Tag Archives: week 11

11/25/21

Interrogation of Worth

Luiselli’s structural choices allow for an implicit criticism of the United States’ inhumanity during this crisis. By going through each question and providing anecdotes, the injustice and heartlessness of the US are strikingly apparent. Luiselli has no need to explicitly criticize these procedures, simply going through each question is enough to highlight the inefficacy of this process as a tool for determining a child’s worthiness of entering the country. The controlled structure seems to juxtapose the long and elaborate response that Luiselli writes to each question, reflecting the uselessness of the process; a child’s worth and value cannot be dwindled down into 40 questions. The process goes against everything the US, and the Western world, have agreed upon about human rights, and yet the crisis happened so blatantly and without intervention. Her detached approach to tackling this problem by laying it out in the same way the courtroom procedure would follow creates a powerful critique of the system when we see that it is impossible to answer these questions succinctly, thereby showcasing and critiquing the failures of the bureaucracy. I think that Luiselli’s choice to write about her college class’ initiative to help was a powerful way of showcasing that this should not be a problem that is ignored and normalized and that we should be doing something to stop this relentless cycle of colonial violence. The anger I felt while reading was, almost, soothed by this idea of hope and inspiration that I can do something to help. 

11/25/21

Violence that seems to never stop

The book “Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions” by Valeria Luiselli is indeed a book full of serous issues taking place in the current world we all live in. One will never be aware of the atrocities  that immigrant children have to go through until one gets more involve on the topic. That’s why I found the book so touching because it makes you realize the seriousness of the current situation and allows one to have a more critical view of it.
Personally, I found the stories of the children quite devastating, but what was even more shocking was the fact that after all these children have been through and get to the U.S border, their pain don’t stop there. They encounter themselves with discrimination and maltreatment from U.S officers. They are placed into the “ice box” as of they were a diseased that must be contained. Additionally, the U.S keeps implementing harsher laws by making it more difficult to get a granted legal status for these children. These kids risk their lives to get to the U.S but they might be deported and all their dangerous trip was for nothing. Even if some of these children make through the court, they will still have to face many challenges. Including when they later on have to acculturate and found themselves vulnerable against racism, violence, bullying, among others. Their whole journey is based on violence and seems to never stop until they find a certain “stability” in their new “home” but the traumas will keep being around these kids.  

11/17/21

Anxiety in Words

 

Parade’s End is a sensory overload, it creates a sense of anxiety and dread throughout the reading by using run-on sentences and fragments of sentences to throw the reader off balance. The use of these techniques helps show the fear and chaos of both living in Cuba  under an authoritarian regime and attempting to escape it. Many ‘rules’ of writing are broken  in this story and it helps show that there are no rules when trying to escape and  trying to understand the world around you when it is also broken. The main character seems to be trapped in limbo and time has no meaning when in this state, present and past are intertwined. The style choices help promote this feeling by making it difficult to pinpoint exactly what is happening at a given moment, the main character also does not know what is happening or what is going to happen and is just hoping for the best. These fragments seem like memories, they are not coherent or make much sense but it is difficult to remember everything that occurs in a traumatic experience, especially if it is over a long period of time like this one. When there is so much happening at once only small snippets are remembered and it seems like this story is sharing those small pieces that are remembered so clearly when chaos of the event becomes background noise. By breaking norms of writing this story helps convey the anxiety of the situation to an audience that has never had to experience it.

11/17/21

Gazes of Sympathy and Recognition

“Fiesta, 1980” by Junot Diaz explores the sad reality of family relations driven by the fear of communication. Stemming from an abusive parent, Papi, we see Yunior’s family descend into a state of anxiety and fear of confrontation within their own home, a space that should be safe. Mami, Rafa, Madai, and Yunior submit to abuse that coerces them into silence against Papi’s obvious violence. Although the physical punishments that come with challenging Papi’s assertion of toxic masculinity are painful, it seems the family members are more concerned about losing Papi’s love (pg. 27), they know that to challenge his violent control is to undermine the agreed-upon silence which artificially unites the family under a somewhat liveable and stable environment.

Yet, although the four family members cannot express the repressive family environment, the gaze and looks exchanged provide solidarity and recognition to each other’s feelings evoked by Papi’s abuse. Looks are a very important motif in Junot’s story. The first instance is on page 23 when Papi returns from his affair, and Yunior and Rafa look at each other to recognize their father’s family betrayal. Another pivotal point in the story is on page 26, where Madai is too scared to open her eyes. By being the youngest, Papi’s violence is something she is not as accustomed to. By closing her eyes, she is likely in denial of the pain inflicted by her dad and does not want to recognize the others’ anxiety yet. Finally, probably the most moving moment of recognition in the story, on page 42, Yunior looks at his mom with love and compassion, and through a smile, Mami seems to reassure him of her love. Hence, through gazes of sympathy and recognition, they transmit and read feelings through their eyes that they could not communicate otherwise because of Papi’s presence.

11/17/21

“Fiesta” a story of domestic violence and patriarchal values

The short story “Fiesta” by Junnot Diaz is an interesting story narrated by the young main character. However; the character is a kid and the way he is having complicated experiences at his own home, makes the reader to be more sensitive. I found a bit alarming the fact that Yunor, the character, is aware of his own dad cheating on her mother and with cynicism , his dad brings him into her lover’s house a few times. In addition, one can understand that the father is enforcing a patriarchal rule in the house and he is the one who runs everything. Also, Yunor explains how his dad sometimes smacks him or beats him if he misbehaves and the mother seems  not to have enough power to control the father’s temper. From my personal view, I found the story had many intense moments and what makes it more complicated, is the fact that they are an Immigrant family. Personally, I liked the story; however I found tragic that the main character had to deal with constant conflict.