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Week 11 – My thoughts on Javier Cercas’ “Soldiers of Salamis”

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Javier Cercas’ Soldiers of Salamis is a novel set after the Spanish Civil War, where the narrator is attempting to understand the story of one soldier. The story focuses on a political prisoner, I believe, at the time and how they escape from a firing squad. I had found interesting in the novel the topic of loss. There are two significant losses present in the novel, in my opinion. One of them is the loss of literature, as the narrator states. The narrator had stated that a person “had won the war but lost literature” (Cercas, Soldiers of Salamis). There’s also a question of how someone in literature is presented. Such as, the narrator had wanted to write “A true tale, I thought, but didn’t say. That’s what I’m going to write,” though there is a question of whether the tale is correct (Cercas, Soldiers of Salamis). The narrator follows by stating that through storytelling, Figueras’ “father wouldn’t be entirely dead,” which is a role of tales and storytelling (Cercas, Soldiers of Salamis). The novel is about the history and a historical figure and event, where the second form of loss is presented in the novel. 

The second form of loss in the novel is the loss of information. As stated in the novel, a document is mentioned:”  ‘the diary Sánchez Mazas had with him when he was in hiding in the forest,’” (Cercas, Soldiers of Salamis). Historical documents and historical figures’ stories tend to change and evolve as time passes on. As that occurs, as stated in the lecture, memory and misinformation become an aspect of history. The novel also noted that the diary was “like a family heirloom, my father was very attached to it,” (Cercas, Soldiers of Salamis). The dairy being “like a family heirloom,” shows that historical items can be passed on within a family from generation to generation. I do not own anything like that. Though, I believe that as generations go by, the story behind these items of history change and evolves. What is possible is that there could be a change in the story and thus a loss of information. Therefore, the person’s memory gets lost in a way, or an aspect of a story gets lost. This topic is interesting to me regarding the novel as the novel pertains to a journalist or a writer discussing historical events. These historical events gain accuracy based on shared knowledge of the time and historical artifacts. Therefore, both information and historical artifacts are essential when discussing a historical event, regardless of who’s side the story is about. 

A question that I would ask my peers is: do you have a historical artifact or item? Do you know the story behind this artifact?

 

Week 8 – My thoughts on Georges Perec’s W, or the Memory of Childhood

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The text W, or the Memory of Childhood by Georges Perec, is multiple different stories that are woven together in which the reader has to make sense of the novel. To begin with, the novel itself was incredibly confusing for me. I found that while the novel’s content was interesting, I was left confused from most of the initial reading. The text relates to the concepts of childhood and memory to me. The notion that the text is about childhood and memory is reflected based on the title. The title itself states that the novel is about the Memory of Childhood; and thus relates to the themes of childhood and memory. An aspect of the story that drew my attention was the narrator’s stance on how they “have no childhood memories,” which struck me as odd (Perec, 6). The lack of childhood memories may be due to traumatizing memories in their adolescence or the fact that the main character was put into a situation in which they had to grow up and mature. Additionally, what struck me as odd was that the narrator also found “comfort in such an absence of history” regarding their childhood (Perec, 6). The reason as to why this struck me as odd is that I believe that the history of someone stems from their childhood memories, as they are memories that define a person and their actions in the future. 

The lack of clarity that the narrator has on their childhood and their past may contribute to the confusion that the novel itself has. The initial confusion in the novel for me was from the title W, or the Memory of Childhood. The lack of clarity in the title reflects the different storylines in the novel, which the reader has to understand. Additionally, there is either a lack of clarity or a means to obscure information, but the naming of places with “K,” and “H,” also shows the gaps in the main character’s memory (Perec, 6). The obscuring of the name of the locations, while those add some anonymity to the novel, also confused me for the most part. As the characteristics were being listed for places, it seemed as though it was hard for me to follow what was occurring in the novel. Additionally, since these locations are based on the narrator’s memory, and as a narrator, as previously stated, they do not remember much from their childhood, I would question the reliability of the main character as a reliable narrator.

 

A question that I would ask the others about this novel is: based on the novel, does knowing childhood memories or knowing history seem an essential part of building a character?

 

-Muskan Shukla

 

Week 7- My thoughts on Mercè Rodoreda’s “The Time of the Doves”

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In regards to Mercè Rodoreda’s The Time of the Doves (La plaça del Diamant, 1962), I found the novel to be exciting, and I was engaged with the text throughout the entire reading. The novel is set somewhat before the Spanish Civil war and leads into the battle itself as the story progresses. The story is about a girl named Natalia who works in a pastry shop and continuously gains complications throughout her life. The story, for me, seemed to be more of a tragedy than anything else. The fact that Natalia attempts to kill herself and her children with hydrochloric acid was shocking to me as I believe that a mother’s first instinct is to protect her children, not harm them in any way. Therefore that moment was surprising for me. The purpose of committing these deaths is for the primary pursuit of happiness in which “everyone would be happy,” if Natalia had passed away to a world in which she “wouldn’t have done any harm,” (Rodoreda, 146). I believe that the pursuit of happiness is essential, which is shown in the last line of the novel. One of the novel’s last words, “Happy,” confused me as I did not understand how the novel could end happily (Rodoreda, 201). The moments of Natalia killing unborn pigeons and death’s surroundings make the novel more tragic than happy. Therefore, there is somewhat of a polar difference, with the ending being “Happy,” and the story shifting between romantic and tragic (Rodoreda, 201). 

There is also that trauma seems to be a recurring aspect in the novel. As the novel has shifted in the plot towards the start of the Spanish Civil war and somewhat after that event, the notion of history and trauma seemed to be critical aspects in the novel. Such as when it is stated that with her new husband and when he says that with him during the war, the people had “picked him up half ripped apart on the battlefield and pieced him back together as best they could” (Rodoreda, 160). The moment that would occur to a soldier seems traumatizing, and I would like to believe that due to the similarities and differences between Natalia and her new husband, they had found some form of solace with each other. The theme of trauma affects decision-making for Natalia, and it seems as though many of the events in the novel are out of Natalia’s control, and she becomes collateral damage. Somewhat like a war in itself. It could be said that while the novel was set during the Spanish Civil war, there is also another war within Natalia’s life. The troubles with her first husband, her consideration of death, the somewhat tragic story of Natalia’s life, and the trauma that Natalia seemed to suffer through reflect some aspects of war in Natalia’s life. 

 

I would ask: do you believe that the story could be considered a tragedy? Or is it a case of a woman trying to control a situation that is out of her control? 

 

-Muskan Shukla

 

Week 6 – My thoughts on Françoise Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse”

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The text Bonjour Tristesse (1954) by Françoise Sagan for me was an exciting text, to say the least, and additionally kept me engaged till the very end. The novel discusses a relationship between a wealthy father and his daughter. The main character is a girl named Cécile who is 17 years old and changing her family dynamic. The change in this family dynamic is reflected at the start of the novel, where we are introduced to the characters and the father’s mistress (Sagan, 3). However, it is essential to note that the father does consider the main character’s feelings. Though the main character does reply that her father’s mistress, “Elsa would not get in our way” (Sagan, 4). The father’s relationships change based on a given amount of time, though the main character did accept it as the father’s new lifestyle after he had lost his wife. 

Though, there is something perverse about the mentality that Cécile has when it comes to being interested in other men. Such as, when there is a mention of a university student, she states that she “much preferred my father’s friends, men of fourty, who spoke to me with courtesy and tenderness,” (Sagan, 5). The relationship that Cécile has with her father must be incredibly embedded in her due to Cécile losing her mother figure and growing up without her mother. That makes me wonder whether Cécile may lack attention from her father, and due to that, she prefers “men of fourty,” (Sagan, 5). There is also the relationship that Cécile has with Anne, her mother’s closest friend. Such as, when Cécile’s mother had passed, it was Anne who “taught me something of life,” while her father was managing his grief (Sagan, 7). Throughout the novel, we understand that Anne has intentions are not pure, as Elsa’s feeling of being threatened could show that. There is also an aspect in the novel that Cécile takes another role. Cécile also takes on the role of an adult when it comes to her father. Such as when she states that her “father must be protected. He’s nothing but a big baby,” when it comes to Anne interrupting the lives of Cécile, her father, and Elsa (Sagan, 66). The protectiveness that Cécile feels could stem from the fact that since her father has multiple partners over a short period of time, Cécile is the constant female in her father’s life. Therefore, there could be an understanding that Cécile must approve or agree to a relationship with her father and guide him to the right woman. This is also shown with Cécile’s judgments of her father’s mistresses. 

Therefore a question that I would ask is: does it seem as though Cécile lacks affection or attention from her father? If so, how does this reflect their relationship?

 

-Muskan Shukla

My Thoughts on “Combray” by Proust

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After reading Proust’s Swann’s Way and, more specifically, the two parts of Combray, I can clearly state that this text was incredibly confusing to me. I believe that the confusion that was present in my mind was due to how the lines between reality and fantasy seem to be blurred for the main character and are therefore blurred for me as well as I was reading the text. The blurring of these lines is based on the construction of a literary dream world and the main character’s interest in literary characters. More specifically how at the start of the text, there are mentions of the world of dreams. Such as how, in the world of dreams, Proust refers to how, while sleeping, it is easier to go to “a period of my early life that had ended forever,” (Combray1. p4). In this, the author seems to want the readers to appreciate the impact that dreams can have on a child and an adult. The dreams, in this case, are a means to escape from being an adult and reflect a simpler time. The concept of dreams is later referred to as “the world of dreams,” which struck me as odd since dreams could or could not be a literary world in itself (Combray1. p4). The main character’s dreams also comment on human memory as his dreams are specifically images that please the main character, rather than the vast possibilities that dreams could be. Nevertheless, the construction of this world reflects the childlike curiosity that the main character has and how that childlike curiosity allowed for the lines of fantasy and reality to be blurred through dreams. 

As I was reading the text, due to my background knowledge, when the text mentioned the names of fictional characters such as; “Bluebeard,” and “Golo,” my attention moved to the mentions of those names (Combray1. p10). Then, as the text continued, the two parts reflected that the author had a specific interest in literacy and literary figures. The author constructs a literary world in which, through the use of dreams and interest in literary characters, the author is able to reflect the childlike curiosity that the main character has, which sparks a passion for writing. The question that I would ask regarding the text is; how does the construction of a literary world through dreams relate to the notion of modernism, and how does this impact the way that the text is read? The two aspects of dreams and the mention of literary figures shape the text to reflect the author’s affinity for both writing literature and an affinity for the moments of childhood that the author had taken for granted.

 

Muskan Shukla

Introductory Post

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My name is Muskan Shukla (she/her), and I am a second-year student planning to do a major in English and a minor in History. I am from India, but I have lived in Latin America for 13 years of my life, in which I spent my last two years of schooling in India. I have lived in Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. I did my first year’s first term of UBC in India, and my second term in Bogota, Colombia. I have always been interested in English and History and figuring that has been one of the main challenges at UBC. From these two interests, I realized that I have a passion for reading. Reading is one of my hobbies. I had decided to take electives or courses that include various readings from my interest in reading. Thus, I had decided to take this course since it seemed interesting when I read about the course, and therefore this class is now an elective for me.

The expectation that I have for this course is to be a means to grow my current understanding of literature. I have limited knowledge of Latin American literature even though I have lived in Latin American countries. I also expect that the readings give me historical perspectives in their given times which would help grow my knowledge regarding my possible minor. Through the information provided to expand my knowledge, I would want the information to also develop my writing skills. My writing skills are not the best since, at times, I am not able to articulate what exactly I want to present clearly. Through the process of writing blog posts, my writing skills would grow and be challenged to present ideas in the form of a blog post.

After the first RMST 202 lecture, what I found interesting about the course was the way that the course was structured. I saw how we can choose which texts to read and somewhat predetermine our grade to be different from the other courses that I have taken at UBC. The difference between this course and other UBC courses regarding the structure makes the course much more appealing and exciting, in my opinion. Additionally, the openness in the course could also be a reflection of Romance Studies itself since Romance Studies is not bound to one specific discipline. Instead, the lack of imagining a particular field for Romance Studies allows for the explorations of texts and sources to be much more enjoyable. One question that I have after the first lecture is; are there any other disciplines similar to Romance Studies that are not bound to a specific field?
I am incredibly excited about this course and the learnings I will gain from it!