Monthly Archives: January 2016

Hello Readers,

In our ASTU class we recently finished reading the first chapter of Judith Butler’s Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? It is a challenging read, but very interesting since it is our first glimpse of the work of a literary theorist. Butler deals with several issues, such as shared vulnerability, framing situations and the socialized responses to the world around us, as well as questioning social responsibility.

For the purpose of this blog post, I mainly want to focus on the question of social responsibility. Butler asks, “Am I responsible for all others, or only to some, and on what basis would I draw that line?” (35). This particular question jumped out at me. Lately a theme of “us vs them” has been recurring in a lot of our CAP classes. This ideology, though prominent in most societies, never really sat well with me. It is a natural human response, to be sure. “You’re either with me, or a threat to me.” This frame of mind has been the natural self-preservation instinct that has kept humans alive for thousands of years. That’s why I find Butler’s proposal of shared vulnerability so fascinating. Following a Hegelian perspective, Butler points out that in times of war, destruction leads to further destruction. She argues that war actively seeks out to deny our mutual vulnerability and shared interdependency (43). Only through “multilateral and global agreements based on the recognition of a shared precariousness” can we eliminate, or at least dilute the significance of an “us vs them” mindset (43).

Humans are social creatures. And I truly believe that we are capable of understanding one another, despite differences in culture, religion, beliefs, and norms. Despite diverging backgrounds, we are all united in our “precariousness”.

What do you think readers? Do you agree?

Until next time,

-Kendall Manifould

Works Cited:

Butler, Judith. “Survivability, Vulnerability, Affect.” Frames of War: When is a Life Grievable? London: Verso, 2009. 33-62. Print.

Hello Readers,

Sorry it’s been a while. Happy 2016!

I recently read Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and it was probably one of the most touching, thrilling books I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. While it is not a happy book, focusing on a young boy, Oskar, and his reaction to the trauma of losing his father in the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001, it was still a highly pleasurable reading experience.

It was refreshing in that Oskar’s point of view was written in a running, sporadic style—similar to how a nine year old’s thought process works. One subject matter led Oskar to go on a tangent about a completely different train of thought, before he would resume talking about the original subject matter. (Sometimes I actually found it quite annoying.) Oskar was an interesting narrator, but there were also chapters narrated by his Grandmother and Grandfather, and these chapters are what I want to focus on in this blog post.

Oskar’s Grandma and Grandpa grew up in Dresdan, Germany. During the Dresdan bombings in 1945, both Grandma and Grandpa lost someone dear—Anna, Grandma’s sister, and Grandpa’s lover. It wasn’t until many years later after immigrating to the United States that Grandma and Thomas Sr. became “Grandma and Grandpa”. Both immigrated to the United States for reasons I can only guess—to pursue the “American Dream” and leave the horrors of Dresdan behind them.

When the two happen upon each other in a coffee shop in New York, it was hardly the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Thomas Schell had become silent—relying only on a pen and notepad to communicate. Grandmother did most of the talking, though that was not saying much. The two hardly communicated at all. The two formed a relationship and got married on the basis of tragedy—Anna, though dead, always seemed to come between them. Thomas obviously still loved Anna, and Grandma realized this, but entered into the marriage anyway.

Their relationship is formed on the collection of rules. Probably the most important rule of all is: “Your mother and I never talk about the past, that’s a rule” (108). The horrors that they experienced in Dresdan are unspeakable in their relationship. This unspeakability regarding the event leads for it to grow and fester in their relationship, poisoning it. Thomas Schell doesn’t even speak anymore about anything, so far-reaching is his trauma.

And if one tragedy wasn’t enough, another catastrophic event occurred during their lifetime—causing the loss of the life of their only son, Thomas Schell (Jr.). The misfortune seemed to follow Grandma all the way from Germany. (Grandpa abandoned her as soon as she found out she was pregnant—since it was a rule, that they would not have children, and Grandma broke that rule.)

In class we discussed the theme of American exceptionalism. We asked if Foer’s novel was a representation of that theme, or whether or not the events and Dresdan counteract that interpretation. The novel focuses on 9/11, but other catastrophic events are found scattered throughout the novel (Sam Goldberg’s character is a quiet reference to the Holocaust).

Oskar, as a young boy who just lost his father, views September 11, 2001 as “the worst day.” The day that everything changed. Nothing will ever be the same after this event. Grandma and Grandpa, on the other hand, have experienced more than just this one tragedy in their lifetimes. Therefore, by incorporating the narrations of the grandparents, this offsets the theme of American exceptionalism. America is not the only country to have experienced a tragedy, and have a population that is suffering and in mourning. Calamities have occurred in many nations throughout history.

The characters of Grandma and Grandpa offer so much to the story, enhancing it, making it richer, adding to its depth. I really enjoyed reading their narratives in the novel.

Do you guys agree with my opinion? Let me know what you think. Please feel free to drop me a comment so that we may discuss it!

-Kendall Manifould

Works Cited:

Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. Print.