Reflections from an Ansalon Dweller

http://zhaman.blogspot.com/
Anthony Parker
English 303
October 9th, 2008


Reading is something that I rather enjoy, whether it is a fictional book, an article about computers, a book on history, or WWII or even, occasionally, a non-fiction biography or some such thing. When I found I was required to take some literature classes I was actually rather excited about that since I love reading. Little did I know at that time that I would be taking a “non-western” literature class which has introduced me to a rather different type of writing. Being an avid reader I consider myself to be pretty good at relating texts I read to other fiction or history books. I’ve also read a lot in my various college classes though most everything I’ve read is of western origin. Given all that I believe I was at the text-other texts stage before I start this class.

This class has been a lot of fun and a good experience and I feel it has moved me closer to the text-world stage. Like I said I haven’t read a whole lot of non-western literature, though since my wife is an art/film major I have seen a good amount of non-western art and movies. Interestingly my wife loves the movie Bride and Prejudice and had already seen it so it was rather ironic that that film was assigned. That being said the literature selection has been a bit of a stretch for me. I don’t believe I have ever read an Indian or Japanese novel, though I have read a bit about both of their histories and I’ve met and talked extensively to two native Indian ladies that were visiting to try and raise support for their orphanage. I also feel that I have had a bit more first hand experience of non-western cultures than many people since I have been to several other non-western countries and not just on a vacation, they were work/missions trips where we went to slums and squatter villages. The places I traveled were the Philippines in 1999, Panama in 2000 and Peru in 2002, 2003 and 2004. My sister is also married to a Peruvian and is fluent in Spanish. How does that relate to my interpretation of the literature I read? Well I think it has helped me to think of the World outside of the USA. I really wanted to answer that I was in-between stage two and three before this class started, but when I thought about it, although I’ve had all these experiences and I’ve read all these books I can still do what many people do. And that is just being so focused on their own life and where they live that they forget not everyone gets the opportunities that they get. In Peru I met people that would repair sections of the road in the hopes that a driver would tip them for their work. Many people don’t know the extent of other social systems either. People here think there is a big disconnect between rich and poor, but it is nothing compared to third-world countries. I think that they Indian caste system is also worth mentioning; it is so foreign to us in our free make your dreams come true society. There are so many rags to riches stories in the USA, but if you are an untouchable in India forget it. I just think that people need to remember that there are bigger problems out there and that there are other cultures and other ways to look at things.

This class has really helped broaden my literature and vocabulary horizons; I can actually use words like Intertextuality and hybridity in conversations or sentences now. For instance in my September 11th post I mention Intertextuality in relation to the book “A Wild Sheep Chase.” I also used Epistemic Violence and Subaltern in the October 3rd blog post. Contrasting that to my very first post, the most complex word is “sophisticated,” no pun intended. In the text to world reading development I feel that I have improved as well. My post on September 19th, Sheepish, brings in elements from South America by mentioning how time is perceived differently there; I also wrote about how the book “A Wild Sheep Chase” was really a mirror of our country and the cold, desensitized path that we are taking. Contrast that with my first post where I mention the clash between Darcy and the Indian culture. Sure it was good insight, but I probably could have gone more in-depth.

So how can I continue to improve and move closer to text-world? Well I want to say one thing first. In most books I read as I read them I am thinking about the content in relation to my life, but more than that too. I’m not consciously thinking but more subconsciously. For instance my favorite types of books are science/fantasy fiction; I recently finished a book by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. In that book they have many moral, ethical, honorable, political and religious issues. When I read it I was constantly relating it to my life and my decisions, but also to the United States and World as a whole. I wasn’t writing a paper, or constantly making connection, but throughout the book I was connecting it to this World even though, being a fantasy novel, it wasn’t based here. The interesting thing is I like to read that type of book to get away from serious and sometimes frustrating life, but while reading it I am making connections to my life and where I live.

Back to the question of how I can move closer to text-world; I really think I am on the right track but there is definitely room for improvement. Maybe I should start looking for some fiction not written by a western author. It seems that a lot of the fiction that I would be interested in is written by western authors, but as I saw with Hauron and the Sea of Stories there is some interesting fiction books out there. Another option is going out on a limb and reading some non-western literature and actively “comparing” it to the literature that I am used to.