Blues Legacies and Black Feminism by Angela Y. Davis

When I read “I Used to be Your Sweet Mama” in Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, I’m surprised about blues woman what they sing about or how they express the message to audience. Before I focus on the lyric, I can’t think about the significant of blues woman. They do not just sing, but they also describe about gender conflict, fault of social standing, and female domestic life. The interesting part of blues is that blues women try to connect with unrevealed problem which is related to sexuality and female standing in society. Ma Rainey’s lyrics describe about the marriage under the patriarchal pressure. I think it is too realistic that it is closed to hazarded female life. Davis said that “the blues genre is a direct descendant of work songs” (26). Bessie Smith sings express the violence and sexual partnership. My favorite blues woman is Billie Holiday. She not only sang sorrow, but her song also contained historical tragedy.

Strange Fruit -Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear strange fruit

Blood on the leaves

Blood at the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth

The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh              

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

for the rain to gather

for the wind to suck

for the sun to rot

for the tree to drop

Here is a strange and bitter crop

What did I imagine? I don't want to think about the fact in her song because it is too tragedic. The lyrics described the truth historical fact which was the discrimination against race. I like her voice which supports her willingness.  

No Name Woman

Maxime Hong Kinston was a female writer as a second generation of Chinese immigrants. In No Name Woman, Kinston points out the cultural and historical tragedy rink to aunt’s suicide. After I read the No Name Woman, I totally understood what happened to the family. Her aunt betrays her husband which means disobedience role of the community as a married woman. Chinese were influenced by Confucianism which was based on male dominant society, and it was built on Hierarchal society. The Villagers believe that her fault would be effect on other woman, so they had right to punish her instead of god. Due to the failure of government system, the role of community widely concerned about personal relationship.  Her aunt’s pregnant was dangerous to maintain their ethical roles, so people violently attacked the house that “Then they threw eggs and began slaughtering out stock” (Kingston). I imagined how she terrified or ignored by family and neighbors. She was isolated because her pregnant was the criticism of Chinese’s ancient culture. The narrator was changed by the tone that writer’s mother moved back to the past, and writer described her present to reflect her aunt’s image in her mind. I enjoyed reading cross cultural literature to understand different culture.  

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Maus is a graphic novel that Art Spiegelman drew his father’s experiences of Holocaust. Art was the post generation of Holocaust survivor, so he sketched father’s survivor stories to understand father’s trauma because his relationship with father was not good. He used metaphor the characters by races that Jews were maus and Germans were cats. He interviewed his father, and he attached several real photos to prove father’s trauma as accurate as the past experiences. His stories described politics, economics, and social problem during the World War 2. He not only explained father’s trauma, but he also pointed out his suffering due to not share the family legacy.

The characteristics of Vladek were handsome, ambitious, and well-educated Jew. After he survived Auschwitz, he was changed that he always worried about hungry, money, and anxiety. His wife Anja was also survivor of Holocuas, but she killed herself. Once, Spiefleman drew a short comic about her suicide that broken family relationship between Vladek and Art in Prisoner on the Hell planet. Contrast other literature; his graphic narrative had more strong power because it made reader feeling of guilty as not experienced. Spiegelman attached his brother’s photo to pay attention it as real historical tragedy. He showed how historical tragedy impact on individual life and next generation as trauma.  

The Human Stain

Philip Roth’s The human Stain is a great novel that it contains individual trauma to reflect as social and culture meaning. The voice of novel describes each character’s traumatized memories by the third person narrator, Nathan Zuckerman. Through Zuckerman’s observation, Roth made reader to travel character’s past and present. Also, he paralleled the historical facts with the events to point out race, class, sex, and ethic in 90s.

Coleman Silk is not a simple character, and he keeps huge secret that explains his traumatized memories as colored Jews. Coleman is highly educated, overwhelming, and privileged class; however, he loss all of his reputation due to the charging as a racist in his college. During his lecturing, he calls two absent students as “Spooks,” which means “a ghost or dated offensive a contemptuous term for a black person.” He can’t say that he is black. After he rejects his identity, he decides to be a white Jew. He isolates himself from his family and the past. After he meets Faunia, who suffers from death of children, he reveals his dark secret to her. They understand each other and feel free from their struggle. I was deeply impressed their trauma due to individual and social causes.  

Prologue

Let me have no shame

Under the heaven

Till I die

Even the sound of wind

Passing the leaves

Pained my heart.

With a heart singing stars.

I will love all dying things.

And I must step my path

That's been given to me.

Tonight also

The wind sweeps past among the stars

I usually don’t read poems, but I have favorite one. This “Prologue” is written by Donju Yun who was died during the era under the colonial administration of imperial Japan. He was talented young students that studied in Japan. Most of poet wrote for protesting against colonialism, and the tone of their poem was rough and strong. Yun indirectly expressed his emotion in his poem, and tone of his poem was calm and devoted. Also, his religious aspect reflected the page of dark time in his country. “Wind” represented the dangerous enemy to his country, and stars indicated his future. He was talented educated man, so he felt guilty about his action not doing. I was impressed the way of his salvation that he decided to do what he learned. He died so early the age of 25 in the prison. I believed that his poem has a historical significant to think of dark era. 

My Name Is Red

Have you ever heard about Orhan Pamuk? I remembered the year of 2007 which I had a great vacation from South Korea to Japan. I was waiting for my friend at the Osaka Airport, and I was too bored. I looked around the stores to keep wasting my time. I bought My Name Is Red, and I went to café to read it. The reason I bought it is that Panuk won the Novel Price this year. While I was reading it, I was surprised because I was not familiar with Islam culture. I was interested in the history of Ottoman Empire and different style of painting. My Name is Red shows the confusion between European and Ottoman culture to reflect the relationship of Turkey as a part of Europe.

          I was influenced by Buddhism, and I had my chance to contact with Christianity. However, most of Asian cultures are not deeply related to Islam culture. I found several interesting points of this book. The narrator is changed by 59 chapters that the painting talked about his stories or other painters describe each characteristic. Also, the novel contains romance, arts, mystery, and philosophy of 16c. Even though I don’t know about Quran, I can understand it through the paintings in noble. The painters got a secret mission from sultan that he ordered his portrait as European point of view.

                

I think that Pamuk does not complain about other culture, but he wants to explain the complex situation in his culture. After I finished read My Name Is Red, I changed my mind to different culture aspects through Kara, investor of murder in the Noble. 

Marcellin Caillou by Jean Jacques Sempé

 Jean Jacques Sempé is a famous French cartoonist. Le petit Nicolas, which stories were based on his memories in childhood, was published in 1960s. My favorite story is Marcellin Caillou, but it translated Martin Pebble in America. The stories are dealing with the childhood of Martin and his best friend Ruddy Rocket. 

Martin Pebble is a little boy, but his face turns red without particular reason. He has no friend because of his face keeps turning red. When everyone’s face turns red, he feels calm without red face. He tries to play alone, and he has no friend before he meets Ruddy.

Ruddy Rocket is a new neighbor of Martin, and he plays alone. He used to sneeze even though he plays the violin. After Martin and Ruddy became a friend, they never feel lonely. They never get bored when they stay together.

Sadness is coming to them. Ruddy moved out when Martin went to grandparent’s house.  There is an interesting part of the stories about Martin’s parent that they are so busy to find Rubby’s letter. Therefore, Marin has no contract with his soul mate.

Finally, they met at the end of the stories, and they notice each other due to Ruddy’s sneezing and Martin’s red face. Finding a good friend is not easy, but it has the value of entire life. When I came to the U.S.A with my school mate, I was not afraid of anything. She became my family, and I did not feel any sorrow or lonely. I might have difficulties from the culture differences, but we enjoy doing new things. Nowadays, we use many technical devices that it easy to make contact with people. I still like surprising meat with friend like Martin and Ruddy.