decided to watch some of the performances on the Internet. It was then when I realized how crucial the audience interaction is. When I was just reading the monologues, it was one woman telling me a story. When I watched it performed, it was a one woman having a conversation with a group of people about her own experiences. I also feel like when it is being performed and the conversational aspect is present, it makes it seem more appropriate and socially acceptable to be having conversations about feelings and experiences such as the ones in The Vagina Monologues.

            I feel as if the monologues are designed to push readers and audience members out of their comfort zone, because she wants women to feel comfortable and confident in who we are. In my previous blog, I talked about how women have historically always be oppressed in some way. Ensler said in the interview that I watched that conversing about vaginas is oppressed in today’s culture, and that if society can get past that, she feels that women will be able to continue their journey in equality.

            If I had to pick a favorite monologue, at this point it would have to be The Angry Vagina. I do not even know what it is about this monologue, but I loved it when I read it and I loved it even more once I saw some videos of it being performed. I feel like this one that almost every single woman can relate to on so many different levels, because so many ideas are wrapped into it. There is so much truth in this little monologue that it just boggles my mind. My favorite part of this monologue has to be when going to the OBGYN is discussed, because of how true it is. You are just open for the world to see, and no one ever thought it would be a good idea to make this whole experience a little bit more comfortable. Maybe making this experience for women more comfortable and enjoyable will be one of my footprints in the world of public health.