Jalen's World Lit Blog

     Gender is one of the most prominent themes within Pachinko. It is very in your face at times. Yoseb's rants about masculinity and how he feels like he has to be the sole caretaker of his family are the first examples I can think of.  Lee's depiction of hyper-masculinity is something that I find to be really well done. Hyper-masculinity is not inherently bad, and Yoseb proves that not all people that believe in it are doing so out of some form of misogyny. Yoseb just wants to be able to take the brunt of the labor so he can spare his family, which I think is very commendable. However, I still think his inability to get over his pride is an issue, even if it comes from a place of genuine affection for his family.      The story's commentary on traditional gender roles is clear in this way. The Korea and Japan presented are divided by gender, which is unsurprising considering the time period, but the novel does not stray away from highlighting t...

     Pachinko has a lot of biblical references in terms of characters names (which may or not be obvious depending on how familiar you are with the bible). Characters share names with biblical figures whom they share a lot with.     Isak, for example, is very similar to Isaac from the Bible. Abraham, one of the most important patriarchal figures in both Christianity and Judaism, is the father of Isaac. Abraham and his wife have Isaac when they are both very old, as a gift from God, which they are incredibly grateful for. However, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to him, similar to how people from that time may have sacrificed an animal. Abraham is reluctant, but decides to goes through with it. Right before sacrificing his son, an angel stops Abraham. In this sense, Isak and Isaac have a lot in common. Both are 'sacrifices'- Isaac literally and Isak in terms of his selflessness in general and specifically to Sunja.      Noa is clearly a referen...

     After Equiano's story, which managed to be simultaneously dense and long-winded, this book feels like a breath of fresh air. The story is written in a very easy to digest way, with the third-person perspective often lending direct insight into every character's thoughts and emotions. This makes it easy to understand what every character feels about a certain situation, which also has the benefit of offering many different perspectives that help create a story that feels populated with a variety of diverse opinions. It is a lot like Home Fire in this way (and also very different from Equiano's book and The Secret River ).     It also has a bit more dialogue than some of the books we have read this quarter, which was refreshing. I think that has made reading it a much more enjoyable experience. Both of the other books we have read this quarter have been paragraph-dense, which made them tough to read for longer than 20 minutes at a time for me. But this book i...

      The characters of Hansu and Isak seem to be fulfilling opposite roles in the story. Where Hansu is manipulative and selfish, Isak is caring and selfless. While Hansu is aloof and distant, Isak is reassuring and ever-present for Sunja. It is interesting to see how both interact with her, and what they says about their characters and the society of Korea in the 1930's.      Hansu seems to represent a sort of selfish freedom that many of the other characters are economically barred from. Where the boarding house and its lodgers have very little money to get by or make decisions with, Hansu seems to carelessly act and make brash decisions. He has hardly any guilt, as can be seen when he finds out Sunja is pregnant. Most people would probably freak out in that situation, but he seems almost completely unfazed. Hansu does not often think of the consequences his decisions will have on others, as evidenced by his brazen decision to pursue Sunja and take ...

      The research team for Equiano did a great job summarizing some interesting context to the story! I found that their exhibit really helped add necessary information to Equiano's life story that made it much easier to understand some of the foreign concepts the book presents. I think, more than anything else, the kingdom of Benin and how it operates was such a fascinating concept to me.     Equiano very briefly describes the culture he was brought up in the Africa. He does make some efforts to make it clear that they are no less advanced (and in some ways more advanced in terms of their valuing of human rights and slaves) than their European counterparts. He describes his life in very specific detail, but also leaves out some essential information that this research exhibit highlights. First and foremost, is the religion of the Benin Empire. It is interesting to know that Equiano's people have a religion that is so developed. Equiano does not really tou...

    The use of the word interesting in Equiano's story was a bit odd to me- at first. It seemed to be repetitive and stood out, which made me think there was obviously some purpose to the word choice. It seems to be communicating the importance of his experience and how it relates to aboliton.       Firstly, the use of the word "interesting" emphasizes the value of Equiano's life story and highlights the importance of personal narratives in shaping our understanding of history. Equiano's narrative is not only a tale of his own life but also a representation of the lives of countless other enslaved Africans. By repeatedly describing his experiences as "interesting," Equiano is drawing attention to the significance of his story and its potential to educate and inspire others. It was necessary that the lives of slaves themselves be viewed not as commodities to be bought and sold, but as experiences that make a human life.     Secondly, the repet...

     The trip we took to Archives and Special Collection was super fun. To learn about the history of paper was an interesting experience. My favorite part was looking really close at the different papers with the microscopes. Some of the older texts looked wooden- like they were one solid mass. The other texts look sinewy- I could see the strands of each individual part used to make the paper, which was cool. To see the animal hides in contrast to the actual paper was interesting, too. It isn't something I think about often, nor have I ever seen it, so to be able to physically look at and interact with older forms of media was a unique experience that was very informative.      I think the complexity of the different formats we saw definitely contributed to the literary history of each text. I imagine that paper before modern technology was more tedious and expensive to make and replicate, so texts weren't as widely available. I would be curious to know if...

     My final project is definitely going. So far, I have an idea and some notes as to what I am going to need to research to make it work, but not much else. My idea for a topic is how The Secret River  expresses the relationship between colonialism and capitalism. I think that there is a lot to explore there- particularly how the two reinforce and feed off of each other. Beyond just the novel, I think some real life examples could be Hawaii (which I did my first research project on, not coincidentally), Africa in general during the industrial revolution, and Native Americans (Tommy Orange might have something to say about this one).      My biggest question is which platform I am going to use. NeatLine is a solid option, especially since I know it better this time around after using it so much last quarter. The other main option I am considering is the timeline service (I don't recall the name right now) that the Grenville research team used for thei...

      One example of transculturation that I find very interesting is the holiday Kwanzaa. The holiday is an artificially created one, specifically as a means of African Americans reconnecting to their African culture in a more Americanized way. Created in  1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the holiday is a fusion that draws from several African cultures with elements that reflect African American's unique experiences as Americans. It's an example of transculturation because of how it takes American culture and African cultures and reforms them into something entirely new that retains elements of all of it's original cultures.      I don't remember much about Kwanzaa other than that my grandparents used to celebrate it. They would put on 'tradtional' African clothing (though I am certain that it may have been more Americanized) and celebrate it together. I never celebrated Kwanzaa that I can remember, but having some vague memories of the clothing and tradi...

     This memoir has probably been one of the more difficult reads (with only Hayy Ibn Yaqzan  being potentially harder). The density of the text made it hard for me to focus and read. Some of the paragraphs last several pages! It was difficult to sit down and read three chapters in two days. That being said, I think the density and complexity of the text made it easier to unpack meaning and nuance.      There were a few things that I found surprising, especially about the slavery presented in the book. Most literature surrounding slavery presents it in a really emotional way. That usually serves to show how awful slavery is. When I saw this story and heard it was the life story of a slave and that it was expressly made as an argument against slavery in hopes of ending it, I thought that it may be a bit more emotional and detailed into how horrible slavery was. Instead, Equiano seems to casually describe his time as a slave in a very matter-of-fact way...