Todays ASTU Class proved to be extremely interesting creating a conversation that I felt everyone contributed to. We focused our discussion in on different aspects of Judith Butlers “Frames of War”. Throughout the discussion the idea of mourning some lives while ignoring or acting with coldness toward others came onto the table – the points raised by my classmates were the ideas that got me thinking. Butler addresses ideas of grievable oppose to ungrievable situations suggesting,

“We might think of war as dividing populations into those who are grievable and those who are not”(Pg. 38). Where do we fit into this divide? Who are we in these times of war? Butler believes that individuals need to ask themselves “whose lives are considered valuable, whose lives are mourned, and whose lives are considered ungrievable”(Pg.38).

While these questions were discussed in class a fellow student suggested that we “mourn what we are framed to mourn” addressing the idea that what we mourn is constructed and based for example on the life we live, or where we come from. I immediately made a connection to the way society mourns for victims of horrific situations – for example the Robert Pickton case and the fact that he brutally murdered a large number of women. When reading about the case, you will find that a majority of his victims were prostitutes or women who were living on the downtown east side. When taking into consideration what he was doing and at the rate he was doing it, you might question the police on their urgency to find him. I strongly believe that due to the demographic of the women, the case was not considered a priority.

This whole case is a prime example of the way society dictates the lives that are considered “valuable” or “invaluable” and frankly – in this case – it is extremely disappointing, with horrific consequences. How do we select that we do and do not mourn, are we framed to mourn particular situations while acting in coldness towards others? These are all questions that this weeks material has led me to asking – questions that will

Traumatic events often bring feelings of terror and stress upon the individuals caught in them. Whether these unfortunate events harm a specific person – or someone close to them – the aftermath can be quite horrific and daunting. The two events I wish to focus on are 9/11 through the lenses of Oskar Schell in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close By Jonathan Safran Foer and the moving of Japanese Canadians in the Second World War through a collection of memories in Obasan by Joy Kogawa. These though times leave people trying to find ways of coping with their mixed emotions or “Heavy Boots” as Oskar Schell would describe them. Both Foer and Kogawa offer examples of the way that small and simple activities can act in therapeutic ways; this activity being writing. I have selected a specific page from each book that addresses the act of writing in a therapeutic manner. The First example can be found on page 119 in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Oskars grandfather expresses his feelings towards writing and its therapeutic ways; he suggests that Oskars grandmother try it.

“ It was my suggestion, and at the time I thought it was a very good one, I thought maybe if she could express herself rather than suffer herself, if she had a way to relieve the burden, she lived for nothing more than living, with nothing to get inspired by, to care for, to call her own”(Pg 119)

He exemplifies that fact that writing might help his wife, and Oskars grandmother to relieve the burden of her suffering. The second example I pulled is from the letter that Naomi’s mother writes in Obasan, explaining her reasons for having not contacted them through their lengthy childhood years. She states

“ If these matters are sent away in this letter, perhaps they will depart a little from our souls … for the burden of these words, forgive me” (Pg 259)

Both Oskar grandfather and Naomi’s mother feel that the act of writing and releasing their emotions on to a page will lift the burdens of their suffering. Although they came from very different situations and traumatic events, their coping mechanisms have endless similarities. I never would have though that something so small could bring such hope and relief to people as they try to move on from their fragmented past.