martes, 13 de noviembre de 2012
SHARE YOUR REACTIONS TO ALICE MUNRO'S STORIES
What are your personal reactions to Munro's stories? Do you connect it with any personal memories/experiences? Lives of Girls and Women was removed from the school curricula in Huron Country, the region where the story is set because it was considered obscene: how do you feel about the description of sexuality in this story? Do you find it crude or realistic? What do you think about the portrait of sexuality/male-female relationship in "The Bear Came Over the Mountain?" How does Munro's style contribute to your reactions to the stories? Do you think it has evolved from the earlier one ("Lives of Girls and Women") to the later one ("The Bear Came Over the Mountain")
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Good afternoon, my name is Inge, I am German and I am enrolled in your course about female, i.e. women's literature in the US and Canada.With regard to the first story, I can connect it with two experiences of mine, both in Germany when I was 8 and 13 years old, although I was never eager to learn about sex at that time. The first "man" tried to rape me, and I was lucky enough to escape and tell the police.The second "he" masturbated in front of me. These terrible events from my "girlhood" have never disappeared from my psyche, and ever since my three daughters were old enough, I gave them the same instructions as had done my mum many, many years ago. Of course, I do NOT think "lives of girls and women" is obscene but very real. What strikes me is the protagonist's behaviour. I remember curiosity about sex, of course much curiosity, but none of us ever thought of voluntarily try things out like those described in the story.
ResponderEliminarThe second story also touches me deeply. My mother died only a year ago, aged 97, at my home in Spain "having lost her mind" like Fiona. I know what happens in "Meadowlakes" from friends of mine. Nevertheless, at this moment in time I prefer not to talk about it as all things concerning my mother produce me a lot of pain.
With regard to Munro's style, the second story is easier and more confortable to read, especially due to its vocabulary that is in unison with the topic.
I am looking forward to Monday. Have a nice Sunday.
Inge
Most of Margaret Atwood´s poems included in the handout seem to deal with a grim, gloomy and harsh reality from which we cannot escape.
ResponderEliminarSometimes, brutality or a more gentle reality looks like a mirage, and then we start to question what is right in front of us. However, there are those who –because they do no want to get in trouble or had to protect themselves and their families- get involved with this brutality and pretend things are really different. On these occasions, she seems to “sympathize” with the tormentor or those around him/her: he or she becomes also a victim of the situation as they find it hard to run away from it. But, at the same time, -by not acting they degrade themselves and so they become as evil as the people “in charge”.
Sometimes, the images and language used are crude, quite visual as well as frequently revolting. Violence and destruction are spinning around, no matter what place on earth, and it is like a devastating tornado leaving behind nothing but suffering and sorrow, cruelty and death or death in life (those who manage to survive have to cope with their dreadful experiences).
In my opinion, she has a certain aim in mind: to stir the reader´s consciousness regarding the world around us: by realizing human brutality towards other human beings: all women, children and men, we must be able to react and take action so as to change things and also, she insists on the idea of people looking away from the evil caused by others or by oneself and pretending nothing is going wrong.
Violence is represented in all areas of life and it seems very close in time to present-day issues, such as wars (tortures, the battlefield, the suffering and extermination of the population for no purpose, the role of politicians who don´t care at all about the citizens they “represent” or not) , the idea about women as mere objects and possessions at the mercy of men, as a “tool” to punish others –especially at war periods (we just have to think about the Balkans’ war or conflicts and fights for power or precious objects among many African tribes and African countries or in central America with the guerrilla ... This is not a new issue: it has always happened throughout history and as it is still present in many cultures, where women lack freedom to move about and are subject to men.
Equally, I think the poet holds a very negative view regarding the way human beings behave towards others and not only this, she still remains quite positive –in my view- regarding the IMPOSSIBILITY for the human race to change. Or at least, it is seen as a quite remote option.
Susana Pujades
What she writes seems repulsive but, at the same time, it is just the way things happen to be. Atwood is quite crude in her depictions of torture and the way women are treated. However, that is the way it is, at least in some contexts so there is no exaggeration but telling about actual facts.
ResponderEliminarFinally, the poet also writes about the importance of literature, poetry in her case- as a away to give voice to the oppressed: she contrasts the two opposing realities: countries where there is severe censorship and those where there is not freedom or speech and or thought and where you might be punished and devoid of voice if you happen to raise your thoughts and make them public.
Regarding the use of the “I” and the “You” in the poems form “Power Politics”, I think the “I” could be the average citizen upon which all burdens are set while the “You” might be the representation of all politicians who are alien to the feelings of the common people and are proud of what they do even if that implies exploiting the people they rule or govern.
As for “Notes Towards a Poem that Can Never Be Written”, in my view, there should be some kind of social conscience and awareness and this sometimes could be raised through different means. Victims of violence and repression–no matter their kind- should have a voice and writers, journalists, philosophers, thinkers and the like have a right, and even the moral obligation to act as the eyes, voice and mind of other human beings.
Therefore, I believe Atwood acts rightly when playing the role of the witness of her own time as well as a remainder of the fact that reality is not the same everywhere: people´s minds and thoughts are frequently silenced so there is urgent need to give a voice to those who suffer as there might not be any other way for them to do such a thing. Thus, there is a kind of moral duty regarding poets to help raise awareness on the use of violence and abuse against those who are standing in a weak position.
Susana Pujades
Hi, my name is Begoña and as Inge I´m enrolled in the Female Literature course. In relation to Munro´s style, I can say that she reveals some events which are given her personal significance.
ResponderEliminarRegarding the first story, ¨Lives of girls and women¨, sexuality is much more explicit than in the second one, though I wouldn´t say it is obscene. Her portrait of sexual intercourse is quite funny at times ie. ¨try Vaseline or butter, it is tastier¨. Although I was born in the late 1970s, sexual communication with both my parents was, should I say, off the menu. My mum´s fears (based on a limited sexual education) were passed onto both my sister and me. Unfortunately, she was a ¨victim¨ of her time and I suppose as Del´s mum ¨social and religious life were the same¨. Fortunately for me, I grew up in democracy and sex was, and still is, a frequent topic among friends.
Regarding the second story, it also moves me quite a lot since my grandma suffers from dementia. Unlike Fiona, my grandma did not need to ¨post notes¨ around the house. Overnight she couldn’t remember certain things, she also has a ¨selective memory¨.
In relation to Munro´s style, I can see an evolution in the way she deals with the subject-matter: male and female relationships. As I mentioned before, in the first story Munro reinforces the social stereotype of men being more ¨physical¨about sex: ¨a flash of insanity¨, ¨A man paid you to let him do¨; while women ¨fantasize¨ with sexual intercourse as ¨books never told about it itself ¨. Del´s coming of age is framed in a rural environment and, consequently, her story grows in isolation. On the contrary, Fiona´s mental evolution is what makes her isolated.
See you all tomorrow,
Begoña